By Royal invitation

I had a taste of Kate Middleton's future this week. On the morning her engagement to Prince William was announced, I was being presented to Her Highness Shaikha Sabika, first wife of King Hamad of Bahrain.

It's Eid Al Adha and a friend of mine, who is an Ambassador's wife, had been invited to attend the Shaikha's majlis (a special gathering) to offer good wishes. She's allowed to bring along fellow upstanding members of the community and so it was I found myself in the Ambassadorial Jag heading to the royal palace at Riffa.

As we swept up the long driveway lined on each side with gold coloured lampposts topped with a castle, my friend pointed out the Royal stables where a magnificent collection of Arabian horses is housed.

The palace itself is enormous. We were dropped at the door and entered a huge glass-roofed room with marble floors and chandeliers. Off to one side was another large room with sofas and low tables stretching its length and magnificent rugs in the middle. At the end of the room, under the Royal crest, stood the Shaikha, dressed in an exquisite jalabiya and with a long necklace of the largest diamonds, rubies and emeralds I've ever clapped eyes on. Without her head covering she looked younger than in her photos.

Protocol at such gatherings demands that we first waited in line to be presented to the Shaikha (curtsy was optional) and then had to be presented to all the other members of the Royal family at the female only gathering. We could then retire to one of the sofas, drink juice from a glass engraved with the Royal crest, scoff one of the cakes on offer, be doused with smoke from an incense burner and make polite conversation with other dignatories before once again lining up to bid farewell to the Shaikha and Royal family members.

Before leaving, we of course checked out the Royal loos (very posh) and were expected to spray ourselves with one of a huge selection of perfumes set out on tables next to the exit. The smell as we lined up for our limo alongside the other Ambassador's wives was quite over-powering.

Who knows, one day Kate Middleton may be invited to the Shaikha's majlis as part of the endless round of Royal engagements which will now become her life. And, fascinating though the experience was, I don't envy her one little bit.

Eid al-Adha

Today is the second day of Eid al Adha or the Festival of the Sacrifice, a three day festival which falls at the end of the Haj.

The festival commemorates the Prophet Abraham's (Ibrahim's) near-sacrifice of his son to Allah and Muslims traditionally celebrate by slaughtering an animal such as a sheep or goat. They are asked to give a third of the meat to the poor and another third to friends and relatives, symbolising their willingness to forgo something that is precious to them. Schools and offices are closed and people visit family and friends and exchange greetings and gifts.

We went for a family walk in a plantation on the east side of the island and almost everyone we saw greeted us with a cheery "Eid Mubarak!" (Happy Eid) and gave the girls a kiss. The weather was perfect and the date palms looked magnificent.

The farm workers were playing cricket and volleyball or simply sitting and relaxing in the shade of the date palms. Even the security guard at the entrance to the King's late uncle's palace complex let us through with a cheery wave and we managed to get a peek at his seaside pad. What do you think?

And how's this for an Arabian sunset? The view is from Bahrain directly towards Saudi Arabia.