With the young Royals getting plenty of stick — again — for partying through a recession, another situation is beginning to assert itself.

Prince William and Harry’s “farewell” party at the Whisky Mist nightclub was notable for the absence of Kate Middleton.

The bash was held to see them off before leaving for South Africa to take part in a dangerous 1000-mile motorcycle ride for charity,

Prince Harry and Chelsy Davy were there, as were the now ubiquitous Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie. Even Paris Hilton and Christine Aguilera (pictured) made the effort.

There could be many reasons why Kate didn’t attend, of course, but in the context of recent events, it does seem strange.

The Prince recently decided to spend the next seven years as a helicopter pilot in the RAF’s Search and Rescue unit based in various remote locations. Instead of settling down next year to Royal duties and an intensive period learning how to be King, he surprised both Clarence House and the Palace by his abrupt decision.

Since then, Kate has taken a decidedly back seat, working full-time for her parents’ business, Party Pieces. Her only recent appearance was a rather ungainly performance at a rollerskating charity function she organized herself. A revealing fall drew a lot of unfavourable comments from the press.

Prince William and Kate Middleton in happier times

Has this relationship now run its course? Did William tell Kate, “Let’s see how we feel when I’ve finished with the RAF in 2016.”

In the meantime, perhaps, both are free to go their own ways? Is this a low-key split which will have no announcement and few leaks from insiders?

A lot of people think so, including those of us who have supported this couple through the past three years.

Helen Mirren, who recently won an Oscar for her portrayal of the Queen, doesn’t see Kate Middleton as the “new Diana”, as some do. No, it’s quite obviously Paris Hilton, she claims.

Paris Hilton, left, Princess Diana, right

The Dame believes that the hotel heiress has what it takes to reach the same heights as Diana. “I don’t applaud Paris Hilton, but I think she’s pretty cool,” Helen says. “She’s developed, like Princess Diana, that deliberate foolishness, which is disarming.”

Dear oh dear, when actors reveal their real thoughts, they kind of diminish, don’t they? No Oscar for punditry for you, Dame Helen.

I’m getting a few emails about normal comments going into the moderation panel, so here’s a quick guide to what’s happening.

We have very strong spam comment guards as we get around 500 of them per site per day. Many of them are totally horrific, and the rest are attempts at grabbing free advertising space.

We also have “first-comment moderation”, which means the first time you comment on the site, it will be moderated. Once you get that cleared, you should get through every time unless you put in two links or more. Some words also trigger the trap.

The Royal Anecdotes site has always been a law unto itself in moderation, blocking quite ordinary comments. Gigi had one in there this morning which I’ve now released from captivity. Long comments are more likely to be blocked than shorter ones.

We normally look at the moderation panel around 5 to 6 times a day, so they will pop out at some time. If you’re commenting in the U.S. in the evening, or in Australia, you will have to wait till the sun comes up over Devon, England for its release.

Just think of Paris Hilton and wait patiently.