Helen Mirren Steps in for Queen Elizabeth to Grant Dying Wish to Young Boy

She won the Academy Award for her portrayal of Queen Elizabeth in the movie The Queen, and now actress Helen Mirren has stepped into the Royal Monarch's shoes once more...to grant one final wish to a dying boy.

After the real Queen Elizabeth was unable to fulfill the wish of 10-year-old Oliver Burton—who has Down’s syndrome and terminal spine as well as bone marrow cancer— to meet the monarch, Helen Mirren graciously offered to help make little Oliver's dream a reality. Mirren, who is actually portraying the Queen once again in the play The Audience on London's West End, arrived to meet Oliver dressed as the Royal, complete with a periwinkle dress and her requisite pearls. She also arrived with the Queen's beloved Corgis (the real love of the monarch's life, obviously!).

Mirren had a Royal Footman serve high tea and biscuits to the delighted Oliver, who has been battling leukemia for most of his life and was diagnosed with the disease at the age of three. This is the third time the precious young boy has battled cancer, and doctors fear that he may only have weeks or months to live. This makes Dame Helen's gesture even more beautiful, and we hope the real royal recognizes what she has done.

Little Oliver was none the wiser that it was actually Helen Mirren and not the Queen who was visiting him. Reports Oliver's father James Brown, "She was really lovely. She did the whole thing — had a butler there, was dressed in costume and did it all properly for him.”

Actress Valerie Harper Diagnosed with Terminal Brain Cancer

Actress Valerie Harper, star of The Mary Tyler Moore Show and Rhoda, has been diagnosed with terminal brain cancer, it was announced today.

Harper, 73, was diagnosed with the rare condition leptomeningeal carcinomatosis, which can occur
when cancer cells spread into the fluid-filled membrane surrounding the brain. The condition occurs in less than five percent of people with cancer. Harper's doctors say that the acclaimed actress may have as little as three months to live. 

The Emmy-winning star rose to fame playing the best friend to Mary Richards, the brash Rhoda Morgenstern, in the phenomenally popular series The Mary Tyler Moore Show. The role proved so popular that she went on to play the character in her own spin-off series, Rhoda, which ran from 1974 until 1978. She would go on to win four Emmy Awards for her portrayal as well as a Golden Globe award. 

In the mid-1980s, she made headlines when she was axed from the NBC sitcom Valerie, after reportedly making a demand to have her salary raised. She was unceremoniously fired and character actress Sandy Duncan was brought in as a replacement and the show was re-named The Hogan Family. Harper later sued NBC and Lorimar Productions for her dismissal and was eventually awarded a significant sum of money in damages.  

The actress had previously battled lung cancer in 2009. It is believed her current cancer is related to her earlier health struggle. Harper's bestselling memoir, I, Rhoda  , which details her career struggles and successes, was published earlier this year.