2019-07-01_Reader_s_Digest_UK

READER’S DIGEST

some of its features are eclipsed by
even the most humdrum run-arounds
on the market today. It doesn’t have a
DAB radio, for instance, or a USB
port, or a Bluetooth connection
(although it does boast a hilarious
built-in Nokia handset). The clunky
sat-nav operates via CD. CD! Plus: it’s
silver. A silver SLK. A middle-aged car,

JULY 2019 • 19

“Why couldn’t Dad have

had a more acute and

ambitious mid-life crisis

and got himself a bright

yellow stripy Lambo?”

for sure. I feel too young to be driving

it. Why couldn’t Dad have had a more

acute and ambitious mid-life crisis,

and got himself a bright yellow stripy

Lambo, which he would have looked

far too old to drive? I’d have looked

perfect in that! Sigh.

I’ve decided: I’m going to sell it.

Probably this autumn, before I have

to get that service (after all, I don’t

want to give it up in the summer, the

one time of year a convertible is

practical). But I’ll miss it, this little

piece of my father’s legacy; this fun,

leaky, zippy, stylish roadster which I,

briefly, improbably, called my own.

Auf Wiedersehen, Merc. You were

part of the family. n

ROYALLY GOOD FACTS

Did you know any of these pieces of royal family trivia?

King Charles II fathered no legitimate heirs during his time on the throne.

Because Princess Diana was directly descended from Charles II via his

illegitimate children, upon his coronation Prince William will become the first

descendant of Charles II to sit on the throne.

Queen Elizabeth II often travels with a personal supply of blood. No, she

hasn’t turned vampire—this is to ensure that wherever she goes, there will be

a ready supply for a transfusion, should the worst occur.

Prince Charles likes his mornings ordered—as such, according to the

documentary Serving the Royals: Inside the Firm, his pyjamas are pressed

every morning, his shoe laces are flattened with an iron, and he has his valets

squeeze exactly one inch of toothpaste onto his toothbrush.

Upon the birth of his son, Prince Philip—who was busy playing squash

during the birth itself—reportedly exclaimed, “He looks like a

plum pudding!”

SOURCE: OPRAHMAG.COM