In the wake of her recent successful stay at Windsor Castle, Carla Bruni-Sarkozy has been talking about her impressions of the Queen and the British Monarchy.

“It was terribly scary but also an incredible adventure,” she said. “It was like arriving on another planet. Never in my life did I think I would meet the Queen of England.”

She told of her amazement that the Queen personally showed her to the apartment where she would be staying at Windsor Castle, and said, “Here’s your bathroom.”

The French First Lady admits she took a crash course in Royal protocol before the visit. “I asked for advice from the protocol section of the Elysee, but also from the British Ambassador’s wife. I tried to imagine how to do the curtsy.”

The Royals were “a real family,” she declared. “One really feels it when one is with them. And for me it was an absolute honour.”

Carla seems to have hit it off with the Duke of Edinburgh. He played the perfect host as the Queen and the President chatted in French.

“Prince Philip is a person with whom it seemed to me very easy to follow protocol.” He also had “impeccable French”. The Duke had explained “everything that was going on, what we saw, the right thing to do. … He’s a fantastic guide.”

The British public and press were very taken with her too.

Prince William and Prince Harry were at the City Salute extravaganza in front of St. Paul’s Cathedral last night.

Princes William and Harry with injured servicemen and relatives

Sharing the limelight with the Lord Mayor of London, who presided, the mounted Household Cavalry — their own regiment — various squadrons from the RAF and Royal Navy, Jeremy Clarkson and Joss Stone, the two Princes mingled with the crowd of injured servicemen and their relatives.

Various displays were put on, including a Son et Lumiere light show on the facade of the Cathedral. A banquet was later held in the ancient Guildhall in Cheapside.

It was hoped to raise £500,000 ($1m) for Headley Court Military rehabilitation centre in Surrey.

The first hour was broadcast live by BBC2.

Updated 14.07 GMT

It has emerged that Peter Phillips and Autumn Kelly have accepted around £500,000 ($1m) for a 20-page spread in Hello! magazine in advance of their wedding at Windsor next week. The decision is said to have caused “consternation” among Palace officials.

Peter Phillips and his bride-to-be Canadian Autumn Kelly

A Buckingham Palace spokesman declined to comment last night, but a “senior Royal source” is reported as saying, “This has not gone down well. Peter has always managed to stay out of the limelight by claiming that he is a private person. This rides a coach and horses through that.”

Now we hear that William and Kate will miss the wedding because they are going on holiday for two weeks. That sounds like a deliberately lame excuse coming so late in the day, especially as Kate apparently received her invitation — presumably accepted — many weeks ago.

I suspect the Hello! sellout has a great deal to do with this decision. Senior Royals have always kept clear of the celebrity publicity machine where weddings are auctioned off to the highest bidder.

It’s a shame that the first “Royal” wedding of Prince William and Harry’s generation has been tarnished by this episode. Who else will pull out now?

It seems that Prince Harry will formally present Chelsy Davy to the Queen at Windsor during the wedding weekend. Although she has met Prince Charles and Camilla while staying at Highgrove and at other events, she has never met the Queen. This represents a major upgrade for Chelsy in her relationship with the Royal Family and confirms other reports of the seriousness of the relationship with Harry.

At a ceremony at Combermere Barracks in Windsor this morning, the Princess Royal presented Afghanistan campaign medals to her nephew, Prince Harry, and 169 other members of the Household Cavalry.

Harry’s longtime girlfriend, Chelsy Davy, sat with senior members of the Royal Family, including Prince Charles, to witness the ceremony. Princess Anne was there in her capacity as Colonel of the Blues and Royals regiment.

Chelsy chatted happily with Prince William in the front row. She also attended a polo match in which William and Harry played for the Um Bongo team. On that occasion she sat next to Kate Middleton.

It seems that both Princes are now happy to parade their amours in public, suggesting a new level of commitment for the future.