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Kate ruffles royal feathers: William’s family not invited to George’s christening

Kate ruffles royal feathers: William's family not invited to George's christening

Prince Andrew (left) and Princess Anne (right) are reportedly not invited to Prince George's christening.

William and Kate have reportedly ruffled some royal feathers by leaving several important family members off the guest list for their son Prince George’s christening.

William’s aunts Princess Anne and Sophie, Countess of Wessex, and his uncles Prince Andrew and Prince Edward will not attend the highly-anticipated October 23 event, the UK’s Daily Mail has reported.

The Duke and Duchess are said to be keen to keep the event an “intimate, family affair”, which is reflected in their decision to break with royal tradition and have George christened at the Chapel Royal in St James’s Palace because it is smaller and “more personal” than Buckingham Palace.

The full guest list of the event will not be revealed until closer to the day, but great-grandparents the Queen and Prince Philip and grandparents Prince Charles and Camilla and uncle Prince Harry are expected to be invited.

Kate’s parents Michael and Carole Middleton and her siblings Pippa and James will also be there.

William and Kate’s choice of godparents for their first-born has also not been revealed. The baby will have six godparents and Harry and Pippa are both hot favourites, as well as William’s longest-serving advisor Jame Lowther-Pinkerton, friend Thomas van Straubenzee and former nanny Tiggy Legge-Bourke.

It will be business as usual for the royals who aren’t invited. Princess Anne will be on an official tour of Canada, while Sophie will undertake several royal engagements in the West Country.

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Mary crowned Europe’s most elegant princess

Crown Princess Mary has been voted Europe’s most elegant princess.

Mary, 41, received 38 per cent of the vote in an online poll conducted by Hello! magazine.

Spain’s Princess Letizia came second, with 26.1 per cent, while the Netherlands’ Queen Maxima was in third place with 15.6 per cent.

Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden came fourth (8.1 per cent), followed by Monaco’s Princess Charlene (5 per cent), Belgium’s Queen Mathilde (3.6 per cent), Norway’s Crown Princess Mette-Marit (2.2 per cent) and Luxembourg’s Princess Stephanie (1.3 per cent).

Crown Princess Mary was voted the most elegant princess.

Spain’s Princess Letizia came second.

Dutch Queen Maxima was in third.

Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden came fourth.

Monaco’s Princess Charlene was in fifth.

Belgium’s Queen Mathilde came sixth.

Norway’s Crown Princess Mette-Marit was in seventh place.

Luxembourg’s Princess Stephanie came eighth.

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Hard working Hollywood mums

When they’re not hitting the red carpet or filming their latest movie, these celebrity mums are looking after their loveable little ones.

While they admittedly have some help, these women are always busy! Beyonce for instance raises her one-year-old daughter Blue and is currently undertaking a world tour!

Angelina Jolie on the other hand has taken her brood of six all over the world as she prepares for her next acting or directing role.

Check out some of the hardest working mums, and their cute kids, here!

Angelina Jolie and her brood of six make their way through Tokyo airport.

Jessica Alba and her girls hit the park in LA.

Gwen Stefani takes her boy on the red carpet with her.

Beyonce Knowles takes Blue Ivy out and about.

Nicole Ritchie gives her daughter kisses at an event.

Katie Holmes and Suri Cruise hit the streets of New York.

Nicole Kidman takes her daughter Sunday Rose to school.

Sandra Bullock dotes over her adopted son Louis.

Sarah Jessica Parker walks with her adorable twins.

Victoria Beckham holds tight to her daughter Harper.

Miranda Kerr swaps the runway for sidewalk as she gets kisses from son Flynn.

Gwyneth Paltrow walks her children through the airport in XXX

Jessica Simpson took her daughter with her to the launch of her fashion line.

Madonna took her four children to Mkoko Primary School, one of the schools her organisation has built in Malawi.

Reese Witherspoon with her son Deacon after his baseball game.

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Stars as real-life royals

With Naomi Watts’ Diana portrayal and Nicole Kidman as Princess Grace set to hit our screens soon, the two actresses are joining a long, star-studded, and Oscar-laden line of silver screen greats and Hollywood legends who have played real-life royals. From The King’s Speech to Cleopatra, from Cate Blanchett to Katharine Hepburn, we take a look at who’s played whom…

Naomi Watts

Diana sees Naomi play the “people’s princess” in the final two years of her life.

Naomi is one in a long, Oscar-laden line of stars to portray real-life royals. From The King’s Speech to Cleopatra, from Cate Blanchett to Katharine Hepburn, we take a look at who’s played whom…

Nicole Kidman

Aussie Nic takes on Hollywood legend, Grace Kelly, in upcoming biopic Grace of Monaco.

Tim Roth

In Grace of Monaco, Tim plays Grace’s husband Prince Rainier III.

Colin Firth

Colin won an Oscar for his portrayal of King George VI in The King’s Speech.

Helena Bonham Carter

Helena was Oscar-nominated for her part as Elizabeth in The King’s Speech.

Guy Pearce

The King’s Speech saw Guy play a reluctant King Edward VIII.

Helen Mirren with James Cromwell

Helen won an Oscar for her portrayal of Queen Elizabeth II in The Queen alongside James who played her husband Prince Philip.

Cate Blanchett

In Elizabeth, Cate became one of several film greats to take on the role of Queen Elizabeth I…

Bette Davis

Bette played Queen Elizabeth I twice – in The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex in 1939, and again in 1955 film The Virgin Queen.

Vanessa Redgrave with Glenda Jackson

British acting greats Vanessa and Glenda played Queen Mary and Queen Elizabeth I respectively in 1971 film Mary, Queen of Scots.

Judi Dench

Dame Judi, arguably acting royalty herself, won an Oscar for her cameo as Queen Elizabeth I in Shakespeare In Love.

Judi Dench with Billy Connolly

Judi also portrayed Queen Victoria in Mrs Brown alongside funnyman Billy.

Emily Blunt with Rupert Friend

The Young Victoria saw Emily play Queen Victoria with her husband Prince Albert played by Rupert.

Jonathan Rhys Meyers

TV series The Tudors starred Jonathan as the infamous King Henry VIII.

Richard Gere

In 1985, Richard portrayed Israel’s King David in the film of the same name.

Katharine Hepburn

In 1936, Hollywood legend Katharine portrayed Mary Queen of Scots in Mary of Scotland.

Kirsten Dunst

Kirsten let them eat cake as the title character in Marie Antoinette.

Jason Schwartzman

Meanwhile, Marie Antoinette saw Jason play King Louis XVI.

Elizabeth Taylor

Elizabeth was the Egyptian queen in Cleopatra in 1963. The film also starred her on-off husband, Richard Burton.

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Princess Madeleine shows off growing baby bump

Princess Madeleine shows off growing baby bump

Princess Madeleine of Sweden in New York City on the weekend.

She announced she was pregnant 12 weeks to the day after her fairy tale wedding and now Princess Madeleine has showed off her blossoming bump on the streets of New York.

Madeleine, 31, who is four months pregnant, sported a noticeable tummy as she went about her business on the weekend.

The new arrival, which is due in March next year, will be the first baby for Madeleine and her husband Christopher O’Neill.

The couple live in New York, where Christopher works as a financier, and plan to stay there for the foreseeable future.

Madeleine has not ruled out “the possibility of moving to Sweden in due course”.

Until then, Madeleine only sees her family when they visit, as her sister Crown Princess Victoria did last weekend.

The sisters were spotted browsing in stores on Fifth Avenue, including iconic toy store FAO Schwarz.

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Discount Duchess: Shop owners reveal Kate loves a bargain

Discount Duchess: Shop owners reveal Kate loves a bargain

Catherine, the Duchess of Cambridge.

She earned the nickname “Thrifty Kate” for her high street fashion choices, but it has recently emerged that the Duchess of Cambridge’s love of bargain-hunting extends beyond the wardrobe.

The owner of a Norfolk antique shop, where Kate has been known to pick out a few pieces to furnish her and Prince William’s nearby Georgian country home on the Queen’s Sandringham estate, told Tatler magazine the 31-year-old royal had visited the store, and asked for a discount.

Owner of the Old Stables shop, Caroline Combe, revealed Kate visited her store “when quite pregnant”, and remarked on how she noticed the casually dressed Duchess’s “thin legs in her willies”.

“She was looking at various things and asked for a discount,” she said.

Noting that the then mum-to-be was furnishing a 10-bedroom home in Anmer Hall, where the Duchess, Prince William, and baby Prince George will spend time on the Queen’s estate, the shop owner said she approved of Kate’s request for a price cut.

“Of course, she’s got a big house to do up,” she said.

“But I love her for asking.”

The shop owner’s husband revealed Prince William accompanied his wife as she went antiquing, and described it as a typical husband and wife shopping trip — complete with a “bored stiff” husband waiting in the car.

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Kris and Bruce Jenner announce split after 22 years

Kris and Bruce Jenner announce split after 22 years

Kris and Bruce Jenner have announced their separation after 22 years of marriage.

“We are living separately and we are much happier this way,” the couple said in a statement to E! News.

“But we will always have much love and respect for each other. Even though we are separated, we will always remain best friends, and as always, our family will remain our No. 1 priority.”

The Kardashian matriarch married the former Olympian in 1991 and the pair have two daughters together, Kendall, 17, and Kylie, 16. They both also have four children from previous marriages.

The pair celebrated their 22nd wedding anniversary in April but have since then been living apart, with Kris spotted without her wedding ring.

Kris is currently living at the pair’s home in Calabasas with her daughter Kim Kardashian, Kim’s boyfriend Kanye West and their four-month-old daughter North.

Meanwhile, Bruce has been living at a beach house in Malibu.

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*Homeland* star was chosen to be Tom Cruise’s third wife

Homeland star was chosen to be Tom Cruise's third wife

She is the new star of hit TV show Homeland, but Nazanin Boniadi already has a claim to fame.

The Iranian-British actress, who debuted in the show in the US on Sunday night, was chosen to become Tom Cruise’s third wife by Scientology chiefs back in 2005 before Tom married Katie Holmes.

The then 23-year-old and was allegedly told she had been “chosen for a mission” and was “going to save the world”.

Nazanin, who plays a Muslim CIA analyst in the show, was secretly chosen to date then 43-year-old Tom who met Katie Holmes later that same year.

Nazanin’s relationship with Tom was exposed by journalist Maureen Orth. In her Vanity Fair article, Maureen revealed that the pair dated between November 2004 and January 2005, after Scientology officials auditioned “dozens of young women” to be Tom’s bride and she was chosen.

“[She] was told that she was being chosen for a mission that was really going to save the world,” Maureen told a TV interviewer. “That she was going to be meeting dignitaries, that it was very important that she look good, and be worldly.

“And she had no idea, when it began, that she was going to end up meeting Tom Cruise.”

At the time Nazanin, who is no longer a scientologist, was allegedly ordered to leave her boyfriend and taken to New York, where she met the Hollywood megastar.

The pair began a relationship and moved in together, but after unintentionally insulting a church leader, she found herself out of favour with the actor.

Following their split, Nazanin was allegedly sent away to the Scientology facilities in Clearwater, Florida.

Maureen’s claims were strenuously denied by the Church at the time her article appeared.

“The entire story is hogwash. There was no project, secret or otherwise, ever conducted by the Church to find a bride (audition or otherwise) for any member of the Church. Never,” the Church of Scientology said in a statement.

“The allegation and entire premise of the Vanity Fair article is totally false. Like clockwork, stories about this ‘phantom’ audition surface in the tabloids every few months. We have been denying this ridiculous tale now since it first appeared in print FOUR years ago.”

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Tom Hanks diagnosed with diabetes after 20 years of symptoms

Tom Hanks has type 2 diabetes after 20 years of symptoms

Hollywood actor Tom Hanks has revealed he has been diagnosed with type 2 diabetes, after suffering symptoms for more than 20 years.

“I went to the doctor and he said, ‘You know those high blood sugar numbers you’ve been dealing with since you were 36? Well, you’ve graduated. You’ve got type 2 diabetes, young man,’” he told David Letterman on his talk show.

The 57-year-old says his condition is possibly due to the weight fluctuations he has experienced throughout his career for different movie roles.

Back in 1992 Tom gained 15kg to play a baseball coach in A League Of Their Own. Then in 2000, he lost 25kg for his role in Cast Away to portray his character, who was stuck on a desert island.

The Oscar-winning actor decided to share the news after David commented on how trim he was looking these days.

Tom says he’s in better shape now than he’s been for a long time and was controlling the symptoms by controlling his weight.

“It’s controllable. Something’s going to kill us all, Dave. My doctor said, ‘If you can weigh as much as you weighed in high school you’ll essentially be completely healthy and won’t have type 2 diabetes. I said ‘Well, I’m gonna have type 2 diabetes because there’s no way I can weigh as much as I did in high school,’” he said.

Tom is currently promoting his latest movie, Captain Phillips, for which he has received a lot of Oscar buzz.

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Prince Philip, 92, visits elderly in nursing home

Prince Philip, 92, visits elderly in nursing home

Prince Philip on his visit to a Norfolk care centre

At 92 years of age and recovering from abdominal surgery earlier this year, a sprightly Duke of Edinburgh proved age is nothing but a number on his most recent official engagement — visiting the elderly.

Prince Philip, who has spent the summer recuperating after his June surgery, paid a visit to St Michael’s Care Complex in Norfolk having only recently returned to royal duties.

Although he was in fact older than many of the home’s residents, the Queen’s husband showed off his infamous sharp and sometimes shocking sense of humour, recoiling at the sight of a walking frame to prove he was in no rush to take up such aids.

Cracking jokes and chatting to residents and workers, the fiercely independent prince was in fine walk walking around completely unaided.

At one point, he joked about a toddler playing a football-like game and bouncing atop an inflatable ball being knocked to the ground.

“This is dangerous,” he said as he noticed a group of residents softly kicking large inflatable balls to each other in an activity class.

Noticing 22-month-old Ella Crisp who was sitting on one of the balls, the Duke made an aside to her 93-year-old grandmother: “Do you get bonus points if you knock her off?”

Nursing home staff said they were not offended by the Duke’s remarks, but found Philip charming.

“I think the Duke wanted to join in, to be honest. He looks brilliant to his age,” one told the Daily Mail.

During his visit to the care centre, Prince Philip also watched residents playing indoor bowls, and witnessed a dance performance by performers from the Broadland School of Dance.

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