The Duchess of Cornwall was the centre of controversy yesterday after wearing a rabbit fur scarf during a visit to Westonbirt School, near Tetbury, Gloucestershire with Prince Charles.

On a bitterly cold day, Camilla’s scarf attracted little attention as she toured the historic school’s new £3.1 million Copland Sports Centre.

However, the Duchess’s choice of neckwear was later attacked by People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA). “It’s very surprising and shocking that she should choose to wear fur,” spokeswoman Anita Singh claimed. “She should be setting a good example, particularly as Charles has strong views over the conservation of wildlife, and not be glorifying the slaughter of animals.”

The UK Daily Mail commented: “PETA claim that rabbits are bred purely for the fur market and are not a by-product of the food industry. The rabbits are often kept in cramped cages before being electrocuted or having their necks snapped in a painful death, Ms Singh said. The trade is illegal in the UK but furs are imported from Scandinavia and China.”

Clarence House later confirmed the scarf was made of rabbit fur and that Camilla has worn it before.

The Queen’s long-serving pastry chef, Robert Pine, has quit following an alleged set-to with new Head Chef Mark Flanagan.

Flanagan, said to be “with the temper but not the talent” of TV chef Gordon Ramsay, has been the cause of tensions and walkouts below stairs ever since his appointment in 2002. On one occasion he lost his temper during a banquet for Russian President Vladimir Putin, and shook a kitchen porter so violently he had to be hospitalized.

Pine, who has served the Queen for 35 years and is responsible for her favourite chocolate tortes, is the latest victim, it seems. Reports suggest that he may well have a future in America, where Royal talent is keenly sought after.

It’s long been a rule of the Royal House of Windsor that members of the public can bow or curtsy to the Queen and her family if they wish, but there’s no expectation that they do so.

But what should we make of those who choose not to, but are ready to kowtow to foreign Royalty or Heads of State?

It’s well-known that the Prime Minister’s wife, Cherie Blair, has Marxist tendencies, and refuses even to lean forward an inch when greeting Her Majesty. Forthcoming excuses in the past have included that she often wears trousers which make it uncomfortable to curtsy.

And yet, as the picture shows, she’s quite willing to tilt the head significantly for the King and Queen of Norway. Other photographs published in a national newspaper show her bowing to the President of China and even the wife of the Emir of Qatar.

Doesn’t this indicate a monstrous chip on the shoulder when you’ll bow to anyone except your own Sovereign?

Happily, our no-nonsense Monarch simply ignores the slight, and beams radiantly at Cherie’s ramrod-straight torso.

Now that’s Class!

The death of Princess Diana “is far more complex than any of us thought”, said former Metropolitan Police Commissioner Lord Stevens yesterday. But that was as far as he went.

The investigation was ordered almost two years ago by the Royal Coroner after a French judge ruled the death an accident caused by a mix of bad decisions, and involving a driver who was drunk.

The father of the Princess’s boyfriend, who also died in the crash, Mohammed Fayed, has claimed that the crash was the result of a plot hatched by Prince Philip and carried out by British Intelligence. This, though, would also have implicated Tony Blair and other ministers, and seems a plot too far.

The “complexity” claim by Lord Stevens may just be an explanation for the delays in reaching a conclusion.