Queen, British Royal family join ‘Twitter’

October 5th, 2009 Uncertain whether Roberts will open 'Royal Family'NEW YORK — The Broadway revival of "The Royal Family" will open as scheduled Thursday despite the sudden illness of Tony Roberts, one of its stars. Manhattan Theatre Club executives Lynne Meadow and Barry Grove said they had talked to Roberts' daughter who reported the actor "is doing well, laughing and joking." Meadow and Grove were waiting Monday for further reports from Roberts' family.

July 23rd, 2009 LONDON - The British Royal Family has reportedly requested a private screening of the film "Bruno", featuring Sacha Baron Cohen as a gay Austrian fashion reporter. Universal Studios was said to have received an official email from Buckingham Palace, requesting a copy of the mockumentary comedy although which members of the Windsor family will be seeing it remains unknown.

June 30th, 2009 British royal bailout looms as queen's bills growLONDON — The latest financial statements from Britain's royal family suggest that the next British institution needing a taxpayer bailout could well be the monarch herself. Annual accounts analyzed by Britain's press Tuesday show that Queen Elizabeth II took 6 million pounds ($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.

June 29th, 2009 British Royal Mint issues rare coins with no dateLONDON — Next time you're in Britain, check your change. The Royal Mint admits it's made a rare error, producing coins without a date on them for the first time in centuries.

June 29th, 2009 Queen Elizabeth II's costs risingLONDON — Public funding for Queen Elizabeth II and the royal family cost British taxpayers the equivalent of 69 pence (US$1.14) each last year, according to accounts published Monday. The Queen's office said that the costs incurred by the royal family were 41.5 million pounds ($68.6 million) in the year to March 31, an increase of 1.5 million ($2.48 million) on the previous year.

June 26th, 2009 WASHINGTON - Madonna was planning to join Michael Jackson on stage during his comeback tour. According to her manager Guy Oseary, the Queen of Pop wanted to make a surprise appearance at one of Jackson's O2 arena concerts in London.

June 18th, 2009 Baron Cohen's Bruno has military flair at premiereLONDON — Sacha Baron Cohen made a grand entrance Wednesday for the British premiere of his new mock documentary "Bruno," turning up in a skimpy variation of the uniforms worn by Buckingham Palace guards. The British comedian came in character as Bruno in a towering bearskin hat, a red military waistcoat and tight black shorts.

June 6th, 2009 LONDON - Pop star Britney Spears, who is currently performing shows at London's 02 arena, wants to meet the 83-year-old Queen Elizabeth II of England. The Womanizer singer wishes to take her two sons, Sean, 3, and Jayden, 2, to Buckingham Palace to have an afternoon tea with the queen, reported femalefirst.co.uk.

June 5th, 2009 LONDON - If rumours are to be believed, Britney Spears has plans to meet the Queen. Britney, currently in London, opened the European leg of her Circus tour with a performance at the O2 Arena.

June 4th, 2009 Queen marks 500th anniversary of royal guardsLONDON — Queen Elizabeth II has marked the 500th anniversary of a troop of royal bodyguards. The monarch was honoring the Her Majesty's Body Guard of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen at Arms.

June 3rd, 2009 LONDON - Michael Sheen has alleged that Queen Elizabeth II and former British Prime Minister Tony Blair agreed not to watch the Stephen Frears' 2006 British drama that centered itself on their relationship after the death of Princess Diana. Sheen played Blair in the 2006 film The Queen which depicted an account of the immediate events following the death of Diana in 1997, 3 months after the politician came to power.

June 3rd, 2009 WASHINGTON - Michael Sheen, who portrayed former British Prime Minister Tony Blair in the hit film The Queen, met the real British monarch face to face when he was honoured during a ceremony at Buckingham Palace. The 40-year-old star was made an officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) for his services to drama.

June 1st, 2009 White House wants queen to attend D-Day ceremoniesWASHINGTON — The White House wants Queen Elizabeth II at D-Day ceremonies later this week. White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said Monday that President Barack Obama wants to include the queen, who served in uniform during World War II.

May 12th, 2009 Prince William visits 109-yr-old, gets fashion tipLONDON — Catherine Masters had always wanted to meet a member of Britain's royal family. But when she finally got the chance at age 109, she couldn't resist offering it a little advice.

May 9th, 2009 LONDON - After Barack Obama and Britney Spears, Queen Rania of Jordan has become the latest high profiler to join the microblogging service Twitter. Rania Al Abdullah, the wife of King Abdullah II, has had more than 2,000 followers and had recently updated her profile 17 times.