THE Duchess of York is to stand in for Larry King, one of the world's
best-known interviewers, on American television.
She will take over on CNN, the cable news channel, when he takes a break
from his Larry King Live show early next year. The Duchess, who favours a
less combative interviewing style than Mr King, is said to be delighted.CNN
said last night: "We are very much looking forward to having her."
Over the years the programme's reputation has drawn presidents, prime
ministers and former terrorists into the studio. It is not yet known who the
Duchess's guests will be. The Duchess has been a guest on the show several
times. In 1996 Mr King fed her chocolate as she talked about her financial
problems; in 1997 she lamented being left out of the Queen's golden wedding
plans.
The Duchess took up television work to pay off her debts after her divorce in
1996. She has had a series on America's NBC network and another on
Britain's Sky One satellite station. Until now she has avoided the main British
networks for fear of upsetting the Royal Family. But that will change today
when BBC2 broadcasts her documentary, Asian vibes: in search of the spirit,
a quest through India during which she meets the Dalai Lama.
"I hope this will inspire and bring an inner peace within me," she says as she
sets off for Dharamsala, the home of the exiled Tibetan leader. Dressed in
Tibetan costume, she asks the Dalai Lama how to find fulfilment. His reply -
"determination and clear vision" plus a desire to help others - leaves her
shedding tears of admiration.
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Crown Prince to wed single mother(Electronic Telegraph)
By Ulla Plon in Copenhagen
IT was officially announced yesterday that Crown Prince Haakon of Norway
is to marry a single mother whose ex-boyfriend has been jailed for narcotics
possession.
Prince Haakon disclosed six months ago that
he was having a relationship with 27-year-old
Mette-Marit Tjessem Hojby. He said
yesterday: "We have been together for a year
and a week and have become so fond of each
other that we would like to be each other's life
companion. A very good choice."
The announcement, made in a letter from the
king to parliament, ends months of
speculation. Norwegians have expected a
formal engagement, partly because the couple
openly lived together for much of the week.
They will marry on Aug 27 next year at what will be Norway's first royal
wedding since the prince's parents, King Harald V and Queen Sonja wed in
1968. The forthcoming marriage has been blessed by King Harald, and
welcomed by the Norwegian government, church and the media.
The Crown Prince's liaison has provoked public debate since it was
announced. The fact that his bride is an unmarried mother barely raised an
eyebrow in a nation where nearly half the first-born children are born to single
women or unwed couples. But the media has questioned the future queen's
background. Born and raised in the southern town of Kristiansand, the
engineering student and commoner frequented Oslo's drug-infested
"house-party" scene in the mid-Nineties.
Her then boyfriend, father of her three-year-old son, Marius, was jailed this
year for possessing 50g of cocaine.