--The Earl of Wessex (Prince Edward) has been banned from attending a women's fashion show. The Earl, who is visiting the Gulf States, Bahrain and Qatar, with his wife Sophie to promote British Week, has been told that his presence at a show of British fashions would be inappropriate. The tabloid DAILY EXPRESS notes in its Saturday columns this weekend that 'the fashion show had to be a man free zone otherwise it would have been very dull indeed - just a procession of black robes'. The Earl of Wessex, whose presence in the Gulf is described by his Palace secretary as being 'very much about flying the flag', has agreed to absent himself from the show. Relieved officials in Qatar tell the paper: 'Now the models can show off the fashions without fear of upsetting anyone.' Although in public local married women cover their faces and every part of their bodies in traditional black garments, they discard these at home - and British fashions are much in demand.

--The Prince of Wales, who recently donated 500,000 pounds to help farmers hit by the foot-and-mouth outbreak, is reported by the broadsheet SUNDAY TIMES today to have strong views about how the government is handling the crisis. The paper says that the Prince believes the widespread cull of healthy animals is 'mindless' and that he is ready to back Prime Minister Tony Blair on a vaccination programme to combat the outbreak. 'The Prince is dismayed by the use of widespread culling without the consideration of other options,' the paper says. The report will not help relations between Number 10 Downing Street and St James's Palace: the Prince has been under pressure lately to avoid making any comments that could be construed as political.