LONDON – With his face half-hidden under a bearskin hat, Prince William rode through central London on horseback Saturday as part of his grandmother Queen Elizabeth II’s official birthday celebration.
The newlywed prince took part in the annual “Trooping the Colour,” a procession held every year to mark the monarch’s birthday.
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His new bride — Kate Middleton, now officially the Duchess of Cambridge — rode in a horse-drawn carriage alongside William’s younger brother, Prince Harry, Camilla, the Duchess of Cornwall, and Prince Andrew, the Duke of York. She wore an ivory jacket and black hat, and had pulled a tartan blanket over her knees to ward off the early summer chill.
The queen turned 85 in April, but the public party for the monarch’s birthday is held on a Saturday in June when the weather is better. The custom dates from 1748.
William wore the same red Irish Guards tunic with a blue sash that he wore at his April 29 wedding at Westminster Abbey and rose on a gray charger.
Earlier on, the queen had awarded a set of honors to actors, sportsmen, academics, civil servants and members of the public who are judged to have made an exceptional contribution to society.
British actor Colin Firth, who won an Oscar for portraying the queen’s father, King George VI, in “The King’s Speech,” was named a Commander of the British Empire, or CBE, in the Birthday Honors List.
Pitt, Jolie help Joplin rebuild
JOPLIN, Mo. – Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie are donating $500,000 from their foundation to help Joplin rebuild from the deadly tornado that struck the southwest Missouri city last month.
The Community Foundation of the Ozarks said the Jolie-Pitt Foundation’s gift will go to mid- and long-term needs in the city. The Community Foundation announced the gift Friday in a news release.
Pitt grew up in southwest Missouri and said in the release that he knows the people in the area to be “especially resilient.”
The May 22 tornado destroyed more than 8,000 homes. The death toll was 151 as of Friday.
Lawsuit: Perfumer exploiting Michael Jackson’s name
LAS VEGAS – A Las Vegas perfumer promoted by Michael Jackson’s father is being sued for using the deceased superstar’s name to sell fragrances.
Michael Jackson merchandiser Bravado of the Universal Music Group filed suit against Julian Rouas Paris on Thursday in federal court in Los Angeles.
Bravado alleges the perfume maker is illegally exploiting Michael Jackson’s name.
Owner Julian Rouas could not immediately be reached for comment.
His company and Joe Jackson have promoted the launch of Jackson Tribute, a fragrance for men, and Jackson Legend, a fragrance for women.
Crowe cuts circumcision tweet
NEW YORK – San Francisco’s anti-circumcision lobby seems to have a friend in Russell Crowe.
The Oscar-winning actor lashed out at the practice of male circumcision in a series of comments on his Twitter account Thursday.
In them, he scoffed at the argument that clipping the foreskin serves the cause of hygiene, and declared a newborn baby to be perfect on delivery.
His tirades were triggered by a tweeted inquiry from the expectant parent of a son, who asked, “Do you think I should get him circumstanced?”
Hours later, circumstances had apparently changed for Crowe. He was having second thoughts about his cutting remarks, which by then had vanished from his account.
“I realize that some will interpret this debate as me mocking the rituals and traditions of others,” he said in a fresh tweet Friday. “I am very sorry.”
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