Queen Elizabeth II

Credit: Daniel Hambury/Crown Copyright/Handout/Reuters/Landov

Obamas Bearing Gifts: An iPod for the Queen!

Originally posted 04/01/2009 03:15PM

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.

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Credit: Carlos Diaz/INF; INF

Helen Mirren

The Queen's Helen Mirren Meets the Real Queen

Originally posted 06/20/2008 11:30AM

Helen Mirren, who won an Oscar for playing Queen Elizabeth II in 2006's The Queen, came face-to-face with the real Queen yesterday at the Royal Ascot race meeting near Windsor, England, PEOPLE has confirmed.

The British star, 62, had turned down an invitation to Buckingham Palace last year in the aftermath of her Oscar triumph. But all was forgiven as she had tea with Queen Elizabeth II in the royal box at the Royal Ascot race meeting on Thursday. The pair spent nearly an hour chatting and enjoying English traditional cucumber sandwiches and cakes with their tea.

Just hours earlier, Mirren presented a race trophy and then explained to PEOPLE why she declined last year's invitation, which conflicted with her shooting schedule on National Treasure 2. "I spoke to Buckingham Palace after I was invited and told them that I was filming in South Dakota and couldn't be in two places at once," said Mirren. "There was no snub and I would love to meet the Queen. It would be a great honor."

A couple of hours later, her wish came true.

The actress had met the Queen once before, but not since portraying her in The Queen.

Credit: Otto/Landov; INF

Diddy to the Queen: Let's Do Lunch

Originally posted 06/10/2008 02:00PM

He may be king of the party scene, but Diddy longs to kick it with some real royalty.

"There is one person I really want to meet: the Queen of England," he told the U.K.'s Telegraph newspaper on Tuesday. "I don't know why I've never met her. She's never invited me to the palace – not yet, anyway."

While he waits (in vain?) for that invitation, Diddy said his tastes have already grown more refined. "I put out a statement that I have given up champagne and tequila," he told the paper. "Champagne doesn't agree with my palate any more, you see."

These days, he insists, "I wouldn't even say that I'm a big drinker."

Credit: Carla Van Wagoner/WireImage; Chris Jackson/Getty

Queen Elizabeth II

Queen Elizabeth Snaps at Annie Leibovitz in New Doc

Originally posted 07/12/2007 09:20AM

Queen Elizabeth II was not amused when celebrity photographer Annie Leibovitz suggested she remove her crown for a portrait, a clip from a new BBC documentary reveals.

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WEEK IN REVIEW: Wills's Unfunny Guest

Originally posted 06/27/2003 01:00AM

PARTY CRASHER: Britain's Queen Elizabeth and her family received an apology from Scotland Yard after a comic crasher interrupted Prince William's 21st birthday party, Reuters reported. "The Commissioner has tendered apologies to the Royal Family for the appalling breach of security at Windsor Castle on Saturday evening," the Yard's Assistant Commissioner, David Veness, said in a statement. Aaron Barschak, 36, an aspiring professional entertainer who calls himself a "comedy terrorist," bypassed security at the weekend event by climbing a wall and then fooling a police officer inside.

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