Queen Elizabeth with 12 U.S. Presidents

In February 1952, Princess Elizabeth was touring Kenya with her husband Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh when she received the bad news that her father, King George VI of Great Britain, had passed away. Thus, at the tender age of 25, Elizabeth ascended the throne to become Queen of the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, […]

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Queen Elizabeth Awakens to Find Prowler at Bedside

He wasn’t the first person to scale the garden wall of Buckingham Palace. The year before, three German tourists had done it. While there had been others who’d breached Palace security, Michael Fagan was to become one of the most infamous. It was 7:15 a.m. on July 9, 1982. Michael Fagan, 31, had been up […]

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Or, Did Queen Elizabeth Hug Michelle First?

I’ve been blogging about the Obamas and their state visit to London and Buckingham Palace. There has been much discussion on and offline as to whether or not Michelle Obama was out of line when she touched the Queen. Royal protocol dictates that no one touches the Queen. In my recent post, “Michelle Obama Hugs […]

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Queen Elizabeth Already Owned an IPod

Oops!!! Someone on the Obama team goofed. In my last post, “What’s Playing on Queen Elizabeth’s iPod?“, I reported that President Barack and Michelle Obama had given the Queen a new, full-loaded iPod as a gift. The royal monarch, who turns 73 on the 21st of this month, gave the Obamas a signed portrait of herself. Obviously, the Obama team didn’t do extensive […]

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President Barack and Michelle Obama Give Queen Elizabeth II an IPod

  The Obamas met Queen Elizabeth and her husband, Prince Philip, at Buckingham Palace on Wednesday, April 1. The two couples exchanged gifts. The Obamas gave the queen an engraved iPod. The Queen’s new music player came already loaded with some Broadway show tunes and videos of her 2007 visit to Washington and Virginia.  The Obamas also […]

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Queen Elizabeth: Stain Me, Unchain Me, Make Me Write Bad Checks

Two nights ago, Queen Elizabeth II of Great Britain helped King Constantine of Greece celebrate his 70th birthday and, at the party, had not one but two fashion mishaps. Someone – a fellow guest, possibly, or a waiter maybe - spilled what is purported to be coffee on the 84-year-old British monarch’s pale blue floor length gown, […]

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Who Makes Queen Elizabeth’s Purses?

Since I’ve been blogging about Queen Elizabeth in general and her purse-carrying habit in particular, I’ve looked at a lot of of images of the Queen carrying purses. She seems to prefer small, unfussy black leather handbags, though she has carried a white purse before, I know. At first, the black leather handbags looked as if […]

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Queen Elizabeth’s Purse: Take the Survey

The Huffington Post is taking a survey on the purpose of Queen Elizabeth’s bag. Don’t forget to vote. Here is a close-up of Queen Elizabeth receiving Michelle Obama at Buckingham Palace on April 1. Inquiring minds want to know: Why does the Queen carry her purse around her own home? For more on the Queen’s […]

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Michelle Obama Hugs Queen Elizabeth

 As I mentioned in my recent post, “President Barack and Michelle Obama Give Queen Elizabeth an IPod,” the Obamas have visited Buckingham Palace and met with Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip. As the two couples mingled with other diplomats in London for the Group of 20 Meeting, First Lady Michelle Obama reached out and touched […]

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What’s Playing on Queen Elizabeth’s iPod?

In London for the Group of 20 Meeting (see last post), President Barack and Michelle Obama visited Buckingham Palace yesterday. The Obamas gave Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip a fully-loaded engraved iPod, with music and videos. According to the Associated Press, the following songs were loaded onto Queen Elizabeth’s  iPod: “Oklahoma!” “If I Loved You,” Jan Clayton, […]

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Queen Elizabeth’s Grandmother Had the “Gimmies”

Queen Mary was Queen Elizabeth’s grandmother. She was married to George V. George V was the father of Queen Elizabeth’s father, King George VI, who preceded Queen Elizabeth on the throne. Queen Mary got it wrong. One is supposed to “love people and use things.” She did the very opposite. Mary loved things and used people. The Queen […]

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What’s in Queen Elizabeth’s Purse?

It was June 24, 1953. Queen Elizabeth II was traveling to Scotland for the first time as Queen. In her coronation at Westminster Abbey 22 days earlier, Elizabeth had worshiped as an Anglican in the Church of England in her coronation robes. As Queen she was now the head of two churches, the Church of […]

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Elizabeth Taylor: Ugly Duckling?

Actress Elizabeth Taylor had stunning beauty. She was such a gorgeous little girl that, when people would see her for the first time, they would gasp in astonishment, staring at her sapphire eyes wreathed in thick black lashes and the shiny black hair framing her porcelain face.  ”What a pretty child !” they would exclaim, prompting […]

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The Queen Mum: One Tough Cookie

“The Queen Mum,” born Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon (1900-2002), was the beloved British Royal Family matriarch from 1953 until her death at age 101. Of Scottish birth, she served as Queen consort to her husband King George VI from 1936 until his death in 1952, when their daughter Princess Elizabeth took the throne as Elizabeth II. During the […]

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The Royal Wedding: Kate Wears Queen’s Tiny Tiara

Every bride wears something borrowed and, for Kate Middleton, that special something belongs to the Queen of England, Elizabeth II, who became Kate’s grandmother upon marriage. On loan for her royal wedding, the newly ennobled Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, anchored her veil with the demure diamond sparkler. The 1936 tiara, which was purchased by King George VI for […]

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