

LONDON: Following what advertising executives have described as a “landmark deal”, representatives for the gas-rich Gulf state of Qatar this morning confirmed that they had signed with the British royal family an arrangement that will see Prince William and Kate Middleton’s first child named Qatar Airways.

According to Buckingham Palace sources, the 10-year contract – rumoured to be worth “hundreds of millions of dollars” – almost crashed when a Qatari envoy accidentally asked William “which wife was it?”.

As part of the deal and in a break from royal tradition, Qatar Airways Windsor will be formerly revealed to the public by a proclamation displayed at the entrance to London’s Harrods department store.