On Thursday, Kate Middleton was invited to an official royal engagement… with Her Majesty, The Queen! Kate and Prince William attended a pre-Christmas lunch at Buckingham Palace, where the entire royal family was in attendance, and I’m sure they gnawed on the official royal biscuits (real biscuits, not “the royal jewels”). People Magazine has a photo of Will and Kate in the back of a car, either coming or going from the lunch. Kate looks thrilled. Probably because she won in the end, and it didn’t matter than the Queen thought that she should get a job or find some direction other than being at Will’s beck-and-call. Kate probably looked at Her Majesty and thought “Ha! All I had to do was wait around for nine years. Sucker.”

Talk about an important lunch date! Punctuating a model month as a royal bride-to-be, Kate Middleton joined her fiancé for a special pre-Christmas lunch with Queen Elizabeth Thursday.

She and Prince William were driven the short hop from St. James’s Palace to Buckingham Palace for the annual event that takes place before the Queen heads off for her seasonal holiday.

The newly engaged couple rode in a car with some protection officers that traveled behind Prince Charles and Camilla, the Duchess of Cornwall. Inside the palace, Kate, 28, mingled with a daunting array of royals, as all of the Queen’s children were in attendance, along with most of her grandchildren. And while she was a guest at the 2008 wedding of the Queen’s eldest grandchild, Peter Phillips, this is thought to be the first time she has had a lunch with the entire family at the palace.

Kate and William left about two and a half hours later – and this time, she was sandwiched between William and his brother Prince Harry in the back seat of an official SUV.

“It’s a momentous day for her,” royals author Judy Wade tells PEOPLE. “She must have met more than 40 members of the royal family and that must have been an ordeal for her to meet so many family members.”

“When she left, Kate was looking supremely happy. She was smiling broadly,” an observer says.

“She was beaming,” adds another source watching at the palace gates.

As for the couple’s holiday plans, William will be working on Christmas Day so he will not be with the Queen and family at Sandringham House in Norfolk, England. It remains to be seen if Kate will join him in North Wales or spend the day with her own family.

[From People]

There are very few members of the royal family that I would like to share a meal with. Prince Harry, obviously, although I would prefer to eat my lunch off of his ginger-furred naked body. I’d also like to meet and eat with Prince Andrew, just because he seems like he’d be a hoot. Let’s see… who else? You know Anne is probably a royal bitch, and pretty boring. Edward is funky. The Duke of Edinburgh? Ew. And the other assorted royals… blah. So I’d really only want to meet the Queen, Andy and Harry. I should invite them ’round for lunch at my house!

Photos courtesy of WENN.

You know how I was kind of making fun of Us Weekly’s Kate Middleton story this week? Well, my bad. It’s actually a really good piece for those of us who love royal gossip and junk. The cover story is very lengthy, so I’m just going to do the highlights:

*Kate will have an entourage from here on out: She used to be able to take a bus or a cab with just her sister, but now she has an entourage. “Now, she has a full entourage in tow,” Katie Nicholl tells Us. “The enormity of what she’s in is finally sinking in.” She’s losing some freedom and independence, but that is “the price she’ll pay for falling in love with the future king.”

*Kate in “encouraged” to have a voice, unlike Princess Diana: “If Kate was to voice something to William or an aide, it would not be ignored. She in encouraged to speak up,” says a senior palace source. “The palace has learned from the past with Diana.”

*The senior palace source also says: “William is determined for this to be the beginning of a new royal family with new ways of doing things. He wants his marriage to last.”

*Since the engagement announcement, Kate has been staying at Clarence House, not Buckingham Palace. Clarence House is the residence of the Prince of Wales (and former residence of the Queen Mum). She has weekly meetings with the royal wedding planners, and she seems to be a “good planner.”

*Her parents are finding it hard to cope with the fact that there’s an armed police car at the end of their driveway.

*Williams is still going to make Kate cook for him and do all of the housework: “they don’t plan on having butlers or valets and Kate will still cook and host dinner parties.” That is, there are no plans for any of that when they are in Wales, for William’s training. While Kate is in London, she’s got a full staff at her disposal.

*Kate plans to make her younger (wild) sister Pippa her lady-in-waiting. Katie Nicholl defined a lady in waiting as: “The Queen has between 3 and 10. She trusts them to help her select outfits, wait in the car with her, pick out her favorite posies and help with her crossword. It’s a rare intimacy. It’s unpaid.”

*Kate and William did a an engagement photo shoot with Mario Testino (“the same acclaimed star photographer who took iconic pictures of Princess Diana shortly before her death.”) It was a “top secret session.” A St. James spokesperson confirmed that the photoshoot took place “privately with Prince William.”

*In the nine years of dating, Kate has “lost her puppy fat.” Since she began dating the future King eight years ago, Middleton has transformed from “a university student into a woman,” Simone Simmons, a close pal of the late Princess Diana, tells Us. “I call it that she lost her puppy fat!”

*Workouts: While in London, Middleton works out regularly at the Clarence House gym — and gets beautified at Richard Ward Hair and Metrospa in the British city’s Sloane Square.

*On curtsying: “When a nonblood royal is with a royal spouse, they take on their spouse’s elevated rank,” according to the mag. If Kate sees Camilla and Charles, Kate has to curtsy, but if Charles is not around and Kate is with William, Camilla has to curtsy. And none of the low debutante dip curtsying! It should be “just a bob down, about 10 centimeters.” And! Kate has to walk a step behind Prince William (just like Prince Philip has to walk behind the Queen.)

*On grooming: “Kate is always perfectly manicured, and she will have blow-dries before she goes out,” says Katie Nicholl, royal watcher and author of William and Harry: Behind the Palace Walls. She adds that Middleton and William, also 28, likely got their teeth whitened in advance of their engagement announcement.

*The Queen has deigned to take an interest in Kate. Nicholl says: “Their relationship is fascinating.” Kate will likely have weekly meetings with the Queen, where she will be encouraged to listen, not talk.

*Once married, Kate and William will likely be given their own apartment in Kensington Palace – maybe even Princess Diana’s old apartment. Creepy.

[From Us Weekly, print and online editions, with an additional transcript from Jezebel]

See? It’s epic. I know most you don’t care, but I can’t get enough. I think very, very, VERY soon we’re going to start seeing bits and pieces of the “real” Kate – the one who isn’t content to just be an “army wife” ignored and alone, without even a bustling staff to do everything for her. My guess is that Kate is going to be spending a great deal of the engagement in London, theoretically to “plan the wedding” but really because she enjoys the staff.

One last thing – HuffPo reports that Kate and Will have to have a “therapy” session with some Church of England priest. Prince William’s spokesperson says: “It’s customary for a priest to meet with the couple before their wedding.” They will discuss how to deal with marital problems, parenthood, etc.

This may not be of any interest, but we’ve been doing a lot of royal coverage lately, and I found this piece of news fascinating. Buckingham Palace released their account information to the general public a few days ago. You see, the Queen and her family (minus Prince Charles – I’ll get to him in a minute) are funded by the British taxpayers, and the taxpayers like to know just how much they’re spending on the Queen’s corgis, hats and whatever Prince Edward needs to get him through the night. This year’s total expenditures: £38.2 million (roughly $58 million) for fiscal year 2009-2010. Sounds like a lot, right? It was actually a 7.9% drop, which was accounted for by some royal belt-tightening, as well as the Queen deigning to pull some £6.5 million from her own private account. It still sounds like a lot though – until you do some figuring and realize that when all is said and done, the royals cost each and every single British citizen 94 cents. Less than a dollar per citizen for the royal family! That’s kind of a bargain.

The Queen and the Royal Family cost the taxpayer 62p per person last year – a drop of 7p, Buckingham Palace accounts showed. The total cost of keeping the monarchy decreased by £3.3 million (7.9 per cent) to £38.2 million during the 2009-10 financial year.

A spokesman said the fall equated to a drop in real terms of 12.2 per cent and was mainly due to a reduction in commercial charter flights and a refund of lease rentals from the Queen’s helicopter, which was replaced last year.

Palace accounts also showed that the Queen dipped into a reserve fund to boost her Civil List by £6.5 million in 2009. This is the highest amount ever drawn from the reserve, which comes from surplus Civil List money accumulated in the 1990s.

Sir Alan Reid, Keeper of the Privy Purse, said: “The Royal Household is acutely aware of the difficult economic climate and took early action to reduce its Civil List expenditure by 2.5 per cent in real terms in 2009. We are implementing a headcount freeze and reviewing every vacancy to see if we can avoid replacement. Property services funding will be reduced by £0.5 million this year.”

“Work will continue on assessing the condition of the Estate, but it is acknowledged that the necessary cuts in public expenditure will have an impact on the backlog of essential maintenance which it is hoped can be addressed in the longer term. In the meantime, the Household is continuing to pursue opportunities to reduce costs and generate income from the Estate’s assets, including commercial lettings and management charges.”

The total cost of the Queen’s Civil List – which pays for the running of the Royal Household including staff salaries – was £14.2 million in 2009, up £300,000. It was made up of £7.9 million from the Government and £6.5 million from the reserve.

If the Queen continues drawing on the reserve at the current rate, she is expected to run out of funds by the start of 2012 – the year of her Diamond Jubilee. The current deal for the Civil List – which gives the Queen £7.9 million a year – was agreed by then prime minister Sir John Major in 1990.

It had been thought the Queen would request an increase but Chancellor George Osborne announced as part of his Budget last month that it will remain frozen at £7.9 million for the coming year. Mr Osborne said the Queen had given her full agreement to the decision to freeze the sum. He added that “a new means of consolidated support” would be proposed at a later date.

[From The Telegraph]

Oh, I was going to mention Prince Charles – he doesn’t get any money from the “the taxpayers” – at least, not for his general upkeep. Charles has his own income from the Duke of Cornwall estate (it’s one of his titles). Through that, he owns extensive property and farms and rentals and his own line of organic food. The Duchy of Cornwall brings in millions of dollars, for real. Now, one thing that I don’t believe is figured into all of this accounting is security – I think there’s a secondary accounting chart for the guards and detectives and personal security various royals get. And that gets very expensive.

I would totally give a dollar to have a little queen. I want my dollar to go towards hats. Or corgis. Or jewel polish. I’ll let the Queen decide!

Queen Elizabeth on July 5, 2010 (in Canada) & June 19, 2010 (with the Duke, in England). Credit: WENN.

Two of my favorite people in the world were in the same room together, and one of them was drunk! So says Hugh Grant (the drunk one), who told Access Hollywood a fabulous little story about the Queen. Apparently, he had a few and decided to ask Her Majesty about her true feelings on the paparazzi, and whether she ever felt like giving a photographer a good smack. Her reaction? “No, I don’t and don’t tell Harry.” Ha! To be fair to the Queen, it’s not like she gets photographed coming out some hip club in the middle of the night (although, how cool would that be?). Prince Harry’s relationship to the paparazzi is entirely different than the Queen’s. The Queen is not only protected 24 hours a day by lots of armed guards, she doesn’t really go to places where the hot celebrities are.

In “Did You Hear About The Morgans?,” the normally well-dressed Hugh Grant strips down to a very uncharacteristic shorts and T-shirt look. Hugh shows off some toned legs and fit forearms in his new film, and Access Hollywood’s Billy Bush found out how the heartthrob got them in shape.

“I have a wonderful Swedish girl, she’s a model, who takes me to the park, thrice a week,” Hugh told Billy of his workout routine.

Hugh said his toned frame is the result of a blood pumping workout.

”[She] throws sticks for me like a dog and makes me pick up heavy things and it has made me a bit butcher than I used to be,” he explained.

While workouts get the Brit revved up, it’s something else entirely that gets his blood boiling – the paparazzi. In fact, Hugh revealed he once badmouthed the snappers during a chat with Britain’s Queen.

“I was introduced to The Queen. She was charming and I said — I was a bit drunk – I said, ‘Do you ever get annoyed by paparazzi? Do you ever get tempted to whack them with your bag?’” he revealed. “And she said (in a Queen-style voice), ‘No I don’t and don’t tell Harry.’ Because of course, her grandson, Harry, feels the same way as I do about paps and often gives them a whack.”

Hugh expressed sympathy with the Royal Family, who are increasing paparazzi targets, due in part to the love lives of The Queen’s grandsons, William and Harry.

“They’ve certainly made the life of her family a bit of a misery,” Hugh said of the paps Royal Family focus. “She’s just got tough about it recently because one of her homes out in Kent, they put their long lenses over the walls and take pictures.They’re really just trying to get Prince William and [his longtime girlfriend], Kate Middleton.”

As for his own troubles with the paparazzi, Hugh made light of some of the things he’s done in the past when he’s found photographers in places he didn’t quite expect.

“Well our understanding is that I hit them, I kick them and then I get arrested. It’s happened twice in the last two years. That works quite well,” he told Billy sarcastically.

[From Access Hollywood]

I always thought Hugh was a monarchist, bless his heart. He probably gets weepy for the Queen’s Christmas address, and ten bucks says he’s had at least one sex dream about Her Majesty. Ah, Hugh. I’d love to get drunk with him. I imagine it would involve a lot of prank phone calls, celebrity impressions and breast fondling. I’m totally game for that.

Speaking of Hugh and drinking, over the weekend he told another funny story about one liquor-soaked night in which he ended up buying a famous Andy Warhol painting on a whim:

Hugh Grant has confessed he was drunk when he bought a painting of Elizabeth Taylor that later made him an £11million profit.

The actor was lauded as an art connoisseur when he bought the work by Andy Warhol for £2million. And he was praised as a master of timing when he sold it six years later for £13million. But the star has now admitted that his windfall had little to do with an eye for art.

Grant, 49, had been on a two-day drinking spree when he ordered an assistant to bid for the painting at an auction in New York. He said: ‘And to my horror, she did, and even worse, got it.’

He added: ‘It all began with drink. I’d been having a drunken dinner with my father the night before, and I said, “We ought to go see my brother Jamie. You know, the Concorde’s amazing. And he said, “I hear it is.” So I bought him a Concorde ticket and we went. We had lunch, drank a lot of beer. And I was thinking about some stuff in the Sotheby’s auction and I saw the Liz Taylor. I slightly regret selling it now, even though it made me rich.’

The actor admitted not all of his drunken gestures were as well rewarded. Far from enjoying the supersonic trip to New York, his father was unimpressed. Grant said: ‘Halfway across the Atlantic, he’s saying, “Well, it’s all very nice, but frankly I prefer Air Kuwait” – his usual way of getting to New York.’

[From The Daily Mail]

Now I really want to get drunk with him! He buys art and chats with the Queen when he’s wasted! He’s so classy! And it sounds like he gets a lot of his spunk from his dad, too.

Hugh Grant (and Sarah Jessica Parker) at the New York premiere of ‘Did You Hear About the Morgans?’ on December 14, 2009.

The prophets must be right. We’re seeing the end of days. That’s the only explanation I have for what appears to be the oddest, most amazingly ridiculous meeting of the minds last night. It was the Royal Variety show, for which Queen Elizabeth II and the Prince Phillip attended, and it headlined none other than Lady Gaga. Gaga outdid her herself with a red (leather? pleather?) gown, complete with a removable Elizabethan collar and train. Thank God, Gaga took off the collar when she met the Queen. And she gave a deep, respectful curtsy, which makes me happy. However, Her Majesty also had to sit through Miley Cyrus and her hot pants. I’m serious. Thankfully, Miley changed into a nice dress to formally meet the Queen, but there are no photos of Miley curtsying. Maybe she didn’t know? Or didn’t care?

Blackpool has certainly never seen anything like the performance Lady GaGa put on at the Royal Vareity Show last night – and for all her years and travels, it’s unlikely the Queen has either.

The American singer famed for her crazy collection of outfits managed to outdo herself as she appeared on stage in a red latex outfit dressed as Elizabeth I.

GaGa wore a long dress, complete with intricate ruffle and plus outlandish sparkly eye make-up and lipstick for an astonishing performance featuring a huge Dali-style piano.

It was the highlight of an amazing night as the Royal Variety Show returned to Blackpool for the first time in 54 years.

On that occasion Morecambe & Wise and Arthur Askey had entertained Her Majesty and Prince Philip. This time, as well as GaGa, the bill included X Factor winner Alexandra Burke and teenage star Miley Cyrus.

GaGa arrived on stage to close the show with a 20ft train trailing behind the dress.

She was helped on to a chair attached to a chain and hoisted 30 feet in the air to play a piano which was supported by legs that look very similar to those supporting the giant elephants in the Salvador Dali painting, The Temptation Of St Anthony.

The singer performed Speechless – the song she wrote to try and persuade her sick father Joseph to have heart surgery. Last night he was sitting in the crowd to see his daughter perform. The singer has credited him with helping her beat a cocaine addiction before she became famous.

The show-stopping display capped a memorable time in England for GaGa, who performed in a giant bath on Sunday’s X Factor show. She had then surprised locals in The Castle pub, in North Acton, by popping in for a drink while wearing white leotard, matching minidress and ripped fishnet tights. She sipped her drink through a straw before heading off with a takeaway fish and chips.

The American is clearly a fan of the dish as she’s enjoyed the same thing in a pub in Blackpool on Friday during rehearsals for last night’s show.

But it was 17-year-old Miley Cyrus who wore the most daring outfit of the night.

Her tiny hotpants revealed the young stars thighs as she performed raunchy dance moves onstage. It is not known what the Royal audience made of the show.

More than 1,000 people turned out to catch a glimpse of the monarch and the Duke of Edinburgh as they arrived for the gala evening.

[From The Daily Mail]

Can you even imagine what was going through Queen Elizabeth’s mind? I mean, she’s seen it all and colonized it, but I still think she was probably a little taken aback with Gaga and Miley. I have to say, I’m proud of Gaga, though. My American countrywoman did me proud by not only performing for the Queen, but by showing respect to the Queen. I doubt Miley even spit out her, like, you know, gum, y’all.

Miley Cyrus changed from her hot pants, while Lady Gaga respectfully meets the Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II on December 7, 2009. Credit: WENN.

As you can see from this Today Show clip from this morning, the British press is in a tizzy again because there are new, more substantial rumors about Prince William and Kate Middleton. For the past week, the British papers have been reporting on Queen Elizabeth frail appearance at the opening of Parliament, and many claim that the Queen wants to start giving more of her royal duties to Prince Charles his oldest son, Prince William.

Basically, they’re saying it’s time for Prince William to stop playing around in the military (considering he’s never going to serve in a war zone, like his brother Harry) and actually settle down and begin to start working full-time for the family. This, of course, would mean that William would have some time in schedule to actually marry his girlfriend of some-odd seven years, Kate Middleton. Sources claim that the palace is already talking about “when” Kate and William marry, not “if”. A source tells the Mail: “Nothing is set in stone but 2012 is the date that is now being talked about.” Add to that the news that William pushed back a royal trip so he could spend time with Kate on her birthday, and we’ve got some hot royal stories:

Prince William has made sure his first official overseas visit is carefully scheduled so he doesn’t miss girlfriend Kate Middleton’s birthday. He has put his foot down over the January tour of New Zealand after missing her last two birthdays.

The Prince has insisted he will not set off until after Kate’s big day on January 9, when she turns 28. William is now due to fly to New Zealand on January 17 for the official visit. He will then go on to Australia two days later for an unofficial trip to Sydney and Melbourne, funded by the Queen.

‘William is really thrilled that he will be here to celebrate,’ said a source. ‘Kate is delighted too, especially as he missed her last birthday because he was at RAF Cranwell and the one before that because he was at Sandhurst.’

My source adds: ‘It was William who suggested the trip. He hasn’t been Down Under since he was nine months old.’

The Queen is insisting her Diamond Jubilee celebrations are kept low-key – despite courtiers’ hopes for a string of national and international visits. It follows concerns that the 83-year-old Monarch appeared ‘frail’ when she delivered her speech at the State Opening of Parliament last week.

I understand that Her Majesty wants Prince Charles and Camilla and Princes William and Harry to take over many of the duties to mark her 60 years on the throne in 2012. Buckingham Palace aides had expected that the Diamond Jubilee, which will fall in the same year as the London Olympics, would be as grand as the 2002 Golden Jubilee celebrations.

On that occasion the Queen carried out an extensive tour of the UK, Canada, Australia and the Caribbean. But courtiers have been told to come up with a revised itinerary with less overseas travel and just a handful of events nationwide for the Queen.

‘There has been a clash of opinion at the Palace between the Queen and her courtiers,’ says a Royal source. ‘They had hoped the Queen would travel around the country to see her subjects, but she is not prepared to undertake an itinerary like last time.’

Palace aides insist she and Prince Philip, 88, are in robust health, but that the Queen wants her children and grandsons to help her out in 2012.

‘The idea is that Charles and Camilla, and William and Harry will travel around the country on her behalf,’ the source added. ‘The Queen wants a low-key Diamond Jubilee largely because Britain has just been through a recession.’

Last week I revealed that 2012 is one of a number of dates being looked at for a Royal wedding for Prince William and Kate Middleton. Queen Victoria is the only other British monarch to have celebrated a Diamond Jubilee. She reigned for 63 years and seven months.

A Palace spokesman said: ‘We’re not speculating on plans for the Diamond Jubilee at this stage, but it is entirely untrue to suggest that the Queen has requested not to travel overseas in 2012 or, indeed, to reduce her UK programme.’

[From The Daily Mail]

I feel for the Queen, I really do. It must suck to worry about your son (and his Duchess wife) taking the reigns of the family business, when all anyone really cares about if whether your grandson will actually make an honest woman out of his girlfriend of seven years. Call me crazy, though, because I’m actually believing some of this report – I think William has come to the decision that he can’t keep leading Kate on, and he’s decided to marry her. Poor Kate, too. I mean, she knew what she was doing and all, but I bet she thought he’d get around to marrying her years ago.

Saturday November 21 2009. Prince William leaves Raffles Nightclub in London after spending the evening with friends. Credit: Pacific Coast News. Kate Middleton in a cab with her friend after they partied at the Orchid Nightclub on November 20, 2009. Credit: WENN.

Last week, we reported on a recent item from the Daily Mail that had Kate Middletontotally out-of-sorts regarding the limbo status of her relationship with Prince William. According to the Mail, Kate was seriously considering a move to America and perhaps even a split with William. I had some doubts in the report, because I really think Kate Middleton is in this thing for the long haul, she’s in to get married no matter what, no matter how long William waits, no matter how big his bald spot grows. So this is probably good news for Kate – she’s been invited to the Queen’s Scottish estate, Balmoral, to stay for William’s August vacation.

William has been in military training for most of the year, so it will be nice that he and Kate get to spend some quiet time together in Scotland. But it gets even better for Kate! The Queen extended an invitation to Kate for a private, one-on-one meeting, which could be construed as some sort of seal of approval. But, the news isn’t all good. According to the Daily Express, the Queen is totally going to vent to Kate about how Kate needs to stop putting “professional royal girlfriend” on her resume and get a real job:

Being invited to lunch with your boyfriend’s grandmother might not seem all that momentous. But when your boyfriend is Prince William it is a very ­special occasion.

For the first time, the Prince’s long-term girlfriend, Kate ­Middleton, will share a private meal with the Queen at Balmoral, sparking fresh rumours that the couple may soon be heading down the aisle.

William and Kate, both 27, have also been invited to stay in the main castle during their August Bank Holiday visit – a further sign that their relationship is being taken more seriously. In previous years they have stayed in properties elsewhere in the grounds.

The pair have had an on-off relationship since they met at university eight years ago but speculation has been growing that they are planning to announce their engagement. Bookmakers have already offered odds of 2-1 that William will pop the question this year.

An aide reportedly said: “A one-on-one lunch with the Queen will inevitably be daunting for Kate but it is crucially important in the development of their relationship. It is the clearest signal yet that Her Majesty believes Kate is more likely than ever to become a fully fledged member of ‘The Firm’.”

“They will discuss exactly what it would mean if Kate became a Royal Highness and the extent to which her life would change.”

Although Kate has dined with the Queen before alongside William, she has never had a private meal with the monarch. In the past the Queen has reportedly voiced concern that her grandson should not announce an engagement until Kate secured a full-time job.

Kate, who formerly worked as an accessories buyer for high street fashion chain ­Jigsaw, is currently job-hunting, and has reportedly been offered an internship at the fashion magazine Vogue.

There have also been reports that the pair have been house hunting. One report suggested they had even been looking in Hollywood’s favourite hide­away, Malibu in California.

The source added: “The Queen’s view is that if Kate is to marry William, an engagement should come sooner rather than later as she is concerned she should get a proper focus in life. She will put Kate at ease but will want to make sure that she is in no doubt what marrying the heir to the throne would mean.”

William will join his grand­father Prince Philip on a bird shoot at the Highland retreat while Kate dines with the Queen. During their five-day stay, he and Kate are also expected to join the Queen for daily walks in the grounds.

The royal grandmother is said to have granted Kate, a keen photographer, unprecedented access to take pictures of the castle and grounds at Balmoral to make her feel ­welcome.

William and Kate have kept a low profile of late while he trains to be an RAF helicopter pilot. The Prince was pictured with Kate for the first time in months at a polo match in May.

A spokesman for Clarence House said: “We don’t comment on private matters. Who the Queen invites to Balmoral is her business alone.”

[From Daily Express]

It sounds like the Queen might throw down, doesn’t it? Good for Her Majesty. Somebody needs to take Kate down a peg or two. She seems like a nice enough girl, but I do find Kate very boring, and a little too happy to simply be a “girlfriend”. When Prince Charles proposed to Diana, his “mummy” had to pick out the engagement ring. I wonder if it will be the same for Will?

Queen Elizabeth is shown on 6/13/09. Credit: WENN.com. Kate Middleton is shown at a roller disco party on 9/17/08. Credit: PacificCoastNews.com

By now, most people have already seen or heard about the incident. It’s an image that was plastered over news shows for a full day – the image of First Lady Michelle Obama and Queen Elizabeth with their arms around each other. The Queen has her hand on the small of Michelle’s back, and Michelle has reached over and put her arm across the Queen’s shoulders. But what about the “no touching” protocol? Won’t anyone think about the protocol? It’s scandalous!

There’s some late-breaking news about all of this. Various sources (American and British) are saying that the Queen was the one to break protocol first. Allegedly, the Queen and Michelle were standing very close together when the Queen commented on how incredibly tall Michelle is. As the Queen spoke, she reached over and touched Michelle’s back, letting her hand rest on the small of her back. Then Michelle reached over to embrace the Queen as they spoke. Glad that’s settled. The Daily Mail has a version of these events:

She is not renowned for public displays of affection. Which made the Queen’s decision to put a friendly arm around Michelle Obama’s waist at a Buckingham Palace G20 reception – prompting the U.S. President’s wife to return the gesture – so utterly astonishing.

Finding herself next to Mrs Obama, the Queen remarked on their height difference. As she did so, her hand edged towards the small of Mrs Obama’s back. Mrs Obama responded – and even rubbed the Queen’s shoulder – before both women moved gently apart after about ten seconds.

The sight of the Queen publicly hugging another woman astonished other guests. An onlooker said: ‘It was a pretty simultaneous gesture. We couldn’t believe what we were seeing.’

It was an electrifying moment of palpable majesté: A breach of centuries-long protocol when the friendly and outgoing Michelle Obama put her arm round the Queen.

It now appears, however, that it may have been the Queen who made the initial move. In any case, it was the first time that anyone can remember in her long public life that she has put her arm around another woman.

‘A mutual and spontaneous display of affection and appreciation,’ was how a Buckingham Palace spokesman hastened to describe it.

But the protocol concerning the sovereign has been set in stone for generations. ‘Whatever you do,’ courtiers are apt to warn, ‘don’t touch the Queen.’

From The Daily Mail

Ah, so everybody had a good freak-out and now it’s over. Hopefully. The Queen looked so small next to the Obamas. Perhaps the Queen simply doesn’t care about protocols anymore, and she just wanted a cool American girlfriend.

It seems the Queen wasn’t the only one who wanted to be Best Friends Forever with Michelle. The First Lady spent several hours on Thursday visiting a girls’ school in London. Footage from the event made me cry, I will admit that freely. The girls’ school has a 90% minority enrollment – a lot of those girls looked a lot like Sasha and Malia. The girls were so pleased to be performing for Michelle, and so many seemed overwhelmed to meet her. The Daily Mail has more:

There were hordes of screaming girls jostling to meet her – the sort of welcome usually reserved for pop stars. Michelle Obama proved a huge hit yesterday as she visited a London girls’ school for the first solo outing of her trip to Britain.

The U.S. First Lady was nearly knocked off her feet with adoration at the Elizabeth Garrett Anderson Language College in North London. But far from being overwhelmed, she wrapped her arms around pupils and punched the air in appreciation as they performed.

She tapped her feet through dance performances and watched intently during a modern-day staging of The Tempest. Bringing a very American feel to the occasion she applauded with hands held high and high-fived one pupil before taking to the podium for her own motivational speech.

At Elizabeth Garrett Anderson School, some 55 languages are spoken by around 1,000 pupils, with about two-thirds of the girls speaking English as a second language. The school prides itself on helping disadvantaged girls succeed.

Mrs Obama, a graduate of Harvard Law School, choked up as she told her rapt audience the world needs ‘strong women’. She said: ‘I am an example of what is possible when girls from the very beginning of their lives are loved and nurtured by people around them.’

‘I was surrounded by extraordinary women in my life who taught me about quiet strength and dignity. You too can control your own destiny, please remember that. Whether you come from a council estate or a country estate, your success will be determined by your own confidence and fortitude.’

Her speech inspired more screams from her attentive audience. Before she left, she stopped to hug as many pupils as she could and was mobbed by excited girls as she leaned over the stage to greet as many as possible.

Sabrina Chowdhury, 16, was one of the first to get an embrace from Mrs Obama. She said: ‘Her speech was spectacular. There are so many girls in our school who need that kind of motivation. It moved us to tears. When she came in it was like the room lifted.’

From The Daily Mail

Michelle also told the girlsthat President Obama “is going to be very jealous of my afternoon. He’s meeting with important people, but it’s not as much fun as being here.” She ended her speech, directing an emotional word to the staff and the students – “These girls are terrific. The school is phenomenal, and you all should be very proud of what you have created … You are precious and you touch my heart… you touch my heart.” And yes, people are already comparing Michelle Obama to Princess Diana. I think it’s all the hugging and crying. All I know is that I need a tissue.

Here is footage of Michelle visiting the school:

Photos from the Obamas visit with the Queen are thanks to WENN.com. Header image from Timesonline

It looks like President Obama learned his lesson from the criticism he received by giving a bunch of DVDs to Prime Minister Gordon Brown when they first met. The Obamas arrived in London with some nice, thoughtful gifts for their hosts – gifts for both the Browns and the Queen.

The cable news channels are doing non-stop coverage of the G-20 summit (which actually doesn’t start until tomorrow). In case no one saw the royal visit (or would it be the presidential visit to the royals?), Michelle wore black and white, with a lovely pearl necklace, while the Queen wore pastel pink.

Anyway, everyone is going crazy. I’ve seen CNN’s special report on how the British people adore Michelle Obama. It was a bit of fluff journalism, and I was totally ashamed that CNN ran with it. But now People Magazine has a really good scoop – what the Obamas gave as gifts. The president gave the Queen an iPod. Which might be crass, but he also gave her “a rare 1951 printing of a 243-page Rodgers and Hart Songbook – signed by Richard Rodgers.” Now that’s more like it. So what did the Queen give the Obamas? A photograph of her with Prince Phillip. I was really expecting a Corgi puppy with a red ribbon.

So what do the new kids on the block give the woman who has everything?

On their maiden European tour as President and First Lady, Michelle and Barack Obama put a little of their signature youthful flair into what is usually stuffy old protocol: the exchange of gifts between foreign leaders.

For Queen Elizabeth? An inscribed iPod fully accessorized and loaded with the “ultimate Broadway” collection of 40 tunes, including “People” by Barbra Streisand, “Aquarius” by Ronald Dyson and songs from a wide range of shows from Gentlemen Prefer Blondes to Rent and La Cage aux Folles.

And just in case the Queen, 82, and her husband Prince Philip, 87, are more in the mood for a sing along á deux, the Obamas included a rare 1951 printing of a 243-page Rodgers and Hart Songbook – signed by Richard Rodgers – and including music and words to toe-tapping tunes from 22 Broadway shows and two films.

“It was a fun and very welcome gift,” a palace spokesman tells PEOPLE about the iPod, which also contains photos of the Queen’s state visit to the U.S. in 2007.

Returning the generosity, Her Majesty presented the Obamas with a silver-framed, signed photograph of herself and Prince Philip – the traditional gift often given to visiting heads of state.

The President and Michelle Obama had a private audience with the Queen and Prince Philip at Buckingham Palace on Wednesday afternoon – part of a series of high-level, closely watched diplomatic meetings for the Obamas. Their first stop Wednesday morning was 10 Downing Street, official residence of Prime Minister Gordon Brown, his wife Sarah and their two boys – identified in official U.S. trip documents as “Master John” and “Master James.”

There were gifts for them, too. Mrs. Obama selected a personal style favorite for Mrs. Brown – a broach (to be specific, it was a “crochet black flower brooch with pearl accents”). John, 5, got a baseball bat signed by Derek Jeter, a baseball signed by President Obama and a book titled Classic Baseball.

For younger brother James, 2, there was a collection of 10 Dr. Seuss books. As for talks between the President and the boys? “We talked about dinosaurs a little bit in between discussions of Afghanistan and Iran,” Obama said with a laugh. “So we’ve had a wonderful time.”

[From People Magazine]

Wow, the Obamas really stepped it up a notch for gifts. Dr. Seuss books, a brooch, something signed by Derek Jeter. Much better than a sack of DVDs.

There was an old Time Magazine article that discussed the various gifts the Queen has given world leaders over the years. One of my favorite gifts was a special present she gave to Boris Yeltsin. The Queen and Yeltsin had bonded about gardens, and she gave him an intricate glass case full of seeds from her own Buckingham Palace gardens. That was a thoughtful present. Perhaps the Obamas will get something better next time.

Here are President Barack Obama, Michelle Obama, Queen Elizabeth II, and Prince Philip during an audience at Buckingham Palace today. Images thanks to WENN .

Puff Daddy/P.Diddy/Diddy/Puffy/Sean John is now going by, er…oh, let’s just call him by the name his mother gave him. He says that she is the only one who still calls him Sean. Sean Combs is online saying he isn’t Puff Daddy today, he’s Diddy. Or happy. Or schizophrenic.

He’s also looking at settling down. Or at least one of those personalities is. I hope it’s a woman who likes babies, because he’s aiming to have ten children. He already has 6, by four different women.

“I definitely want to get married,” he tells me. “I’ve already chosen the church: St Patrick’s Cathedral on Fifth Avenue. I want to have more kids, too – I want to have 10 in all.”

He and Lopez still keep in touch, he says, although he hasn’t seen her since the birth of her twins, three months ago. “I have spoken to her and I’m quite sure that our kids will be friends later on.”

Then P Diddy the brand takes over, and all sincerity is lost in a tirade of machismo. “Yeah, I get on well with all my exes – I love everyone. And I love women… I’m an eye man, you know? A woman with beautiful eyes is a woman I could look at forever.”

At first I thought he might be tired of his womanizing ways, but I suspect it might be that he wants to cultivate a more respectable image. Sean Combs wants to meet Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II.

I ask whether anyone still leaves him starstruck. “I’m totally jaded,” he says. “Although actually that’s not true, there is one person I really want to meet: the Queen of England. I don’t know why I’ve never met her.” He looks affronted.

“She’s never invited me to the palace – not yet, anyway.”

Both quotes are taken from the Telegraph, which has a very interesting interview with Sean Combs.

Sean Combs, the Queen generally meets with citizens of her empire. You are an American, which isn’t part of Britannia, so you’re unlikely to get invited to high tea. You probably also need to spend some more time in England, Queen Elizabeth is 80 years old now, I don’t think she spends a lot of time traveling to countries that aren’t part of her realm. It tires her out. And you definitely aren’t a contender for a knighthood, in case you were wondering.

Diddy is shown at the CFDA Fashion Awards on 6/2/08 and at the Cannes Che premiere on 5/21/08, thanks to PRPhotos.