Once again we enter familiar territory: will they, won’t they?

I refer, of course, to that pair of star-tossed lovers, Prince William and Kate Middleton.

They have spent some time together up in arctic Birkhall on the Balmoral Estate in Scotland, causing the usual flurry of anticipation and speculation in the British press and more distant publications around the globe.

I have held off writing about this because I have been here before. Many times before. Too many times before to want to go through the rigmarole again.

However, since events are coming to a head on Friday — Kate’s 27th birthday — and next week, when William begins up to seven years’ service with the RAF, Royal Anecdotes has to say something about the situation.

Firstly, I suspect William joined Charles and Camilla up in Birkhall because of the Queen’s wish not to have the second-in-line to the Throne following the playboy circuit abroad at a time of grave economic stress for her subjects.

The apparent invitation to Kate’s parents, Carole and Michael, may have been out of simple politeness. After all, their daughter has been left dangling for seven years. A Royal expression of favour would make a lot of difference to an ordinary family in extraordinary circumstances.

At the very least Kate’s loyalty deserves a word or two about their future prospects, if only to discourage that dismissive nickname, Waity Katie.

Of course, the elaborate build-up now may be just be a nice way of acknowledging her steadfast friendship without damaging her reputation. As the years of service go by, William would then feel free to find someone else. Kate would more than likely do the same. This feels more like a fanfare and send-off for a Prince about to dedicate a fair portion of his life to dangerous public service.

We won’t know until William is safely tucked up in his new training school. If it hasn’t happened then, it probably never will.

I have to say, there’s very little obvious activity suggesting a Royal engagement right now. But a low-key announcement can’t be entirely ruled out.

Leading us into the year 2009 is an intriguing new book on the British Monarchy by an avowed Irish republican.

You might think that it’s bound to be critical, even abusive. However, this particular Irish republican just happens to be Mary Kenny, an excellent journalist and author with an always sensitive but nevertheless robust view of the world.

She writes admiringly about the Monarchy through the times of Irish unrest and heaps praise on our present Queen. It’s an interesting point of view from an unusual perspective.

Mary Kenny has written a pre-publication article about her book in the Daily Telegraph. Here’s an excerpt:

Perhaps it takes someone with a genuinely republican background to appreciate the value of the British monarchy. I was brought up in Dublin as an Irish nationalist, and I retain that stamp of Irish patriotism. I am proud of the constitution of the Irish Republic, a pioneering document in 1937. … I came to my appreciation of the British monarchy sideways, through examining the historical archives of the role played by the British monarch in Anglo-Irish relations over the 20th century.

I don’t know about you but I shall get my order in early at Amazon.

Finally, a very happy, peaceful and prosperous New Year to all our Readers.

Crown and Shamrock: ­Love and Hate between Ireland and the British Monarchy will be published in spring 2009.

Read the article here.

Chelsy Davy, Prince Harry’s girlfriend, is currently on a two-week work experience placement at swish law firm Farrer and Co., Lincoln’s Inn Fields in London.

Farrer just happens to be the Queen’s solicitors. They represented her during the recent Queengate row with the BBC. Since the firm only ever takes students from Oxbridge, the work indicates how well regarded Chelsy is with the Royal Family.

Someone close to the scene commented, “These City law firms only ever interview Oxbridge graduates and, normally speaking, someone from Leeds [University] would not get a look-in. This isn’t because the firms look down on other universities, it’s simply because they consider that Oxbridge fulfils all their needs, so why bother to broaden the net?”

Of course, a word in their ear by a figure close to their most prestigious client would not go unheard.

Contrast this with the fate of Kate Middleton, once the leading light of the two Royal girlfriends.

With Kate’s beau, Prince William, signed up to a potential seven years away as a search and rescue helicopter pilot, Kate has disappeared from view. Her job in the small, family party business now seems almost insignificant in comparison with Chelsy’s high-flying London legal outing.

Last week, Kate’s mother, Carole Middleton, spoke to the Daily Telegraph and complained at how her family, its business and her “two other children” were being compromised by the publicity and press intrusions.

Could it be that, in the light of William’s SAR decision, Kate has decided that the relationship is going nowhere, and has quietly called it off for the sake of her family?

It would be a sensible decision for a woman not far short of 30, and the lack of fanfare and open grievance, a relief for the Prince.

Earlier Kate was reported to be going to Sandringham on Boxing Day. It will be interesting to see if that date is kept.