Interestingly, the new Cambridge baby will push Andrew out of the list of people who have to get the Queen’s permission to marry.

Yep. Have as many children as you want, but own that choice in terms of the resources that they will take up (in the West). My husband and I travel a fair amount. But we have a much lower carbon footprint than our friends who have children, even those who rarely go anywhere outside the UK.

I think it’s regional. What Zeetal describes seems the norm to me, in London.

God knows they’re not doing any work. They might as well procreate.

He thinks everyone who disagrees with him is a troll. I’ve been around since 2007, and I know you’ve been around for a while too.

I, all my family and all my friends entered the ticket lottery for this and...nada. Zip. Zilch. It’s deeply annoying to hear it’s as good as everyone says. The two best Hamlets I’ve ever seen were Simon Russell Beale and Ben Whishaw. Very different, but outstanding. I liked Cumberbatch, but there were a lot of issues…

Having lived in Canada, the US and now the UK, I am delighted to pay the TV licence. It’s worth it for the BBC’s Olympics coverage alone.

Yes, this. William is not at all close to his father, by all accounts. (They are similar in whinginess.)

Exactly how desperate for the last word are you?

And you could have refrained from unwarranted personal insults, but we are where we are.

And I didn’t stoop to personal insults about it, either.

Christ almighty, I’m trying to say that the formal definition (such as it is) is essentially irrelevant in this day and age, and the colloquial definition is the only one that matters. At least in the country in which it’s supposedly relevant.

Honestly, I don’t have a bad opinion of Federer at all. I think he’s a great tennis player (the greatest, in fact) and I love to watch him play and listen to his interviews. He is a very personable guy and has a life outside tennis (which is kind of a miracle) and that life involves socialising with more famous people…

Class and nobility ARE conflated. Diana was part of the nobility, by any standard. She was not, however, a peer.

Look, you are all technically correct that anyone who does not hold a peerage is a commoner. However, given that this definition of commoner includes such people as Camilla and the Duchess of Devonshire, I would suggest that it is a distinction without a difference in the modern era.

I am fully aware of the unwritten constitution. But Debrett’s isn’t part of it. (And I’m a goddamned delight at parties, mostly because I don’t talk about this stuff).

Debrett’s is not a statute, nor is it case law. This “rule” is either part of the law or it isn’t.

You’re right, in the sense that Federer will always have his own high social status as the GOAT (male division). He’s not a social climber per se. But he clearly cares more about “high society” than the other top players.

Oh, I know. But that mere fact is pretty telling.

I like Federer just fine, and I don’t think he’s nearly as much of a social climber as Carole Middleton. Is he more of a social climber than Andy Murray? Sure. I’m sure he and Pippa are friendly. I don’t think they’re bosom buddies or anything. But anyone who regularly has Anna Wintour in his box has at least half an…