Is Princess Eugenie in NZ?

An Australian newspaper reported this week that HRH Princess Eugenie, sixth in line to the British throne, is travelling with four friends in New Zealand following a 12-day visit to Australia as part of her gap-year holiday. The second child of Andy and Fergie is reportedly headed to the Americas, via Godzone. Only, my peeps on the paparazzi front have heard zip on the young royal's Kiwi sojourn. Have you?

By all accounts the Sydney vacation was event-packed for the 19-year-old princess. There was the V Festival with Richard Branson's daughter Holly, a tour of the Harbour Bridge, sky-diving, wining and dining at some fashionable bars and restaurants, shopping and the odd puff on a ciggie which drew raised eyebrows when pics surfaced back in Britain. Give the poor girl a break. She had only recently celebrated her nineteenth birthday. At least she isn't in a no-going-back relationship with a gold-digging social climber like her cuz Wills.

While in Oz, Eugenie was accessorised by two Scotland Yard officers for protection, which apparently caused some noses to get out of joint in the exclusive suburb of Point Piper where Eugenie stayed with her aunt Jane Ferguson. Fashion designer Charlie Brown told a Sydney paper she'd been a nervous wreck after spotting the two policemen loitering on her nature strip. She wondered who the two men were standing outside her house each day.

The princess kicked off her gap year in a hippy resort in Goa, India staying at a budget $33-a-night beach shack featured in the backpacker's bible Lonely Planet which is kudos to her given that she's only ever experienced a privileged upbringing.

Tim Finn flies celebrity class to Oz

Also in Sydney recently was Tim Finn who flew celebrity class. If he could go six months in a leaky boat you'd be forgiven for thinking three hours in a plane would be no sweat for Finn, but alas, no. We were on the same plane. I knew I had a rock star in my midst because the foppish-haired one refused to take off his mirror sunglasses.

From the moment he raced in to the gate lounge and joined the boarding queue, the sunnies stayed on. Admittedly, he did lift his shades when the flight attendant had to check the eyes on his passport matched those on his head. But then the sunnies were back and Finn raced on to the plane to get his seat.

He was still wearing his shades onboard during take-off, in fact, they didn't come off throughout the duration off the flight, save for the few times reading glasses were called for.

Perhaps the rock star behaviour went some way to explaining his mad dash rush to get onboard. Poor wife Marie Azcona arrived at the gate lounge after Finn, sat down, and looked around for her hubby. Unbeknownst to her he was onboard already. Her mobile beeped. Perhaps it was a text from her man saying: 'Hun, make your own way onboard.' She did. The bizarre thing was, no one even remotely acted like they recognised Finn. If he wanted to draw attention to himself, he succeeded. Was he exuding obnoxious rock star behaviour, or was he just too shy to face his fans?

Rachel Glucina

 

Pictured above: Princess Eugenie, right, with her mother British Duchess of York Sarah Ferguson, centre, and Princess Beatrice, left. Photo / AP