大象传媒

At 1, Do mothers-in-law have a right to a tell daughters-in-law how to behave?

We're asking this because one mother-in-law has achieved unwanted levels of fame, after an email she sent to her daughter-in-law advising her how to behave appeared in the national newspapers this morning. In it Carolyn Bourne sets out a long list of complaints about Heidi Withers. She starts by saying "unfortunately for Freddie, he has fallen in love with you", advising her daughter-in-law to consult a finishing school to improve her manners if she wants to fit in with her new family. She goes on to have go at her parents for failing to contribute to the cost of their lavish wedding.

Miss Withers forwarded the email to a few friends, who forwarded it on and so on until it went round the world.

But what do you think about this? Obviously the tone is a bit snotty, but is there anything wrong with a mother-in-law advising a new bride on how to behave when she's with her new family? Surely she just wants the best for her son and his new bride? If she kept quiet and just let her flounder, wouldn't that be worse? Or should mother-in-laws just keep their noses out?

After 2, it's our weekly news quiz, Guess the Story.