Prince William was born today in 1982, a bonny 7 lb. Like all babies he had blue eyes and his doting father said that the boy had 'sort of blondish hair, but it'll probably turn into something else later.'
He was right - William is now the Hair Apparent.
In other news ...
The flight to Varennes took place today in 1791. What's that? I hear my reader cry - a balloon ascent? A Frenchman beating the Wright Brothers to it by 111 years? No, it was Louis XVI's attempted escape out of the clutches of the Revolutionary government who wanted his head. My gripe is this - all the history books refer to the flight to Varennes as though that was Louis' ultimate destination ('If you're tired of Varennes, you're tired of life' - Dr Johnson). In fact, of course - and no disrespect to Varennes, which I am sure is simply lovely - he was just passing through, trying to get somewhere else when he was recognized.
The upshot? A date with Madame Guillotine.
