Wasted youth

V & A

I've just been listening to a radio adaptation of the diaries of Queen Victoria, and it occurred to me that we have come a long way since the Royal Houses of Europe had to be scoured for a suitable match for one of ours' offspring. Greece had to go to Eastern Europe when they ran out of big fish in the small gene pool, then we had to go to Greece for Charles' father. Charles himself had to marry a cousin, but then set an example to his own son by tying the knot with an old flame from years gone by.

Kate Middleton will arrive by car for her wedding at Westminster Abbey as a commoner, then do the return trip in a State Carriage as a princess, and the next queen.

Harry's aunt, Princess Anne, married into the army with Captain Mark Phillips (I don't know if that counts as a commoner or not) and now their beautiful daughter, Zara, is marrying the smashed faced, ex rugby fullback, Mike Tindall, shown above. I believe they both have sporting interests in common. Zara's aunt, Diana, may have set her a bad example by knocking off the rugby player Will Carling when she was alive, so who knows where all this is going to end.

My only regret is now being to old to get in on the action now that the field has opened up, and too young to be interested in becoming a 'consort' if anything happens (God forbid) to our current monarch's one.

I should have taken more interest in point-to-points, rugby and Ascot when I was in my prime.