Best Possible Outcome

I'm tired. I'm sweaty. I'm sunburned. I'm hungry, thirsty, and I've been shat on by a pigeon (So has Richard Palmer, who was standing right next to me when William and Kate were arriving. Same pigeon).

But none of that matters. Because both the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge waved at me. And I have never been happier.

Despite all my worrying and uncertainty yesterday, today had the best possible outcome. I saw William and Kate on three separate occasions, in two different outfits, but I didn't actually meet them or speak to them. And that's brilliant.

Because now I've seen the Duchess of Cambridge. And she is gorgeous. I didn't think it possible, but she is actually prettier in person than she is in her pictures. And she's so nice. So is William. It was such fun to watch him playing football with a bunch of little kids. He tackled and slid and ran about in the hot sun and I just could not stop smiling. This, and Harry's Nepal tour last month, really prove that these two are Diana's boys through and through. They just have the best hearts.

Honestly, I'm so thrilled that I got to stand ten feet away from William and Kate, and watch them play cricket and get on a bus with a bunch of children. Royal tours are when these two are at their absolute best, and I just got to see them on one.

And I didn't get to speak to them. I didn't get to tell Kate that I love her hair, or ask William how George and Charlotte are. I didn't technically meet the Duchess of Cambridge.

Everything has worked out brilliantly. I've had the excitement of seeing that Jaguar pull up with William's face in the window, and I've felt my hands shake like mad as I tried to take pictures of my absolute favourite person (and her personal assistant, that picture got a lot of attention for some reason), but I still haven't actually met them yet, and so I still have something to look forward to, something to work towards. If anything, seeing them in person has just made me more determined to meet them. I will do whatever it takes.

Today has been the best day of my life. But if all goes well, it won't have that distinction for long.

N

Follow me on Twitter @NikitaWhoWrites or @RoyalCentral, where I posted a bunch of stuff from today morning in Mumbai. I will continue to live-tweet the tour for the rest of the week, and there might be a couple of posts on this blog as well. 

I Don't Know Anything

This is it then.

As I'm typing these words it is the eve of what will either be the best day or the biggest disappointment of my life. In slightly over twelve hours, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge will land in my city, and then proceed to spend the rest of the day carrying out engagements less than an hour away from where I live. 

I've spent five years waiting to meet the Duchess of Cambridge. Ever since the Royal Wedding in 2011, that has been my answer to the question "What is the one thing you want to do before you die?" - I want to meet the Duchess of Cambridge. And suddenly, tomorrow there is a very really chance that it will happen.

I don't know how to feel about this. On the one hand, five years is quite a long time. I've changed so much as a person in these last five, and the only thing that's remained constant is my desire to meet the Duchess of Cambridge. But on the other hand, people wait entire lifetimes before their dreams come true, and in comparison, five years is nothing. Do I really deserve to get something so massive after such a short period of wanting it?

And then there are other questions. Is it really smart to meet the people that you've always admired from afar? And if I do meet her tomorrow, what will I have to look forward to for the rest of my life? And yet, if I actually meet the Duchess of Cambridge, then I never have to worry about death anymore, because I've done the one thing that I really, really wanted to do in this lifetime.

I'm so conflicted. And so excited, in equal measure. And also so nervous. I don't know what to feel.

All I know is that tomorrow morning, William and Catherine, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and two of my favourite people in the world, are going to be coming here. And I'll be waiting for them.

And I don't know what will happen. 

N

Follow me on Twitter @NikitaWhoWrites or @RoyalCentral. I will be live-tweeting on location for the entire time that the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge are in Mumbai, and then live-tweeting from my house for the rest of the Royal Tour.

Blog Award?

I'm back!

And I'm interrupting this series of guest posts (which, hopefully, you've been enjoying, or at least reading) because I have been nominated for a blog award.

Weird as it sounds, it's true. My friend Ipshita nominated me for the Liebster Award. You can read more about the Award and its rules on her blog, Euphoniour, but basically what I have to do is answer 11 questions which she set for me, and then nominated some more people to answer some more questions. I don't understand how you actually win this award, but I like Ipshita's questions, and I want to answer them, so here goes.

1. If you could bring anyone back from the dead, who would it be, and why?

Probably King Richard III. I love him, and I feel bad that he had his head smashed in when he was only 32, but that's not the only reason. I'd really like to know what happened to the Princes in the Tower - it's one of the greatest mysteries of all time, and one of my personal favourites - and if anyone knows, it's Richard.

In fictional characters, Dobby. Definitely Dobby.

2. What era would you like to live in, and why?

The early 20th century. For many reasons. It's far enough in history that not many people living remember it, and yet close enough to the present era that modern inventions were starting to appear and people weren't dying of the plague (Other things, certainly, but not the plague). People lived like they do on Downton Abbey, the plane was invented, it was a great time for women's rights, Russia still had an Imperial Family, and most importantly, two World Wars happened.

Strange as it may seem, wars are actually my favourite part of history. Though it is a horrible, terrible thing, war always seems to bring out the best in people. And there is nothing better than a well-told wartime story. 

3. Which character from a book or TV series would you date?

This is such a hard question. Perhaps the most difficult question I've ever had to answer (Apart from 'Who's your favourite royal couple?'). Because every single time I read a book or watch a TV show, I fall in love with one of the characters. It doesn't take much - one cleverly placed quip or a handsome face, and I'm smitten. As a result, the answer to this particular question changes every month or so. 

At present, I'd have to say, from a book, Thomas of Hookton from The Grail Quest, and from a TV series, Matthew Crawley from Downton Abbey. 

4. Why did you start this blog?

Because my previous one was rubbish, and I was thoroughly ashamed that I could have ever been that stupid. 

5. Describe your blog in six words.

On my passport, it says Poppy. 

[This has nothing to do with my blog whatsoever, but at the moment, I am absolutely obsessed with Almost Royal. 

For context, because I'm sure that most of you haven't got a clue what I'm talking about, watch this video from about the 4 minute mark. In fact, if you have the time to spare, watch the whole thing because it is absolutely brilliant. Poppy Carlton is my hero.]

6. If you could say something to your younger self, what would it be?

Do a better job of brushing your teeth, because somehow you end up with a lot of cavities and your dentist hates you. Also, no matter what you think, you don't get any less awkward as you grow older. Even as an adult, there are 14 year-olds with more poise and confidence than you.

7. What motivates you?

Deadlines. And the desire to be better than other people, but mostly deadlines.

8. What is the best movie you have ever seen, and why?

The Lion King, without a trace of doubt. It is the best movie that Disney has made, and literally everything about it is flawless. It has a fabulous troupe of people doing the voices, great, great soundtrack, Shakespearean influences, an amazing love story, a powerful, positive message, and the best animated lions that I have seen in my life.

9. What is the first thing you notice about people?

Their accent. Or, if I'm in their house, what the hand soap in their bathroom smells like. 

10. What are the three features you admire most in people?

Intelligence, kindness, and individuality. 

11. If you could have lunch with any person in history, who would it be, and what would you talk about?

Definitely, one hundred percent, the Duchess of Cambridge. I'd touch her hair and tell her how awesome she is, and then we'd talk about George and Charlotte. Well, she'd talk - I'd just stare at her, dumbstruck.

Or, if the Duchess of Cambridge doesn't technically qualify as a 'person in history' because she's from right now, I'd have lunch with Elizabeth Woodville. And then put poison in her soup, because I'm evil that way.

~

Thanks to Ipshita, for giving me this set of questions and something to do with my time. Her guest post from my blog (I won't tell you what it's about, because spoilers, but I think you'll love it) is coming out this Saturday, so do read that.

I have very few friends to begin with, and even fewer friends with a blog, and because Ipshita nominated practically all of them in her post, I don't have anyone left to nominate. So, I won't. I will end this branch of the challenge here, just like Edward, Earl of Warwick ended the Plantagenet dynasty in the male line by... well, dying. 

I'll leave you with that cheerful thought.

N

About Too Many Things To Be About Anything In Particular

My first blog post of the year is neither about nor at the beginning of the new year. But I've been busy watching romantic comedies with Hugh Grant in them, so never mind that.

I have a new header now. It's a work in progress, but I'll finish it eventually. I hope. Over on Twitter, I'm continuing my 100 Book Challenge from where I left off last year. I will keep reading and keep updating until I reach a hundred, even if it takes years. Which it probably will. I'm currently reading Dan Jones' The Plantagenets, which is a fabulous book, and which I will completely butcher in my next book review.

And that is all. Let's jump right to it.

The Golden Globes were last week. Well, they were on Sunday night, so that would technically be two weeks ago, but because of time zone differences, I only saw them on Monday, so it was last week for me.

For some reason, I love award shows. I love watching them, and also love betting on the outcomes, even though I've probably not seen any of the movies. I've only ever seen one Oscar winning movie in the theater, before it was nominated, and that was The King's Speech. Obviously.

I also love looking at what people are wearing on the red carpet. It is one of my many indulgences, to see what people on Twitter and Mia Thermopolis have to say about red carpet fashions. And this first awards ceremony of the year saw some relatively new faces in the crowd, including Hannah Bagshawe, Sophie Hunter, and Amal Alamuddin. The three of them in particular have quite a few things in common - they are British, very beautiful, and I had never heard of them until they got engaged/married to famous actor-men.

All of them are WAGs. This term is traditionally associated with wives and girlfriends of sportsmen, and seems very derogatory. But I actually really respect these 'wives of'. It seems like a very hard job, to try and make something of yourself when the only thing that you're known for is being married to someone, but some people have managed to do it quite well - so well, in fact, that they've fast overtaken their originally famous significant other in the popularity stakes.

Here is a list of seven of my favourite people, some of who have had quite an influence on my life, and who I greatly admire, whom I have found out about only because they married someone famous.

7. Danielle Jonas

View image | gettyimages.com

I don't know anything about Danielle Jonas, but I didn't have a seventh name and I didn't want to have a list comprised of six people, so, really, she only serves as a filler. Oh, and an obligatory Jonas Brothers reference (Tip of the hat to a certain group of friends. You know who you are).

6. Amal Clooney

View image | gettyimages.com

Funny thing about Amal Clooney: Practically the instant she got married to George Clooney, everyone (I mean, the press) stopped calling her by her maiden name of Alamuddin. But they still call the Duchess of Cambridge Kate Middleton, which isn't just incorrect, but improper.

Anyway, she showed up at the Golden Globes last week, dressed like someone out of The Night Circus (Great book, by the way, which I just finished reading. I loved the story, but I have a feeling that the actual circus itself would have bored me to death) and Amy Poehler and Tina Fey made jokes at her husband's expense.

To be honest, I don't know very much about Amal. She just seems very accomplished. Not to forget, her wedding dress was gorgeous.

5. Sophie Hunter

View image | gettyimages.com

When Benedict Cumberbatch announced his engagement, I got too distracted by the reaction on Tumblr (To say that I was shocked would be an understatement. No one was sending her death threats, or Buboter Pus in the mail! Everyone was taking the news calmly and nicely. And these are fangirls, who plot how to get away with murder and would kill to spend one night with their celebrity crush.) to actually Google Sophie Hunter.

Then she started to make appearances on the red carpet, at which point I immediately thought two things; 1) Her dress has pockets. Why don't all dresses have pockets; and 2) I wonder what she sounds like.

I still do. I haven't got the foggiest idea what Sophie Hunter sounds like, and I'm doubly curious because her fiance has a very distinctive, much admired voice. If she sounds like a chipmunk, I am just going to die of laughter.

But those pockets are inspired.

4. Autumn Phillips

View image | gettyimages.com

Autumn Phillips, or Autumn Kelly as she was before her marriage, is the wife of The Queen's oldest grandson, Peter Phillips. When she met Peter, some eleven years ago, she apparently didn't know that he was The Queen's grandson until she saw something about him on television, six weeks later. Now, maybe the Internet wasn't as easily accessible in 2003, but surely she would have Googled him sometime? No?

Anyway, I have always felt that Autumn is one of the most under appreciated members of the royal family. She shows up and weddings and Ascot and thanksgiving services, but hardly anyone notices her, because her clothes aren't as fashionable as Kate's and she isn't as seemingly immortal as The Queen. She made sacrifices to marry Peter - she had to convert to Anglicanism, or he would have lost his place in line to the throne - and she does a good job raising her children, whose descendants may, someday, sit on the throne of England. It's happened before.

Also, that woman can curtsey.

3. Kim Sears

View image | gettyimages.com

I had to have at least one sports name in the list. Also, she and Andy Murray recently got engaged, so huzzah for them!

I can't stand sports. I never play them, and rarely watch them. In fact, the only sport that I watch is tennis, and the only tournament of tennis that I watch is Wimbledon. And for the most part, my eyes are glued to the royal box, looking out of members of the nobility and Pippa Middleton. And when there is no one, I watch Kim Sears. She seems like the kind of person who doesn't take any nonsense from her boyfriend. Or her boyfriend's mother. Or anyone who defeats her boyfriend. Or anyone, really.

And, the faces that she makes. They're so funny.

2. Giovanna Fletcher

View image | gettyimages.com

Giovanna Fletcher is married to Tom Fletcher of McFly. She is also the author of three (is it, now) young adult novels, and a column for Hello! which I used to read diligently, every Monday, but have now fallen behind on. I really should catch up.

I am ashamed to say that when I found out that Giovanna had published a book, I immediately dismissed it as not worth reading. I mean, obviously she had only got the book deal because she was Tom Fletcher's wife, or so I thought. (In my defense, I wasn't being anti-feminist so much as I was believing that just because you can entertain people does not mean you can write a good book. It's true now, though, isn't it? With Zoella, and her ghost writer scandal, and now Tanya Burr is writing a book. It's ridiculous.)

But I read Billy and Me, sometime last year, and I absolutely loved it. It's not going to go winning any literary awards, certainly, but it was a really lovely, touching story. The best analogy that I can come up with is that it is the comfort food of books - you read it when you're upset or stressed or whatever, and it just makes you feel really happy and warm.

In addition, Giovanna is very talented at singing and making announcements with her husband. She's number two on my list mainly because I feel really awful about having misjudged her.

1. Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge

View image | gettyimages.com

Good ol' Catherine. I needn't even have said it, it's so obvious that she's my favourite. I have absolutely adored her from the moment when, a few weeks after her engagement to Prince William, I read an article about her, which claimed that she had once said, about Prince William, "He's lucky to be going out with me."

Now, as I've come to know Kate better, from afar, her saying that seems rather out of character, and it's very possibly not true, but I don't care. The Duchess of Cambridge will always be my favourite.

I really hope she has her baby on the 16th of April. It'll be a fun thing for the rest of my life, the fact that I share a birthday with the future King's younger brother.

Yes, brother. That's my bet. I'll elaborate on it next week.

Or whenever I stop watching soppy Rom-Coms.

N

Welcome To New York

Everyone's favourite Duke and Duchess (because, let's face it: the Duke of Edinburgh's wife is The Queen; no one knows that Prince Charles is also the Duke of Cornwall and Rothesay; the Duke of York isn't married anymore, and even though Sarah Ferguson hold the title of Duchess, no one calls them the Duke and Duchess of York anymore; and the Dukes of Gloucester and Kent are way too far down in the line of succession to be anyone's favourite) William and Catherine are in New York City!

Minus their baby boy George, which is always a disappointment.

William and Kate arrived yesterday, and they're leaving tomorrow, so it isn't a very long visit, but they've got quite a packed itinerary (see here) and I think they're meeting the Obama's at some point.

They are staying at The Carlyle Hotel. Now, I have no idea where that is, but if you live anywhere near by, or even a subway ride away, you should go and just stand in the lobby, waiting for William and Kate to pass by when they go to the pool or something. 

Unlike nearly two years ago when she was expecting George, Kate looks a lot more obviously pregnant now.

Look:

Photo: The Duke & Duchess of Cambridge arrive at The Carlyle Hotel in NYC. pic.twitter.com/rbEQQIxOIb
— ET Canada (@ETCanada) December 7, 2014 

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, William and Kate, arrive in New York City http://t.co/nTEsd62O7D #CBSEveNews pic.twitter.com/pyNZJspe9w
— CBS Evening News (@CBSEveningNews) December 8, 2014 

I have a fair bit more to write about this Royal visit to New York, but, seeing as how I'm currently quite bogged down with projects and assignments and procrastinating, I'm going to have to put it off until next week.

There will be more pictures,

N 

This Is Basically An Advertisement

It's been a boring couple of weeks, royal-ly speaking. No one has died, no one has gotten engaged (Well, no one royal anyway. I'll get back to this), the Duchess of Cambridge is pregnant, but we've known about that for a while now, so it isn't really news.

It has been confirmed, though, that the royal baby is due in April, which is the same month as I was born in, so hopefully, HOPEFULLY, Baby Cambridge No. 2 will share a birthday with me. *fingers crossed*

During this drought of royal news, I have been keeping myself otherwise occupied. You'd think that means that I actually did something useful with my life for once, like studied or cleaned up the disarray that is my desk, but no. I wrote a blog series about the lives of Georgian Queens (Also, I watched all 100 episodes of the Lizzie Bennett Diaries).

So, the wives of Georgian Kings. It's something that I'm actually quite proud of, and I'm pretty sure that's the only reason I was granted the title of Senior Reporter, so go and check that out, if you want. Links:

Sophia Dorothea of Celle, the consort (well....) of King George I.

Caroline of Ansbach, Queen to King George II.

Caroline of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, Queen to King George III. Incidentally, while I was writing this, I realised that I'd been spelling Mecklenburg-Strelitz wrong all this while. M-E-C-K-L-E-N-B-U-R-G S-T-R-E-L-I-T-Z.

Caroline of Brunswick, the mother of King George IV's daughter.

Adelaide of Saxe-Meiningen, Queen to King William IV. I still don't know how to spell Saxe-Meiningen. I have to constantly copy and paste it from Wikipedia.

~

In other news, Benedict Cumberbatch is engaged to Sophie I've-never-heard-of-her-before Hunter (Based on the time-stamp, it may seem odd that I know this, but I'm not actually writing this on the date that it says, I'm writing it much later). I was most upset about this, as my friends will testify, but not so much because he was actually engaged, but more so because I didn't even know that he had a girlfriend. I didn't think celebrities could do that - have a relationship without every single person on the Internet knowing. Because if they can, it means that Prince Harry could get engaged tomorrow, without so much as a sign.

I don't think I'd be able to survive that.

~

I really don't have anything to do until the next royal baby arrives, but I do have a stack of books that I have yet to sink my teeth into. I've completely abandoned the 100 Book Challenge - there is no way I'm going to be able to read sixty books in the next two months - but I don't see why I can't make it to at least 52 books.

And when I read books, I type some nonsense about them on my blog. So on Sunday (the next post, because you really don't know when I'm typing this), after much delay, I will post my review of The Captive Queen, and then the Red Queen after that. I've also got Wolf Hall and Bring Up The Bodies, so if I ever tear myself away from YouTube and read, I'll review those as well.

It could be a while.

N

You're Not Normal!

Last week's royal hullabaloo was over the fact that the paparazzi have been taking unsolicited pictures of Prince George as he plays in the park with his nanny (And pairing said pictures with hilarious headlines like "Prince George has a ball". Because he's playing with a ball). Now, I'm not going to encourage you to view these pictures by posting a link, because they were taken without William and Kate's consent, but I will give you a bit of friendly advice: If you want to read funny things about Prince George, that may be slightly mean, but are written with love, Suri's Burn Book is one of my favourites. Also Buzzfeed.

Anyway, back to the photographs issue. Apparently, some photographers are stalking little George, to the extent that they know his daily routine and regular hangout spots. Now if that is really happening, then it's very wrong. He's a baby. He doesn't realise what's happening, so he's not fair game. So, if that's happening, it's perfectly normal for the Cambridges threatening to take legal action.

But if there's no actual stalking - if it's just people who happen to be in Hyde Park, taking pictures of that famous baby which they recognise from all the papers - then I personally feel that William and Kate are being a bit silly. And that's not just because I like looking at pictures of Prince George playing in the grass.

This is just an extension of Prince William's constant whinging about wanting to be normal. And though I love William and Kate just as much, or maybe more, than the next person, their constant I-just-want-to-lead-a-normal-life-ing is often quite annoying.

As Darren McGrady said: 

@MPearon They Royal Family AREN'T normal. We BOW and CURTSEY to them. They can't and DON'T have on and off buttons
— The Royal Chef (@DarrenMcGrady) October 2, 2014

If I've said it once before, I've said it a hundred times - the only reason the royals are so fascinating to us common folk is because they're part of a family that, for a thousand years, has been more privileged and more powerful than anyone else. Also because even though Kate Cambridge's clothes sometimes cost north of £1,000, she's always wearing a new outfit. Normal people can't afford to do that.

A lot of people criticise the Duke and Duchess of Camridge for being "lazy", and for not carrying out as many engagements as, say, the Earl and Countess of Wessex or the Princess Royal, and for randomly going off on holidays to Mustique. But I don't think that they are affecting the Royal Family as much by doing that as they are by going around and proclaiming themselves to be, just normal. Because if I want a normal person to look up to, I know plenty. I only know one Duchess of Cambridge.

~

All week long I've been watching behind the scenes and interviews with the cast and crew of The White Queen, for some reason, and I've grown very fond of Edward IV. This is because, and only because, of sheer brilliance on the part of the casting directors. I've always personally thought of King Edward as a bit idiotic and shortsighted, even. Great military leader and tactician he may have been, but he married a power hungry and selfish... well, you know, and his entire dynasty was in shambles within two years of his death. And yet I am willing to overlook those things, which may or may not have anything to do with the fact that Max Irons, who plays him, looks like this:

This is great news from the perspective of another Yorkist ruler....

God save Richard, England’s royal king! #TheHollowCrown pic.twitter.com/CzSaiDMOyJ
— BBC Two (@BBCTwo) October 1, 2014

RICHARD III !!!

Because you cannot hate Benedict Cumberbatch on a horse. No matter how many nephews he murders (Remember, this picture was released by the BBC ahead of the next season of The Hollow Crown. The show is based on William Shakespeare's plays, so you can be sure that Richard/Benedict had something to do with the death of the Princes in the Tower).

~

Anyway, do you remember my attempts at book reviewing a few months ago - I reviewed a few books from Philippa Gregory's The Cousins' War series? Well, it's coming back! Next week, I'm going to review Alison Weir's The Captive Queen, about Eleanor of Aquitaine, and the week after that I'm going to write about Anya Seton's Katherine, about Katherine Swynford.

If I ever finish it, that is.

N

#HappyBirthdayKate

It's the Duchess of Cambridge's birthday. She's 32 today. Wish her on Twitter!

No, you can't, she doesn't have a Twitter.

Which brings me to my main subject - royalty on Twitter.
(If you were expecting something more to do with the actual event of Kate turning 32, there will be a post on Royal Central and an article in the Daily Mail which will list 32 facts about the Duchess, more than half of which I will already know. But I'll put links at the bottom of the post for those who want to know more, anyway.)

None of the higher up royals are on Twitter. The Queen obviously isn't, and not just because she's getting on in age, and, if my grandparents are anything to go by, probably doesn't know how to use anything more newfangled than Google. No, she doesn't use it because she's the Queen. She has a certain image to maintain, and it would most certainly be defiled if she sank as low as Twitter, where she would have to be on an equal platform with the likes of Justin Beiber - even more so if she didn't manage to gather as many followers as him.

Prince Charles doesn't have a Twitter either, but Clarence House does. Clarence House is the official residence of the Prince of Wales, and usually they are the first to convey important royal news on the Internet. Like when Prince George was born, or when it was decided that the excitement about Prince George was going down and it was time to christen him to liven things up a little bit.

This is what Clarence House looks like. You can follow them at @ClarenceHouse.

Neither of Princes William and Harry have a recognised Twitter. That doesn't strike me odd - after all, they are a part of The Firm - but they're both still young, and Prince William has an iPhone. What does he do on it if he isn't tweeting?
Last year, it was revealed that Prince Harry did have a Facebook account, which was taken down following the debacle with the pictures in Las Vegas, and a little before that, he said in an interview that he reads almost all the articles written about him even though his father has told him not to. Which is why I wouldn't put it past Harry to have a Twitter too. It's probably called something inconspicuous, though, like Steve or Jim, so if you see someone on Twitter who looks to ordinary to be true, it's probably Prince Harry. Follow that person. (Don't really.)

However, the next in line to the throne (I'm excluding Prince George from this altogether. I don't think he knows how to speak, let alone tweet), the Duke of York, does have a Twitter.

If you're wondering why I've stuck a picture of Prince Andrew in the middle of the post is because he is a relatively obscure royal and not many people even know who he is. For those people, that is the Duke of York. His Twitter is @TheDukeOfYork, but he isn't the only one who uses it. In fact, he hardly uses it at all, just occasionally. His tweets are signed 'AY', for Andrew York.

Another, well, ex-royal with a Twitter, is Andrew's ex-wife, Sarah Ferguson, the Duchess of York. Her Twitter seems like she actually uses it, which is fitting because she's always struck me as the most different and modern, I suppose, of the otherwise extremely rigid royal family. The Duchess was very interested in Queen Victoria before she got married (and after - she was a producer for the movie, The Young Victoria), so it must have been a dream for her to marry Victoria's great-great-great-grandson. Well, into the family, anyway. Even though she got divorced from Andrew, she never married again, which is why she was allowed to retain the title of Duchess of York. She's very close to her daughters, and sometimes she wears crazy clothes, like she is a 25 year old, not the mother of one. Despite leaving The Firm she's continued to do charity work and one time she did an interview with Cheryl Cole, and it was hilarious. Twitter: @SarahTheDuchess

None of the royals lower than Prince Andrew have a Twitter of which I know, but there is an account for the British Monarchy (@BritishMonarchy) which isn't maintained by any of the members of the family, but is an official account and does post relevant and accurate royal information, so if that's what you want you can follow them.

Good people to follow if you're looking for concise and almost instant information about the British Royal Family are royal correspondents. These are the people who write for newspapers and websites or appear on the news channels to talk about royalty. If you follow too many of them, like I have, and something big happens, like Prince William goes back to school, it does get a little bit repetitive, and a lot of the times it's just one correspondent retweeting another, so choose wisely.

My personal favourites are Dickie and Victoria Arbiter. They're father and daughter - he was a press spokesman for Her Majesty and she is a royal contributor for CNN. Both of them are great fun, especially if you have a fair bit of knowledge about the members and the working of the royal family. You can follow them at @RoyalDickie and @victoriaarbiter.

Also, you should follow Royal Central, because I write for them, and I'm not above blatant promotion of websites which I write for (A link to this post will go onto my Facebook page five minutes after it is published).

Duchess of Cambridge turns 32: Royal Central's article.

N

Best. Week. Ever.

Nelson Mandela died on Thursday, which was a bit of a downer, but otherwise I've had the most marvelous week.

First things first, this:

The Duchess of Cambridge wore a tiara! Oh, happy days!

As someone who loves the Duchess and loves a good tiara, this is the perfect combination. The last time I saw Kate in a tiara was at her wedding, but I was such a novice at royal watching at the time, that I couldn't identify the tiara, and it didn't seem that special to me that she'd worn one. After all, princesses wear tiaras all the time.

Well, not this Princess (Do not ever refer to Catherine as a Princess. She is not a Princess. She is only a Duchess). There has been nary a tiara on her head since that glorious April day two years ago. Which is what makes this tiara appearance so special. It's the first one she's made in a couple of years and it may well be the last one she makes for another couple of years.

Details about the tiara are available on Order of Splendor (Link). If you aren't interested in reading all of that, I shall condense it into one sentence for you. Here: That is the Lotus Flower Tiara, it used to belong to the Queen Mum, and then to Princess Margaret, it is a very pretty looking trinket, and it shines.

Coming to what this post is really about, tiara wearing duchesses aside:

I saw the Catching Fire movie!

I don't know if anyone remembers, but watching the Catching Fire movie was the last on my list of things that I was looking forward to in 2013, and also the only non-royal thing, so obviously quite important to me. Unfortunately, due to scheduling conflicts, the movie only released in my city this Friday, instead of the intended two weeks ago, so I was subjected to two weeks of people on Tumblr fangirling without actually being able to join in. Until now.

Because it's been available to watch for so long, there are a vast number of better written reviews and opinions about Catching Fire floating about on the Internet, so whatever I write is too little, too late. But read through it because a view will be added to my tally whether or not you do. Don't let me get views for nothing.

Warning, spoilers.

The Hunger Games: Catching Fire. AMAZING. Really, REALLY good. A great adaptation, and so much better than the first one. There were shivers running down my spine as I watched it.

Disappointments? Finnick Odair. Well, Sam Claflin as Finnick. I had rather hoped that because they had cast an Englishman as Finnick, he would have a British accent, but he did not. Other than that, Sam Claflin was fine. And I particularly like Lynn Cohen as Mags.
Another disappointment was their failure to mention Haymitch's Games, the Second Quarter Quell. I understand that it would have been difficult for the people making the movie to construct a set for that specific arena, and get 48 children and go to all that trouble just for maybe five minutes of screen time, but I feel that it's important to give the viewers a bit of insight into what Haymitch was like, why he ended up like he did. Haymitch is a pretty important character, right till the end, and it'll be a shame if the people who only watch the movies don't know him at all.

Also, the kiss. The one on the beach at night, which is when Katniss really begins to feel something for Peeta, when she realises that she would be most affected by his death. Much like the first movie, where the multiple kisses from the book were reduced to a single, unmemorable one, this specific kiss is quite a blink-and-you-miss-it moment. As a matter of fact, at the precise point in time that Katniss and Peeta were kissing, I had something in my eye and was blinking like a mad person. Fortunately enough, there is a plethora of .gifs of that very scene that I was able to stare at unblinkingly when I got home. And there were a lot of other kisses throughout the movie, which I saw quite clearly.

Un-disappointments? Everything else. This was probably the best book to movie adaptation that I have ever seen, and one of my favourite movies of all time. Francis Lawrence was an awesome director and whoever wrote the script (Google it) really stuck to the original story. But it was the ending that was especially spectacular. I know how it ends, I know how the entire series ends, and yet I found myself holding my breath. The movie lasted two and a half hours. It felt like minutes. And, most important of all, the screen didn't shake everytime there was running! It's a miracle what a good camera stabiliser can do for a movie.
If you need further testimony of how good it was, know this: as far as the books go, I preferred The Hunger Games to Catching Fire. Having seen this movie, however, I am now seriously reconsidering.

As for the cast, Jena Malone as Johanna Mason was magnificent. As was Philip Seymour Hoffman as Plutarch Heavensbee. And, of course, Elizabeth Banks. I've always liked Effie. I feel like I should also give a special mention to Josh Hutcherson, because he did an incredible job portraying Peeta Mellark, especially Peeta's love for Katniss. The real test of his acting, though, will be Mockingjay, in which he plays a deranged Peeta Mellark.

And Jennifer Lawrence. I'm not even going to get started on Jennifer Lawrence. Jennifer Lawrence is the best thing about the entire movie franchise. Jennifer Lawrence is well worth whatever obscene amount of money she gets paid. God bless Jennifer Lawrence.

Almost the minute I got home, I went onto Tumblr. Most of the fangirls there have seen the movie, three, maybe four times already. And there were a lot of posts about what they noticed in each of these viewings; how the movie deviated from the book in the first instance, the portrayal of the characters in the second instance, small details that they'd overlooked the first two times in the third instance.

But I got Effie's reference to Mahogany, a subtle hint at her most famous dialogue from the first movie. I heard Katniss say that she loves Peeta, right at the end on the hovercraft. I saw Annie Cresta off on one side when Mags volunteered. For some reason, I always knew exactly where to look, and looked just there. I didn't miss a single thing. And I am so proud of myself.

An interesting thing that I read on that website was that the end of Catching Fire, at the moment when Katniss and Johanna walk away from the lightning tree, is the last time we see Peeta as his completely normal self. I didn't realise that when I read about it, because obviously I didn't know what happened next. If you've read the books, you know that he gets captured by the Capitol and tortured until he starts to hate Katniss. If you haven't read the books, I already warned you about spoilers, so you can't hold that against me.

But that post really got me to thinking. Peeta never really was the same after that. Sure, he and Katniss got married (Did they, though?) and had children together, but I don't think he ever really loved her as much as he did the first time. And that's a shame, because he loved her truly. And because I ship them.

N

I Go Off On A Rant About Prince William

I didn't post last week. Exams.

Despite that, I was not too busy to spend a lot of time on various Royal Confession pages on Tumblr. Now, I love the royal family to bits, but there are only so much Kate-hate confessions you can read before you start wondering whether they aren't so wrong after all. (Of course, I agreed with some of the confessions right away. Like Jecca Craig for godmother? Yes, please.)

So I thought I'd write a post filled with my own royal confessions. It was originally meant to be me ranting about the things about royalty that bothered me after I'd read them on the confessions pages, but it took me so long to actually get around to writing that I forgot everything bad that I'd thought about the royals and began to feel animosity towards the confession pages. But I didn't have anything else to write about, so the subject stayed. Except, instead of me ranting, it's mostly me defending.

Except Prince William. He may be future King, but I don't defend him.

Duke of Windsor

When Edward VIII abdicated to marry Wallis Simpson, the Duke of York became King and he was under a lot of pressure as a wartime ruler, and he smoked heavily, and that lead to his early demise. A lot of people at the time blamed Edward for sending his brother to the grave by forcing him into becoming King, a job that he didn't want.
But it wasn't a job that Edward wanted either, was it? All he wanted was to marry his girlfriend (Not mistress, mind you), which he wasn't allowed to do. Besides, Bertie was probably adequately trained to take over as King, seeing as their father was the Duke of York too. King George V only became King because his elder brother Albert died of pneumonia, so he was just as well prepared as Bertie. And he ruled for 26 years and through a war to boot. So it wasn't Edward's fault.

Duchesses of Cornwall and Cambridge

While the majority of hate on the confession pages was directed towards Kate, a fair share was directed towards Camilla as well, and almost all this hate was due to the fact that neither Kate nor Camilla are anything like Diana was. And I just thought it so unfair.
It isn't right to compare Kate and Camilla to Diana. All three entered the royal family under extremely different circumstances; Diana was the young, innocent virgin who was going to marry the Prince of Wales. Camilla, on the other hand, was the woman who ruined Diana's life and was now taking her place, and Kate was just the new Diana. Everything she did would be compared to the late Princess, and great things were expected from her as the new 'People's Princess'.
Princess Diana was a wonderful woman. She was compassionate and charitable and she brought up her children well. She did a lot for the royal family, and for England, but both Camilla and Kate aren't bad either. They do embark upon charity work, and they dress well (Well, Kate dresses well), and both of them support their husbands without overshadowing them, without making them feel less important, and that's something that is valued in a royal spouse. And, honestly, Kate is one of my favourite people in the world. I respect her for not using having had a baby as an excuse to stay at home, and for putting on a brave face despite all the terrible things that paparazzi have done (including that topless photo scandal), and for allegedly saying about William, "He's lucky to be going out with me". 
They aren't ruining the monarchy, they aren't 'lazy'. And they aren't anything like Diana, but that's fine. 

Prince William

Prince William constantly expresses his desire to lead a normal life. It's common knowledge that he doesn't like his position as a royal and heir to the throne, and would give it all up if he could. But does William really know what it's like to be regular? Sure, the royals have problems like the media, and the lack of privacy (caused by the media), and the rigid protocol (so that the media won't have anything to write about). Basically, all the royals' problems boil down to the media. What doesn't bother them, however, are bills, and the economy, and good grades, and getting a job, and buying a house; all the things that bother regular people. And it's never bothered them. I wonder if William knows what it's like. And if he realises that if he was regular, he wouldn't have been able to quit work just because his son was born and he wanted to look after him.
Except for a few rare cases, when you're born into a certain class of society you stay in that class for the rest of your life. And if that's how it is, isn't it better to be born into a privileged class, where your biggest worry is whether a photographer took a picture of you leaving some posh nightclub, than to be, say, below the poverty line?
And being a royal doesn't consign you to a life of being stalked by cameramen. Just look at the royals from other countries. Frederik and Mary and Willem-Alexander and Maxima and all their children lead fairly normal lives. They go to school, and public places, and participate in regular events, and they don't really feel the effects of being a royal. Granted, the British press is more ruthless than anywhere else in the world, but it can't be all that bad.
Also, the monarchy is Britain's greatest tourist attraction. So much of their money just comes from the fact that people from all over the world flock to see their royalty. This summer, I spent over 2,000 pounds on staying in London and sightseeing and buying merchandise just because I'm fascinated by the royals. Multiple that by the millions of tourists who come in every year, and it's no wonder the Duchess of Cambridge can afford dresses that cost 7,000 pounds. And the reason the people come is because the royal life is so exciting compared to their own, with palaces, and servants, and balls (I think). They live this exiting life vicariously through members of the royal family, so I don't think they'd pay quite as much to see a bunch of regular people. If I wanted to see a regular family, I wouldn't travel halfway around the world or spend hours on end on the Internet. I'd shut down my computer and look at my own family. They're quite normal. Or I'd look at Mr. and Mrs. Dursley, of number four, Privet Drive. They are perfectly normal, thank you very much.
The point is, no one wants to see the royals as regular people. It's boring.

With Prince William, it's a simple case of the grass being greener on the other side, isn't it? Except, this time, the grass really isn't greener.

~

That's all the royal... things I can think of at the moment.

Because I have classes on Saturday, I don't usually have enough time to also write something for my blog, so from now on, I'm going to be posting on Sundays instead.

I wish enough people read my blog to actually care.

N

Your Shoelace Is Untied

In my last post, I wrote about my desire to see the Duchess of Cambridge appear in public sans Prince George. Two weeks have passed since then (I really should not forget to put something onto my blog when Saturday rolls around), but the Duchess has complied. And not just once. Twice!

Here she is out shopping, looking prettier than someone should when they're buying groceries.

And here she is at the start of the Anglesey ultra-marathon with William, who is just having the best time with that bell. She's been wearing jeans all week, which is quite unlike her, but good in a way. Makes her seem more common. Like someday we could all be like good ol' Kate Cambridge.

Hmm. Maybe not.

Sometimes I wonder whether it's wrong of the press, and of the people who go on to read their articles, and of the multiple website that talk about her (mine included) to encroach upon Kate's privacy like so, but then I remember that she spent over £7000 on this dress that she wore only once, probably without batting an eyelid, and I just go back to looking at every picture of her that I can find.

~

There were two basic skills that I did not learn as a child and that I haven't completely grasped yet. One of them is telling the time on a clock that isn't digital. The other is tying shoelaces. And as a result of that, oftentimes my shoelaces are terribly tied, and come undone as I walk. Now, every morning for the last two months I have been walking the kilometer from the train station to my college campus, and on that walk my shoelaces invariably get untied. I don't ever stop to tie them, partially because I know they won't stay tied, but mostly because if I stopped, and bent down, I'd hold up the people behind me, and they'd all get irritated. And trust me, you do not want to further irritate people who have spent an hour on a crowded train on a Monday morning. No. So I end up just walking without tying my shoelaces, and to compromise for my lack of shoelace tying skills, I have learned to walk without tripping, so it doesn't bother me one bit. What does bother me is every person who I pass stopping me to tell me "Your shoelace is untied".

It's a good sentiment, I know, and I should probably be grateful that they tried to avert the possible event of my tripping and falling on my face, but for some reason, it really annoys me. I know that my shoelace is untied, random stranger, because I am not daft, and because the person who passed me not two seconds ago told me the same thing. But I can't say that to a person. That's incredibly rude. Also, time-consuming, which is my bigger concern. It's a lot quicker to just nod and walk on, shoelace still undone.

If this was a good story, it would have a moral like 'Strangers can be helpful too', or 'If you can't tie your shoelaces, you should probably go with Velcro.' But this isn't a good story, so there isn't a moral. Deal with it.

~

You know how at the end of a YouTube video, the person who made the video asks you to give it a thumb-up if you liked it? Well, I'm not going to do that about my blog, because I don't know if you can like a blog post, but I am going to ask you to go over to Order of Splendor, where I have voted for the Girls of Great Britain and Ireland and Poltimore Tiaras as the two ultimate diamond tiaras in the comments of the last post (here's a link), and if you agree with me or just like me, somehow, give that a thumb up. I write under the username 'N', but I also leave a link to my blog, so if you load all the comments and ctrl+f for 'blood' or 'sweat' you should find it (Searching for 'tiaras' would be absolutely redundant. Don't do that). And if you thumb it up, I promise I will leave you alone for an entire week.