The News of the World has an article in today’s edition about Prince William’s “future training” to be King. If we bear in mind that the past three years of military service were a crucial part of that preparation, there’s nothing really new in this piece.

Normally the NOTW doesn’t have the best reputation for Royal stories, but this assessment has authority as it’s written by Robert Jobson, author of the excellent book William’s Princess.

There’s a broad hint in the piece that the Prince may not have time for a wedding next year because of his busy schedule learning to be a Monarch. Every year will be a hectic one for William from now on, so this is a bit disingenuous. He will have to find time somewhere along the line. Next year will probably be less arduous than most simply because he will be learning rather than doing the job full-time. It’s much easier to find a gap in a period of study than when carrying out engagements planned two years in advance.

Jobson lists William’s new schedule:

* Working at different Whitehall departments and being shown the inner workings of government by Privy Councillors, including former Prime Minister John Major.

* Lessons in the job of being King by constitutional experts such as Oxford don Dr Vernon Bogdanor.

* Learning to manage the Duchy of Cornwall, the landed trust he will inherit from Charles when his father becomes King.

* Running the Sandringham Estate — a job his grandfather Prince Philip has been doing for years.

* Solo tours of the Commonwealth, taking some of that burden from the Queen.

An aide is quoted as saying, “For the first time we have an established Monarch, an active and experienced Heir to the Throne and in Prince William and Prince Harry real youth appeal. The Prince Of Wales has had a long time to prepare for what will probably be a relatively short reign. Prince William has effectively got to get to grips with the job very quickly. It is a very different world to when the Queen ascended the Throne and she wants him to be prepared for what is to come. William too wants to make sure he is ready for any challenge that’s thrown at him.”

All this we have known for some time. Most of these activities can be accomplished fairly quickly, given the knowledge already gained over 26 years of being a Prince while watching his father and his grandmother performing their duties. Much of what William will need will be on-the-job experience — actually doing it for himself.

There has also been talk of him working in a newspaper office. It will be an asset for him to experience the difficulties involved in gathering, fact-checking, writing and publishing news stories to exceptionally short deadlines. It will allow him to be less censorious of the hard-working hacks who bring us the latest on … himself, for example. He will also understand the need to provide the press and broadcast media with unambiguous lines of information. Putting a heavy spin on every story quickly dissipates the credibility of the messenger.

Jobson quotes a senior courtier, “A key skill for him to learn, the Queen believes, is to disguise his feelings, like politicians. His father has never really managed to achieve this.”

William and Kate are expected to take a three-week break when his Royal Navy secondment finishes next week. I don’t imagine he will want to fly back to the Caribbean so soon after his deployment, so we may hear of a fresh destination for their holiday. I’m told Montana is very refreshing at this time of the year.

The article serves as a useful reminder of William’s schedule for the next two years. One thing’s for sure, there’s no obvious reason to postone that much anticipated Royal wedding.

The military should have taught Prince William how to make crisp decisions. Now is the time for crispness. Limpness is not an option.

Just coming in over the wires :

Prince William’s ship HMS Iron Duke has intercepted a reported £40m ($80m) consignment of cocaine during its anti-drug-smuggling patrols in the Atlantic near Barbados.

In a joint-operation with the U.S. Coastguard, the frigate caught an ocean-going speedboat presumed bound for Europe or West Africa. It’s known that the Navy wants William to play a full part in these operations.

Kate Middleton will be pleased to hear her boyfriend is in the thick of things.

The British Commanding Officer Mark Newland said, “This is a fantastic start to HMS Iron Duke’s North Atlantic deployment. To have had a direct impact on the flow of cocaine into Europe just four days after we arrived in theatre shows the benefit the Royal Navy can have in the area of maritime security and counter drug operations. From the first moment the Lynx helicopter discovered the suspect vessel, my ship’s company, working hand in glove with our U.S. Coast Guard colleagues, turned this opportunity into a certainty and ultimately a successful seizure.”

Interesting that the latest figures show £40m is the annual cost of the Monarchy. Clearly, the Prince is doing his bit to pay that off.

£100 cocktails all round at Boujis tonight.

There is a lot of chatter around over who will become the 1000th Knight of the Garter, the most prestigious Order in the realm.

The Queen in Garter robes

The Queen is expected to announce the name on St. George’s Day, April 23. Among the possible candidates are Tony Blair and Lord Guthrie, the former Chief of the Defence Staff.

However, Tony Blair is not a unifying candidate, and there are those who would bring up their lunches if he made it.

Wikipedia describes the Garter like this, “The Most Noble Order of the Garter is an order of chivalry, or Knighthood, originating in medieval England, and presently bestowed on recipients in any of the Commonwealth realms; it is the pinnacle of the honours system in the United Kingdom. Membership in the order is limited to the Sovereign, the Prince of Wales, and no more than twenty-four members, or Companions; the Order also comprises Supernumerary Knights and ladies (e.g., members of the British Royal Family and foreign Monarchs).”

An intriguing suggestion is that Prince William would be an easy choice for Her Majesty this time. Why not? At least it will keep Blair off the Most Noble list.

Royal Anecdotes humbly nominates Prince William to Her Majesty as the 1000th Knight of the Garter. I’m sure our readers will be equally staunch in their support.

According to Buckingham Palace, at 5pm GMT this afternoon, Queen Elizabeth II will become Britain’s oldest ever Monarch, overtaking her great-great grandmother Queen Victoria who died in 1901 aged 81 years and 243 days.

The Queen and Prince Philip at Westminster Abbey

We’re told the Queen will spend the day quietly with Prince Philip, her husband for 60 years.

She is the world’s second-longest living monarch, after King Bhumibol Adulyadej of Thailand. Elizabeth has outlasted 11 Prime Ministers, the first being Sir Winston Churchill, and is the first to have a premier, Tony Blair, born in her reign.

However, Queen Victoria will retain the record for longest-serving Monarch ever until September 9, 2015.

Peter Hennessy, Professor of Contemporary British history at Queen Mary’s College, University of London said, “Even allowing for the improvement in medicine since Victoria, it is remarkable. I cannot think of any other head of an institution who has not put a foot wrong over such a long period of time.

“In those years, she has presided over the most dignified withdrawal from the superpower status, which is no bad legacy. The way she has adapted, without succumbing to faddish fashions, is a gift of genius.”

Elizabeth’s cousin Margaret Rhodes says it is highly unlikely she will step down early — the abdication of Edward VIII in 1936, which forced her father to take over, is still a painful chapter in Royal memory.

The author Robert Jobson says, “Abdication I don’t think is an issue, or something that’s even in consideration to the Queen. As long as she remains in good health, she will continue to be Queen until the day she dies. Otherwise the system does not really work.”

Let us hope this situation does not change until at least September 9, 2015.