All families have difficulties and not even the Royals are exempt

festivities coming up and then our new dog took a dislike to one of our visitors. Can anything more go wrong?

Then I read in the News Letter that an island on Lough Erne is for sale complete with house, mature woodland and its own marina and jetty.

Now that sounds not just a treat but an enormous life change which maybe I need. The stuff of dreams in fact. All I would need would be a handy £550k and it would be mine. Wouldn’t Himself adore having his own marina? A Lottery win just now would be most welcome.

It’s not normally this time of year that sets me thinking about lifestyle; I leave that for the winter nights when I’ve nothing better to do. But politics and Prince Harry are getting to me.

The former had me hoping that my beloved Scotland could be rid of Nicola Sturgeon by now and someone more civil in place to lead that tremendous nation. And what happens? Ms Sturgeon has gone and in her place is someone equally difficult, equally hoping to have an independent Scotland. I despair for the Scots who greet sailors like us every year going out of their way to make us welcome, trying not to moan to visitors about the state of their country.

Scotland’s new First Minister and SNP leader Humza Yousaf has declared he will `resurrect Ms Sturgeon’s `trans reforms’. Collective Scotland-ders must have choked on their wee drams at the very thought. I’ve no doubt when we arrive there for the boating season this year there will be

plenty of despairing locals spilling out their frustration to any visitor prepared to listen.

So what has that got to do with the errant Prince Harry, second son of our soon to be crowned new King? Well, not a lot exactly but Harry is causing a different kind of mayhem in Royal circles and elsewhere in the country.

When the King says he’s `too busy’ to see his son who is in the UK on a flying visit one can just imagine the conversation he may have had with his practical wife Queen Camilla about it.

Did it go something like this? ‘Never mind him Darling, his wife has run out of patience with him and seems to be looking around for something useful to do herself. A tricky wife might be hard enough for Harry to deal with. He’s enough on his plate. If he can be there for u on your big day he will.’

Prince Harry has most likely spent his life having everything he wants and needs. He must realise that outside the Royal household he’s a mere Prince, well down in the succession list, married to a commoner who quickly realised she was of limited consequence to the Royals.

She’s a working mum after all since a lot of money is required for a lifestyle married to a Prince of the British Royal family.

I haven’t read Prince Harry’s book Spare but did he have to go down that route? Families – even difficult ones - are precious, they deserve respect even if you really don’t like your great-aunt Maisie interfering in everyone else’s life.

I call that having-a-loving interest brought about because a younger generation has taken over and thinks it knows it all.