Year in Review 2011 (Part 2): Royal Weddings, Scandal & The Worlds Most Wanted Man

Posted by Jeff in Opinion

Year in review 2011 (part 2): More incredible stories from the second quarter of 2011 emerge.

Year in Review 2011: April

April was all about a Royal Wedding between Prince William and commoner Kate Middleton. She apparently had posters of Prince William on her wall when she was younger, we don’t know if that is true or not but it goes nicely with the dream Princess story. Although some may say she was upstaged by her sister, Pippa Middleton, who had a facebook page dedicated to her derrière.

Sony faced one of the biggest problems in its history when the playstation network was hacked and millions of users details stolen.

Barcelona and Real Madrid seemed to be playing each other every week at this point in the year with Mourninho turning up the heat.

We lost the controversial Indian spiritual leader Sai Baba in this month and also on the controversial front, did we finally see proof of Aliens at Roswell crash? I’ll leave you to decide.

We also took a look at some cool iPhone apps and at a show jumping cow…. yes we did.

Year in Review 2011: May

This month Microsoft took the plunge and bought Skype for $8.5 billion and Google launched the Chromebook, while over on Twitter Lady Gaga made history by reaching 10 million followers.

Both Barcelona and Sebastian Vettel carried on winning everything while Sepp Blatter started to feel the heat over some dubious goings on over at FIFA.

We looked at whether cell phones were dangerous and we were promised that the world would end on the 21st May. That didn’t happen, unless I am now living in a parallel universe (well you never know), my guess is we might see a few more of those predictions in 2012.

We saw Ratko Mladic finally arrested in Serbia after years in hiding and the then IMF chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn arrested over sexual assault, charges that were later dropped.

Charlie Sheen went a bit, shall we say ‘off kilter’, and was replaced on ‘two and a half men‘ by Ashton Kutcher.

Golfing legend Seve Ballesteros passed away and President Obama announced that Osama Bin Laden was killed when US forces stormed his hiding place right under the noses of the Pakistan police.

Barcelona took the Spanish La Liga trophy and the Champions League while Manchester United sealed the English Premiership title. Chelsea sack their manager (again) and Azerbaijan won the Eurovision Song Contest.

It was a very busy month of May.

Year in Review 2011: June

While Apple unveiled their iCloud service, Nintendo announced the Wii U in Los Angeles. MySpace was off loaded by News Corp for a fraction of what they paid for it.

Rafael Nadal was winning the French Tennis Open and Li Na made history as the first Chinese winner of a Grand Slam. Later in the month Wimbledon got underway and Germany prepared for the Womens World Cup. Chelsea also got their new manager, Andre Villas-Boas.

There were all sorts of goings on at the X Factor USA as Cheryl Cole was effectively sacked as a judge and replaced by Nicole Scherzinger. Beyonce closed Glastonbury in style but not before U2 and Coldplay had rocked the stage.

The Lunar eclipse seemed to foretell the up and down lunacy of the markets as Greece came close to defaulting on its debts while child vaccination got a massive boost in the arm by GAVI and the Gay Marriage Rights Bill was passed in New York.

There was Weinergate and JK Rowling teased us with the pottermore website. A Picasso painting fetched $20 million, Marilyn Monroe’s white dress sold for $4.6 million and a rare Billy the Kid portrait reached $2.3 million.

Read more in Year in Review 2011 (Part 3) here.

Zara Phillips Wedding To Mike Tindall

Posted by Sam in Celebrity, Royal Family

Zara Phillips wedding to Mike Tindall, the ‘other’ Royal Wedding, happens this weekend in Edinburgh.

It may be a Royal Wedding but it couldn’t be further from the spectacle of Prince William and Kate Middleton’s marriage 3 months ago.

The details are still a closely guarded secret of course, the Zara Phillips wedding is still a Royal Wedding after all, but there will be no national holiday and no live television event on every channel around the world. There won’t even be the celebrity magazine deal.

Zara Phillips wedding won’t have millions of people lining the street to catch a glimpse of the Royal couple either, only a small crowd is expected and they will be kept well away from the ceremony.

While Prince William had politicians, statesman and dignitaries attending, Zara Phillips wedding will be more of a sporting event.

Zara is an world champion show jumper and Mike Tindell is an international Rugby player. Zara’s parents have also competed at the Olympic games.

Both bride and groom, although famous, have always strived to live a low key life as far as the public is concerned and the Zara Phillips wedding won’t be any different. In fact, you could even argue that it’s not a Royal Wedding at all. Zara is technically not a member of the Royal family but her mother is.

Zara Phillips is the Queens God-Daughter and met Mike Tindell back in 2003 at the Rugby World Cup in Australia. England triumphed and Tindell was a part of the all conquering side.

Zara Phillips wedding will more than likely pass the world by with only a glancing nod of interest. In the US where Prince Williams wedding was a big hit, it has been mostly ignored by the networks.

Rugby is about as popular as a wasp sting in the land of the Grid Iron and Zara is too far down the Royal pecking order to be a Princess.

The Zara Phillips wedding will still have some renowned guests however, the Queen will be there, Prince Charles and the newly married Royal couple, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge.

Zara Phillips Wedding Vs. Prince Williams Wedding

Location: Edinburgh Vs. London

Venue: Canongate (£300 to hire) Vs. Westminster Abbey (£!?!)

Crowd: 100′s Vs. 1 million

Guests: 300 Vs. 1,900

Tv: no cameras Vs. 2 billion

Closures: Canongate & surrounding roads Vs. 2 sq miles central London

Security: £3-500,000 Vs. £10-20 million

Perception: Zara Phillips Wedding: mole hill Vs. Prince Williams Wedding: mountain

Photo: chicargofabulousblog

Royal Wedding Dress Displayed At Buckingham Palace

Posted by Jo in Celebrity, Royal Family

The Royal wedding dress worn by Kate Middleton to wed Prince William is to go on display at Buckingham Palace.

The Duchess of Cambridge’s Royal wedding dress will go on show when Buckingham Palace next opens to the public on 23rd July.

The dress featured lace hand made by the Royal School of Needlework including the individual embroidered flowers, the rose, shamrock, daffodil and thistle.

The veil worn by the Duchess was made in an ivory silk and held in place by a tiara lent to her by the Queen and made by Cartier in 1936 for her mother, the Duchess of York , who later became the Queen Mother.

There will also be a chance to see a replica of the multi-tiered Royal wedding cake which was a traditional fruit cake mixture. No tasting though unfortunately.

Photo: americanistadechiapas

Princess Beatrice’s Hat Sells on Ebay for £81,100 (approx. $130,640)

Posted by Tracy in Celebrity, Royal Family

Princess Beatrice’s Royal Wedding hat has sold in a charity auction on Ebay for £81,100 (approx. $130,640).

The hat, designed by Philip Treacy has taken on a life of it’s own after Princess Beatrice decided to wear it at Prince Williams and Kate Middleton’s Royal Wedding last month.

Reminding some of a pretzel it soon found fame on Facebook with it’s own page and Princess Beatrice decided to make the most of it’s new found fame by putting it up for auction on Ebay for Unicef and Children in Crisis.

She said that,

“I’ve been amazed by the amount of attention the hat has attracted. It’s a wonderful opportunity to raise as much money as possible for two fantastic charities.”

The identity of the winning bidder is unknown.

Light Hearted Moments From the Royal Wedding

Posted by Jeff in Celebrity, Royal Family

During a weekend of pomp and ceremony thanks the the Royal Wedding, there were some lighter moments, where the joy of the occasion got to people who you wouldn’t have normally thought would let their emotions get the better of them.

Our favourite moment has to be the cartwheeling clergyman, Ben Sheward. He had obviously decided that as all of the guests had gone he could get away with a quick bit of acrobatics. Little did he know that the cameras were still rolling.

His actions seemed to sum up the mood of the nation on the day and quite frankly, we would like to see people expressing their happiness much more in these days of austerity.

Another official that couldn’t quite resist joining in the fun was a policeman who was part of the thin blue line moving people along the Mall.

He conducted the crowd by raising and lowering his arms to the sounds of their cheers before doing a Norman Wisdom pretend trip and stumble. It was great to see a humorous side to the very serious police force for once. If you have access to the BBC you can watch it here http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-13247503

The last word should go to the new Duke and Duchess of Cambridge as they did what every other newly wedded couple in Britain would do and took to the road in an appropriately adorned car…even if not every one has an Aston Martin convertible.

Photo: Magnus D

Royal Wedding Sealed With A Double Kiss

Posted by Tracy in Celebrity, Royal Family

Prince William (now given the title of Duke of Cambridge by the Queen) sealed his marriage to Catherine Middleton (now the Duchess of Cambridge) with a double kiss on the balcony of Buckingham Palace.

After becoming man and wife in a lavish ceremony in Westminster Abbey, the couple travelled in an open top carriage along the Mall beaming and waving at the thousands who lined the streets along the Royal route.

It may have not been the most passionate kiss the world had ever seen by the shy Prince but the 500,000 people crowding the area outside the Palace didn’t care. The love these two people have for each other is obvious and perhaps an antidote for what has gone before.

After a bit of encouragement by the crowd, Prince William leaned in for another to great cheers from those around the Palace.

A Royal flypast by 3 old planes from World War II, followed by 4 more modern jets of the Royal Air Force rattled the windows of Buckingham Palace and reminded everyone of Williams links to the armed services.

Following their star turn on the Buckingham Palace balcony they left for the short trip to Clarence House in Prince Charles Aston Martin, a 21st birthday present from the Queen. Surprising people with it’s balloons and ‘Just Married’ number plate.

They were joined at Clarence House for the evening event hosted by the Prince of Wales, where speeches and an after dinner disco were held.

For those who were there it was a memorable event, Harry talked about their missing mother, Diana the Princess of Wales and with the older generation leaving early, the younger generation celebrated the night away.

Prince William and Kate Middleton are Married in Westminster Abbey

Posted by Tracy in Celebrity, Royal Family

Prince William has married his love of 8 years, Kate Middleton, in a lavish Royal Wedding in London today.

Around 1 million people were lining the streets of London along the wedding route and they weren’t disappointed when they got their first look at the Royal Bride.

The wedding dress of Kate Middleton had been one of the best keep secrets in the world, only kate and the designer herself seemed to know. We caught our first glimpse as she drove up to Westminster Abbey with her father and the full stunning outfit, designed by Sarah Burton at Alexander McQueen, was shown fully when she emerged from the Rolls Royce.

She was helped by her younger sister, Pippa Middleton, playing the part of Maid of Honor perfectly in another sleek Sarah Burton number.

Prince William was dressed in a specially created Irish Guards uniform with a Royal Air Force motif on the breast.

The service, watched by millions around the world, went off without a hitch. The only sticking point was the slight struggle Prince William had getting the wedding ring onto Kate’s hand.

In fact, despite being the new Royal, Kate Middleton seemed to be the one who was remarkable calm during the whole event. Only at one point, where the focus had switched to those giving the readings, did she look slightly overwhelmed, trying to take in everything at once. A calming glance from her new husband soon pulled her thoughts back into the room.

Read more about the Royal Wedding Day here.

Prince William Biography

Posted by Sam in Biographies, Celebrity, Royal Family

Prince William is the elder son of The Prince of Wales and Diana, Princess of Wales. He was born at 9.03pm on 21st June 1982, at St Mary’s Hospital, Paddington, London, UK. He weighed 7lb 1 1/2oz.

On 4th August 1982, Prince William Arthur Philip Louis was christened by the Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Robert Runcie, in the Music Room at Buckingham Palace.

After attending Mrs Mynors School, Prince William became a pupil at Wetherby School in London, from 15th January 1987 until 5th July 1990.

From September 1990, The Prince attended Ludgrove School in Berkshire, for five years until 5th July 1995. He then attended Eton College from July 1995 and studied Geography, Biology and History of Art at A Level.

Prince William was 15-years-old when Diana, Princess of Wales was killed in a car crash in Paris on 31st August 1997. Prince William and Prince Harry walked behind their mother’s cortege at her funeral which was held at Westminster Abbey on 6th September 1997.

After a gap year in which he visited Chile, Belize, worked on British dairy farms and visited countries in Africa, Prince William chose to study at St Andrews University in Fife, Scotland. He graduated with a 2:1 in Geography in 2005.

After a period of work experience, Prince William joined the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst as an Officer Cadet.

He was commissioned as an army officer in front of Her Majesty The Queen at Sandhurst in December 2006 and joined the Household Cavalry (Blues and Royals) as a Second Lieutenant.

On St George’s Day (23rd April 2008) The Queen appointed Prince William to be a Royal Knight Companion of the Most Noble Order of the Garter. He was installed at The Annual Garter ceremony held at Windsor Castle.

Although still a Lieutenant in the Household Cavalry, Prince William is a fully operational Search and Rescue Pilot with the Royal Air Force, based at Anglesey, Wales.

At the same time, Prince William is President or Patron to a number of charities and organisations whose work he wishes to support.

Royal Wedding Details Unveiled

Posted by Sam in Celebrity, Royal Family

More details have been released about the Royal Wedding from St. James Palace, the official residence of the Prince of Wales.

The service will take place at Westminster Abbey in London on Friday 29th April 2011 with the Dean of Westminster conducting the service, the Archbishop of Canterbury conducting the marriage ceremony and the Bishop of London giving an address.

The Middleton family are contributing to the cost of the wedding, allegedly about £100,000 according to some newspaper sources, with the Royal Family picking up the rest of the cost for the wedding itself. The British taxpayer will cover all the other costs (e.g. security).

As with everything todo with the Royal Family, everything is precisely timed and they have released a timing schedule already.

8.00 -10.00am Main congregation arrive

After 10.00am Foreign Dignitaries and Royal Families arrive. The British
Royal Family are – as protocol always dictates – the last to
arrive, just ahead of the Bride.

11.00am Bride arrives, and the service starts

12.15pm Service ends and Carriage Processions begin

1.25pm Balcony appearance

1.30pm Fly Past

Philippa Middleton, Kate Middleton’s sister, will be her Maid of Honour and Prince Harry will be Prince William’s Best Man.

The Bridesmaids and Pages will perform the traditional role of Bridesmaids and Pages on the day. They will be with the Bride on the morning of the wedding, accompany her down the aisle and return with the newly married couple up the aisle. The Bridesmaids and Pages will also have places in the Carriage Procession from the Abbey to Buckingham Palace. All the Bridesmaids and Pages were chosen jointly by the couple.

Around 1,900 people have been invited to the service at Westminster Abbey. Around 650 people have been invited to the lunchtime reception at Buckingham Palace given by The Queen. Around 300 people have been invited to the dinner at Buckingham Palace given by The Prince of Wales.

The invitations were posted in February. The EIIR on the invitation is die-stamped in gold and then burnished. Decisions on invitations were made by the couple jointly. They worked with
Members of their own Household, and The Queen’s and The Prince of Wales’s Households to draw up the final list.

The route between Buckingham Palace and the Abbey goes by The Mall, Horse Guards Road, Horse Guards Parade, through Horse Guards Arch, Whitehall, Parliament Square (the south side) and Broad Sanctuary.

More details will get released as the date gets nearer but it is now only just over a week away and current estimates of the number of people who will watch the Royal Wedding around the world is 2 billion.

Photo: esther1616