It’s known that Prince William loves motorcycling at speed on his 175mph Honda Blackbird bike. His protection officers have expressed concerns over his daredevil riding on a number of occasions.

Prince William, daredevil on a motorcycle

Now we hear that Prince Harry, who is currently deep in Army duties, has suggested a 1000-mile ride down through Africa in the style of the Ewan McGregor TV series, Long Way Down.

The adventure is planned for later this year, assuming the Princes can get leave from their military careers. Since William is engaged in extensive flying and, later, naval courses, it’s hard to see how he could miss a large chunk and still benefit from them.

The Daily Mail quotes “a friend of the brothers” as saying yesterday: “William is a keen motorcyclist and he couldn’t turn down the invitation from Harry. The trip is currently being planned.”

The friend also claimed, “The regiment has granted them leave.”

Royal courtiers have apparently warned it would be “difficult” for them to get time off together because of their military commitments. So how do we take the claim that the leave has already been granted?

It’s believed that the the proposed trip is to be in aid of Harry’s charity Sentebale, which raises money for orphans in Lesotho.

I must say this story has about as much credence as the one that has Kate Middleton set to row down the Amazon River with The Sisterhood. I don’t believe that will happen, nor do I think this highly dangerous stunt will get off the ground.

Oh for some realistic stories about the Royal Princes and their girlfriends.

The cross-Channel dragon boat race between a team of upmarket women — The Sisterhood — and a group of monkish men — The Brotherhood — was won decisively by the men, despite their veering off course for part of the way.

The Sisterhood begin their challenge

Prince William’s girlfriend, Kate Middleton, was forced to pull out of the race earlier because of security fears.

By chance, it was possibly the best conditions of the summer on the treacherous English Channel, renowned for its tidal rips, deadly shoals and deceptive sandbanks. The calm waters allowed the men to post a scintillating time of 3 hours and 31 minutes, smashing the previous record.

The ladies set off in near mill pond conditions and were heartened to hear the men had lost their way. However, they encountered choppy conditions approaching France and were nearly sunk by water surging over the sides of their flat-bottomed boat. Had the Channel been anywhere near its normal self, it’s doubtful whether either team would have made it to Gallic shores.

But make it they did, although bested by a team of very strong and experienced rowers. A commendable performance by both crews, raising around £100,000 ($200,000) for charity.

But what if Kate had been there at the helm of the ladies’ boat? Royal Anecdotes has no doubts that The Sisterhood would have triumphed.

We’re hearing, via Arizona’s National Ledger, that Kate Middleton may be up for a nude photoshoot for a charity calendar.

The Ledger comments, “According to reports from the UK, Kate’s friend Emma Sayle told Britain’s Sunday Mirror newspaper: ‘Kate is strongly considering it. We are all leaning on her a bit.’ ” The Sunday Mirror article appeared last Sunday, so may have been responsible for Kate’s decision to pull out of the race.

This is the same Emma Sayle, of course, who organizes orgies and leads The Sisterhood in its cross-Channel rowing race on August 25.

According to website, 24 Dash, only five months of the calendar have been shot so far, so the charity is hoping Kate agrees to appear and will apparently also encourage her other friends to strip for the calendar.

“Models” who agree to take part in the shoot are “completely in the buff but will be adorned with body paint” to make them appear as though they are wearing sporting outfits.

Sayle added: “We realize if Kate was involved, sales of our ‘Art Of Sport’ calendar would go through the roof.”

So would Prince William and the rest of the Royal Family, Royal Anecdotes predicts.

Kate could do without PR of the kind Emma Sayle appears to be giving her. Another name to add to the list topped by Guy Pelly.

The media is only covering the women’s side of the Big Boat Race on August 25, involving Kate Middleton and The Sisterhood all-women team.

The Sisterhood team steered by magnificent Kate Middleton

This is a slight to the men’s team, The Brotherhood, who are presented as a support act to the curvaceous and immensely talented bunch of Sisterhood chicks, led by A-List celebrity Kate Winslett Middleton. Here at last is a picture of the gallant men’s crew :

Nelson’s finest, The Brotherhood. England expects.

I had to go to the Melbourne Herald Sun to dig out some comments from the lads. #

Men’s team The Brotherhood fears the speedboats full of photographers chasing the girls’ team will hamper their efforts. Queenslander Johnson, 27, said there was a strong chance the men would capsize and was ready to put his lifeguard training to use.

Strang, 34, of Perth, who runs a London-based toy company that exports boomerangs to Australia, said the challenge was “more adventure than we knew we were getting in for. Because of Kate’s involvement, we’ve had TV crews from the US and reporters from Germany. It’s turned a little crazy,” he said.

If the Aussies among them want a local comparison to the difficulty level of this crossing, I suggest they think in terms of the Sydney-Hobart yacht race on Boxing Day each year. It’s not as long, but it may prove even more hazardous.

It’s time someone got behind the men’s team in this race. Royal Anecdotes will be flying Nelson’s famous flag salute on the day : “England expects every man to do his duty.”