Cannabis leaves have been discovered in the
Queen's kitchen at Buckingham Palace,
Scotland Yard has confirmed.
Police raided the
kitchen of the Palace in
the early hours of
Saturday morning,
finding a small quantity
of cannabis.
A Scotland Yard
spokeswoman said: "A
very small quantity of a
cannabis plant was
discovered and has
been taken away by
police for examination.
"The amount involved is minute and probably
not useable.
"There have been no arrests and it is uncertain
whether there will any further action taken."
The News of the World
newspaper says the
alert was raised by a
member of the Palace
staff, who tipped off
the Royalty Protection
Squad.
A Royal source tells the
paper that a furious
Queen has demanded a
full search for the
culprit.
Buckingham Palace has
refused to comment on the discovery.
A spokeswoman said: "It is a police matter and
nothing to do with us."
~*~
Camilla should go to the party, says poll(Electronic Telegraph)
By Andrew Alderson, Chief Reporter
A SUBSTANTIAL majority of the public would like to see Camilla Parker
Bowles accompany the Prince of Wales to Prince William's 18th birthday
party, the Queen Mother's centenary celebrations and Royal Ascot,
according to a poll exclusively commissioned by The Telegraph.
Almost three quarters (72 per cent) of the adults polled believe that the
Queen was right to meet Mrs Parker Bowles, whereas only 56 per cent
wanted them to meet when they were asked in June last year. The "swing" is
larger than the move to the Labour Party at the last general election.
However, the MORI poll showed that although the public wanted Mrs Parker
Bowles to have a greater role in the Prince's social life, there remains
overwhelming opposition to her becoming Queen, or playing a part in state
occasions. Seventy one per cent do not think Mrs Parker Bowles should ever
become Queen, and 59 per cent do not believe she should accompany the
Prince to the state opening of Parliament.
The poll was conducted on Thursday and Friday after last weekend's meeting
between the Queen and Mrs Parker Bowles. The move was seen as a
significant step forward in the relationship between the heir to the throne and
his companion, although friends of the couple insist that they have no intention
of marrying.
However, some of the poll results will concern St James's Palace. The
number of people who think that the Prince should be allowed to become
King if he marries Mrs Parker Bowles has fallen from 61 per cent to 57 per
cent since November. Similarly, since November last year, the number of
people who think that the couple should marry has dropped from 49 per cent
to 44 per cent. Even in August 1997, the month that Diana, Princess of Wales
was killed in a Paris car crash, the figure stood at 53 per cent.
The figures for joint social events will please the couple and the Prince's senior
aides: 79 per cent believe that Mrs Parker Bowles should accompany the
Prince to Royal Ascot later this month, two thirds (67 per cent) think she
should attend Prince William's birthday party with him and 57 per cent believe
she should accompany him to the Queen Mother's 100th birthday
celebrations.
Robert Worcester, the chairman of MORI, said the results of the poll were
fascinating. "The public draw a very clear line between social acceptance of
the couple, particularly at elite events like Royal Ascot, and her having any
involvement with official state occasions."
The number of people in favour of a republic remains at about two in five (19
per cent), while 62 per cent want the Queen to remain on the throne, rather
than abdicate (31 per cent). Surprisingly perhaps, the Royal Family is now
more popular among young people than the middle-aged. Only 21 per cent of
18 to 34-year-olds want to abolish the monarchy, compared with 26 per cent
in the 35 to 54-year-old age group.
The popularity of the Prince as a future king remains substantially below its
all-time high of 1991, when 82 per cent thought he would do a good job. This
figure dropped to 41 per cent in 1996, but is now up to 59 per cent, the same
figure as last year. "Prince Charles has climbed back half-way from where he
started in 1991, after a drop in popularity over five years that was as sharp as
I have ever measured in anything," said Mr Worcester.
The poll shows that 55 per cent of people believe that Prince Charles should
not give up the right to be the next monarch in favour of his son, Prince
William. A total of 34 per cent said that he should, and 11 per cent said that
they did not know.
~*~
Press is warned not to indulge in
'free-for-all' as Prince turns 18(Electronic Telegraph)
By Andrew Alderson
A STERN warning that Prince William must not be harassed and tormented
by photographers and reporters after his 18th birthday is to be delivered by
the Press Complaints Commission (PCC), the newspaper watchdog.
The Telegraph can disclose that Lord Wakeham, the chairman of the PCC,
will tell newspapers there must be no "free-for-all" when the Prince comes of
age on June 21. Lord Wakeham is determined that there should be no
repetition of the scenes that inadvertently led to the death of Diana, Princess
of Wales in a Paris car crash while fleeing the paparazzi, and wants to ensure
that the Prince enjoys privacy during his "gap year" between school and
university.
In an address to journalists to be delivered in the next fortnight, Lord
Wakeham will turn his attention to three areas - harassment, privacy and
accuracy - in newspapers' future dealings with Prince William. However, the
former Tory minister will accept that, under existing PCC guidelines,
newspapers and magazines will be able to publish photographs and stories
about the young Prince that they have not been able to while he remains under
18.
From now on, the PCC - which has never issued formal guidelines specifically
relating to the Prince - accepts that, as an adult, photographs of him playing
rugby, polo and other sports in public can be published. Previously, they
could not be used without his father's permission.
One senior official at the PCC said: "Lord Wakeham is determined that
Prince William does not suffer the same level of harassment as his late mother.
There must be no physical harassment, no intimidation, no persistent pursuit
and no photography in public places. Basically, during his 'gap year', we don't
want William followed around by packs of photographers."
On privacy, Lord Wakeham will point out that the Prince, like everyone else,
is entitled to have his private life respected. "The events of the last few years
have been a balancing act. That balancing act must continue in the future even
though he is no longer at school," said the official.
On accuracy, newspapers will be reminded that they have a duty to run only
true stories about the Prince. The PCC believes that even in the run-up to the
Prince's birthday, the number of "flakey" stories about him has increased,
including one about his "future wife", who turned out to be a girl he had not
met. It led to a complaint against the Sunday Express that was upheld by the
PCC.
The PCC offical said: "Lord Wakeham wants to turn his attention to what
Prince William can reasonably expect after he is 18. The message wil be:
things are going to change because he is going to be an adult but he is not,
overnight, going to become fair game for everyone."
Last night Guy Black, the director of the PCC, said: "We have always been
clear that when Prince William reached 18 things would change. But we are
also clear that it must not turn into a "free-for-all".
~*~
Britons don't want Charles' lover for queen - poll(Yahoo: Reuters)
LONDON (Reuters) - Some 70 percent of Britons do not want Prince Charles'
long-time lover Camilla Parker Bowles to become Queen, according to a new poll
published on Sunday.
A Mori poll for the Sunday Telegraph newspaper also found that just 57 percent of
those surveyed thought that heir-to-the-throne Prince Charles should be allowed to
become King if he decides to marry Parker Bowles, his lover of 28 years.
However 72 percent of the 621 British adults over the age of 18 who were polled
said they thought it was right for The Queen to meet Charles' lover at a lunch party earlier this month in a move widely seen as
royal acceptance of their relationship.
Speculation is now rife in Britain as to whether Charles will ultimately marry Parker Bowles -- blamed by many for wrecking his
marriage to the late Princess Diana.