The Prince and I

by 6 Comments  

As Abu Dhabi gears up for the Grand Prix, I am preparing for what is possibly my biggest interview ever. Tomorrow morning I will be in the Royal Suite at the Emirates Palace Hotel interviewing the fourth in line to the throne; Prince Andrew.

I met him for the first time two nights ago at the opening party of the Fairmont Hotel here. He was much more attractive and charming than I imagined. My friend Amanda was horrified that she had missed out on curtseying the first time she met him so asked if she could do it this time.

“Why on earth would you want to do a thing like that?” laughed the Prince.

“When else is she going to get the chance?” I asked.

I took full advantage of royal protocol, the words ‘good evening your royal highness’ rolling off my tongue as if I said them every day. I felt like Deborah Kerr in The King and I.

The prince then took me to one side and we had a chat about the role of the media in the Middle East. All very grown-up. Obviously I told all my friends who were watching in awe that he was asking for my phone number.

Abu Dhabi is the place to be right now. Last night my stepchildren went to see Beyonce. This evening, while I dine at the The British Embassy, the kids and Rupert will all be at Jamiroquai. And the race hasn’t even begun.

Meanwhile here is a picture of two boy racers to whet your appetite. And if there is anything you ever wanted to ask Prince Andrew, leave me a comment here.

Ferrari

Copyright: Helena Frith Powell 2009


6 thoughts on The Prince and I

  • I remember Prince Andrew, when he was a pupil there, showing me round Gordonstoun School. He was very pleasant, and whilst I thought the place great for boys, I did not think it quite the place for girls – they seemed to be just another extral mural activity like sailing. I sent my daughter to another place. One of her friends who did go to Gordonstoun became pregnant whilst there. But perhaps this is not something you would feel a suitable topic.

    You might ask the Prince if he is aware of some of the utterances of the female Argentinian Head of State about the Falkland Islands and how it will soon be part of Argentina. By all accounts she is rather bad news. I gather they are going to put up a statue in the Falklands of a particular saint they are rather fond of. This info is from my man in Argentina, another British patriot. Arthur

  • Perhaps enquire after Sarah and his two lovely daughters? Coincidentally, Sophia Money Coutts’s piece yesterday mentioned that – is it Bea’s boyfriend? – Dave Clark is in Abu Dhabi for the race organising discos. Started me thinking as I read the article over lunch whether a British royal wouldn’t be coming along too but I was thinking more of daughter than Dad!
    Enjoy, Helena, you have a fun-filled weekend ahead of you.

  • This might be a bit direct, but I’d love to know what he makes of Sarah’s work with Weight Watchers Int.

    Or if he has ever tried Weightwatchers food? Oops, that might be insulting, suggesting he needs to lose weight!

    Just as well, then, that you, not me, are the interviewer. Where can we read it? The National? When?

  • Hello all
    It went very well, he was charming and talked about everything from the girls to Lady Diana. You can read all about it in The National on Saturday….
    Hx

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Helena Frith Powell was born in Sweden to a Swedish mother and Italian father, but grew up mainly in England. She is the author of eleven books, translated into several languages including Chinese and Russian. She wrote the French Mistress column The Sunday Times about life in France for several years. She is a regular contributor to the Daily Mail, Mail on Sunday, The Times, Daily Telegraph, Tatler Magazine and Harper’s Bazaar.

Helena has been the editor of four magazines, including M Magazine, a supplement for the Abu Dhabi based National Newspaper and FIVE, a high-end fashion glossy, also published in Abu Dhabi. Helena was also editor in chief of 360 Life, a quarterly glossy magazine published with the Sports 360 Newspaper in Dubai, part of the Chalhoub Group.

Helena contributes regularly to UK-based newspapers and magazines and holds a Masters in Creative Writing from the University of Cambridge. Helena is working on a thriller called Thin Ice that will be published in 2021 as well as a novel about the relationship between Virginia Woolf and Katherine Mansfield called Sense of an Echo.

Her latest non-fiction work Smart Women Don’t Get Wrinkles came out in hardback in 2016 and in paperback in April 2018.

Helena, who was educated at Durham University, lives in the Languedoc region of France with her husband Rupert and their three children.

Bibliography

More France Please, we’re British; Gibson Square 2004

Two Lipsticks and a Lover 2005; Gibson Square (hardback)

All You Need to be Impossibly French; (US version of above) Penguin 2006

Two Lipsticks and a Lover; Arrow Books (paperback) 2007

Ciao Bella Gibson Square; (hardback) 2006

Ciao Bella Gibson Square; (paperback) 2007

So Chic! (French version of Two Lipsticks) Leduc Editions 2008 (also translated into Chinese, Russian and Thai)

More, More France; Gibson Square 2009

To Hell in High Heels; Arrow Books 2009 (also translated into Polish)

The Viva Mayr Diet; Harper Collins 2009

Love in a Warm Climate; Gibson Square 2011

The Ex-Factor; Gibson Square 2013

Smart Women Don’t Get Wrinkles; Gibson Square 2016

The Arnolfini Marriage; Amazon Kindle December 2016

Smart Women Don’t Get Wrinkles (paperback); Gibson Square spring 2018

The Longest Night; Gibson Square spring 2019

 

 

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