It's been almost a year since THE wedding – that of Prince William to commoner Kate Middleton, now the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge. But the rakish Prince Harry, next in line to the throne after William, has been more visible, shaking his ginger booty and working his aristocratic charm all over the Caribbean and Brazil - and I want him!
So determined am I to bag myself a blue-blooded husband, I've come up with a plan, based on real princesses past and present, to snag the heir of my dreams. If I'm not engaged by Michaelmas, I'll eat my fascinator!
1. Dress the part
Kate Middleton employed a cunning combination of a risque see-through dress followed up with an array of modest, Sloaney outfits and bullet-proof blow dry to catch Prince William's eye.
2. Swim to glory
Not unlike former Olympic swimmer, Charlene Wittstock, who also married into royalty last summer – to the Prince of Monaco.
3. Discover tricks of the trade
Prince Nikolaos of Greece married Miss Tatiana Blatnik, who, up until the wedding in 2010, worked as a PR for Diane von Furstenberg. The former is a lady who knows a thing or two about the subject of royal marriage – she got her fancy surname from marrying a prince herself - Prince Egon of Furstenberg! (now divorced, sadly)
4. Have a catchphrase
Wallis Simpson, who bagged Prince Edward III back in the 1930s lived by the motto – "a woman can never be too rich or too thin". Unfortunately, Mrs Simpson's divorcee status did rather negate the benefits of marrying into royalty when Edward had to abdicate the throne in order to marry her. But she certainly knew how to snare her quarry.
5. Think laterally
The Australian, Mary Elizabeth Donaldson, now Mary Crown Princess of Denmark, met Prince Frederik of Denmark in 2000 at the Sydney Olympics in a pub called The Slip Inn! I joke not. Posh people – they love dirty jokes, don't they, and they also love a tipple.
6. Enchant your Prince via the silver screen
Princess Grace of Monaco, started life as boring old Grace Kelly, and had to star in a few Hitchcock films before she successfully captured the heart of Prince Rainier III, who she married in 1956.
7. Failing number 6; beam yourself into his life via TV
Letizia, Princess of the Asturias (Spain) was a TV presenter and journalist before coming to the attention of her prince.
8. Horses
A cliché yes, but if you've got to be in it (the saddle) to win it. Lady Diana Spencer became an item with Prince Charles after watching him play polo and Camilla Parker Bowles is a keen outdoor type and proficient huntress.
Photo: PA
So there you are fact fans! Conclusive proof that a commoner can marry a crown-top. All you need to do is indulge in sports enjoyed by posh people, secure a role in a blockbuster film, swim a lot and blow your earnings on blow dries.
SUCH a shame that so few of these princesses did actually live happily ever after!
By: Naomi Attwood