It is the kind of holiday even a Lottery winner would be
hard put to afford.
Cruising the Mediterranean aboard a palatial yacht, even
for a few days, can cost hundreds of thousands of pounds
and extras like meals, drinks and tips would be added to
the bill.
The trick, as Prince Charles has discovered, is to borrow
one.
He is with Camilla Parker Bowles aboard a sumptuous
vessel owned by Iraqi-born banker Nemir Kirdar, who
owns a string of investments ranging from Tiffany and Co
in New York to the Welcome Break service station chain.
Mr Kirdar, who fled Iraq after the 1958 coup, has been a
friend of the prince for some years.
Charles and Camilla joined the yacht last week near
Antibes, where Mr Kirdar has a home. They cruised the
Riviera coast to Villefranche, lunched on deck and
sunbathed and swam from a skippered speedboat placed
at their disposal.
This is how Charles likes to relax. For many years he
made a summer cruise aboard the magnificent Alexander,
owned by Greek shipping tycoon John Latsis.
The 325-foot Alexander, the world's third largest yacht (it
ranked fourth before the Britannia was decommissioned)
was given to Charles and Camilla last summer for an
11-day cruise around the Mediterranean.
The ship is one of the most luxurious afloat and paying
customers can expect to stump up around £75,000 a day
to charter it.
Charles had use of the vessel every August for a summer
cruise, memorably taking Diana on a second honeymoon
aboard it nine years ago. This year, for reasons
unexplained, his host is Mr Kirdar.
There were suggestions that Prince Philip urged him to
change his holiday arrangements, perhaps because the
Alexander was so blatant an example of conspicuous
consumption, perhaps because Mr Latsis's company
attracted criticism over the eviction of an elderly tenant
from a Mayfair property scheduled for redevelopment.
It is possible that Charles thought he ought to spread his
freebies about a bit. He did, after all, use the Alexander on
a short break in Greek waters last May.
St James's Palace was unable to shed any light on the
matter. A spokesperson for the Prince would only say:
"We have no details. This is a private holiday."
Prince Philip, of course, knows a thing or two about
borrowing boats. He took the Britannia on a four month
cruise once and in his yacht-racing days took over a
wealthy businessman's yacht for Cowes Week.
When Britannia was taken out of service the philanthropic
billionaire Sir J Paul Getty offered him the 245-foot Talitha
G as a floating home at Cowes during the regatta and
Prince Philip used the yacht for two years running.
The Talitha G has other royal connections. Last May
Camilla joined it for a five-day cruise around Menorca
with her old friend Candida Lycett Green, daughter of the
late poet laureate Sir John Betjeman.
Sir J Paul Getty regularly makes his yacht available to
friends. Recent guests have included John and Norma
Major, Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman and Michael and
Shakira Caine.
Another generous yacht owner was the charismatic
Argentinian Carlos Perdomo.
He once owned the fabulous three-masted schooner
Jessica, aboard which Princess Michael of Kent enjoyed a
cruise under sail.
Senor Perdomo was said to be an extremely wealthy arms
dealer and the Jessica lacked nothing in comfort, although
the decor raised a few eyebrows. The bar was decorated
with elephant tusks.
Princess Michael, in true royal style, enjoyed her cruise
immensely, although when she arrived back in London it
emerged that Senor Perdomo's yacht was being monitored
by the secret services.
The Princess's many personal telephone calls to friends
around the world had all been carefully recorded.
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Dame Edna stands in for Prince Charles(Yahoo: Ananova)
Dame Edna Everage claimed she had been invited to replace the Prince of Wales as a presenter at an
awards ceremony.
Dame Edna was playing the role of Prince's Trust ambassador to host an awards ceremony in London
while the Prince was away on a short break.
She said: "To step into the shoes of the Prince of Wales is something I've become used to. I think of
darling Charles splashing around in the Mediterranean while some of us have to work - but he send lots of love."
She added: "I'm as close as you'll get to an Australian Royal - just imagine Kylie Minogue or Rolf Harris wearing a crown, the
mind boggles, doesn't it?"
On stage with Dame Edna at London's Earl's Court for the young designers' award ceremony were Paloma Picasso, Sir
Terrance Conran and his fashion designer son Jasper.
They presented awards to unknown designers who have set up businesses, making gifts and home accessories, with the help
of cheap loans from the Prince's Trust.
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BBC says sorry over Philip 'Nazi' jibe(Yahoo: Ananova)
The Duke of Edinburgh has won an apology from the BBC over a comedy item in which he was described as a "Nazi".
Buckingham Palace complained when Harrods owner Mohamed Al Fayed described Prince Philip as a "German Nazi" during an interview with Nick Hancock in You Only Live Once screened on August 12.
Hancock replied: "Not strictly true - he's actually a Greek Nazi, to be honest."
A Palace spokeswoman said: "The Duke of Edinburgh fought in the Royal Navy against Nazi Germany in the Second World War and has the medals to prove it.
"To call him a Nazi is both inaccurate and unacceptable. The BBC's apology has been accepted."