Royal Superlative is the first racehorse Prince Charles and the Duchess of Cornwall have owned together. They also bred the horse at the Royal Stud in Sandringham.

Royal Superlative at Sandringham

The magnificent bay filly certainly lives up to the superlative in her name. Camilla and Charles are hoping she will have a memorable career on the racetrack. The Royal couple will choose a trainer within days, and the filly should make her debut on the racetrack in the spring or summer.

Camilla is said to be “excited” by the challenge after visiting the horse at the Royal Stud at Sandringham on Thursday. It was Camilla who chose the name. However, staff at the Stud use her nickname of “Eve” or “Evey”, apparently after her dam, Supereva. Her sire is King’s Best, a talented stallion which won the 2000 Guineas seven years ago.

Charles and Camilla at Royal Ascot racecourse

It is believed they will register their new racing “silks” early in 2008 before Royal Superlative runs. The alternative is that the horse could run in the Queen’s famous mauve and turquoise colours.

The Telegraph mentions a third option which is for “the horse to run in the Duchess’s name in the brown and red colours of her late maternal grandfather, Roland Cubitt, the 3rd Baron Ashcombe, who owned many winning racehorses in the early and mid-1900s”.

Joe Grimwade, manger of the Royal Studs said, “The Duchess was kind enough to say that she is thrilled with the filly. The Duchess saw the filly in her box and watched her exercising. She has taken a great interest in the filly’s welfare because she is a real horsewoman.

“I think the Duchess — and the Prince too - just want to be involved in the joy of watching something grow from being a hairy little new-born to, hopefully, a successful racehorse on the track. That’s the buzz and the fact that they bred the horse too is an added attraction, because they have been involved in the whole process.This is the exciting stage for any owner. All of a sudden a previously immature individual starts to look like a proper racehorse. The initial target is just for Royal Superlative to be a winner.

“We have been absolutely delighted with the filly’s progress through the autumn. She has come through the whole backing process without any setbacks or problems. She is now at the stage where she is hack cantering in ridden work and we would expect her to go to a trainer early in the new year. She should be running in the summer.”

Here at Royal Anecdotes we will be watching the career of Royal Superlative with great interest.

It’s a case that would tax the powers of the great Sherlock Holmes.

Consider : there are two dead on the Queen’s Sandringham Estate in Norfolk, England. Three “witnesses” report an alleged murder in broad daylight, with a prominent member of the Royal Family nearby at the time. No bodies are found despite extensive searches by the police.

A Royal personage of note is implicated, together with two others accompanying him : a Van Cutsem and a gamekeeper. Observers claim to hear shooting in the area before the Royal party arrives.

The dead are said to be two rare hen harriers, distinctive birds of prey with only 20 pairings left in England.

The Royal personage is revealed as Prince Harry. He is questioned by police, along with the rest of his party. All three deny involvement.

Now the Crown Prosecution Service says there is no evidence that a crime has been committed and has dropped the case.

Prince Harry has been vindicated but may feel his honour has been impugned by these baseless allegations.

Elementary, my dear Watson, it’s time for Sherlock to step in.

As the long-delayed engagement announcement between Kate Middleton and Prince William continues to make waves, what can all this fuss be doing to the two people at the heart of it?

Will they make the right decisions at the right time to secure their joint historic role as the future of the British Monarchy? The answer is not as straightforward as it seems.

Prince William
For William it’s business as usual. He experienced press fenzy in his youth when his mother, Princess Diana, was the main target of the media and particularly, the paparazzi.

He watched in disgust as aggressive freelancers shoved lenses into Diana’s face as she walked to her car. Sometimes, of course, she invited the attention. At others, she was less happy about it, particularly when on secret tristes with one of her many liaisons. When you unleash the big dogs, she discovered, sometimes they turn on you.

William was recently shown the full text of the Stevens’ report on Diana’s death and was reported to be shocked at the callousness of some of the paparazzi who set up the chase into the Paris tunnel that killed her, and photographed her as she lay dying.

William is completely aware of the harm these people can cause while ruthlessly pursuing their blinkered self-interest. The Holy Grail for them is the big picture that sells around the world and becomes iconic for years, netting hundreds of thousands, even millions, in revenues.

Now he sees his long-term girlfriend, Kate Middleton, on the receiving end of the same treatment. What can he do about it?

Kate Middleton
Kate, like most of us, is aware of the Diana story, but is too young to remember its fairy tale beginnings. From her pre-teen years, she will recall Diana as a rather sad figure, separated, then divorced, from the Prince of Wales. She will certainly know all about her chaotic final years and vividly remember the shock of her tragic death.

Kate will not want to go down the same route. Being a sensible sort she’ll recognize that the choice is hers. How she handles the situation will be crucial to her future. Displays of rebellion and very public mood swings are not part of her nature, so she’s not going to be another Diana.

However, it must by now have occurred to her that the longer the pre-engagement period is dragged out, especially with media interest at boiling point, the more foolish and pathetic her role is going to look. Nothing destroys a reputation quicker than a loyal partner spurned, especially by apparent indifference.

We know William cares deeply about the treatment she is receiving from the media. But if, as is certain, he knows his own mind now, he should act and act quickly to regularize Kate’s status.

The longer this hiatus goes on, the more he’s looking like a ditherer and one who doesn’t give a damn. If he’s not careful, Kate will take on the air of victimhood that hung about his mother all her life. That doesn’t suit her personality.

The current situation is developing like the plot of a formula novel — almost along archetypal lines — as people fill in the gaps with what they know, i.e. with the Diana story. Every comparison between Diana and Kate should send shudders down William’s spine. It needn’t be like that.

Prince William needs to make his — and Kate’s — story radically different, by deliberately driving it down unfamiliar paths. The Royal “fairytale” that dogged his mother, should be rewritten.

The Engagement
The engagement really needs to be announced soon to avoid Kate looking isolated and Diana-ish. She should be taken into the Royal Family immediately and seen to be one of them from the start. Protocol should not get in the way of her full public acceptance.

I believe William knows this, but may be having difficulties with some of the more crusty, senior courtiers. Their views should be set aside and Kate given priority over all of them.

The Queen has already played her part by inviting Kate to Christmas at Sandringham and by lunching and riding with her at Windsor. HM also signalled her approval at an early stage.

A further factor that may be affecting William is the political situation. Politicians love to bask in the reflected glory of big Royal occasions, as Tony Blair’s attempt to hijack the Queen Mother’s funeral indicates. Much is happening in British politics right now, including Blair’s long-awaited resignation in the spring and his replacement by the Scottishly-challenged Gordon Brown.

Brown is facing Parliamentary elections in Scotland on May 1st, which could give a majority to the Scottish National party on a ticket of independence for Scotland. He may want to influence the timing of a Royal wedding or engagement announcement to coincide with the polls. A touchy-feely Royal romance played out during the election runup would surely dampen down the SNP threat, he may reckon. Blair would certainly have thought of that, and may already be at work behind the scenes.

If Scotland votes for independence, Brown’s tenure at 10 Downing Street will look increasing awkward for a Scot with a Scottish constituency. England is 85 percent of the Union and will not want a Scottish Prime Minister in the face of a clamour for independence north of the border.

So all this is likely to be reverberating in Whitehall and Palace circles and may be staying William’s hand. He will be receiving conflicting advice from different quarters.

The Wedding
Prince William should act now in Kate’s and his own interests, and announce their engagement without further delay. A wedding date should be set as early in the year as is possible, politely putting aside political pressures. Westminster Abbey is the venue of choice. No eerily-familiar journey to St Pauls.

He should put Kate first, without any other consideration, or the fallout could come back on him with a vengeance.

Prince William is not his father’s clone. The making of King William must begin now with decisive actions in securing his bride, the future Queen Catherine.

Prince Harry will be on duty in his barracks over Christmas with his regiment the Blues and Royals, stationed at Windsor, Clarence House says.

Prince William, Prince Charles and the Duchess of Cornwall will celebrate with the Queen at Sandringham.

On Christmas Day, the Queen and others in her family will attend a morning service at Sandringham Church, an annual event that draws large crowds of sightseers.

Camilla will leave after lunch to spend the rest of the day with her own family, Laura Lopes and son Tom Parker-Bowles.