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"About two or three years ago I was sitting next to the Queen at tea and she remarked that some of her grandchildren talked Estuary. I think she was talking about the Phillips children - but then Princess Anne always sounded a little suburban. And then there's Prince Edward, who sounds a bit Estuary."

And was Her Majesty happy about the Estuarisation of the Royal Family? "She was absolutely neutral on the subject."

The historian Kenneth Rose in the Daily Telegraph (David Harling)

Birdie betrayal

An African grey parrot in England blew the cover on its mistress's affair by blurting out imitations of her amorous exchanges in front of her companion. Chris realised something was up when the bird started repeating the name "Gary".

"We were watching telly when Ziggy blurted out, 'I love you, Gary' in Suzy's voice," Chris said. "I started laughing, but when I looked at Suzy, I could tell something was up."

Agence France-Presse (Brendan O'Byrne)