Monday, May 1, 2006

LONDON, England (AFP): Britain's Prince William was flying out to a Caribbean hideaway on Friday to join his girlfriend for a romantic holiday on the island where Princess Margaret conducted an affair, a newspaper said.

Kate Middleton is already on the secluded Mustique, chosen as the best place to protect the couple from media intrusion, London's Evening Standard daily said.

Clarence House, the official residence of William's father Prince Charles, declined to comment but told AFP that the 23-year-old Army officer cadet was spending "private time" at the moment.

The prince, second in line to the throne, was expected to spend a week on Mustique, the Evening Standard said.

William was to return home next Saturday for the wedding of Laura Parker Bowles, his step-sister and the daughter of Charles' second wife Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, the newspaper added.

Middleton, 24, is the daughter of a well-to-do Internet toy merchant. The couple met at Saint Andrews University in Scotland, where he earned a master of arts degree in geography.

They have been together for three years and lived together during their student years. Their relationship is kept as closely guarded as possible.

The late Princess Margaret, Queen Elizabeth II's only sibling, used Mustique as a bolthole and conducted her affair with gardener Roddy Llewellyn.

Their relationship was exposed in 1976 and her husband Lord Anthony Snowdon announced their separation a month later.

The island has been a favourite among rock stars such as Mick Jagger and David Bowie.

William's brother Prince Harry, 21, is in Lesotho to launch a new charity for AIDS orphans.

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