A pushy princess and the unwise sport of ski-queue jumping

Following last week’s column about how much I loathe skiing, a friend tells me a very good Alpine story about a member of the Royal family. Some years ago, this princess was skiing in France, but decided that she shouldn’t have to queue for the lift along with everyone else. Off she went, gliding to the front of the long line of morning skiers who were waiting patiently for their turn. “Ahem,” came a cough from behind her, whereupon the princess turned to see King Harald of Norway looking extremely miffed and pointing her towards the back of the queue.

A cautionary tale for anybody jetting off to the mountains soon: you never know who you’re going to bump into on those lifts.