THE Prince of Wales has poached the Queen's most important courtier in a decisive move to seize the "keys to the kingdom".
He is to appoint Sir Michael Peat, scourge of royal extravagance and mastermind of the modernisation of palace finances, as his private secretary.
Peat's departure from Buckingham Palace for St James's is timed to follow the Queen's golden jubilee celebrations of 2002, and marks a significant transfer of influence to the prince.
He will act as Prince Charles's closest adviser as the palace prepares for the slimming down of the royal family and the eventual phasing out of the civil list, which has been frozen in value until 2011. The Queen gets £7.9m, the Queen Mother £643,000 and the Duke of Edinburgh £359,000 a year.
Peat, who has created enemies at Buckingham Palace for his zeal in rooting out perks and privileges, dismissed reports of the appointment as speculation, saying "why would the prince want to employ a grubby old accountant?"
But palace sources said that Eton and Oxford-educated Peat had agreed to take the job after Charles had approached the Queen.
As a full-time member of the royal household since 1990, and keeper of the privy purse since 1996, Peat has an unrivalled grasp of the inner workings of the palace, arguably greater than even Sir Robin Janvrin, the Queen's private secretary.
Informed sources said his appointment will provide the prince with a "crash course" in the operation of the "royal firm". One observer said: "This is an apprenticeship for the serious business of kingship."
Under the guidance of the Queen, the prince has already taken over a growing share of the burden of royal ceremonial duties, including investitures and public engagements. The Duke of Edinburgh, who today celebrates his 80th birthday with a thanksgiving service and reception at Windsor Castle, has stated his intention to reduce his public engagements.However, the Queen has given no indication that she wishes to relinquish the crown in Charles's favour.
Peat, 51, is well qualified for the task of initiating the prince in the complex workings of the palace. He comes from a dynasty of royal servants - his father and great-grandfathers were privy purse auditors - and his upbringing prepared him for the role of finance director and personal financial adviser to the Queen.
He advised the Queen to pay tax on her private income from 1993, and it was under him that the cost of the monarchy to the public purse halved in real terms in the past five years to £37m a year.
Little escapes his attention. When it emerged that green marquees were cheaper to hire than white ones, he opted for green for Buckingham Palace garden parties. He slashed palace electricity bills by £3m over four years by installing double-glazing, and ordered a new approach to washing-up when he discovered industrial dish- washers were damaging crockery and cutlery.
His zeal has drawn unwelcome attention to his own arrangements. It emerged that £115,000 was spent from the public purse on refurnishing his grace-and-favour flat at Kensington Palace as part of a £400,000 refit.
Since 1996, Peat, who was previously a partner of the City accountancy firm KPMG, has also held overall responsibility for the financial running of the Queen's household, her private estates, stables and studs.
Lunch companions describe him as a man fully aware of his worth, but with few interests beyond his professional life. "He likes his comforts but he leads a rather withdrawn existence," said one acquaintance. He is married with two daughters and one son, by his wife, Deborah.
In his role as private secretary to the prince, Peat will be expected to overhaul the Duchy of Cornwall, which is the prince's sole source of income. He is not a beneficiary of the civil list.
Last year the duchy produced a surplus income of £6.9m, on which the prince pays tax, from a vast estate of agricultural land, mostly in the southwest of England, and a large investment portfolio. The total capital value of the duchy was £290m.
It recently bet heavily on the future of agriculture, spending £50m on more than 25,000 acres of prime agricultural land. Peat's medium-term aim will be to increase the prince's income so that when he eventually becomes king, he can be independent of the civil list.
St James's Palace yesterday paid tribute to Stephen Lamport, the existing private secretary. The prince issued a statement saying he was grateful for the way Lamport had transformed his office "into a tough and effective device for delivering the prince's public life".
Camilla Parker Bowles, the prince's companion, also added her praise, saying Lamport had handled public scrutiny of her relationship with the prince through "that treacherous minefield with a combination of deft diplomacy and personal charm".
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Cocaine-fuelled prince killed family over his two women (Sunday UK Times)
Michael Sheridan, Kathmandu
CROWN Prince Dipendra of Nepal massacred his family after bingeing on cocaine and whisky following an ultimatum from his father to choose between the throne and the woman he loved.
King Birendra, the first to be shot, confronted the prince with a choice between marriage to his girlfriend, which would have excluded him from the succession, and an arranged match with a courtier's daughter he was also seeing.
The Eton-educated prince ran amok with two automatic rifles after days of wrestling with his dilemma, claim members of the extended royal family.
A source close to the family said cocaine and a high level of alcohol had been found in his bloodstream when he was treated in hospital after murdering the king, queen and seven other family members.
Dipendra, who died last Monday, had set his heart on marrying Devyani Rana, 29, the daughter of a leading politician. But Queen Aiswarya objected on the grounds that Devyani's great-grandmother had been a court mistress. She nominated 27-year-old Supriya Shah, daughter of an aide-de-camp to Nepal's Queen Mother, instead.
"Devyani was really the one he wanted," a close friend said.
The prince was told that if he married Supriya he could maintain Devyani as a mistress, and was said by friends to be distraught after Devyani, whom they described as a modern, sophisticated woman, refused to consider such an arrangement.
A doctor said the cocaine could explain how the prince had managed to revive himself after being taken to his room in a drunken stupor at the end of a family dinner nine days ago. He dressed in military fatigues and returned downstairs with his weapons to murder his family.
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Prince Philip celebrates 80th birthday(Yahoo: Reuters)
By Peter Griffiths
LONDON (Reuters) - The Duke of Edinburgh will celebrate his 80th birthday with a family lunch at Windsor Castle.
Prince Philip, who has put his long life down to the number of "good health" toasts drunk to him, will be joined by 30 members of the Royal Family.
The Prince of Wales is expected to attend despite recent press claims, denied by Buckingham Palace, that the Duke thinks his son is unfit to be king.
But ill health may mean the Queen Mother and Princess Margaret, will have to miss the lunch.
Earlier on Sunday, the Duke will be at a thanksgiving service with around 450 guests at St George's Chapel in Windsor.
The Duke's birthday celebrations were under way on Wednesday when the Lord Mayor of London hosted a lunch for him.
In a speech at the Guildhall, the Duke said: "I can only assume that it is largely due to the accumulation of toasts to my health over the years that I am still enjoying a fairly satisfactory state of health and have reached such an unexpectedly great age."
The gaffe-prone Duke was born on the Greek island of Corfu on June 10, 1921. He joined the Royal Navy and married the future Queen Elizabeth II at Westminster Abbey in November 1947.
He has won notoriety for a string of embarrassing public comments. During a 1986 state visit to China, he famously warned British students: "If you stay here much longer, you'll all be slitty eyed."
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Palace gags royal witnesses to Nepalese massacre(Electronic Telegraph)
By Julian West in Kathmandu
NEPALESE palace officials yesterday fought to stop witnesses from talking publicly of last week's massacre of the royal family as survivors tried to ensure that the ruling dynasty would last beyond the current generation.
Palace officials said that the murdered king's nephew by marriage could be reprimanded for giving his version of the slaughter to the media. He was among witnesses who described how Crown Prince Dipendra killed his parents, King Birendra and Queen Aiswarya, and seven other relatives in a drunken rage, then shot himself. The revelations have deeply divided the impoverished Himalayan kingdom, where riots broke out last week as many Nepalis refused to believe that Dipendra was responsible. The country has been racked by political instability and growing Maoist insurgency that could be boosted by the latest unrest.
Officials have said that they want witnesses to speak only to the two palace-appointed investigators, who will release their account of events within 48 hours. Several members of the royal family privately expressed concern that the branch of the dynasty that has taken the throne is so unpopular with a disillusioned public that the monarchy could be in danger. The stone-throwing mobs that rampaged through the narrow streets of Kathmandu's old town blamed the new monarch, Gyanendra, who is Birendra's brother.
"This is the end. We're going to be a republic," said a royal relative. As she outlined her sombre prognosis in an elegant Kathmandu drawing room, she recalled a 400-year-old prophecy predicting that the reign of the Shahs - still widely venerated as the reincarnation of the Hindu deity, Vishnu - would end with its 10th monarch, as Birendra was.
At the Durbar Marg, or king's way, leading to the royal palace, the huge portraits of King Birendra and Queen Aiswarya set up for the mourning period, buried last week under flowers, were removed. Workers in other parts of town took down tents and makeshift mourning platforms. "The official mourning period may be over but in our hearts we still cry for the loss of our beloved king and queen," said Rashmi Silwal, a housewife who, with thousands of others, lined up with flowers in her hands outside the royal palace gate.
Last week, even as the bird of paradise crown was placed on the head of King Gyanendra and dignitaries tossed coins at his feet, concern focused on his only heir, the unpopular Prince Paras. In an apparent attempt to save the Shah dynasty, King Gyanendra, 53, and other royalty have begun a campaign to rehabilitate the prince, who has been sent to the palace at Pokhara, a lakeside resort in western Nepal, far from public scrutiny.
Prince Paras, 29, who has a reputation for heavy drinking and who has been linked to two fatal hit-and-run accidents, has not, so far, been named crown prince - in apparent deference to public opinion. Last year 500,000 people signed a petition 2,000 yards long calling for the prince to be prosecuted after a popular singer-songwriter was run down and killed. King Birendra bowed to public pressure and instigated an inquiry, although the victim's family later withdrew their accusation.
As the first eye-witness account of the royal massacre appeared, however, Nepalis were presented with Prince Paras in the unlikely role of hero. In the royal family's first public statement, Dr Rajiv Raj Shahi, King Birendra's nephew by marriage, who was at the palace on the night of the bloodbath, said that "if if had not been for Paras there would not have been so many survivors".
Other family members, speaking anonymously, praised Prince Paras for his presence of mind, recounting how he saved several cousins and an uncle by pulling a sofa on top of them.
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Former boy king poised for Bulgarian poll victory(Electronic Telegraph)
By Matthew Brunwasser
SIMEON II chose Bulgaria's medieval capital of Veliko Turnovo, a picturesque hillside town redolent of a more glorious age, to launch his final week of campaigning yesterday as his party heads for victory in next Sunday's elections.
The symbolism was powerful for the former boy king, dethroned by the Soviet army when he was nine, as he addressed the crowd in front of the ruined palace of a previous Bulgarian era. The Madrid-based businessman, now 63, is on course to become the first deposed monarch in the former communist bloc to reclaim power through the ballot box.
He has dominated the parliamentary election campaign since forming the National Movement for Simeon II, which has a comfortable opinion poll lead over the ruling Union of Democratic Forces (UDF). However, while the position of prime minister would be his if he wanted it, Simeon is not running as an MP and has not declared what official role - if any - he will take in a new government. Instead, he is expected to exercise his authority through his appointees, in the style of a king and his court.
His reticence has fuelled speculation that he hopes to use his party to restore the monarchy, despite the lack of public enthusiasm for such a move. Were he to accept public office, Simeon, who has never renounced his claim to the throne that was taken away by a rigged referendum in 1946, would have to swear allegiance to the republic.
"He is going to avoid any opportunity to be faced with this challenge," says Svetoslav Malinov, a UDF strategist. "I think he is aware that he simply cannot swear on the constitution."
The king has repeatedly avoided questions from journalists about whether he planned to restore the monarchy. However, in a recent Spanish newspaper interview, he extolled the virtues of a constitutional monarchy. His careful ambiguity was satirised in a leading Bulgarian paper in a cartoon in which a journalist asked Simeon what time it is. The king replies: "I will say when the time comes."
The change to a parliamentary monarchy would require special elections to create a "Great National Assembly", which would then need to vote by a two thirds majority to amend the constitution - not easy, but possible in a few years if his party is a success.
For now, Simeon promises a government comprised largely of Bulgarians who have worked abroad in the financial and legal worlds. He is brief on details, but says his party aims to eliminate corruption and political partisanship, and to implement a new economic policy which will "change the lives of Bulgarians within 800 days". His economic plan for greater liberalisation and tax cuts does not differ significantly from that of the ruling UDF.
Few of the locals who cheered his walkabout through Veliko Turnovo's ancient streets yesterday backed a return of the monarchy. However, disillusioned with their own home-grown politicians after a decade of economic turmoil since the fall of communism, they were attracted to a new face with a Western background.
Simeon recently told a Spanish newspaper that he has not ruled out standing for president in November. However, a clause in the 1991 constitution - written by former communists with Simeon in mind - requires the president to have lived in Bulgaria for the past five years. The Constitutional Court ruled in April that Simeon was ineligible, even though he obtained his Bulgarian passport in 1996. However, a parliament dominated by his supporters could change the clause, without the complicated process of amending the constitution.
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Party marks Prince's 80th birthday(BBC News)
The duke attended a service at St George's Chapel
The Queen has congratulated her husband, the Duke of Edinburgh, during his 80th birthday party at Windsor Castle.
The Queen was speaking at a private lunch attended by royals from across Europe during a day of celebrations.
A special thanksgiving service was held at St George's Chapel at Windsor on Sunday morning, followed by a private reception and family lunch at the castle.
Around 500 guests, including relatives from Germany, past and present members of staff and representatives of many of the organisations he has links to, attended the service and reception.
It was the biggest gathering of royalty since the wedding of Prince Edward and Sophie Rhys-Jones in 1999.
The Queen wished her husband, the Duke of Edinburgh a happy birthday and said: "I can't believe you're 80."
At the Windsor Castle birthday party, she said: "I speak for all the family and everyone here, thank you from us all."
Prince Philip said: "I'm not sure that I recommend being 80.
"It's not so much the age, but trying to survive these celebrations."
During the thanksgiving service, the Right Reverend David Conner, Dean of Windsor, paid tribute to the duke for his "loyalty, encouragement, inspiration, example and sheer stickability".
"We can be grateful for the example of someone who, on his birthday, chose to bring his family and friends to church," he said.
European royals
The birthday lunch at Windsor Castle was for up to 30 members of the Royal Family as well as six nephews, four great-nephews, one niece and six great-nieces from Germany.
Prince Harry, 16, arrived at St George's with one of the German nieces, Princess Xenia of Hohenlohe-Langenburg.
The Queen Mother, who will be 101 years old in August, the Prince of Wales and Princess Margaret all attended the celebrations.
Margaret, who was pushed in a wheelchair by her son Viscount Linley, is still suffering the effects of a series of recent strokes.
The British royals were joined by ex-King Constantine of Greece and Prince Paul of Yugoslavia.
Prince William, 18, was absent as he is in Africa during his gap-year before starting university at St Andrews in Scotland this September.
Busy schedule
Although many aspects of the duke's life have been well documented, some things about the Queen's husband are perhaps less well known.
The youngest child and only son of Prince Andrew of Greece and Princess Alice of Battenberg, Philip's grandfather was a prince of Denmark who became King of Greece.
But Philip renounced his Greek royal title in 1947 and became a naturalised British subject.
Philip is related to kings of Prussia and emperors of Russia, and had four elder sisters, only one of whom, Princess Sophie, is still alive.
Both Prince Philip and the Queen are great-great grandchildren of Queen Victoria.
And although the Duke of Edinburgh's only constitutional role is as a Privy Counsellor, he has always taken his royal duties seriously.
He has fulfilled more than 18,000 official engagements, excluding those accompanying the Queen, an average of 370 a year.
He is also known for taking a hands-on approach to the organisations he represents and has chaired more than 1,500 meetings.
Since 1956, more than four million young people from over 90 countries have taken part in the Duke of Edinburgh's Award scheme.
The duke is also a prolific writer and has had several books published on environmental, technological, equestrian and other issues.