The radio audience of BBC WM (West Midlands) listened closely as DJ Danny Kelly made an ‘important announcement’ on May 17th. The strains of the national anthem played, and Kelly announced that ”Queen Elizabeth II has now died.”
The producer hastily jumped on air, reprimanding the DJ. Kelly quickly explained that he was actually referring to a ‘friend’ on his show’s Facebook page who went by the name ‘Queen Elizabeth II’.
A BBC spokesman apologized profusely for the tasteless joke.
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Spendaholic Fergie needs rehab
Sarah Ferguson isn’t spending the Queen’s money anymore, but she’s still spending. The problem is that there’s nothing left to spend.
The former wife of Prince Andrew is forever finding ways to succeed in business, but in the next breath she blows it. She’s been a spokesman for Weight Watchers, a children’s book author, and has recently co-produced the successful “The Young Victoria” film. Even with all of these ventures, Sarah’s fortunes manage to fly from her hands and into someone else’s pockets.
Sarah’s New York-based wellness company Hartmoor died out with debts of over £600,000 last year, and Sarah herself has unpaid bills amounting to almost £200,000 from book and movie deals that fell through. She doesn’t even own a home; instead, Sarah lives with her ex-husband and their daughters.
So what is next for Britain’s spend-happy Duchess? Reports say that Sarah will try and make a business “comeback” with more projects in the wings, but without a real financial advisor, the Duchess may just hit the skids and stay there.
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Round One: Royals vs Millionaires
The Prince of Wales, famous for his criticism of modern architecture, will see his letter become part of a court case involving his intervention in the Chelsea Barracks development in London.
The Emir of Qatar agreed to finance the redesign of the Chelsea Barracks by Lord Rogers, whose modern style was to take center stage. Many local people began to complain that Lord Rogers’ design scheme did not fit the style of the surroundings. Enter Prince Charles, whose famous comment about the National Gallery’s new extension in the mid-80s still rings loud and clear: “It’s a monstrous carbuncle on the face of a much loved and elegant friend”.
The classical-loving Charles agreed with many local Chelsea folks that Rogers’ modern design would not fit the area, so he wrote to his fellow royal, Sheikh Hamad of Qatar and the Prime Minister, Hamad Al Thani. The PM, also the chairman of Qatari Diar Real Estate Investment Company, withdrew the planning application.
Now Christian Candy, a multi-million pound property trader and developer based in Guernsey, is suing the Qatar Diar for breaking their contract. The planning application had been submitted jointly by the Qatar Diar and his company, the CPC Group.
Things are heating up in the real estate world. Maybe Donald Trump could give them some advice?
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Recommended:
Kate or Catherine? What will William’s Kate Middleton be called? – USA Today
‘Frugal’ Queen Mother refused to buy TV – Telegraph
Prince Harry and an Apache pilot’s awesome power – The Guardian
Author Info - Mandy is an assistant teacher and a student of history. She is currently in the process of obtaining her Bachelor's Degree in History with an eye on a Master's Degree soon after. Read more from Mandy at her blog, The Royal Representative. Read more from this author
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Anglotopia was founded by Jonathan and Jackie Thomas for people who love Britain - whether it's British TV, Culture, History or Travel - we cover it all. Anglotopia was started to get us back to the UK for a trip and it did that in 2009. Now, the goal is for Anglotopia to make our dream of living in the UK a reality.