ON THIS DAY: April 21, 1926

Elizabeth Alexandra Mary was born to The Duke and Duchess of York. She is the first granddaughter for Their Majesties King George V and Queen Mary.

Unknown at the time, little Lilibet would become a record breaking, internationally acclaimed monarch whose duty to the nation and Commonwealth is celebrated across the world. Today the Queen celebrates her 86th birthday with her family in the year of her Diamond Jubilee.

If only King George V & Queen Mary could see her now! How proud they would be!

Happy birthday, Ma’am!

It was said of the Duke and Duchess of Windsor that their whole life was a holiday. It was literally endless rounds of parties and balls and vacations.

I read about Pippa Middleton’s favorite activity – parties – and often think that she may end up like the Windsors. It would seem that Ms. Middleton is perhaps striving for a wealthy husband with whom she can party, and extend her long vacation that is daily life. Kind of empty. Kind of sad.

The recent birthday party did nothing to detract from that assumption, but it did put a new spin on Pippa for me. During the soiree thrown for the French aristo Vicomte Arthur de Soul Train – er, Soultrait – Pippa was photographed with several men, adorned in racy fancy-dress attire, and mugging for the cameras. The following day Pips hopped into a zippy little Audi with three male companions. The driver suddenly turned around and brandished a pistol between the heads of his mates, aiming for a photographer who was following them.

It has been claimed that the gun was fake, and that it was all a joke. Stupid as well as ill-timed – France recently faced a rash of fatal shootings – Pippa may even be called in for questioning if her friend is prosecuted. Though Pippa isn’t royal, she’s certainly racking up negative attention for her sister, the new Duchess of Cambridge, and the royals. Will she learn?

It’s not the first time a royal or one of their associates has had a scandal or two. Especially the one royal who made it his job to entertain and be entertaining while waiting for the throne.

Yes, long before the oft-holidayed Windsors and Miss “Buns of Steel” Middleton, the boisterous King Edward VII, known as Bertie, certainly knew how to live it up, and regretted it not one iota.

During the dark years of Queen Victoria’s widowhood, Bertie met and married the beautiful Princess Alexandra of Denmark. Together the Prince of Wales and his new princess made the social rounds in London and began building a new home in the country in which they could house their eventual family, but also their friends and connections for long, fun filled days and nights.

The public loved their joie de vivre and felt that it was long overdue. To them, Queen Victoria was regal, but boring. Funereal ritual was not everyone’s cup of tea.

Victoria was none too pleased about their activities, running (or at least swiftly beckoning for) her pen and paper with which to write a heavily underlined, capitalized riposte to her wayward son. As if his parties and friends weren’t grating enough for the Queen, Bertie was even called into court as a witness during the “Royal Baccarat Scandal”. Hm, that sounds familiar. Pippa may find herself a curt email similar to a Victorian tongue-lashing from a palace press officer.

All of the social trailblazing she’s done over these many years have labelled Pippa a party hound, but looking back at history, she’s certainly not the first and won’t be the last. It would seem that after this incident, though, that Kate’s little sister is much more of a “Burlington Bertie” than the lost and lonely Windsors.

HM The Queen’s first grandchild has provided her with a second great-grandchild.

Peter Phillips and his wife, Autumn, welcomed a second daughter to the family. Isla Elizabeth Phillips, born Thursday, March 29th, weighs in at 7 lbs. 4 oz. (3.29 kilograms). She is 13th in line to the British throne, after her older sister Savannah.

Peter is the son of HRH Princess Anne, the Queen’s only daughter.

Related articles

• Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II Becomes a Great-Grandmother for the Second Time (royalcorrespondent.com)
• RBS sees Princess Royal’s son Peter Phillips as a long-term investment (telegraph.co.uk)

The Duchess of Cambridge has made her first public speech at the East Anglia Children’s Hospice in Ipswich.