Cockups don’t come much bigger than this. Palace officials apparently forgot about the small matter of a State visit to Uganda when booking a fabulous diamond-themed party at The Ritz to celebrate the Queen and Prince Philip’s Diamond Wedding anniversary. The party has now been postponed until March, long after the event.

A source described as a Palace mole by the MoS’s Katie Nicholl said, “A fabulous party at The Ritz was planned for November to commemorate the Queen and Prince Philip’s diamond wedding anniversary, but it would have clashed with the Queen’s official trip to Uganda where she will be on a State visit following a brief trip to Malta.

“The Queen is very unhappy that there has been such an oversight. The party has now been moved to next March as it is the only time all the extended family and friends can get together. The Queen loves The Ritz and decided she wanted to throw something special for Philip. She asked her aides to oversee the party but for some inexplicable reason her long-standing commitment to visit Uganda was not taken into account and there was a mess-up over the dates.

“The Ritz has been informed of the date change and it has now all been sorted.”

Other events planned include a service at Westminster Abbey on Monday, November 19 to which 150 guests have already been invited. The Prince of Wales has also arranged a private party at Clarence House for immediate family the weekend before the anniversary.

As for putting on The Ritz, will heads roll over this shambles? Facilities at the Tower of London should at least be dusted off just in case.

We’re hearing that the coach carrying Lord Justice Scott Baker and the jury for the Diana Inquest has just crashed outside the Ritz Hotel in Paris.

The Ritz Hotel in Paris

The coach was apparently trying to avoid a large group of paparazzi when it took a circuitous route into the hotel. It crashed into a hoarding or billboard trapping the occupants inside.

At time of writing, it’s not known if there are any injuries.

The eerie echoes of the events of August 31, 1997, in which Princess Diana died, are striking.

It’s only a few days since Prince William and Kate Middleton were chased by photographers on motorbikes. When will the authorities in both London and Paris do something to stop these dangerous practices?