The Daily Mail has an interesting piece on how Princess Beatrice seems almost a reincarnation of the young Queen Victoria (pictured below).

There is certainly a remarkable likeness.

The article also reproduces a whole series of stunning pictorial comparisons with present Royals and their predecessors, some going back centuries. Check out the one between King Edward I (1239-1307) and Prince William. The old King comes to life before our eyes.

My favourite though, is Louis Frederick Prince of Wales (1707-1751) and Freddie Windsor. Frederick was the eldest son of George II and father of George III as well as the Great-Grandfather of Victoria. He died before his father, allowing his son to succeed to the Throne.

Lord Frederick Windsor — spookily bearing his lookalike’s name — has very individual eyes and a face that bears few comparisons. Until now.

Regular readers will know that there has not been much activity in Royal Anecdotes for the past two or three months.

There are various reasons for this, not the least being that Royal news of any consequence has been thin on the ground. The rest is explained by a major reorganization of Syntagma sites, the development of a new business: Syntagma Books, and my own writing activities: The Eternal Quest for Immortality: Is it staring you in the face?, to be published very shortly.

Starting on Monday October 26, RA will be one of eight remaining sites in Syntagma Digital (down from 55), which will receive full attention and posting.

I hope you will forgive the tardiness and continue to support RA in its new incarnation.

Best wishes
John

They say women do things differently. That is amply proved by the blossoming relationships between the Queen, Sarah Brown, and Michelle Obama, wife of the US President.

By contrast, Barack Obama and British Prime Minister Gordon Brown have often seemed icily distant.

Andrew Alderson is reporting that the Queen agreed to a request from Mrs Obama for a rare guided tour of Buckingham Palace during a visit to London last week with her two daughters, Malia, and Sasha.

They were shown around the Palace and its 40 acres of gardens on Wednesday, their final day of a sightseeing trip to the capital.

The Obamas were also shown around 10 Downing Street, historic home/office of British Prime Ministers by the PM’s wife, Sarah Brown. Michelle is said to have established a close friendship with both Sarah and Her Majesty during the G20 summit held in London in April.

The tour of the Palace was believed to be a birthday treat for Sasha Obama, whose eighth birthday it was. Reports say they were warmly greeted by the Queen at the end of their hour-long visit.

“According to insiders, the Queen and Mrs Obama have become confidantes after finding they share a number of interests, including a fondness for the countryside, gardening and clothes. The Queen and Mrs Obama hit it off when President Barack Obama and his wife were on an official visit to Britain for the G20 summit.”

Apparently, the two women affectionately hugged each other during a photo call.

“Such intimacy from the Queen towards a foreign dignitary is believed to be unprecedented. … Before saying their goodbyes in early April, the Queen was overheard telling America’s First Lady: ‘Now we have met, would you please keep in touch?’ ”

Reports say the Queen and Michelle have exchanged letters and spoken by phone.

“… informed sources are convinced that the friendship will be lasting, despite the significant age difference between the two women, the Queen is 83 and Mrs Obama is 45, and their very different levels of experience and backgrounds.”

Despite the view that the Obama Presidency would be distinctly anti-British, it’s actually turning out to be very different. We excuse the President’s natural distaste for Gordon Brown, of course.

What are Prince William’s motives for choosing the RAF over Kate Middleton?

Whichever way you look at it his motivation for deciding on four more years in the military is hard to read. The choice is made more puzzling by his apparent sudden change of mind.

Just a few weeks ago William seemed set to spend 2009 learning about constitutional affairs, interspersed with some Royal engagements and other duties. Although it was never explicitly spelled out, most observers had pencilled in a summer wedding with Kate Middleton.

Then, anonymous voices claiming inside knowledge began to put it about that marriage had been postponed for 18 months at least. No reason was given, which made the claims less credible at the time.

Last week the absent bits of the jigsaw puzzle fell into place. William had decided to train for the RAF’s Search and Rescue unit and was intent on becoming a helicopter pilot on active duty around Britain’s shores and wild places.

So what were his motivations, and how does Kate feel about his apparent desertion? The obvious reason is that he enjoys the excitement of service life.

It may also be true that he views marriage as a millstone round his neck. However much he likes being with Kate, it may simply be “the institution, stupid”.

It’s possible that only one of these motives is the real one. Which one would be interesting to know. There’s a lesser probability that both figured in his decision, in which case maybe the French Foreign Legion would be a better choice.

If the first reason is the primary cause of his sudden change of heart, it holds up to the world that he may never be ready to settle down into the boring routine of marriage and Royal duty — at least until he is considerably older.

An even longer life for his grandmother, and an extended reign for his father, might be very welcome to the reluctant Prince.

I’m also beginning to think that Kate may share those views, although not to the extent of being separated from him for the best part of four years.

She may recognize that you have to swallow some bad stuff in order to realize your dreams. As a middle-class female she probably has a better grasp on the realities, like the necessity to compromise a little and settle for what you get.

William, though, as a Prince born to greatness and worldwide fame, may just believe he can have it all without any diversions down unwanted paths and alleyways.

There’s a disconnect somewhere here. Let’s hope neither of the two personalities in this affair gets hopelessly hurt.

It may be that a Christmas announcement is still in the schedule for a May or June wedding next year. In which case the trajectory remains intact. But some sources are warning this is not so, and normal life has been postponed in the foreseeable future.

Since the future of the Monarchy rests on their shoulders, it would be of great assistance if someone known and credible explained the reasons behind this radical change of tack to the great British public.