I WAS reading Andrew Morton's follow up to the controversial Diana - Her True Story, Diana - Her New Life , and was surprised to see Leigh-born chess grandmaster Nigel Short has three mentions.

How's that for fame? I thought being the answer to a quizword puzzle in a national paper was the height of renown, but this, well.

The book reveals that while the Princess was in a quandary after her split from Prince Charles in 1993 she decided to see for herself the world chess championship between Etherstone Street-raised chess genius, Nigel, and the victorious Russian Garry Kasparov.

While the independent move was seen as a publicity stunt to help the attendance at the contest, the real reason shows how generous she really was.

She told friends she attended because no public figure had been there to tell Nigel they were so proud of him.

When she informed the grandmaster of this his face lit up.

Well whose wouldn't?

It's also revealed that she shared her feelings of coping with fame with him, telling him: "We end up in these public positions but we are never prepared for the publicity and how to deal with it."

Not many Leythers can claim to have had HRH as a fan or to have had her confide in them.

He must be a proud chap.