Princess's remembrance racket rolls on

Coming up to ten years after the untimely and dramatic death of Diana, Princess of Wales, the constant cashing-in on her memory continues unabated. And, with the anniversary of the accident dawning on 31 August, the US media are already calling this 'The Summer of Diana'.

The media want us to remember her passing and celebrate her life, because it sells print and puts bums on TV-viewing seats in an era when they need all the help they can get.

Expect a spate of documentaries and 'dramas based upon real life events' over the coming weeks. Plus also, up to a dozen relaunches, reissues and new issues of books about The Princess.

Hollywood has jumped on the Diana bandwagon too. There was a bidding war over the script based upon controversial book, Diana And The Paparazzi, at this year's Cannes Film Festival. The desire to make the movie is now irresistable given the recent success of The Queen, and it's likely to have an all-star cast.

It seems that the House of Windsor don't want us to forget either, organising a tribute concert to ensure the continued support of her charities.

During Diana's lifetime she was, of course, a meal ticket for numerous journalists, photographers, 'royal experts' and indiscrete acquaintances and employees. Now, 10 years on, whilst the media can no longer rely on her for their daily bread, they certainly can count on constant snacking and a bumper nosh-up from time-to-time.

Meanwhile, a whole industry dedicated to exploiting her image has crawled out from under a rock. Sorry, that should read 'celebrating her memory' and 'emerged', shouldn't it?

Don't get me wrong, I am not a avid Royalist. But, I do think that anyone who claims to mourn her passing, really shouldn't be insatiably devouring all that the media offers. And, they certainly shouldn't be boosting the business of tasteless profiteering by buying 'memories'. After all, it's they that keep the cash-registers caching-ing over Diana's memory.

Gift fit for a princess

Shoppers at pressies4princesses will be no strangers to the dilemma of what to get a 'princess' for a gift. Thankfully, from time to time, a story surfaces that gives the inside track on what a real, blue-blooded princess can expect.

Tasmania - yes the entire Australian state - is giving a charm bracelet as a christening gift to the as yet unnamed Danish princess, born 21 April this year. Daughter of Tasmanian-born Crown Princess Mary and hubby Crown Prince Frederik of Denmark, she will be christened and publicly named on July 1.



The bracelet, by jewellery designer Diane Allison, features an apple seed design. And, apparently, the designer used two real apple seeds for the original mould for the design.

So, Tasmania opted for unusual, rather than over-the-top. A wise move when giving to someone who is unlikely to want for much. Of course, your princess's means are likely to be somewhat more modest - though her expectations are equally high! Nevertheless, next time you're thinking you've got to spend big, don't. Spend more time and less money. Go unearth something unusual that she will really adore, regardless of the price tag!

"Not Fairy Princess, I said Dairy Princess"

Apparently, Jacky Van Beek was crowned the 2007 Tulare County Dairy Princess yesterday at the International Agri-Center Heritage Complex in Tulare, Tulare County, California.


What this prestigious title quite means isn't precisely explained in the news bulletin I picked up today. But, competition for it could hardly be called stiff with only two other candidates to beat.



They say second place is for losers, but in this case it was actually third. Because she was the only candidate to come away without a title; 2nd place was awarded First Attendant.

Where was everybody else? Perhaps they were at the Fairy Princess competition down the road!

How to wed a princess?

Ever wondered how to wed a princess? I have the answer - with a two week ceremony attended by 2000 guests in a 1,788 room palace!

The daughter of Brunei's wealthy Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah ("The Sultan of Brunei") got married last week. She exchanged vows with her 32 year old groom, Yang Amat Mulia Pengiran Anak Khairul Khalil (or Khairul Khalil, for short), on Thursday.

Khairul Khalil has married into one of the wealthiest families in the world. In 1997, The Sultan, head of the tiny oil-rich state of Brunei, was reportedly the richest man in the World, worth some $40bn.

Despite her father's wealth, Her Royal Highness Hajah Majeedah Nuurul Bulqiah actually works - she's Senior Environment Officer and Head of Planning and Management Division at the Department of the Environment, Parks and Recreation. She also benefited from a vocational education. The princess collected a BA (Hons) Administration and Public Policy from the University of Brunei Darussalam and an MA in Environmental Development from the King’s College, London.

So, a real princess with an exceedingly wealthy father, educated at a top UK university... you would expect this Khairul Khalil to be a fairly impressive character too, wouldn't you? Well, thankfully, he holds a BTEC Higher National Diploma in Building Studies (?) from the...erm ...University of Teesside (?!) and is currently the Assistant Executive Officer at the Prime Minister's Office.

Chaps, there's hope for us all yet!

An official account of the princess's wedding.

Does a princess cruise?

The annoucement of a new cruise boat - 'Ruby Princess' yesterday - got me wondering about cruises. Whether they are really the place for a modern princess (albeit, one who lacks the Royal linneage)? Ruby Princess is latest in a long-line of princess-named cruise ships launched by somewhat predictably titled Princess Cruises. But, does a princess cruise these days or not?



Certainly, the travel agents and holiday programmes would like us to believe that The Cruise has changed. No longer is it the preserve of the blue-rinse army. And, you don't have to endure night-after-night of club singing crooners and cheesy cabaret. It's all young and funky now (so they say) and you have loads of choice about what you eat and how you're entertained while on the ship.

You can't really argue that it's not a great way to see the Caribbean. And, that's where Princess Ruby will be heading for with her first load of holiday makers. That they will have embarked in Florida sounds a few alarm bells. Fingers crossed the passenger list is not 90% load-mouthed, leisure-suited Florida pensioners!

Loveable Stelios Thingymabob weighed into the cruise market a year or two ago with Easy Cruise. And, he aimed it squarely at the young-something market. They mainly ply the low seas around the greek islands - I guess fuel costs have to be kept down. But, like EasyJet it's no frills, which doesn't sound like a princess's thing. Extra frills would be more appropriate.

As an eternal cruise sceptic myself, I can't call it one way or the other. So, to the Google, because I need a way to conclude this rambling post. A search for 'Young Cruise' brought me full circle. According to 'Libbyocto14' - who sounds quite young and interesting - on Yahoo Answers Princess Cruises is the "Best cruise line for a young couple 21-35"!