Kate Middleton and Prince William are widely expected to announce their engagement in 2007. Patrick Jephson, who was Diana’s private secretary, says there is much the original ‘People’s Princess’ could tell the next queen-in-waiting
‘Perhaps Miss Middleton … will be our future queen,’ I speculated in a Sunday newspaper nearly three years ago. The editor was more cautious. ‘More likely, she will not,’ he made me add. I wish I’d stuck to my guns — and stuck on a bet too. The smart money now says that brand Windsor is about to get a much-needed injection of fresh young glamour to complement its established octogenarian market leader.
As the product manager for the last major foray into young glamour, I thought the New Year marked a suitable moment to look back at the Diana experience — to see if it has any relevance for the next English rose to take on the mantle of queen-in-waiting.
Miss Middleton’s 2007 stretches ahead of her like an enchanted garden. But on closer inspection, it’s not so much a garden as a maze. It will be full of enticing avenues that lead to thorny dead-ends. There will be only one way through, and she must follow it for the rest of her life. So if she’s not looking for that kind of commitment, if she doubts her sense of duty, this might be one of the last chances to find the emergency exit.
Not that she seems to be looking for a way out. She has already been given clear signs of royal acceptance — plus a less visible gift that may prove more valuable than anything her prince lovingly left under the Christmas tree: public goodwill.
A royal engagement can perk up the most jaded monarchist and even make a monarchist out of a non-believer.
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