YOU have reported that the Duke and Duchess of Sussex have set up their own Instragram account, and that they have taken steps to keep the plans around their baby private and different as royal babies go. Good for them, many say. One wonders if the parents 'plans include doing the same as Harry's aunt Aunt Anne, who resolved that her children could soldier on through life in the absence of some lofty titles, in addition, to ease their paths. In that both have proved their mother right.

Harry and Megan appear to wish to be portrayed as modern and different. That intention would be clearly confirmed if there were to be another sudden absence of conferment of unmerited honours this time on great grand-children of the monarch. The child or children, should it be so, can survive without such awards and so can the country.

Ian W Thomson,

38 Kirkintilloch Road, Lenzie.

Coughing up

MARTIN Pringle (Letters, April 20), who complains of being advised to buy medication for his throat infection will find that a day’s adult dosing of paracetamol costs just 25p in Edinburgh as elsewhere. As he implies, most sore throats clear up by themselves. In the majority of cases, antibiotics won't help.

A NICE guideline of a year ago suggests: “Paracetamol can help with the pain, and gargling with warm, salty water may help shorten the infection (but this isn't recommended for children).

"In most cases, you only need to see your GP if your sore throat doesn't improve after a week.”

There is a conflict between what may be marketed in community pharmacies and what peer-reviewed evidence supports. GPs do well to remember that. Difflam is an add-on treatment but probably not worth the money for most. Your community pharmacist as represented by their shop assistant may not say so.

Dr Philip Gaskell,

Woodlands Lodge, Buchanan Castle Estate, Drymen.

School of thought

DARE I suggest that the recent poor performance of the national football team is multi-factorial and not the blame of one man? Unless, that is, anyone can name the person who was responsible for the vertiginous decline in school sport in Scotland in my lifetime.

My state school put out 15 rugby teams most Saturdays. And that in times before girls played rugby. There were numerous girls hockey teams of course. That is how far the bar has dropped.

Who dunnit? Certainly not Alex McLeish.

John Dunlop,

19 Wellington Lane, Ayr.

Accent unknown

EXACTLY what is a “British” accent? Is it Scots, Irish, Welsh or English ("Star learned British accent a week before film shoot”, The Herald, April 20).

Is my RP accent “British” (learned at school in post-war Hamburg)? Or is it my Doric accent that is “British” (learned here in north-east Scotland)?

I can hardly wait to hear US actress Anne Hathaway in her forthcoming film The Hustle to find out what a real” British accent sounds like.

Gordon Casely,

Westerton Cottage, Crathes, Kincardineshire.

Pointless indeed

CHARLIE Friel (Letters, April 22) concludes his letter by highlighting the habit of Pointless contestants prefixing their invited comment with "so". Even more irritating is Alexander Armstrong's repetitive use of the phrase "thank you very much ... indeed". So predictable and so pointless.

Allan C Steele,

22 Forres Avenue, Giffnock.