Hello, hello! Who is that dashing young bike demon in the full-body leather suit, thought I on first look. To my surprise, I found it be none other than the future King of England, Prince William (yes, yes, the future, future King of England if you want to get technical). Nearly fell off my chair, I did!!  After musing that Harry's the new royal superstar a couple of weeks back, it seems Wills is making a comeback bid for the title.

William looks like a cross between Elvis Presley (in that suit, circa 1968), and Darth Vader (before he took the helmet off - no, you have to admit he's charismatic in a dark side kind of way). Bet all those polo princesses nearly fainted, or at least spilt their glass of champers....The royals really have come a long way (see below) - could you imagine Prince Charles being allowed out at that age on the 1000cc (or whatever you call motorbike thingys) ? The outrage!  Just wouldn't have been approved of. And, as Wills notes, he can relax in anonymity with his helmet on (Darth, take note). Drop-dead gorge and disguised all at once  - way to multi-task, Wills!

Bless! The newest little Danish royal bub looks very cute in his first official photo.  He seems to have inherited dad Prince Joachim's looks. No surprises there, as it seems all the Danish royal children take after dad no matter who the wife. Forget that the mums did all the hard work of pregnancy, birthing, etc, etc - as far as looks go, Marie, Mary, or Alexandra just aren't getting a look in!

But aren't they a picture of the modern blended family? All steps and halfs, looking as content as.... well, your average happy family. And this feat apparently accomplished without a scrap of public outrage - unlike the British royals, who've had to go through so much difficulty over recent years trying to come to terms with modern family life and the public approval/disapproval thereof.

Either the Danes are an easygoing lot, or perhaps the British royals' travails paved the way for the rest of the European royals to have a smoother ride through the often treacherous path of modern relationships and family....

Yay! Another royal wedding in the making (gotta love a royal wedding), with Swedish Crown Princess Victoria's engagement announcement. In her Hello! Profile, Princess Victoria noted the difficulty in maintaining privacy around her romantic life. "I am tired of the speculations," she says. "It's really a problem to have a relationship with someone." Victoria's now put an end to that bit of speculation by announcing her nuptials to Daniel Westling, her personal trainer, no less! Well, her former personal trainer now turned gym chain owner.

Even so, could you imagine Harry or Wills announcing their plans to wed their former personal trainer? (Despite motorbikes and leather suits, British royalty isn't that progressive, is it??) Perhaps it's that that easygoing Nordic attitude again that allows Victoria to marry the man she loves, regardless of his aristocratic pedigree.

But really, Victoria's only swapped that bit of speculation for 'what will her wedding dress look like', followed closely by 'when are they having a baby' - dare I suggest she could gazump some of that spec by strolling down the aisle a few months preggers.....oooh, a shotgun wedding! The outrage!... or perhaps that's barely worth the bat of an eyelash in swingin' Sweden....

PS Melbourne better get sweeping and polishing their streets in preparation for a Royal visit. What Royal visit? Oops...that's supposed to be a secret !