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.”

Stiff Upper Lip: Madame Tussaud Unveils Amazingly Lifelike Queen Elizabeth Statue

The famous "stiff upper lip" of the House of Windsor was on Royal display in London yesterday, as famed wax museum Madame Tussaud's revealed its amazingly lifelike statue of Queen Elizabeth.

The statue, commissioned exclusively to mark the Queen's Diamond Jubilee this year, is the 23rd replica of the monarch to be created by the world famous museum, but many believe this to be the most realistic portrait yet. Royal subjects will be hard pressed to select which is the real Queen and which is the wax replica in photographs, as the artists responsible for the sculpture spared no detail in creating the master work.

The Queen is wearing her official State dress made of pure white silk, satin and lace covered with silver-colored sequins and bearing a subtle scalloped hemline. Atop her perfect silver coiffure, she is wearing an exquisite replica of the State Diadem crown, a circlet of diamonds, created in 1820, which the Monarch wears during the procession to and from the State Opening of Parliament each year. She also wore the stunning crown on her Coronation Day in 1953, for the procession to Westminster Abbey.

The Queen's husband, Prince Philip, stands guard beside his wife, looking dapper in his tuxedo with a red jacket and royal sash. 


The Queen will have a very full calendar over the next few weeks, with many activities planned to mark her 60th year of rule, as well as the start of the Summer Olympic Games in London.

Fit for a Queen: Ugly Eel from Great Lakes to Be Baked in Pie for Queen's Jubilee

"Okay, I'm not very photogenic. But the Queen wants to eat me!"

A rather hideously ugly creature from the Great Lakes has received a Royal Command Performance from Queen Elizabeth II.

The creature, known as a sea lamprey, is actually quite the menace around the Great Lakes region of the United States and Canada, but is considered something of a delicacy in the UK, where icky cuisine is the norm. The parasitic lamprey was once common in Great Britain, but is now on the endangered species list and is protected.

The city of Gloucester, which has given the pie as a gift to the monarch since the Middle Ages, made a request for the lamprey to the Great Lakes Fishery Commission, which was only too happy to supply them with a case of the ugly beasts. The commission has already sent two pounds of the slimy eel taken from Lake Huron to the UK, where they will be baked into the archaic lamprey pie dish to help Queen Elizabeth celebrate her Diamond Jubilee, which will mark the 60th year of her monarchy.

Sarrah Maccey of the Gloucester Folk Museum says that she and a royally approved chef will bake the pie, and she is researching ancient local recipes. One traditional 15th-Century recipe calls for the lamprey to be cooked in a sauce of red wine, vinegar, cinnamon and its own blood, then baked in a thick, handmade crust. Yum!

The Queen is a real trooper of course, and will undoubtedly consume the "pie" with a pleasant smile on her face!

Murder The Queen Wrote: Woman Found Dead on Queen Elizabeth's Estate

"A most foul act has been committed..."

A woman has been found dead at Queen Elizabeth's sprawling country estate Sandringham, where the Royal Family spent New Year's Eve. The gruesome discovery was made less than three miles from the Queen's home located in Norfolk outside of London.


The female corpse was spotted by a member of the public out walking, just hours after the royals attended their traditional church service on New Year's Day. Police immediately sealed off the area and informed the Royal Family of the discovery. Yesterday the Queen, 85, was seen out riding one of her horses on the massive 20,500 acre estate near King's Lynn, Norfolk. The family, including newlyweds Prince William and his bride Kate Middleton, spent Christmas at Sandringham as well. The Queen's husband, Prince Phillip, 90, was rushed to the hospital on Christmas Eve after experiencing severe chest pains.

No details about how long the body had been left in the elements, the age of the victim or the cause of death have been released to the public. An autopsy on the body was scheduled to be done on Tuesday to determine an exact cause of death.

 It's not the first time that a dead body has been discovered on or near property belonging to the Queen. In March 2010, the body of American Robert James Moore, described as a loner who was obsessed with the Queen, was found 100 yards from Buckingham Palace.

Royal Message Down Under: Queen Elizabeth & Prince Philip Take Possible Final Tour of Australia

Queen Elizabeth and husband Prince Philip endured a grueling 24-hour flight before arriving in the Commonwealth of Australia for possibly their final Royal tour of Down Under. The 85-year-old monarch and the 90-year-old Duke of Edinburgh didn't look any worse for wear after the long flight, arriving in Perth, Western Australia, where they commenced an 11 day tour of the nation. Even though she is amazingly fit and mobile for her age, many experts believe this will perhaps be the Queen's final official visit to Australia, and she will more than likely start to pass off some of her royal duties to other, younger members of the Royal Family.

For the full story, visit The Daily Mail:

Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip Arrive for Tour of Australia