Where next for Royal dumpee Kate Middleton? Will she spread her wings and fly farther and faster than a berth with the Royal Family would have allowed?

It seems so. There’s talk of an offer of PR consultancy work with New York designer Tom Ford.

Kate is said to have told her family thats she’s considering a “temporary” move to New York. Part of the reason is to escape the relentless exposure of media coverage in the UK.

The more intriguing explanation is that she’s exploring the resurrection of her former plans for an online children’s clothing business — something we suggested last week. A spell with a fashion house in the Big Apple would be invaluable for making those international contacts necessary for business success in the 21st century.

Although Kate is said not to consider herself a fashion geek, like all young women she keeps an eye on current trends.

If she makes the move, Kate will certainly take with her the Royal Anecdotes seal of approval. Go for it, gal.

The Daily Mirror is reporting that Kate Middleton “blurted out to workmates days after the dramatic end of her four-year affair: ‘It’s because of his daddy’.”

Philip Higgs, a workmate of Kate’s at the Jigsaw fashion house is quoted as saying : “She gave us a glimpse of what she really thinks. She had about 10 people asking if she was all right and I think she just lost her rag.

“She said ‘It’s because of his daddy’. Everyone raised their eyebrows but didn’t want to push her. In the heat of the moment she’d given us a glimpse of what she really thought, what was really going on behind the scenes.

“Normally, Kate doesn’t talk about anything. She’s very quiet. But it was as if she’d reached boiling point from one sympathetic question too many. She’d been trying to keep it together and hide her real feelings. But she got a bit angry about it all and momentarily lost her cool.

“That happens sometimes when people are being nice to you and you’re upset.”

Her romance was said to be doomed after William, feeling under pressure to propose to his girlfriend, sought his father’s advice. “Charles told him it would be unfair on Kate to continue the relationship unless he planned ultimately to marry her”, the Mirror reports.

Of course, the words “it’s because of his daddy” could be interpreted in many ways. Much of the rest of the story is speculation by the paper and Philip Higgs.

Clearly Kate believes Prince Charles had something to do with the break-up and her conclusion has been put in the public domain. She will no doubt bitterly regret that.

It seems unlikely there’s any way back for her now.

Sir Richard,

You have won enormous respect from many in Britain for your courageous stand against the war in Iraq, despite being Chief of the General Staff.

Your call for a quick withdrawal was sensible given the state of the British Army as deployed and its woeful equipment. Its presence, as you implied, is now doing more harm than good. The debacle of the unopposed capture of Royal Navy personnel by Iran illustrates the point perfectly.

We understand that the deployment of Prince Harry to Maysan Province is now in your hands. May we respectfully make this point?

Being a soldier is one thing, but that one young man should have to take on not only a whole tribe of insurgents plotting to capture and cut him up on the internet, but that his own men may suffer from who he is, is just too much to expect, even from a British Army officer.

This is too heavy a burden to place on one new, untried officer in a war which doesn’t threaten mainland Britain.

Whatever the Prince’s views — and they are gallant — it is imperative, as two former Secretaries of State for Defence said yesterday, to relieve him of a mission which is far beyond the call of duty.

We at Royal Anecdotes trust you will make the right decision in this very special case.

Sincerely,
John Evans

Updated: 11.42

Four days ago Royal Anecdotes warned that an attack on a Scimitar armoured vehicle in the Maysan Province of Iraq was a “dry run” for an attack on Prince Harry if he is deployed there.

We said : “As if on a dry run, terrorists have destroyed a British Scimitar armoured vehicle in the south of Maysan Province, where Harry will be deployed. … To offer such a high profile hostage to the enemy, like a tethered goat, is very bad strategy indeed.”

This morning the top story in The Times (London) shows that the MoD is beginning to realize this very danger. Echoing this website, the article begins :

‘Dry run’ attack forces Prince Harry Iraq retreat
Army chiefs fear that a fatal attack on two British soldiers in Iraq last week was a dry run for an attempt on Prince Harry’s life, The Times has learnt.

The attack was made on a type of vehicle that the Prince will use, and took place in a part of the country where he is due to be deployed as early as next month. The two died when their Scimitar reconnaissance vehicle was hit by a roadside bomb — the first time that British soldiers had been killed in a Scimitar as a result of enemy action.

The Army fears that extremists deliberately chose the vehicle knowing that the Prince is a troop leader for a Scimitar-equipped unit.

The Times graphically reveals yet another danger for the Prince, even if he’s given a desk job at the base : “… insurgents … have become active this month even within bases used by the British Army in southern Iraq.”

It seems British soldiers have been warned about walking around within the base in case of kidnap. Iraqi police and army units, who share the base, have become infiltrated by the various Iran-backed militias of the insurgency.

The enemy is not only at the gates but within the camp.

We understand the decision on Harry’s deployment will be taken by General Sir Richard Dannatt, head of the Army, who spoke out so bravely against the politicians and the war two months ago.

Again, we reiterate : sending Prince Harry to Iraq in any capacity would not just be shooting ourselves in the foot, but in the head and the heart.

Update : The Daily Mail has just reported : “[We have] learned the date when Harry is due to fly out to Iraq from RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire, but [have] agreed to keep the information secret to safeguard his security.”

However, Royal Anecdotes understands that Sir Richard Dannatt could overrule his deployment at any time. With two former Defence Secretaries, Michael Portillo and Sir John Nott, speaking out against the Prince’s involvement, the General may have serious cause to intervene.