Us Weekly made a rather shocking claim on their website yesterday, saying that William and Kate sent ‘a personal note of congratulation’ to Obama on his successful re-election as president.

The Royals officially have no opinion on political matters, and certainly not on the elected heads of state of foreign countries, and had they really sent such a message, the move would have set a dangerous constitutional precedent.

No wonder then that Buckingham Palace has moved quickly to shoot down the tall tale.

“The story isn’t true,” an official press spokesman tells the Royalist of Us Weekly’s online report, which also claimed the Queen was an Obama fan and was ‘pleased’ with the result.