Well, well. Aren’t NewsLtd in a snit this evening. As the main newspage says rather sulkily:

Wills honoured, John snubbed

Yes, it’s the story about Prince William receiving “one of Britain’s highest and oldest honours tonight – being made a Royal Knight of the Garter.”

Petulant phrases abound, such as:

There has been feverish speculation since the beginning of the year that former prime minister Mr Howard was the Queen’s personal pick for the honour.

But Buckingham Palace today put the kybosh on that, announcing that Prince William would be joining other members of his family as a Royal Knight of the Garter, the British Press Association reported.

Kybosh? Gosh.

Did you know that “appointments are in the Queen’s gift, without advice from government ministers”?

Which means apart from Prince William, everyone else, John included, got passed over by the Queen. Ouch. So much for defending the monarchy from the evil republicans back in 1999.

NewsLtd also bore us with details about the archaic routine following the announcement:

The knights meet at Windsor Castle every June, where new members are inducted.

A spectacular lunch is hosted by the Queen before the knights, wearing long blue velvet robes and black velvet hats with white plumes, attend a service at the historic St George’s Chapel.

Each of the knights is required to display a banner of their arms in the chapel, along with a helmet, crest and sword plus an enamelled stallplate.

I bet David Flint would like to play dress ups if that’s what a Royal Knight gets to wear.