In an article in today’s Mail on Sunday, Katie Nicholl reports that friends of Prince William and Kate Middleton believe that an engagement announcement is planned for “just before or just after Christmas,” and that a wedding could be in May or June.

If an earlier story is true that Kate will not be at Sandringham until Boxing Day (December 26), it will clearly be just after, which seems like perfect timing to catch the world’s headlines.

The article, however, maintains the Mail’s new policy of acknowledging the Kate-hating crowd of spitting and cursing opponents of her match with the world’s most eligible batchelor. A section of the piece reprints some of the vituperative comments from the paper’s website.

A careful reading of the article reveals it’s in two parts. The first reflecting opinions of some Buckingham Palace courtiers, while the second part concentrates on the view from Clarence House.

These two courts have been at loggerheads with each other since the days of Diana, Princess of Wales. It seems the dogs of war have been unleashed again on the subject of the entirely innocent and inexperienced figure of Kate Middleton.

As Royal Anecdotes reported some months ago, there appears to be a growing faction of “courtiers” at the Palace who oppose the wedding of the two young people. They freely quote the Queen as insisting Kate should get a job and that “she’s not proactive enough.”

I believe there may be some noises of disquiet, particularly from Prince Philip, at the lack of a firm decision on this match. One can imagine him stating that Kate really should be doing something else while she waits. The aim, though, may be to prompt William into “marrying the girl, or letting her go” — a statement attributed to Prince Philip two years ago.

The anti-Kate faction in the Palace has picked up on this theme and translated it as the Queen’s wish that Kate “got a job.” This then becomes “work for a charity.” Have they forgotten that Kate was involved with a charity cross-Channel dragon-boat race last year but was asked to pull out for safety reasons by Clarence House? A dig at Prince Charles’s press team, perhaps?

The article ends with extensive quotes from the Clarence House viewpoint which show the truth at the heart of this story:

Despite this reluctance to co-operate with the Press, Kate’s friends say she has access to Press officers and senior aides at Clarence House, where she is free to come and go at her leisure.

“Kate has a hotline to Clarence House and she listens to everything the Royal aides tell her to do,” said a friend. “When they advised her to pull out of the cross-Channel dragon boat race last summer, she did it immediately. Kate is approached about doing lots of things but the Clarence House staff are often against her taking part because they think it’s too high-profile and they want to keep Kate out of the limelight. She’s in a bit of a Catch 22 situation.”

Royal Anecdotes believes that what is happening to Kate Middleton is very close to persecution. The wave of teenage angst she has had to face from many downmarket websites, including the Mail’s (which is moderated), is almost beyond belief since very few of the trolls will ever have met her. To quote the Kate-haters as proof of anything rational is tantamount to giving up on moderate and accurate journalism.

We’ve long stated that only a quick resolution by Prince William will spare his long-time girlfriend this avalanche of mindless criticism.

We are delighted that an announcement looks possible from Sandringham at Christmas.

The Queen clears her diary
An inside source is saying that the Queen has cleared her diary of engagements for the holiday season at Balmoral in case Prime Minister Gordon Brown falls on his sword and resigns from office.

Such is his plight — poll ratings dropping like a brick, conspirators plotting against him from all sections of his party — that the Queen reportedly feels she should be prepared for any eventuality. It’s the convention that a Prime Minister resigns directly before the Queen at Buckingham Palace.

A courtier is quoted as saying, “The Queen is spending most of the summer at Balmoral but we aren’t putting any visits to far-flung tropical islands in her diary. If Brown comes a cropper, she must be able to get to Buckingham Palace sharpish.”

The source does not mention the PM’s annual pilgrimage to Balmoral when the Sovereign entertains her chief minister and spouse while being briefed on all the latest Westminster gossip.

According to various reports, on these occasions the Royal Family serve their guests and even clear away the dishes themselves after dinner. Cherie Blair was said to be speechless when this happened to her.

Perhaps that’s why the Queen does it.

Is Kate Middleton receiving free designer dresses?

A weekend newspaper report suggested that Kate Middleton was being gifted free or heavily-discounted outfits from the Brazilian couturier, Issa.

The haul included the astonishing coral pink number (pictured) that she wore to the Boodles Ball, on which we commented fulsomely here at Royal Anecdotes. The implication of the piece was that Kate may be using her Royal connections to obtain freebies.

However, the designer herself said that Kate is a “private client” and that was all there was to it.

I don’t know how these things work so can’t really make much sense of it. It may be that the designer “lent” her a dress or two for a big occasion because of her patronage in the past.

Kate’s signature “look” seems to come from this talented designer. But she must beware of any hint of free-loading. Once that hits the headlines, the public and press will never let go and every transaction she makes will be examined for the slightest discount or favouritism. The Duchess of York is a salutary example — and I won’t even mention the Blairs.

Judging by the style this Brazilian lady has given Kate, would I be amiss in suggesting she might be perfect to design her wedding dress?

But for Kate’s sake it should be paid for in full … plus a generous tip!

Are Royals infiltrating politics?

We know that some senior politicians, especially in the Labour Party, secretly covert the Crown. Their attitude is, “why should they get all the glory while we do all the work?”

But are the Royals hitting back — in the best traditions of Tudor skulduggery?

It seems the new Mayor of London, former Tory Minister, Boris Johnson, is a direct descendant of King George II and a distant cousin to the Queen. Having displaced Red Ken Livingstone in the May elections, Boris is perfectly placed to turn City Hall into a minor Royal Palace.

The revelation comes in that excellent BBC programme, Who Do You Think You Are?, which examines famous people’s family trees.

Amusingly, the show was held back during the election in case it dented Boris’s man-of-the-people image. As an Old Etonian with the poshest accent on record, that might have been water off a coot’s back.

And if you think that’s a one-off, think again. Conservative leader and the next Prime Minister after a general election, David Cameron, is a direct descendant of King William IV. The Royals are on the march.

Of course, the Labour Party could hit back by encouraging some of its young bloods to marry into Royalty.

Watch out Beatrice and Eugenie!

The Boris edition of Who Do You Think You Are? will be shown on BBC1 on August 20.

The Ministry of Defence (MoD) has announced that Prince William will spend time with Sir Jock Stirrup, Chief of the Defence Staff, and General Sir Richard Dannatt, Chief of the General Staff, when he returns to his Army service in September.

Intriguingly, he will also serve with the Special Forces, the SAS, and possibly the SBS, but will not be involved in forward operations. This placement is at his own request, the BBC reports.

In the four or five months remaining of his military service, William will be shown what goes on at the very apex of the Services’ hierarchy with the highest of the top brass, deep in the MoD building in Whitehall. It will be the culmination of an action-packed and wide-ranging three-year training period to prepare him for his future role as Head of the Armed Forces.

From tomorrow, the Prince will be on holiday in Mustique with girlfriend Kate Middleton, who has already flown out to the Caribbean to be with him. It has been reported that she refused a free upgrade to First Class on the BA flight, preferring to be treated like everyone else. “Please call me Kate,” she told cabin crew, putting an end to recent confusion over her preferred name.

On the couple’s return, they are expected to spend a week with the Queen and the Prince of Wales at Balmoral in Scotland. Some news sources are claiming that plans for a summer wedding next year are well underway and will be put to bed in August. At the very least a hint of an announcement may just leak out of the grand Scottish castle to set Royalist hearts aflutter all over again.

In the BBC footage this morning I was struck by William’s growing maturity and poise. In full Navy kit he no longer resembles his mother, but bears a striking likeness to the young Prince Philip, his grandfather.

It’s a very good omen.

Sparing Prince William the long flight back to Britain from the Caribbean only to fly back again for their August break, Kate Middleton has already flown the 6000 miles to their holiday spot, thought to be the island of Mustique.

Prince William and Kate Middleton at his Wings ceremony

A friend is said to have revealed, “Kate has missed him massively. She will be hoping her sailor has a little energy left in the tank for her. … She is desperate to see William and has been counting the days.”

A source close to William said, “As soon as he steps off the ship, he’ll be determined to change gear and put his feet up with Kate. They both agreed it was a perfect plan to enjoy two weeks together at their favourite spot.”

William’s deployment aboard the drugbuster HMS Iron Duke was action-packed from the start. Within days he was involved in an operation with U.S. Coastguards to apprehend cocaine smugglers off Barbados. Some £40m ($80m) of the drug was said to have been recovered from the armed bootleggers.

Following a major simulation exercise to practise the evacuation of an entire island threatened by a hurricane, he was again plunged into another successful drugs bust at sea. It was reported that Prince William is to receive a medal from the American Coastguard for his role in the first operation.

It is surely significant that after such an exhausting tour of duty, all he wants to do is spend two weeks alone with Kate in a remote holiday hideaway.

He will have a further week’s leave in London on their return and speculation is already beginning on the possibility of an engagement announcement. It would certainly clear the decks for action — something the Prince should be used to now.