Royal Notebook

No one was more irritated than I was when the royal engagement was announced on 16 November. Not, I hasten to say, because I did not welcome the news, but selfishly, because I realised I would miss a rare lunch at the Historic Houses AGM — and many further lunches over subsequent weeks. Since then, as when the Princess of Wales was killed, I have been a prisoner of the media. The engagement took everyone by surprise — and the calm discretion with which the whole process has been handled since must be a delight, and even possibly a surprise, to Buckingham Palace and Clarence House. Nothing leaks. I also detect a gentler approach from the media. They seem glad for any titbits that we veterans can provide, since a new, uninformed generation of journalists has sprung up. A few years ago they were combative and aggressive.

The global media ask the same questions each time they lug their cameras up several flights to my book-lined room in Kensington. Their favourite is ‘Will Charles be King?’ Unless he predeceases his mother, he certainly will and so he should be. Arguably he will be a different man when he takes the throne. Albert Edward, Prince of Wales, a noted roué, became a splendid monarch famed for his diplomacy as Edward VII. His grandson was a charming and dashing Prince of Wales, a worried Edward VIII and an embittered Duke of Windsor — three different men within the same frame. The press jibed at Mrs Parker Bowles until the very day of her marriage, but since she became Duchess of Cornwall, they have treated her with respect. It will be interesting to see what Prince Charles will do with his eventual reign. It would be very difficult for Prince William to succeed his grandmother.