Prince William already engaged, claims German royal

[HMG] – In the first murmurs of what could be a media fixation, a distant cousin of Britain’s Prince Charles says Charles’ son, Prince William and his girlfriend Kate Middleton are already engaged and will definitely get married next year.

Prince Julius Eduard von Anhalt says the pair have been engaged for some time, but will formally announce the connection this fall and marry in July of next year.

“Kate issued William with an ultimatum: we marry or we break up,” he told the German tabloid magazine ‘Das Neue Blatt’ [The New Page] “There are obviously no more objections from the public, so the engagement is set for this Autumn. The wedding is set for July.’

The 68-year old Prince is well known in Germany as a socialite and columnist, and often appears on TV as a commentator on matters relating to European nobility. But he refused to show reporters the wedding invitation he claims to possess, or to be specific about the date of the marriage.

And those close to Prince William, 28, have shot his tale down in flames.

“This gentleman does not know what he is talking about,” a source close to Buckingham Palace told the Mail. “Prince William has probably not even heard of him. The engagement is still an if, not a when.”

This is an intriguing story, until you consider the sources — The Duke is the only male heir to a dynasty that goes back to the mid-1500′s, and he needs a wife to continue the line. So exposure like this could be pretty handy.

Also, ‘Das Neue Blatt’ is a lot like the National Enquirer, and in a nation of 82-million people it reaches less than 2.5-million.

So don’t hang the flags out just yet…