As tenth in line to the throne, he has little chance of leap-frogging Prince William to become King. Nonetheless, Peter Phillips has immense sympathy for his cousin and his girlfriend Kate Middleton.

And, in a rare intervention, Princess Anne’s personable son has spoken about the media frenzy surrounding William’s courtship of former airline pilot’s daughter, Kate.

Peter, 30 next month, announced his engagement to Canadian businesswoman Autumn Kelly in July and tells me: “Autumn and I have not had to endure the pressure William and Kate put up with, what with photographers dogging their every step.

“We have been left alone and (rapping his knuckles on a mahogany bookcase) touch wood, I hope it stays that way.”

Peter, sponsorship manager for the Royal Bank of Scotland, was speaking at the launch of Sir Jackie Stewart’s autobiography Winning Is Not Enough at Henry Sotheran’s bookshop in Mayfair.

Confirming he will marry in Britain “probably” next year, he joked that six weeks before their marriage announcement, a rumour went round that he and Autumn, 31, were already engaged. “My father thought we’d announced it without telling him. I told him we hadn’t. We weren’t quite ready.” (via Daily Mail)