The Faint Tinkle of Royal Wedding Bells?

Your timing is impeccable, Your Highness ... if true.


According to a September 21 squib in Vanityfair.com (www.vanityfair.com/online/style/2009/09/which-queen-spent-the-morning-in-harlem) a confidant (who may no longer be one by now) of Britain's Prince William and his on-again/off-again girlfriend of eight years, Kate Middleton, have set a wedding date.





Vanity Fair alleges that the couple's university chum Jules Knight (a member of the boy band Blake -- which means absolutely nothing to me, so maybe some of you readers can enlighten me) have set a June 2012 date for their "I do's."

The reason for the delay, according to Knight (lovely name for a prince's pal, isn't it? How teddibly, teddibly fitting!) is that Wills wants to wait until he turns thirty (nothing like emulating your father's timetable regarding his BrideQuest, eh, wot?). Apparently, "Kate is fine with that." Additionally, says Knight, the second in line to the British throne wants to focus on his RAF (Royal Air Force, for the uninitiated) training.


Kate Middleton -- with, Prince Harry: her future brother-in-law, perhaps?

According to an article in http://www.people.co.uk/, one of their pals said: “He is very careerminded and wants to get as high up as he can in the force. Kate knows he loves her and wants to marry her but also understands what it means to be the girlfriend of the future king.”



If there is a June 2012 date already set, those of us who have tripped down the aisle, or at least taken the trip, know that you need that much time to plan a wedding, half of which is generally devoted to squabbling among the future in-laws! At least they might not have trouble booking a band: Blake is purportedly Kate's first choice, so I doubt they'll have to worry about the band having another booking on their special day.

Your Highness, Miss Middleton -- I wish you all the best. And in the fairy tale maelstrom that the world continues to stir up regarding your royal romance, and (perhaps) your upcoming nuptials, may you both be able to plant your feet firmly on the ground and remain rooted to the realities of marriage.


Will they or won't they hear wedding bells? In June 2012? Sooner? Later? Never?

Please chime in!

Awww, I'm blushing!

I've never received a blog award before. I'm touched and tickled pink. So I thank the lovely and generous Allie over at www.histficchick.blogspot.com who passed along this award to me ... of course the reason my blog is so lovely is because she coached (copiously) from the sidelines, guiding me where to go online for terrific backgrounds and banners. I was thrilled to fong an image of a crowned woman and a key to her heart -- perfect indeed for a blog titled ROYAL AFFAIRS!

and ... if you have any royal scandals on your mind, please pop in for a visit anytime to discuss them. Who are some of your favorite scandalous royals -- and why?

A Most RAUCOUS acquisition!

I am delighted to say that I am now the very tickled recipient of Carlyn Beccia's delightful (and fabulously illustrated) RAUCOUS ROYALS.

Not only can this delicious volume be enjoyed by adults for its sheer whimsy (as well as its solid research); but it's a set of regal training wheels (and I mean the phrase as a compliment) for younger readers whose appetites for royal scandals will surely be whetted by it, and who may become tempted down the line to read my nonfiction titles on royals behaving badly ...

ROYAL AFFAIRS: A Lusty Romp Through the Extramarital Adventures That Rocked the British Monarchy;

and

NOTORIOUS ROYAL MARRIAGES: A Juicy Journey Through Nine Centuries of Dynasty, Destiny, and Desire. (from NAL trade; the release date is January 5, 2010).

Carlyn will soon be giving away a copy of ROYAL AFFAIRS on her blog, http://blog.raucousroyals.com/ so be sure to pay her a visit. Her blog is always chock-full of fascinating historical arcana.

Allie Rocks!

I have finally brought this blog up to aesthetic speed!

And about 95% of the credit is due to the talented, witty, and articulate Allie Greenwald at www.histficchick.blogspot.com.

Allie is one of the premier bloggers in the world of historical fiction. Without her online tutorials, suggestions, crosstown hand-holding, talking this near-Luddite off the metaphorical ledge, my blog wouldn't look this pretty.

Please visit my other blog, too, at www.leslie-carroll.blogspot.com to view my own efforts after following her tutorial.

NOTORIOUS ROYAL MARRIAGES -- the cover!

At long last I have been given the thumbs-up to formally release the cover image for my second nonfiction release, NOTORIOUS ROYAL MARRIAGES: A Juicy Journey Through Nine Centuries of Dynasty, Destiny, and Desire.





Comparing the selection of a marriage partner to fishing for an eel—that staple of Renaissance diets—Sir Thomas More’s father commented that it was as if “ye should put your hand into a blind bag full of snakes and eels together, seven snakes for one eel.”




In these pages are the snakes as well as the eels—the disastrous unions and the delightful ones; the martyrs to marriage and the iconoclasts who barely took their vows seriously; the saintly and the suffering; the rebels and the renegades—all of whom took the phrases “I do” and “I will” and ran as far as they could go with them, exploring and embracing the broad spectrum of passion, power, and possibilities far beyond the royal bedchamber.



You can pre-order the book from Amazon at

http://www.amazon.com/Notorious-Royal-Marriages-Journey-Centuries/dp/0451229010/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1252980499&sr=1-1

Worth Mentioning: The Royal Unmentionables

A pair of drawers and a linen chemise that once belonged to Queen Victoria (1819-1901) have been restored to Britain's Royal Ceremonial Dress Collection at London's Kensington Palace.

Although Victoria had a sylphlike 20-inch waist when she became queen at the age of eighteen, decades of roast beef, Yorkshire pudding, and unhappiness when she was widowed in 1861 at the age of forty-two, took their toll.

The pair of drawers, with its 56-inch waist have a matching chemise (which is quite voluminous). Both unmentionables are embroidered with a "VR" (which stands for Victoria Regina, Latin for Queen Victoria) and are believed to date from the 1890s.

In my nonfiction debut, ROYAL AFFAIRS there is a chapter on Victoria's relationship with one of her Highland ghillies, John Brown, and the rampant innuendo that speculated on whether they became sexually involved, leading to her nickname of "Mrs. Brown."

And in NOTORIOUS ROYAL MARRIAGES, which will be published on January 5, 2010, you can read a chapter on one of the greatest real-life love stories in English history, Victoria's marriage to her first cousin, Albert of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha. Theirs was the rare happy royal marriage.

The Versailles Glide

Come on over to my other blog at http://www.leslie-carroll.blogspot.com/ and learn how I suffered for my art, by taking lessons in the Versailles Glide, all in the name of research for my novel-in-progress on the early years of Marie Antoinette!

Maria Zannieri, dance teacher, choreographer, and period dance expert -- shown here with her husband John DeBlass and co-owner of West Side Dance Project studios at 260 W. 36th Street, 3rd floor, NYC, where I had my lesson from Maria in the Versailles Glide. John and Maria are a multitalented couple, superb dance teachers, theatre directors, and choreographers (and John's a music teacher, too)