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Prince Harry makes his recording debut

Tambourine man Prince Harry makes his recording debut

Prince Harry playing the tambourine in the Official Diamond Jubilee song.

Prince Harry is famous for his dance moves, but he’s never shown any other type of musical talent — until now.

The 27-year-old royal has made his recording debut, playing tambourine on the Official Diamond Jubilee song Sing.

Harry seems bewildered by his musical instrument in the film clip to the song, but plays along nonetheless.

In pictures: Harry shines at royal lunch

Sing was co-written by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Take That frontman Gary Barlow and features performances by the Military Wives Choir and the Commonwealth Band.

“We went on a journey with this record, meeting and recording with some beautifully talented singers and musicians,” Gary Barlow said.

“I can’t believe we’ve managed to get the amount of people we got featured on this song, from all corners of the Commonwealth, but we did! I’m very proud of the result and hope people enjoy listening to it as much as we enjoyed making it.”

The Commonwealth Band includes 210 musicians from around the world, including the African Children’s Choir — whose soloist Lydia opens and closes the track — Australian Aboriginal artist Gurrumul, the Sydney Symphony Orchestra, the Slum Drummers from Kenya’s Kibera slum the Jolly Boys from Jamaica and the Royal Solomon Islands Police Force Band.

In pictures: Prince Philip’s best gaffes

The song will be released on June 1 and will be played at the Diamond Jubilee Concert at Buckingham Palace on June 4.

All funds raised by sales of the song will go to The Queen Elizabeth Diamond Jubilee Trust, which supports six charities.

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The people want King Charles, not King William

Charles overtakes William as people's choice for king

Prince William and Prince Charles attend an Order of the Garter Service in 2009.

Prince Charles is more popular than his son Prince William for the first time in a decade, a new poll has revealed.

Public pressure has been mounting for the crown to skip Charles and go straight to William, 30, in the event of Queen Elizabeth II’s death.

But Charles, 63, has seen a surge in popularity in the past 12 months, and has now overtaken William at the people’s choice for king.

Related: Prince Charles wows as weatherman

A new poll published in The Sun to mark the queen’s Diamond Jubilee found that 51 percent of those surveyed wanted Charles and Camilla as their next king and queen, while 40 percent wanted William and 9 percent weren’t sure.

Charles’ public image nosedived when his extramarital affair with Camilla was revealed in the early 1990s and reached an all-time low after his wife Princess Diana’s death in 1997.

His excellent relationship with his sons improved his popularity, but it decliined once again when he married Camilla in 2005, with many people saying they could never accept Camilla as their queen.

Charles has publicly “loosened up” over the past few months, recently reading the weather live on air for BBC Scotland and even trying his hand at DJing.

Camilla has also been mending her public image, supporting several charities and taking royal favourite Catherine, the Duchess of Cambridge, under her wing.

“This poll shows that Prince Charles is now pretty much rehabilitated,” Ben Page, chief executive of Ipsos MORI which conducted the poll.

“Time heals everything and people see he has been acting in a fit enough manner to be King.

“Camilla has also been doing a tremendous job, getting on quietly with a lot of good work, and I think this has not gone unnoticed.”

The poll also showed that support for the monarchy in Britain is at an all-time high, with 80 percent supporting the queen.

This increased popularity has led to the royal family being valued at more than £44 billion ($70 billion).

This figure includes £18.1 billion in assets, including the Crown Jewels and royal palaces, and the £26.4 billion in economic benefits the royals bring to the UK through tourism and other industries.

“The Monarchy is making a significant contribution to the task of driving Britain out of recession,” Brand Finance’s Jubilee Report 2012 reports. “When special one-off events are taken into consideration, the benefit for the economy is enormous.

“Novelty mugs and tea towels aside, the public relations benefits generated through the world’s intense interest in the royal family are equally significant. The value of what is essentially free publicity for the United Kingdom when considered in the long term, is enormous.

Related: Queen Elizabeth’s bizarre shoe secret

“The halo effect which results from the pageantry and history it represents, is something which is leveraged effectively by numerous brands, as well as the Monarchy itself, to provide a boost to both the economy and the brand of the United Kingdom currently valued at £44?billion.”

Your say: Do you want Prince Charles or Prince William as your next king?

Video: Prince Charles makes his debut as a DJ

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Deb “Spoons” Perry: I’m queen of the spoons!

Deb “Spoons” Perry: I'm queen of the spoons!

Her talent has taken the world by storm, but this WA farmer can do more than just cut it with cutlery.

Deb “Spoons” Perry loves her busy bush life with hubby Bill on their Bridgetown farm, three hours south of Perth. But only one thing can drag the 63-year-old away from re-vegetating, herding on the quad bike and sheep crutching – the call of the spoons!

“You’ve got to be the boss of the spoons; you can’t be wimpy,” says the nanna of two, who gained a legion of fans four years ago after making the final 12 on Australia’s Got Talent. “I know that what I do verges on a novelty act, but I’ve got this rhythm in me and it’s great to be able to get it out playing the spoons.” It was a nerve-racking and courageous public debut for the gyrating granny, but another more recent performance has shot Deb’s fan base into the stratosphere.

The silverware sensation was asked to lend her thigh-tapping skills to a song by US super group The Black Keys, and the resulting YouTube video has won almost a million fans. “It’s all a bit mind-blowing,” says Deb, who loves nothing more than analysing bird calls on her 120-hectare spread. “My girlfriends don’t understand what’s happening, so I stir them up by saying, ‘Don’t touch me – I’ve gone viral!'”

More than 100 emails a day are landing in Spoons’ mailbox and, while she reads them all, she admits that spraying weeds and fixing fences often win out over answering fan mail. “I’ve always thought I had a unique way of playing the spoons, and this is why I think the video clip has worked,” explains Deb, who has cracked, flattened and broken more than two dozen dessert spoons.

Read more fascinating true life stories in this week’s Woman’s Day on sale Monday May 28, 2012.

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*BMX Bandits*’ James Lugton: Why I pity Nicole Kidman

BMX Bandits' James Lugton

The Aussie actor tells Craig Bennett he’s glad his career never reached the dizzying heights of his 80s co-star

Back in 1983, James Lugton had his first taste of stardom. Playing Goose in iconic Aussie movie BMX Bandits, he and his co-star – a fresh-faced, frizzy-haired Nicole Kidman – were both just starting out.

Almost 30 years on, Nicole is Hollywood royalty, while James has kept a low profile. Now, at 45, the actor insists he’s happy to forgo Nic’s fame… if not her fortune.

“I’d love the fortune!” laughs James, “but not that degree of high-intensity fame. She’s in the spotlight 24/7. That kind of unrelenting attention is not for me.”

Since BMX Bandits, James has appeared on TV in All Saints, A Country Practice, Paper Giants: The Birth Of Cleo, and will soon be seen on Home And Away. He’s also worked steadily on stage, in short films and TV ads. But he’ll always cherish the memories of his first big gig, and “terrorising” Nicole between takes.

“Nicole was great to work with. She was 15 and I was 16 when we made Bandits,” James recalls. “We mucked around a lot between takes – she was very sweet with a great sense of fun.

Read more fascinating true life stories in this week’s Woman’s Day on sale Monday May 28, 2012.

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Pippa Middleton’s jealous rage

Pippa Middleton

With her popularity declining, Pippa hits back at her sister’s golden-girl image

As a child, Pippa was known as the beautiful, outgoing Middleton daughter, and was more than happy to plant herself in the limelight ahead of her more studious, shy, older sister Kate.

When Kate began to make a name for herself as Prince William’s girlfriend, and later wife, at first Pippa, 28, didn’t seem to mind she was being eclipsed. After all, as the breakout star of her older sister’s royal wedding last year, Pippa’s social stocks also rose dramatically.

But a year on, after a string of public mishaps, Pippa has found her golden-girl status rapidly diminishing, thanks to bad press about partying and using her royal connections for personal gain. Worst of all for Pippa, it’s believed her prized royal social set is now freezing her out.

In a barely contained jealous rage, Pippa last weekend grabbed headlines in the most subtle way she knew – wearing a racy red version of the exact dress her sister famously wore at her engagement photocall last year. And, according to a high-profile royal insider, it couldn’t have come at a more inconvenient time for Kate.

Read more about Pippa Middleton in this week’s Woman’s Day on sale Monday May 28, 2012.

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Demi betrayed… Ashton & Rumer caught out!

Rumer Willis and Ashton Kutcher

Despite their best efforts, Demi’s daughter and ex can’t hide their secret relationship, reports Karleigh Smith

As they exited the grounds of a luxury mansion last Sunday, slumped low in a black SUV with their faces shaded by tinted windows, the pair looked a textbook case of a new Hollywood couple desperate to keep their romance under the radar.

Except this time it was made all the more intriguing given it was Demi Moore’s eldest daughter, Rumer Willis, 23, with Demi’s disgraced ex, Ashton Kutcher, 33, making a hasty exit from his Hollywood Hills pad.

While their clandestine meeting is believed to have shaken Demi to the core, a member of Ashton’s inner circle has revealed the Two And A Half Men star and Rumer meet up “at least once a week”.

“The tough part is that Rumer is 100 per cent going against her mom’s wishes each time she sees him – and it’s more than anyone knows,” Ashton’s close friend exclusively tells Woman’s Day. “But both of them are so good at hiding, they’ve only been caught twice in the past three months.”

Read more about Ashton and Rumer in this week’s Woman’s Day on sale Monday May 28, 2012.

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The big boob theory!

Mayim Bialik

Star of The Big Bang Theory Mayim Bialik has slammed a controversial magazine cover, reports Jackie Brygel

Her brainy character Amy Farrah Fowler is known for telling it like it is on hit show The Big Bang Theory. And actress Mayim Bialik has proven that she, too, isn’t afraid to express her views on an issue she’s passionate about – even if that means she is seen as unconventional.

Parenting advocate and mother-of-two Mayim, 36, has come out swinging over a controversial Time magazine cover featuring the headline “Are you mom enough?” splashed across a picture of a mother breastfeeding her almost-four-year-old child.

Revealing that she still breastfeeds her youngest son Frederick, who, like the child in the magazine, is almost four, the former Blossom star told Access Hollywood Live: “There’s no scientific evidence that there’s anything wrong with breastfeeding an older baby or older child.

“The notion that breasts are only sexual is simply not true,” she continues. “The notion that you have to make a child independent as soon as possible is simply not the only way to get an independent child later on.”

Read more about Mayim’s views on Time‘s controversial cover in this week’s Woman’s Day on sale Monday May 28, 2012.

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*The Voice*’s Karise Eden: ‘I’m finding my inner strength’

The Voice's Karise Eden

Her meteoric rise has seen Karise’s confidence grow in leaps and bounds

She’s the artist the whole country tunes into The Voice to watch. With a number one single on the iTunes chart and overwhelming support in the media and online, Karise Eden is a crowd favourite.

But the shy 19-year-old is still struggling to come to terms with her newfound popularity.

“I dunno, it’s a bit different I guess, you walk down the street and people recognise you,” she says in her signature understated way. “It’s a bit exciting.”

After blowing the coaches away in blind auditions, she’s continued to induce goose bumps with every performance. “You blow my mind, you got more soul than a sneaker shop!” Joel Madden says.

But behind the stunning voice is a fragility so genuine it’s unnerving. “She has this thing she does every time she sings, and she brings me to tears,” says her coach Seal.

Read more about Karise this week in your official The Voice magazine Woman’s Day on sale Monday May 28, 2012.

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Schapelle Corby: My first day of freedom

Schapelle Corby

With news she could be released from jail in three months, Schapelle is already dreaming of becoming a mum

Fresh clean linen, a swim in the ocean and a beer with her mates are all on the menu for Schapelle Corby’s long awaited first day of freedom. For so long that wish-list the rest of us take for granted was just a dream for Schapelle as she ticked off the lonely years in her Balinese cell.

But with news of her clemency by the Indonesian president, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, those dreams could become a reality as early as August. That’s when some insiders say Schapelle will be eligible for parole and allowed to live with her sister Mercedes in Indonesia.

Mercedes was there to break the news to Schapelle last week and spoke exclusively to Woman’s Day about her sister’s reaction from outside the prison gates.

“Everyone was making comments in the visiting room, saying ‘Oh, you’re going home, congratulations’, and she was like, ‘What’s going on?’”

Read more about Schapelle Corby in this week’s Woman’s Day on sale Monday May 28, 2012.

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Divorced for adopting 550 cats

Divorced for adopting 550 cats

While the internet thrives on adorable cats — a less-adorable cat story has made headlines: a man from southern Israel has cited the stress of owning 550 cats as grounds for divorce.

The cats were brought home by his wife and eventually led to the deterioration on his marriage, according to the Times of Israel. We can’t imagine why.

The husband, apparently not a cat-lover, told a court that he was unable to sleep in his bedroom because the couple’s bed was overrun with cats that refused to sleep on the floor.

To make the situation worse, after he gave her an ultimatum, she chose the cats over him.

This bizarre story coincides with the birthday of one of the internet’s most loved cats.

Maru the box-loving cat has celebrated his fourth birthday with a video of his greatest hits put together by his Japanese owner.

Maru’s YouTube channel has had nearly 160 million views. See his latest video above.

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