It seems not even her royal connections could help Kate Middleton when she was handed a parking ticket on Wednesday. But by all accounts Prince William's girlfriend handled the unfortunate incident with the good grace one might expect of a future Queen.
Kate, who was on her way to the offices of high-street fashion chain Jigsaw where she works as a junior accessories buyer, was greeted by a traffic warden writing out a penalty notice as she left her Chelsea home. Although she has a residents permit she had failed to notice that the parking permission on a bay in which she had parked her blue VW Golf had been suspended for two days to allow a removal van access.
The 24-year-old, who was given a £100 fine despite her on the spot apology, remained unfazed, however, and burst into laughter when she realised the whole incident had been captured on camera.