Sophie, Countess of Wessex, turned 40 years old January 20th.

“I feel great”, she said.

As she celebrated her 40th, Sophie opened a new sixth form centre at Collingwood College in Camberley, Surrey, near her Bagshot Park home. The Countess received flowers, balloons and a 12-candle birthday cake baked by school caterers.

Catering manager Sandra Oakes of contractor Scolarest came up with the idea. She said: “It was just from a meeting that we had that we realised it was Sophie’s birthday today and we decided it was a nice opportunity to make a cake.”

Addressing pupils and staff as she unveiled a plaque to mark the opening of the £5 million centre, she told how she had earlier spoken to a group of younger children outside and asked them how old they thought she was.

She said: “It ranged from 18, which pleased me greatly but the top end was 53, which wasn’t so good. But I have been reliably informed by the Financial Times that apparently 45 is the new 25 – so I feel great.”

Stopping to sign the school visitor’s book the Countess joked: “I should have been wearing my badge that I got this morning that said, ‘Yesterday I was 39′.”

She also drew laughter from pupils as she handed the bouquet to head teacher Jerry Oddie, as she signed the book, remarking: “You look lovely, you are just lucky I haven’t asked you to hold my handbag as well.”

For all future controversies: Stay out of it

I’ve updated the Biographies and the Memoriam pages. Please feel free to try it out. Links to the Queen Mother, Princess Margaret, and Diana, Princess of Wales, have been repaired!

Also being worked on: Jubilee- a reflection on 50 years, and ‘The Commonwealth’.

Post from Oct 21, 2004 (Amended January 5, 2005)

“The Guardian” newspaper in Britain has instituted a letter-writing campaign for Presidential candidate John Kerry.

Somehow, The Guardian has obtained the addresses of people in key voting states here in America. Brits who read and agree with this UK newspaper are given the addresses and write to these US citizens, pleading for them to vote John Kerry instead of Bush.

The Guardian, you realize, is republican. When you use “republican” in the British sense, that means they are against monarchy. I might remind you that the very people who chastise me about my support for the monarchy are republicans in the UK, the same folk who are urging Kerry support. The irony here is that my biggest complaint that I get for my website is, ‘How do you know that you like the monarchy here better? You don’t live here!’ from these people.

I like the British monarchy. If someone in the UK says that they don’t like their royal family, then fine. I explain why I like it, and if they don’t accept it, then that is fine with me. It’s their country. But I have never, ever once tried to influence a referendum on the monarchy (i.e. Australia). However, the republicans and their trumpet, The Guardian, deem it appropriate to try to persuade Americans how to vote in their own country of the United States, and that’s ok!? And many recipients of these “helpful” British bulletins are none too pleased. I wouldn’t be. It is completely hypocritical.

The Guardian writes: “we knew full well that any individual voter might take exception to the idea of a foreigner writing to offer some advice on how they should vote – our website explicitly urged participants to “imagine how you would feel if you received a letter from an American urging you to vote for Tony Blair … or Michael Howard.”

Exactly. The thing is, I don’t view British as “foreigners”. They are like us in many ways, and I work to build the bond that our countries have. This letter-writing campaign is making it very difficult to build bridges. I’d like to hear what republicans have to say to explain themselves for this mess.

Ananova did away with a royal news section over a year ago, and never responded to written OR emailed requests for a reason why. All they will put in is ridiculous stories like this:

“A Yorkshire man was so delighted with his new fitted kitchen he got a lookalike of the Queen to officially open it.

Alan Atkinson, a retired British Airways pilot, invited 30 friends to the ceremony at his home in Normanby, North Yorkshire – and laid on a red carpet, bunting and Union Jack.

Impersonator Elizabeth Richard wore a tiara and an ivory gown with a blue sash – and knighted the carpenter who worked on the kitchen units reports The Sun.

Alan, who took four years designing the kitchen and spent 11,000 on it, said: ‘I felt it was something to celebrate.’”