A Kensington Palace official confirmed that Kate has built on her enjoyment for scuba diving by passing a Professional Association of Diving Instructors (PADI) advanced open water diver qualification. It means she can dive to a depth of 30 metres.
Enjoying the waters looks like it could be a family affair as the Duke of Cambridge is also an experienced diver.
William is now the third generation of the monarchy, after his father and grandfather, to head the British Sub-Aqua Club (BSAC).
The Duchess is thought to have gained the qualification from a diving school in Mustique, according to The Telegraph.
Aggressive cobra captured
An aggressive two-foot-long cobra captured at a luxury high-rise flats complex in Houston has been euthanised.
Houston police were summoned to the complex after residents spotted an albino monocled cobra on the third floor over the weekend. Police used a broom to corner and capture the snake. No injuries were reported.
Authorities are not sure how the snake, which is native to south-east Asia, ended up in the building or who owned it.
Most common hair mishaps
British parents cite the wonky fringe as the most common hair mishap for their child (22 per cent), with the nostalgic bowl cut (12 per cent) and the 1980s the mullet following closely behind (9 per cent), despite going out of fashion 20 years ago.
The poll of 2,000 UK parents by children’s haircare brand Vosene Kids reveals that, although 84 per cent have had childhood hair horrors themselves, 42 per cent have not learned from past mistakes, admitting that their own child has too fallen into the bad barnet trap.
When it comes to the perpetrator of dreadful ‘DIY dos’, parents can be quick to play the blame game, with over a quarter (27 per cent) pointing their finger at their partner.
Social media aids fashion buys
A study has revealed that having a group of six stylish friends to call upon via instant messages and social media to ‘like’ their choices is key to making the right fashion purchases.
Research by social shopping site Shopa has shown that women need an average of two ‘likes’ from friends on instant messages and social media before they take an item to the till. Men are now following the female lead too, with guys needing four ‘likes’ before they buy.
The results follow a growing trend for Britons using social media and fashion blogging to drive crowd-sourced fashion choices, with one in seven (15 per cent) of the nation even sharing images direct from the fitting room to canvas opinion, with one third (35 per cent) of tech-savvy girls and boys aged 13 following suit.
Katy Perry’s dream convent
Katy Perry’s dream of owning a hilltop convent near Hollywood is going to have to wait a while longer. The convent, which the singer has wanted to buy to be her personal residence for several years, is in the middle of a legal fight between a group of elderly nuns and the archbishop of Los Angeles over who has control of the sale and its proceeds.
At least two of the nuns don’t want Perry to buy their former home and in June hastily sold the convent to a businesswoman with ambitions of turning it into a boutique hotel.
Three women cheat Islamic State
Three Chechen women who allegedly cheated the Islamic State group out of money are being probed by Russian police.
The women had allegedly created accounts on social networks to contact IS, according to a report by government daily Rossiyskaya Gazeta. The women claimed they lacked money to make a trip to Syria and asked for funds, and then erased their accounts after receiving cash.
Police said they earned about Deniyev claimed the three women earned about £2,100. They are unlikely to face any punishment for fraud since it would require IS to file a complaint.