Royals are upset over prince, gal pal photos

Concerned hand-wringing and general consternation prevailed as the British royal family reacted yesterday to a five-page pictorial layout in the tabloid the Sun featuring Prince William frolicking at a Swiss ski resort with a college friend, the stunning Kate Middleton. The story, adorned with the understated headline "Finally . . . Wills gets a girl," says Middleton is William's first real girlfriend.

According to royal aides, the 22-year-old prince, son of Prince Charles and Princess Diana, is not supposed to be tabloid fodder: They say the Sun's photos breach an agreement between the Windsors and the media to keep Charles' sons out of the limelight. "We're very unhappy with the breach of the agreement," Charles' communications secretary, Paddy Harverson, said. Charles' office did not comment on the Sun's insinuations about William's romantic life.

The Sun took the high ground on its editorial page, defending the pics with the argument that one of William's girlfriends could be queen one day, and that stories about them are in the public interest.

Houston vigil

* Whitney Houston once said she used prayer to kick drugs. That was before she entered, and left, rehab last month. Now, her mother, gospel singer Cissy Houston, has announced she'll hold a prayer vigil Monday night at Harlem's famed Abyssinian Baptist Church, Fox News reports. "Let us pray for healing and deliverance," Cissy Houston said in a message broadcast on New York radio station KISS-FM, calling the event "Mothers Praying for Healing." The vigil will likely draw noteworthies, including Cissy's cousins Dionne and Dee Dee Warwick.

It's raining . . . babies

* On the local front, KYW-TV's Larry Mendte and his wife, Fox 29 (WTXF-TV) anchorwoman Dawn Stensland, welcomed their first baby together. Michael Lawrence Mendte, who weighed in at 8 pounds, 5 ounces, was born yesterday, arriving 15 days early. His father has two children from a previous marriage.

Stensland, 39, a first-time mom, plans to return to work for the May ratings sweeps, which begin April 29. She'll take off most of the summer. Initially, Stensland was upset about her son's being born on April Fool's Day, she said yesterday. "Then I realized that nobody will ever forget his birthday."

Up in the Big Apple, Jon Stewart, who delivers fake news on Comedy Central's The Daily Show, is expecting a baby with wife Tracey, the New York Daily News says.