ENGLAND were accused of snubbing the Princess Royal and the organisers
of the Six Nations rugby championship yesterday after Scotland won 19-13
to deny them the Grand Slam.
The Princess was waiting in the royal box at Murrayfield to present the Six
Nations trophy, which England took with four wins in the competition, but
captain Matt Dawson did not appear. The Scots' captain, Andy Nicol,
collected the Calcutta Cup, the England-Scotland trophy.
Some Scottish rugby officials were angry, implying that the English were bad
losers. The Scottish Rugby Union said that England had been reminded three
days before the match and immediately after the final whistle about the royal
box presentation "should certain results materialise".
England were contrite later. Jeff Addison, the Rugby Football Union
president, said: "We unreservedly apologise for what has obviously been a
breakdown in communications to Her Royal Highness the Princess Royal, the
sponsors and England supporters who travelled to the game." He said the
RFU was already talking to Lloyds TSB, the sponsors, to fix a date for the
trophy to be presented.
Scotland lost all previous four matches in the competition and had been all but
written off before the game. But four penalties, a try and a conversion were
enough to give them victory amid scenes of great jubilation at the Edinburgh
stadium.
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Prince Andrew in love with blonde Australian-paper(Yahoo: Reuters)
LONDON (Reuters) - Australian blonde Emma Gibbs has captured Prince Andrew's heart, the Sun
tabloid has reported.
The prince met her just after his 40th birthday in February and is now "head over heels in love", the
tabloid said, citing an unidentified source for its information.
"Andrew is very, very keen on Emma. Although she's slightly less struck, they have been seeing a lot of
each other," the source said.
"She's in her early thirties and is very attractive and bubbly. And, crucially, she laughs at all his awful
jokes!" the source added.
Earlier this year tabloids linked Andrew romantically with former Wonderbra model Caprice Bourret
and then a French amateur golfer called Audrey Raimbault.
Andrew's marriage to the Duchess of York collapsed in 1992 and they divorced in 1996. They remain on good terms, caring
for their two daughters while living in separate wings of the prince's Sunninghill Park mansion near London.
~*~
Prince Charles Backs Sellers Society(Yahoo:PA News)
A society set up in memory of Goon and Pink Panther star Peter Sellers has won the support of the Prince
of Wales.
The prince has agreed to become an honorary member of the Peter Sellers Appreciation Society on the
20th anniversary year of the actor's death.
The official launch for the society will be held at a club early next month with a "Peter Sellers Remembered"
evening set to be hosted in July at a London theatre.
~*~
Royal return sealed with a surprise
kiss(Uk Times)
BY ANNIE FLURY
PUTTING on a rare display of public affection, the Duke
of Edinburgh kissed the Queen shortly after the royal
couple arrived home from Australia yesterday. The Queen
looked rather taken aback.
They had arrived at Heathrow airport just after 5am on a
Qantas flight from Perth. John Howard, the Australian
Prime Minister, and other dignitaries had gathered to bid
them farewell at the end of the two-week tour.
Although the visit did not draw the huge crowds who
welcomed the Queen when she toured the country in
1954, the reception, even by republicans, was a warm
one.
The future of the monarchy in Australia, the Queen said in
a speech in Sydney during her first major public
appearance of the tour, was a matter for the Australian
people to decide by democratic and constitutional means.
"In the light of the result last November," she said, "I shall
continue faithfully to serve as Queen of Australia under the
constitution to the very best of my ability, as I have tried
to do for these past 48 years." Australians voted not to
replace her with a president. She also won praise for
airing the plight of the Aborigines, Australia's most
deprived people, whom she made a point of meeting on
several occasions.
"It remains a sad fact of life that many indigenous
Australians face a legacy of economic and social
disadvantage," she said in Sydney.