Having Your Wedding Cake and Eating It Too

When Blair and Brown (unilike Major and Thatcher) weren't invited to tomorrow's wedding, St James' Palace explained the omission by pointing out that, unlike the two Tory ex-PMs, neither was a knight of the garter. (Bet you didn't know that was a necessary qualification for being invited, did you? Don't worry, neither did anyone else until a couple of days ago.) When it was observed that all living ex-prime ministers had been invited to C&D's wedding in 1981, only one of whom was a knight of the garter, they further clarified:

“It is a private wedding and the couple are entitled to invite whoever they want to it. Prince William is not the Prince of Wales or the King, and he hasn’t got that link to prime ministers in the way that the Queen does.”

Ok then, that's clear as a crystal chandelier. The wedding is a private wedding, and the invitations come from the couple, not the government. How could anyone imagine that it was meant as a political snub?

Isn't it strange, then, that William Hague was able to disinvite the Syrian ambassador today for reasons of state? What a cheek, poking his nose into William and Kate's private affairs! After all, Dr Sami Khiyami must have been a personal friend of theirs, or they wouldn't have invited him. I'm sure they're miffed! Just as they are no doubt bosom pals with the Bahraini Crown Prince, Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, who regretfully declined his invitation in case it should draw unwelcome attention to the cause of democracy. Probably they know him through Uncle Andrew.

The good news is, now that Salman and Sami can't make it, maybe they can squeeze in Tony and Gordon after all?

Having Your Wedding Cake and Eating It Too

When Blair and Brown (unilike Major and Thatcher) weren't invited to tomorrow's wedding, St James' Palace explained the omission by pointing out that, unlike the two Tory ex-PMs, neither was a knight of the garter. (Bet you didn't know that was a necessary qualification for being invited, did you? Don't worry, neither did anyone else until a couple of days ago.) When it was observed that all living ex-prime ministers had been invited to C&D's wedding in 1981, only one of whom was a knight of the garter, they further clarified:

“It is a private wedding and the couple are entitled to invite whoever they want to it. Prince William is not the Prince of Wales or the King, and he hasn’t got that link to prime ministers in the way that the Queen does.”

Ok then, that's clear as a crystal chandelier. The wedding is a private wedding, and the invitations come from the couple, not the government. How could anyone imagine that it was meant as a political snub?

Isn't it strange, then, that William Hague was able to disinvite the Syrian ambassador today for reasons of state? What a cheek, poking his nose into William and Kate's private affairs! After all, Dr Sami Khiyami must have been a personal friend of theirs, or they wouldn't have invited him. I'm sure they're miffed! Just as they are no doubt bosom pals with the Bahraini Crown Prince, Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, who regretfully declined his invitation in case it should draw unwelcome attention to the cause of democracy. Probably they know him through Uncle Andrew.

The good news is, now that Salman and Sami can't make it, maybe they can squeeze in Tony and Gordon after all?