Buckingham Palace

Could Buckingham Palace soon be a hotel? That's the latest rumor from journalist Andrew Marr's new book - The Diamond Queen: Elizabeth II and Her People. Marr writes that when Prince Charles moves his home to Windsor Castle upon taking the throne, Buckingham Palace could become the home of London tourists. According to the book , the Prince of Wales is considering uprooting the Royal family from Buckingham Palace in a bid to assert his authority. The palatial estate could then be turned into a historic hotel and events center.

Queen Elizabeth II has appointed the Duchess of Cornwall to the highest female rank in the Royal Victorian Order, Buckingham Palace said Monday. The announcement that Camilla has been made a Dame Grand Cross comes on the day of her seventh wedding anniversary with Prince Charles, the queen's son. Awards under the Royal Victorian Order, which was founded in 1896 by Queen Victoria, are given by the queen to people who have served her or the monarchy in a personal way. They are bestowed independently of the prime minister's office.

LONDON -- Ray Holmes, a World War II fighter pilot who rammed a German plane to prevent a direct hit on Buckingham Palace, has died. He was 90. He died Monday at Hoylake Cottage Hospital in Wirral after a two-year battle with cancer, his wife, Anne, said yesterday. Sergeant Holmes spotted a German Dornier bomber lining up to attack the palace on Sept. 15, 1940, and, finding he had run out of ammunition, the pilot from 504 Squadron slammed into the bomber, slicing off its tail.

TECHY TRIBUTE: Upton resident Lisa Pazol best remembers Regina Frabotta of Milford for her unconditional love. "She was a grandmother to anybody who came into her life, whether they were blood or not," Pazol said of her mother, who succumbed to cancer last spring. "She was all about the holidays, tradition, Italian cooking, and keeping everybody together. To live so simply and be able to touch so many lives, she was definitely amazing. " To raise money for charity in Frabotta's honor, 12-year-old Logan Pazol - Lisa's oldest son - recently created Donut Fighter, an app for mobile devices...

LONDON — The bride will arrive by car and leave in a carriage. Details about the upcoming nuptials of Prince William and Kate Middleton emerged yesterday in advance of their April 29 wedding at Westminster Abbey. Prince Charles’s representative broke weeks of silence with a statement that Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams will marry the couple in an 11 a.m. ceremony. The wedding of William, a Navy pilot who is second in line for the throne, and Middleton, his girlfriend and confidante for nearly eight years, is expected to draw a gigantic global audience.

LONDON - Queen Elizabeth II launched her own video site on YouTube yesterday, featuring old newsreels and film snippets of daily royal life. Buckingham Palace said the 81-year-old queen keeps up with new ways of communicating with people and was hoping to reach a wider and younger audience through the popular video-sharing website. The palace began posting archive and recent footage of the queen and other royals on the official Royal Channel on YouTube yesterday, with plans to add new clips regularly.

LONDON - The latest financial statements from Britain’s royal family suggest the next British institution needing a taxpayer bailout could well be the monarch herself. Annual accounts analyzed by Britain’s press yesterday show that Queen Elizabeth II took $9.9 million over the past year from her own state-funded reserve account to balance the books at Buckingham Palace and myriad other royal residences. The total bill for the queen and her family’s globe-trotting rose 3.8 percent to $68.6 million during a 12-month...

LONDON - Queen Elizabeth II's husband underwent surgery for a blocked coronary artery yesterday after experiencing chest pains, British royal officials said. Prince Philip, 90, was taken from Sandringham, the queen's estate in rural Norfolk, to the cardiac unit at Papworth Hospital in Cambridge, where doctors implanted a coronary stent in the artery, a spokeswoman for Buckingham Palace said. The spokeswoman said the prince would remain in the hospital for "a short time" for observation.

Queen Elizabeth II has appointed the Duchess of Cornwall to the highest female rank in the Royal Victorian Order, Buckingham Palace said Monday. The announcement that Camilla has been made a Dame Grand Cross comes on the day of her seventh wedding anniversary with Prince Charles, the queen's son. Awards under the Royal Victorian Order, which was founded in 1896 by Queen Victoria, are given by the queen to people who have served her or the monarchy in a personal way. They are bestowed independently of the prime minister's office.

In a land dispute pitting Madonna against African villagers, Malawi’s government has sided with the pop star who has pumped millions into this impoverished southern African country and adopted two of its children. Villagers have been refusing to move from a plot of land near the capital, Lilongwe, where Madonna wants to build a $15 million school for girls. The government, however, says it had originally planned to develop the plot, and allowed the villagers to live there only until a project was identified.

LONDON - Queen Elizabeth II emphasized the importance of family in her Christmas message this year and her grandchildren brought some Christmas cheer to her husband, Prince Philip, as he recovered in a hospital after a heart procedure. The 90-year-old prince was forced to miss the royal family's traditional Christmas festivities - opening presents, going to a morning church service, and viewing the Queen's Christmas broadcast - after doctors put in a coronary stent. Philip had gone to the hospital on Friday complaining of chest pains, which doctors determined were caused by a blocked...

Members of Britain's royal family gathered Sunday to celebrate Christmas with one notable absence — Queen Elizabeth II's husband, who remains hospitalized following a heart procedure. Prince Philip is recovering from having a coronary stent put in after doctors determined that the heart pains that saw the 90-year-old hospitalized on Friday were caused by a blocked artery. Buckingham Palace said "he's in good spirits" and family members will visit Philip, also known as the Duke of Edinburgh, in the hospital after lunch.

LONDON - Queen Elizabeth II's husband is expected to spend a second night in a hospital where he is recovering from a heart procedure, palace officials said yesterday. Prince Philip, 90, had a coronary stent put in late Friday to fix a blocked artery, though the palace has declined to say if he had a heart attack. Yesterday, Philip - also known as the Duke of Edinburgh - received visits from the queen and his four children at Papworth Hospital, where he was admitted after experiencing chest pains at the queen's Sandringham estate in Norfolk.

LONDON - Queen Elizabeth II's husband underwent surgery for a blocked coronary artery yesterday after experiencing chest pains, British royal officials said. Prince Philip, 90, was taken from Sandringham, the queen's estate in rural Norfolk, to the cardiac unit at Papworth Hospital in Cambridge, where doctors implanted a coronary stent in the artery, a spokeswoman for Buckingham Palace said. The spokeswoman said the prince would remain in the hospital for "a short time" for observation.

It's an Olympic party venue fit for a king — or even Russian sporting authorities. Russia's Olympic Committee plans to host events during the London 2012 Olympics on part of the grounds of the future home of Prince William and his wife Kate. Buckingham Palace said Thursday that Perks Field, used by the royal family as a soccer field and a helicopter landing pad, had been made available for hire to those seeking to wow their guests. The site is adjacent to Kensington Palace, which will be the London residence of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge from 2013.

Buckingham Palace says the royal family will tour the globe to celebrate Queen Elizabeth II's 60-year reign. The palace said Wednesday one of the biggest trips will be the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge's visit to Malaysia, Singapore, the Solomon Islands and Tuvalu. When the queen and her husband the Duke of Edinburgh toured Tuvalu in 1982, they were carried shoulder-high by islanders into the capital. The royal couple then climbed into canoes. The Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall will go to Australia, Canada, New Zealand and Papua New Guinea.

It's an Olympic party venue fit for a king — or even Russian sporting authorities. Russia's Olympic Committee plans to host events during the London 2012 Olympics on part of the grounds of the future home of Prince William and his wife Kate. Buckingham Palace said Thursday that Perks Field, used by the royal family as a soccer field and a helicopter landing pad, had been made available for hire to those seeking to wow their guests. The site is adjacent to Kensington Palace, which will be the London residence of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge from 2013.

Buckingham Palace says Prince Andrew has decided to relinquish his post as U.K. trade envoy. Andrew, the queen's second son, has faced heaploads of pressure to step down as a British trade envoy because of a string of unfortunate relationships. He hosted the son of Tunisia's dictator shortly before a popular uprising overthrew the leader, has ties to Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi's regime and is friends with billionaire U.S. sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Since becoming a special trade representative in 2001, Andrew has also drawn criticism for reportedly taking lavish trips in his...

Could Buckingham Palace soon be a hotel? That's the latest rumor from journalist Andrew Marr's new book - The Diamond Queen: Elizabeth II and Her People. Marr writes that when Prince Charles moves his home to Windsor Castle upon taking the throne, Buckingham Palace could become the home of London tourists. According to the book , the Prince of Wales is considering uprooting the Royal family from Buckingham Palace in a bid to assert his authority. The palatial estate could then be turned into a historic hotel and events center.

Helen Jenkins of Britain won the London triathlon on Saturday, while Gwen Jorgensen of the United States finished second to qualified for the 2012 Olympics. Jenkins clinched her first World Championship Series event in 2 hours, 34 seconds on the Hyde Park course that will be used at next year's summer Olympics. Jorgensen was 7 seconds back, and Anja Dittmer of Germany was third. Jorgensen's silver medal secured a place on the U.S. Olympic team just 18 months after she competed in her first triathlon.