Mia can’t take her eyes off iPad: Zara and Mike Tindall's daughter finds tablet much more interesting than the animals at horse trials 

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Mia, two, stared intently at her screen at an event where her mother, Zara, competed

Prince Philip once remarked of his daughter Princess Anne: ‘If it doesn’t fart or eat hay, she isn’t interested.’ But Anne’s granddaughter, Mia, found her tablet computer far more fascinating than the animals at the Calmsden Horse Trials in Gloucestershire yesterday.

Wearing striped tights and denim dungarees, the two-year-old daughter of former England rugby captain Mike Tindall stared intently at her screen at the event where her mother, Zara, competed.

Researchers have reported that today’s toddlers are more likely to be pacified with an iPad or smartphone than a dummy. Clearly, that includes royal tots.

Queen’s secret chicken tikka masala at V&A

The Queen once stunned theatregoers when she and Prince Philip wiggled past them to take their seats just before the curtain rose at a West End performance of War Horse. Now, I learn of another incognito visit made by Her Majesty.

She was taken to the Victoria & Albert Museum earlier this year by her eldest grandchild, Peter Phillips.

The Queen was taken to the Victoria & Albert Museum earlier this year by her eldest grandchild, Peter Phillips. The pair visited the restaurant, where they enjoyed a curry

Unbeknown to other visitors, the monarch and Princess Anne’s 38-year-old son toured the Indian jewellery exhibition Bejewelled Treasures. The pair then visited the restaurant, where they enjoyed a curry.

The Queen is not known to be a fan of spicy food, but I am told she happily tucked into a mild chicken tikka masala.

‘The Queen loves making private visits, especially with family members,’ disclosed one of her aides. ‘It allows her to live a bit more of a normal life.

‘Most of her staff are not told in advance if she is planning an evening out and, sometimes, it will be at the last minute.’

In 2006, she turned up in a taxi to see the musical Billy Elliot.

Charles hires gifts guru to look after his freebies

As Charles and Camilla plan their visit to the oil and gas-rich kingdoms of Bahrain, Oman and the United Arab Emirates next month, they are seeking someone to look after all their booty.

The Prince of Wales has placed an ad on the royal website for an ‘inventory assistant’ to ‘catalogue all official gifts which are presented to Their Royal Highnesses’.

The Prince of Wales has placed an ad on the royal website for an ‘inventory assistant’ to ‘catalogue all official gifts which are presented to Their Royal Highnesses’

Middle Eastern sheiks are, of course, known for their generosity. The Countess of Wessex was criticised for accepting jewels from the Royal Family of Bahrain during an official visit in 2011.

Those disapproving said that Sophie should have sold the gems and given the proceeds to political protesters.

Charles’s advert says ‘experience of object handling would be advantageous’. The princely salary is not disclosed. No doubt, there will also be gifts in kind.

The Duchess of Cambridge’s first boyfriend, Willem Marx, could soon be reporting on his royal ex. For Marx is now working as a reporter at Sky News. 

After Prince William and Kate briefly split up in 2007, Marx was pictured leaving Kensington’s Boujis nightclub with the future Queen. He was Kate’s only male friend from her schooldays invited to her wedding.

Will Qataris snap up Hyde Park stables?

The Qataris have bought Harrods, the Shard and the Olympic Village. Now, the gas-rich Middle Eastern royals have the chance to snap up another London landmark.

I hear that socialites Richard and Basia Briggs have put their riding stables near Hyde Park, which have been used by British royals, on the market for £4 million.

Madonna, Donald Trump and actor Pierce Brosnan are among the famous figures to have ridden from the stables, which have 23 horses.

Dick and Basia, a friend of Prince Michael of Kent, have owned the trophy asset for 27 years.

‘I am feeling sad at the moment and have totally lost interest in horses,’ Basia tells me. Her close friend of 13 years, Daniel Topolski, the dashing BBC commentator and Oxford rowing coach known as the Boat Race Bacchus, died in 2015 at the age of 69.

Happy news for property tycoon Christian Candy and his wife Emily, who are expecting their third child.

The big question is, what will they call the baby?

Until recently based in Monte Carlo, the couple gave their twins the names Cayman Charles Wolf and Isabella Monaco Evanthia — insisting Cayman and Monaco were not inspired by their favourite tax havens.

Christian and his brother Nick were named in the leaked Panama Papers, which claimed they paid virtually no tax on a £27 million land deal, thanks to a series of off-shore companies.

Will ‘Panama’ now be on their shortlist of baby monikers?

Loony Leftie Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn’s promotion of former agriculture minister Nick Brown to the party’s Chief Whip has brought back memories for socialite Birgit Cunningham. 

In 2000, she shoved a chocolate eclair into Brown’s face in a stunt. ‘My protest was all about saving British farmers from insane EU red tape,’ says Birgit, who proved to be ahead of her time.