Here are some photos of Prince Harry at the annual Chelsea Flower Show, where he had his first-ever charity garden opening. Harry organized his garden for Sentebale, his Lesotho charity which helps fund HIV/AIDS treatments. So many members of his family came out to support him! Prince Charles and Duchess Camilla were there. Queen Elizabeth and Prince Phillip were there too, as well as Prince Andrew and his daughters (although I don’t have photos of Andrew and the girls).

There were charmingly affectionate scenes at the Chelsea Flower Show today, as Prince Harry warmly greeted his family with kisses as they attended the opening of his charity garden. It was something of a family jolly for the royals at today’s VIP opening, and aside from the glorious displays of blooms, it was a chance to offer a show of support to the unexpected garden designer – Prince Harry.

The 28-year-old helicopter pilot was at Chelsea for the first time with his charity Sentebale, which hopes its African-inspired garden will highlight its work aids orphans in the impoverished kingdom of Lesotho. It is the first time that Sentebale has undertaken such a project and the prince has been closely involved in its creation – even examining designs emailed to him by designer Jinny Blom while stationed on the frontline in Afghanistan.

First up was Uncle Andrew and his daughter, Princess Beatrice, who said afterwards: ‘I think it is beautiful and loved the story behind it.’ Next was Uncle Edward – who had to be torn away from the strimmer display, according to Harry – with his father and step-mother hot on his heels.

Charles looked proud as punch at his son’s efforts and told him: ‘This is the great garden is it, after all that effort? I was wondering if it didn’t exist.’

Harry couldn’t resist jesting with his father: ‘If there is anything here which might catch your eye we could probably come to a deal. You can’t have it, but we can come to a deal.’

‘A deal?! ‘ said Charles with mock outrage.

The Prince of Wales then joked that the large round stone that is one of the main features of the garden could be a dance floor. It was only then that Harry noticed his grandfather, Prince Philip, waiting to come in.

‘Looking they’re even queuing,’ he joked. When Charles failed to notice the other VIP guest, Harry ribbed him: ‘Err, pa, meet your father!’, prompting Charles to look up with an exclamation of surprise.

‘You were meant to be looking at strimmers and tractors, Grandpa, I didn’t know you were coming. Fantastic!’ said Harry. ‘Hopefully you like it. You’ve been coming here for years and your opinion is highly regarded.’

The prince even teased Philip that a circular stone centrepiece to his garden span round with flashing lights rather like a nightclub podium.

‘Really?’ Philip enquired earnestly.

‘No, Grandpa, they wouldn’t let us,’ Harry joked.

Last to arrive was the Queen who delighted at her grandson’s efforts but apparently told Harry to send a few plants to his father’s Stumpery at Highgrove as he ‘needed a bit of greenery’.

When the Queen stood with her grandson on the stone circle, which is decorated with hearts and crowns, he told her: “Pa thought it was going to spin round – but sadly it doesn’t.’

Sentebale was set up by Harry in 2006 following a gap year visit to the tiny – and hugely impoverished – African kingdom of Lesotho. He was so moved by the experience that he vowed to spend the rest of his life helping the youngest victims of the country’s HIV/AIDS epidemic. In a country of just 1.8 million people, 23 per cent of adults are HIV positive and their life expectancy has plummeted to just 41 – leaving almost a generation orphaned.

The name Sentebale was chosen as it means ‘forget me not’ in the language of Lesotho, a tribute to both Harry’s mother and that of the children themselves. The charity hopes that by showing at Chelsea it will raise its profile and fundraising activities. The garden’s creator, Jinny Blom, said she had been inspired by the landscape of Lesotho itself as well as Harry’s experience of losing his mother Diana, Princess of Wales A pattern of hearts and crowns has been engraved on a circular terrace in the garden, acting as a memorial to the late princess.

[From The Mail]

Did anyone else get a little choked up about the Princess Diana stuff? Just me? I love the way Harry remembers his mother – it feels like his memories, his living memories of her are of the impact she made on the world, what she represented to people in a larger sense. It’s odd that Prince William doesn’t seem to remember Diana in the same way – to William, his mother seems to be merely a cautionary tale of how not to behave, or as a prop to be used to get his own way.

Also: is anyone surprised that Harry greets his stepmother with such affection? I do love that he kisses his dad though.

Photos courtesy of WENN.

On Wednesday, Queen Elizabeth “opened Parliament” at the Palace of Westminster in England. This is one of the Queen’s many duties – she has to give a speech and outline some goals for the current session of Parliament, blah, etc. What was interesting to me was that Prince Charles and Duchess Camilla came to the opening as well, and it was the first time Charles and Camilla ever came together to the opening. FYI: I know I shouldn’t call her “Duchess Camilla” any more than I should refer to Kate as “Duchess Kate”. I just worry that most American readers won’t know who I’m talking about if I say “the Duchess of Cornwall” and at this point, I don’t want to use “Camilla Parker Bowles”.

Anyway, Duchess Camilla was there are as I was looking through the photos, I began to wonder if there’s some kind of rule in which the ladies have to wear white. Because it seems like Camilla really went out of her way to do a matchy-matchy thing with the Queen. While the Queen was decked out in her white fur and then her regal cape (eat your heart out, Tom Ford), Camilla wore a very bridal-seeming Bruce Oldfield gown. Officially, Camilla’s gown is “champagne” colored, but on camera it just reads as white or off-white. The lace on the sleeves and bust is particularly fussy as well. The reverse-pleating in the midsection is terrible – it makes Camilla look heavier than she actually is.

I was reading The Mail’s story on Camilla and Charles’ appearance, and they did an excellent breakdown on all of Camilla’s jewelry and what it all means. Her tiara is The Boucheron Tiara which one belonged to the Queen Mother, and now belongs to the Queen. Camilla borrowed it for the event. I’m pretty sure the pearl necklace and earrings are from the royal collection as well, because I have memories of Princess Diana wearing that necklace too. The weird little brooch with a tucked in napkin (WTF?) is Camilla’s “Order of the Royal Family of Queen Elizabeth II” medallion. And her blue sash represents that she’s been made a Dame Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order.

As for Camilla’s hair… well, this is actually an improvement from how she used to wear it. I kind of like the feathered style, and it looks good with the tiara. But! I think she might want to go a few shades darker with her blonde. Right? It’s much too light. She turns 66 years old this year – she needs a darker blonde.

Apparently, the Queen fumbled several times during her speech too, so now everyone is like “Huh, I wonder if the Queen should just let Charles do this junk from now on?” But I don’t think Charles could even if the Queen wanted him to. I think the sovereign has to officially “open” Parliament, she can’t send the heir.

Photos courtesy of WENN.

I wasn’t going to cover any of the photos from Baroness Margarget Thatcher’s funeral yesterday, but then I saw these photos of Queen Elizabeth and I changed my mind. Please don’t think that I was merely picking and choosing the odd moments when the Queen happened to be greeting someone she liked – this was her expression in nearly every photo. I swear to God, the Queen was practically giddy. She was super-jazzed to be attending a funeral. I’m not trying to be mean or call her out or anything – God knows, the Queen can do whatever she likes. I just thought it was funny. Margaret Thatcher was such a controversial figure (and we don’t really need to get into WHY she was so controversial… yes, her policies were divisive and at times God-awful, but the woman is still dead, you know?), and here we have the monarch, the head of state, Her Majesty the Queen, smiling up a storm at Thatcher’s big state funeral. Here’s a tad more about the Queen’s appearance:

The Queen made a rare appearance at the funeral of a so-called commoner today as she attended the service held in honour of Baroness Thatcher at St Paul’s cathedral. Baroness Thatcher was the Queen’s eighth and longest serving prime minister and the former PM’s friends and allies were said to be delighted the monarch decided to attend.

Traditionally the Queen does not attend funerals of so-called commoners. The only other time she has broken with tradition was in 1965 when she attended the funeral of Winston Churchill.

The Queen, wearing black wool coat and hat with a triple string of pearls at her neck, sat with Prince Philip at her side as she listened to the heartfelt tributes paid to Britain’s first female prime minister.

The decision for the Queen to attend was made last week at a top-level Government meeting to discuss plans for the farewell to the Iron Lady. Palace officials then confirmed the monarch would join mourners at St Paul’s Cathedral.

As reported by the Daily Mail’s Royal Correspondent Rebecca English, the Queen and Margaret Thatcher, born six months apart, were two women very much making their mark in a man’s world. But, Rebecca says, the Queen is often said to have had a less than easy relationship with Margaret Thatcher, her eighth – and longest-serving – prime minister.

‘Always mindful of her constitutional role and cordial to the last, the monarch is nevertheless said to have personally disagreed with some of Mrs Thatcher’s more divisive policies and privately expressed her alarm over issues such as unemployment and the miners’ strike.’

[From The Mail]

I’ve heard that too, in reading various royal biographies. Thatcher was a monarchist, of course, but the Queen was not (and is not?) a flat-out Tory. When Thatcher was serving as prime minister, some even described her relationship with the Queen as “icy”. The Queen allegedly thought Thatcher was a big phony too. Maybe that’s why Ol’ Liz looks so thrilled? No, probably not. She probably looks so happy because nearly everyone at the funeral is her age and she knows all of these old farts. You can see more photos from the funeral here – there were lots of pearls and fascinators!

Photos courtesy of WENN.

Duchess Kate stepped out AGAIN for some work!! Twice in two days! Three days of work in four days!! This is amazing. Kate joined Queen Elizabeth and Prince Phillip at the Baker Street tube station to mark the 150th anniversary of the London Underground today. Kate wore a Malene Birger coat which seems new…? I don’t remember seeing it before, but Kate has a lot of blue coats and I usually approve of them. I almost always like Kate in shades of blue – it’s one of her best colors. I don’t know what she was wearing under the coat, but I know it was something short, because I can’t even see a hem under there. What is it with Kate and maternity minis?

But I have some bad news, y’all. The sausage curls are back!! She curled her hair extra-special for this appearance, maybe because she thinks the Queen loves her curls? I do like her little black hat/fascinator, though. It’s very “smart”.

While Kate was making a tour of the subway train, she was given a “Baby on board” badge and I sh-t you not, she asked, “How does it work?” The dude explained that women wear the badges on the tube so men know the ladies are pregnant and the dudes give up their seats. Kate also said something along the lines of “Oh yes, I’ve seen this before.” Back in her peasant days! She will never have peasant days again! It’s all special helicopters and luxury SUVs and private planes now.

PS… I believe those are Princess Diana’s diamond-and-sapphire earrings – William gave those to Kate last year, maybe?

PPS… She really doesn’t get that there’s a difference between “day” and “night” makeup, right?

Photos courtesy of WENN.

A week ago, we were getting down and dirty, knee-deep into our Oscar coverage. During the day, as I sat at the computer, my muscles (in my legs, mostly) were in spasm over and over and all of my joints felt particularly tender. I didn’t think much of it – I’m sore off and on throughout the week, partly because of my workouts and partly because (I think) of my sometimes weird sleeping positions (don’t ask). That day I also lost my appetite, which was weird (because I love to eat). Then on Tuesday, everything just went crazy with my body. Vomiting, fire shooting out a certain orifice, fever, exhaustion, all of it. I had gotten that stomach bug that’s been going around, and it was awful. It was 48 hours of misery.

Why am I bringing this up? Because Queen Elizabeth has been hospitalized with gastroenteritis, which is just a fancy name for exactly what I had. Which basically means poor Queen Elizabeth has fire shooting out of her royal bottom right now, and she’s probably really dehydrated (God knows I was too).

Queen Elizabeth was taken to the hospital Sunday, March 3 for gastroenteritis. After becoming ill on Friday, the 86-year-old monarch went to King Edward VII Hospital in London as a “precautionary measure,” a spokesman for the Queen tells the BBC.

“She was not taken into hospital immediately after feeling the symptoms,” the spokesman says. “This is simply to enable doctors to better assess her.”

Buckingham Palace says she’s “in good spirits,” and her engagements for the week will be canceled or postponed.

The Queen’s grandsons Princes William and Harry are currently in Switzerland attending Olympian Laura Bechtolsheimer’s wedding to Mark Tomlinson. William’s pregnant wife Kate Middleton was photographed resting her hand on her growing baby bump.

[From Us Weekly]

For the Queen’s sake, I hope the bug works itself out of her system quickly, although it doesn’t bode well if she got sick on Friday and they took her to the hospital on Sunday. That makes me wonder if her condition deteriorated. It makes me wonder if she got the full-blown stomach flu that sticks around for a few weeks. FYI: This winter has been one of the worst cold-and-flu seasons on record in America, and my guess is that with all of the international travel, the UK and the rest of Europe are probably all in a cold and flu cycle too.

As for the poor Queen’s schedule being canceled – as well it should. Better yet, make Charles, William and Harry take over the Queen’s public schedule.

Photos courtesy of WENN.

Poor, tired, barfy Duchess Kate is so tired and barfy. She’s so tired and barfy that she needs her mom around her all of the time, to the point where Carole Middleton has pretty much moved into Kensington Palace to take care of Kate. But Kate is not too tired and barfy to show up at sports events and receive standing ovations, or to sip soda at a Christmas lunch for her 27 staffers. So… at this point, Duchess Kate’s morning sickness is a mixed bag. So barfy, so tired, so sympathetic! So Kate’s grandmother-in-law (also known as THE QUEEN) is taking the unprecedented move of inviting Kate’s parents to Sandringham for the holidays. WHAT THE WHAT?

Talk about an offer you can’t refuse! In an unprecedented move, Queen Elizabeth II has extended an invitation to Kate Middleton’s parents, Carole and Michael Middleton, to be the first-ever non-royals to join her family’s annual Christmas gathering at the Sandringham Estate. The bid breaks with decades of tradition, since the celebration until now has been an exclusively royal affair.

As the new issue of Us Weekly reveals, Her Royal Highness hopes that the generous overture will encourage Prince William’s pregnant wife to partake in the festivities “despite this difficult time.”

The “difficult time,” of course, refers to Middleton’s struggles with hyperemesis gravidarum, an acute form of morning sickness. The Duchess, 30, was hospitalized with the condition earlier this month and has since been forced to bow out of several planned engagements as she recovers at home.

That said, the royal mom-to-be has been feeling increasingly healthier in recent days. On Dec. 16, she attended the BBC Sports Personality of the Year Awards — her first official public appearance since announcing her pregnancy — where she told former soccer player Gary Lineker she was feeling “very well.” Two days later, she and her husband, also 30, hosted a low-key holiday lunch for 27 members of their staff at the Bumpkin restaurant in London’s Notting Hill neighborhood.

Still, insiders tell Us that the Duchess is taking her schedule day by day and won’t finalize Christmas plans “until the night before or the morning of. It depends [on] how she feels,” an aide says. “And if Catherine doesn’t go, William probably won’t either.”

[From Us Weekly]

Kate certainly worked this to her advantage! Although I do think it’s funny that the Queen was very specific about which Middletons got an invitation – the Queen could have said, “Sure, Kate, it’s no problem if you invite your FAMILY.” The Queen was specific – she can only invite her parents, not her siblings. Pippa’s ass of lies is not welcome in the Queen’s residence. Once was enough (Buckingham Palace, the wedding). I do think it would be interesting if – despite the Queen’s offer to include her parents – Kate still decided that she would rather spend the holidays with her whole family in Berkshire. It would be great because… I bet she really does want to be there and not at some stuffy royal Christmas. And it would be great because the Queen really should change up her Christmas rules. I’m not saying that everybody’s extended family needs to get an invite, but the Queen should definitely make more allowances for married royals who want to also spend some of their holidays with their in-laws. The royal family: awkwardly balancing dueling holidays celebrations, just like us!

Photos courtesy of WENN.

Apparently, Queen Elizabeth only found out about Duchess Kate’s pregnancy yesterday. That’s when Prince William drove his wife to the hospital and all hell broke loose and St. James Palace (the residence and office of the Prince of Wales) had to issue statements confirming Kate’s pregnancy. So, the Queen maybe found out about Kate’s pregnancy an hour before everyone else in the world. It reminds me of William and Kate’s engagement announcement – remember, William “informed” the Queen just like a day before the announcement. William loves his secrets! If you had grown up like that, you would love your secrets too. Anyway, when journalists approached the press office of Buckingham Palace to ask if the Queen would be visiting her granddaughter-in-law (and mother of the future heir to the throne), the Palace was all “meh.”

Prince William returned to the hospital to visit pregnant wife Kate as she spends her second day being treated for severe morning sickness. William – in a purple sweater, blue collared shirt and black jeans – walked straight into King Edward VII Hospital after exiting a green Land Rover.

Without a wave or signal to the 100-strong waiting media, the father-to-be, 30, had his head down, briefly running his hand through his hair as he strolled through the doors.

Kate, who is believed to be being cared for by Dr. Marcus Setchell (he delivered royal babies for the Countess of Wessex, William’s aunt), was brought to the hospital by William on Monday after her sickness became more acute.

Meanwhile, Palace sources tell PEOPLE that Queen Elizabeth, who was only told Kate was expecting once the couple had decided to head to hospital, will be unlikely to visit.

“She doesn’t normally go because it disrupts the running of the hospital,” the source said. “And the Duchess just wants to recover and get out.”

Kate’s office has cancelled all her planned engagements this week. She was due to appear at a charity day at a London bank Wednesday, a gala for the Centrepoint homeless charity and visit the military tournament this weekend.

[From People]

CB and I were just debating what this means – I mean, most women wouldn’t care if their grandmother-in-law didn’t visit them in the hospital, but this is not any other family, you know? The Queen has a vested interest in Kate’s health and the health of the royal fetus heir (what a gross way to say that). Still, Kate is likely only going to be in the hospital for a few more days, so I guess it’s no big deal. I guess the Queen will send flowers. I also think it’s weird that Charles hasn’t visited his daughter-in-law? And no one is asking about it either.

But! Pippa Middleton and Kate’s parents are going to spend time with her in the hospital. Carole and Michael Middleton have already left their Berkshire home and are said to be driving to London to see Kate. Carole also let it be known that she is “elated” with her daughter’s pregnancy.

Photos courtesy of Fame/Flynet and WENN.

I know this isn’t the most timely post or anything, but just know that it took me a full 24 hours to come to terms with just how awful the London Olympics Opening Ceremony was. It was TERRIBLE. Granted, it was never going to be like the Beijing Opening Ceremony which – can we agree on this? – set the gold standard for opening ceremonies, forever. No one expected London to live up to Beijing, and people were already making noise about opening ceremony director Danny Boyle not even wanting to compete with Beijing. But a dance tribute to the NHS? For real?

Basically, the first half of it was cringe-inducing and embarrassing. There was that cheap little fake hill, there was poor Kenneth Branagh reciting Shakespeare whilst dressed like Abraham Lincoln, there was Mr. Bean and that “bit” that went on far too long, there was the whole too-bright beds and the flying flock of Mary Poppins (“Mind the Poppins!” said Arrest Development fans) and the nightmarish “British villain pop-up” collection and that creepy giant baby. Even Matt Lauer and Meredith Vieira were like, “Um… WTF?”

But it eventually got better. While the “love story” thing was dumb, I liked the tribute to British music, and I did like all of the hymns and such. Artic Monkey covering “Come Together” was a highlight. And this is what everyone was talking about – the Queen, the corgis and 007:

Queen Elizabeth’s Olympics Helicopter Jump with James Bond from MYNAME1229 on Vimeo.

Is it just me or is one of the corgis a fatty? Someone needs to put the Queen’s corgis on a diet!! Also: did it bother anyone else that James Bond didn’t bow to Her Majesty? And did it bother anyone else that the Queen looked like she really, really did not want to be there? Even her pink hair feathers looked bored. I would have loved a live feed of the Queen’s reaction shots to the worst parts of Danny Boyle’s “vision” for the Opening Ceremony. Still, he got James Bond and Liz in the same room together, so he gets some points for that.

What else did I like? Hm… David Beckham on the boat with the Olympic flame – that was nice. I liked the dude who took the flame through the tunnel with all of the construction workers who built the stadium – I thought that was a lovely moment. And that Olympic caldron is really cool – I liked it when it was a low “installation piece” thing with all of the leaves, but it looked amazing when the arms rose to form that tall caldron. Oh, and the fireworks were really well done – and you know why? There was British restraint! It wasn’t like “OMG FIREWORKS EVERYWHERE!” (which is what we do in America). I like that they saved the fireworks and really made them count. And then Paul McCartney sang “Hey Jude” and that was pretty cool. I give the whole thing two-and-a-half Flying Poppins out of five.

PS… Here’s the new teaser trailer for Skyfall, which aired shortly after the Queen and James Bond’s little thing. Because that wasn’t cross-promotional at all.

Photos courtesy of WENN, PCN.

Can you believe that Life & Style didn’t use Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes as their main cover story? Maybe they just really wanted to discuss this Duchess Kate story – because it’s a good one! Last week, we discussed the Queen’s new protocol measures which she decreed to ensure that “blood princesses” are always ahead of (protocol-wise) “princesses by marriage”. It’s all very archaic, for sure, but it has real-world implications too. The Queen’s protocol decree means that Princesses Eugenie and Beatrice never curtsy to Duchess Kate, and when Kate is without William, she has to curtsy to them. It means Camilla (Duchess of Cornwall) can’t show up by herself ahead of Princess Anne. Some read the news as the Queen’s not-so-subtle reminder to both Camilla and Kate that they can both be removed from the royal family. Anyway, Life & Style claims that Kate is “humiliated” by the new protocol:

During Queen Elizabeth’s recent Diamond Jubilee celebrations, all eyes were on Prince William’s wife of 14 months, Kate Middleton, who appeared to be embraced as a member of the family. But just weeks later, Kate has been delivered a slap in the face.

In an official revision to the Royal Household’s Order of Precedence, Kate, 30, is now required to curtsy to Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson’s two daughters, Princess Beatrice, 23, and Princess Eugenie, 22. Why? They’re considered blood princesses, while Kate merely married into the royal family.

“It’s a total humiliation for Kate,” a source in Kate and William’s social circle confirms to Life & Style. “It’s like a demotion for her in the royal family, and the queen is the one who ordered this.”

Even more insulting, when William’s with her, no curtsy is necessary — but if she encounters them without her husband by her side, she has to bow down, whether in public or private.

“These moves from the queen are designed to remind Kate that just because she’s popular, she isn’t as important as the queen or any other royal-born family member,” a friend reveals.

[From Life & Style]

I believe the part about these moves being a reminder to “Kate that just because she’s popular, she isn’t as important as the queen or any other royal-born family member.” The Queen reportedly felt that way about Diana too –that just because she was the most “popular” member of the royal family, it didn’t really mean anything.

Also – Kate and William were at a “society wedding” over the weekend, and they ran into a slew of ex-girlfriends and ex-boyfriends. The English upper class is so incestuous! Anyway, you can see some photos here. Pippa was there too. Some people are saying Kate looked pregnant, but I kind of think it’s just a really unflattering dress. Kate needs to burn that one, it makes her look thick-waisted, and this is not a thick-waisted girl. At all.

Photos courtesy of WENN.

We have 20 million new photos of the royal family and the Diamond Jubilee celebrations, and there are plenty more yet to come (the royal family on the balcony!). I’m at a loss for how to organize this stuff, so this post is just a compilation of photos I enjoy, mostly of the Queen and Prince Harry, and some of Camilla (Duchess of Cornwall) and Prince Charles. I already covered some of the new Duchess Kate photos here.

Queen Elizabeth had to go “solo” for yesterday’s Jubilee concert and today’s church visit because Prince Philip had to go into the hospital. He has a bladder infection and apparently, it’s pretty rough stuff – especially for a man of 91 years (his birthday is Sunday). Allegedly, Philip is “desperately upset” that he has missed his wife’s celebrations, but he is recovering nicely. And I kind of like how it wasn’t even a question as to whether or not the Queen would cancel her celebration – of course she would NOT. So the Queen was forced to spend more time with her son, the Prince of Wales, and his wife, Camilla. Camilla even sat next to the Queen during the carriage ride from the church to the Palace. Poor Queen Elizabeth.

I’m also including lots of photos of Harry, just because he’s super-cute and GINGER THUNDER and all of that.

PS… Do you think Camilla’s hat is big enough?

Photos courtesy of WENN.