Romance publisher Mills & Boon (Harlequin) is publishing a series of romance novels inspired by the sport of rugby… sort of. The books are reportedly part of a larger "International Billionaires" series, and the first book, The Prince's Waitress Wife, is about a prince who marries a… well, you can probably guess.
What do billionaire princes have to do with rugby? Plenty! Prince Casper and Sylvia meet at "the most important and exciting rugby tournament of the year!" Isn't that romantic?
Still, somehow I expect a rugby player to be the hero of a romance novel about rugby… but that's old-fashioned of me. The publisher has to work in a wealth/glamor/royalty angle somehow (non-billionaires are soooo boring), and a rich or royal woman would never date a rugby player, would she?
(Pay no attention to the picture below of Queen Elizabeth's granddaughter Zara with her boyfriend husband*, rugby player Mike Tindall. There's nothing romantic about that. Just ask Mills & Boon.)
*2011 UPDATE: Zara Phillips and Mike Tindall are now married. I guess someone forgot to tell her that women only want to marry billionaires…
Photo © Press Association. Photo source: The British Monarchy