OHMYGOSSIP — Dame Helen Mirren doesn’t want to be remembered just for portraying Queen Elizabeth.
The 72-year-old actress has ruled out every starring as the 91-year-old monarch again after playing her in 2006 drama movie ‘The Queen’, because she is concerned people will only think of her role as the royal when she passes away.
She said: “I wanted to kind of get away from that. I like to move forward, not back. It’s wonderful that I [portrayed Queen Elizabeth twice], it was wonderful that it was a success, but I didn’t want a headline when I’m knocked over by a bus to read ‘The Queen Knocked Over by Bus.’ ”
While Helen doesn’t want to step into the monarch’s footsteps again, she has been enjoying watching Claire Foy’s portrayal of a young queen in Netflix TV series ‘The Crown’.
Speaking on ‘The Ellen DeGeneres Show’, she added: “I think the show is incredibly accurate. I think Claire Foy was brilliant. I sent her an email congratulating her. It was fantastic.”
This comes after Helen once admitted she broke down in tears when she saw the costumes she had to wear to play the queen.
She said: “The clothes are very important. I remember when I had my first costume fitting for ‘The Queen’, and they laid all of these sensible shoes out, kilts, Barbour jackets, head scarves, and these sort of dresses … I cried.
“I thought, I can’t play anyone who’d wear these clothes. I just can’t do it.
“The queen is completely uninterested in clothes. She’s not at all vain … It’s like a policeman wearing a uniform. She’s wearing her uniform.
“She doesn’t care what she looks like in it as long as it’s the right thing for the right moment. Forget what they look like.
“It’s what they feel like. And they’re made out of unbelievably beautiful fabrics and then lined with incredibly expensive silk, so when you put them on, they feel incredible.”
‘The Queen’ was directed by Stephen Frears and also starred James Cromwell as Prince Philip, while Alex Jennings portrayed Prince Charles and Sylvia Syms starred as the Queen Mother.

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OHMYGOSSIP — Honey made from bees in The Duchess of Cornwall’s garden has sold out at Fortnum & Mason.
The 70-year-old royal and her husband Prince Charles, 69, have helped make money for The Silver Line – a helpline for older people – after their flying insects produced plenty of the sweet substance to make up jars of honey at the London department store.
A tweet on the official Clarence House Twitter account read: “Honey made by bees in The Duchess of Cornwall’s Wiltshire garden has sold out at @Fortnums, with proceeds going to the charity @TheSilverLineUK. (sic)”
This comes after it was revealed last summer that Charles and Camilla’s bees produce 40lbs of honey a year, and the couple urged people to visit their impressive collection of 90,000 insects.
A series of posts on the official Clarence House Twitter account read: “If you visit Clarence House during the summer opening this month, you may spot these beehives in the Royal residence’s garden!
“The Clarence House garden contains two beehives, which are home to over 90,000 bees. They produce around 40 pounds of honey a year. (sic)”
Charles is known to be a big fan of bees and has some on his Duchy Home Farm estate, an organic farm which is part of the gardens at his Highgrove House country home in Tetbury, south west England.
Those bees produce honey for the Highgrove Home Farm Runny Honey sold on the Royal Gardens at Highgrove’s online shop for £6.50 each.
The sales pitch reads: “A delicious raw runny honey produced by bees on HRH The Prince of Wales’s Duchy Home Farm.
“Made in small quantities to traditional methods, this honey is presented in a rustic-style jar, finished with a Highgrove label.”

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OHMYGOSSIP — Queen Elizabeth says her neck would “break” if she looked down while wearing the Imperial State Crown.
The 91-year-old monarch has to place her speeches at eye-level when she is wearing the 2.2lbs headdress to ensure she doesn’t do herself a serious injury, or drop the heavy item from the top of her head.
She said: “You can’t look down to read the speech, you have to take the speech up.
“Because if you did your neck would break, it [the crown] would fall off.
“So there are some disadvantages to crowns, but otherwise they’re quite important things.”
The queen admitted the crown was “unwieldy” when her father George VI was coronated but it was remodelled afterwards and made “much smaller”.
Describing her dad’s crown, she said: “Very unwieldy. Fortunately, my father and I have about the same sort of shaped head. But once you put it on it stays. I mean it just remains on.”
Elizabeth has also revealed her dress became stuck during her Coronation – which took place in June 1953 at Westminster Abbey – and she “couldn’t move at all”.
She recalled: “Well I remember one moment when I was going against the pile of the carpet and I couldn’t move at all. Yes, they hadn’t thought of that.”
On the way back from her Coronation, Elizabeth was transported in the iconic Gold State Coach, which weighs nearly four tons, and the royal has admitted it is “horrible” to sit in for long periods.
Speaking in an upcoming documentary to mark the 65th anniversary of her Coronation, she added: “It’s not meant for travelling in at all. I mean, it’s only sprung on leather. Not very comfortable.
“Halfway around London. It can only go at a walking pace. The horses couldn’t possibly go any faster. It’s so heavy.”

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OHMYGOSSIP — Duchess Catherine made a new furry friend on her first royal engagement of 2018 yesterday (10.01.18).
The Duchess of Cambridge – who shares pet dog Lupo with husband Prince William – fell in love with puppy Bear during her visit to Reach Academy Feltham in west London – which works with children’s mental health charity Place2Be, of which the duchess is a royal patron – on Wednesday morning.
Catherine couldn’t stop stroking Bear, a cross between a poodle and bichon frise, who is training to become a therapy dog to help the school’s youngsters with reading skills, and to deal with emotional issues.
The duchess presented Bear with a rosette to congratulate him on completing his puppy training and praised him for being “well behaved”.
Karen Howard, an attendance and community support officer at the school, told the Daily Mail newspaper: “My main concern was he’d been digging all morning and he’s really dirty.
“He wasn’t too bad, he’s been really naughty all morning. She said, ‘He’s a really fluffy dog’ and that he was ‘really cute and really well behaved.’
“She was very interested to hear about therapy dogs and the children were telling her, ‘The dog makes us really happy’.”
Catherine was also intrigued to meet the school guinea pig and is no stranger to loveable rodents.
In May 2016, the 36-year-old royal told St John the Baptist Junior School pupil Darcey that she and her family – kids Prince George, four, and two-year-old Princess Charlotte, and her husband William, 35 – have a pet hamster.
The youngster said at the time: “She said she had a hamster, and Charlotte really likes it because the whiskers always tickle her face.”

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OHMYGOSSIP — Samantha Grant thinks Meghan Markle should help her father out financially.
The former ‘Suits’ star’s half-sister claims her dad Thomas Markle Snr. – a retired lighting director who worked on shows such as ‘General Hospital’ – helped her to kick-start her career in the entertainment industry, so she should repay the favour in cash.
She said: “Meghan’s education, her connections in the entertainment industry that got her her first job on ‘Suits’ and even before then … he gave her so much of who she is.”
Referring to the Ralph & Russo dress the 36-year-old star wore in her engagement photoshoot alongside fiance Prince Harry, she added: “If you can spend $75,000 on a dress, you can spend $75,000 on your dad.”
Samantha confirmed Harry is yet to meet Thomas Snr., 73, but believes the prince called him to ask for his daughter’s hand in marriage before the flame-haired royal popped the question, because he is “respectful”.
Speaking about why Harry, 33, and Thomas are yet to meet, she said: “We don’t know why. I think with distance, time and schedules, it’s hard. Plus, my dad had a bad leg for a while. But he’s doing better now.
“He’s working with a doctor to improve [the leg] so it minimises his pain and he’ll be able to walk Meg down the aisle.”
Samantha – who hasn’t spoken to Meghan in 10 years – admitted the retired actress was always “well mannered” and “respectful” during her youth.
She told In Touch Weekly magazine: “She was extremely well-behaved and respectful. If she wanted something, she’d say it in a forthcoming, diplomatic way.
“She was well mannered, tidy and disciplined.”

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OHMYGOSSIP — Prince Charles is to open a new restaurant.
The Prince of Wales will open the Ballater Station Bistro and Tearoom in Ballater, Aberdeenshire, Scotland – where he is known as the Duke of Rothesay – which will be his second eatery in the town.
According to The Herald newspaper, the restaurant is scheduled to open its doors in summer 2019.
The bistro is expected to serve British dishes made from local produce, and the tea room will offer finger sandwiches and homebaking products for sale.
It will be part of the redevelopment of the Old Royal Station building, which was destroyed by fire in May 2015.
Kenneth Dunsmuir, executive director of The Great Steward of Scotland’s Dumfries House Trust, said: “The objective of our outreach programme is to extend opportunities and lend assistance to communities.
“By playing our part in the restoration of the Old Royal Station at Ballater, we are aiming to bring the village back to its former glory, allow people to gain an insight into the significance of the building, and give tourists another reason to visit beautiful Royal Deeside.”
This comes after Charles opened the Rothesay Rooms restaurant, and a Highgrove Shop, in Ballater in November 2016 after the town was hit with flash floods in December 2015 when the River Dee burst its banks.
Asked how the idea came about, the prince said he got the idea from local butcher Barry Florence, who said to him, “Why don’t you put a Highgrove Shop in Ballater?”
Charles previously explained: “That is what really started this whole idea. It was entirely due to my going into Sheridan’s butchers to see how they were getting on.
“There has been a lot of effort in the last six months or so since the disastrous floods that did so much damage to poor old Ballater.”

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OHMYGOSSIP — Prince William joked he could tell surgeons must have played on PlayStations because they handled a new robot machine so well during an operation.
The 35-year-old royal donned scrubs for a visit to the Royal Marsden Hospital in Chelsea, west London, yesterday (10.01.18), where he compared the new state-of-the-art technology to the popular console.
Speaking to cancer patient Joe Omar, he said: “You can see all the doctors have done PlayStation. They let me watch but not to have a go.”
William watched on as patient Anne White had a tumour cut away from her tongue by surgeons using the new minimally invasive Da Vinci robot machine, which uses heat rather than a blade to perform surgery.
The operation took just two hours as opposed to the 12-hour treatment which would’ve been required beforehand.
The prince was allowed to make virtual incisions on screen and move the markers for the robot’s arms.
He said: “It’s fascinating watching the robot work – it’s just so precise. I’m really impressed.
“You’re literally going right into the tumour so you see exactly with precision where the tumour is – it’s incredible – I was really, really impressed with it.”
William also visited the Burdett Coutts ward, where he met a patient who is recovering from robotic surgery, and another who is a former member of Royal Marsden staff.
The Duke of Cambridge’s late mother Princess Diana – who passed away in 1997 aged just 36 – attended her first solo royal engagement at The Royal Marsden Hospital, where she watched surgery being performed in 1982.

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OHMYGOSSIP — Prince William has admitted Prince Harry is yet to ask him to be his best man.
The 35-year-old royal is expected to take on the role at his brother’s wedding to Meghan Markle on May 19 but the flame-haired prince is clearly making his sibling wait to find out, and William joked it “could be a sensitive subject”.
He said: “He hasn’t asked me yet, just to clear that up. It could be a sensitive subject.”
William has also admitted he is “trying to see what I can do” about being able to attend the FA Cup final in his role of President of the FA on the same date as his brother’s nuptials, when asked by former England star Rio Ferdinand if he will be able to go.
The prince made the revelation as he joined staff, volunteers, and supporters of charity CALM (Campaign Against Living Miserably) for a group discussion about their new Best Man Project initiative, to promote the idea men shouldn’t wait until a wedding to prove they are a great friend.
During the chat, William opened up about his relationship with Harry and admitted how important it has been for them to speak about their emotions, particularly since the passing of their mother, Princess Diana, in 1997 at the age of 36.
William said: “Our relationship is closer than it’s been because of the situation we’ve been through.
“Losing our mother at a young age, it’s helped us travel through that difficult patch together. You’re like-minded. You go through similar things, it’s a bond and it’s something you know you’ve tackled together and come out better for it.
“That’s the thing about being a best mate, inevitable one of you is sometimes on an up while the other is on a down.
“You’re always there for each other.”

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OHMYGOSSIP — Duchess Catherine celebrated her birthday with a party of just eight people on Tuesday (09.01.18).
The 36-year-royal is said to have enjoyed a “low key” affair at her and Prince William’s home at Kensington Palace, but she couldn’t drink because she is expecting the couple’s third child.
A royal source told the Daily Star Online: “Catherine has got a small birthday party of eight today.
“But she is not drinking any alcohol and she is being careful with her food too.
“It will be quite a low-key party.”
The royal couple’s pals Guy Pelly and Elizabeth Wilson, and the duchess’ friend Sophie Carter – a godmother of their two-year-old daughter Princess Charlotte – are thought to have been invited to the intimate event.
It’s not known whether Prince Harry and Meghan Markle were in attendance but they were in nearby south London yesterday carrying out their second official engagement since confirming their intentions to marry.
This comes just days after Catherine – who also has four-year-old son Prince George with William – took pictures of their daughter Charlotte on her first day of nursery on Monday (08.01.18).
The pictures were posted on the Kensington Palace official Twitter account and captioned: “The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge are very pleased to share two photographs of Princess Charlotte at Kensington Palace this morning.
“The images were taken by The Duchess shortly before Princess Charlotte left for her first day of nursery at the Willcocks Nursery School.”
Charlotte is attending the Willcocks Nursery School in London.

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OHMYGOSSIP — Mike Tindall has made a near six-figure profit on one of his horses.
The former professional rugby player – whose wife Zara Phillips is expecting their second child – offloaded a filly for $170,000 (AUD) at the Magic Millions equine event on Australia’s Gold Coast after purchasing the four-legged animal as a weanling for just $80,000 (AUD).
The sale landed the ex-England player and his syndicate Redwall Bloodstock a tidy $90,000 (AUD) profit, netting them the equivalent of more than $52,000, but he admitted it was a “nerve-racking” experience.
He told the Gold Coast Bulletin: “I don’t know why. But I have a lot of my mates who are in the syndicate and as well so you want to text them and say it went well.”
Mike – whose filly was by sire Bel Esprit out of mare Kahala Dreams – and his syndicate have another five horses in the sale at the Magic Millions Sales Complex Bundall.
It comes after one of Mike’s horses, Monbeg Dude, won him £105,500 after it finished third in the Grand National in 2015, despite being a 40/1 outsider for the annual race at Aintree, north west England.
He wrote on Twitter afterwards: “Holy s**t, I’m lost for words and emotions. All I can say is yes the dude!!!!! (sic)”
The ex-Gloucester player bought the equine, which he co-owns with pal and former fellow England international James Simpson-Daniel, at auction following a boozy lunch.
Zara famously called Mike an “idiot” for purchasing the horse he knew nothing about for £12,000.
She previously said: “He just started bidding but he didn’t know what he was bidding for.
“He didn’t know any of its form or anything but luckily the horse has won.”
Mike said: “I only went for a bite to eat and a night out. No horse had gone for less than £28,000 so I thought my first bid of £10,000 was pretty safe, likewise when I upped it to £12,000. I knew nothing about the horse, hadn’t checked the brochure and couldn’t even see the Dude, as I was sitting with my back to the sale ring.”

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OHMYGOSSIP — A woman broke down in tears when she met Prince Harry and Meghan Markle on Tuesday (09.01.18).
Helen Wiltshire, 69, was overcome with emotion as she greeted the 36-year-old former actress when the ex-‘Suits’ star and Harry, 33, were leaving community project Pop Brixton in Brixton, south London, and she placed her arm on Meghan’s shoulder while telling her she had a close “royal connection”.
She told Meghan she “loved her” and said: “Thank you, thank you for all you’ve done.”
Afterwards, Helen admitted it was a “dream” to meet the couple.
She told Mail Online: “It just means so much. In 1900, my grandfather signed the 1900 Uganda Agreement with Queen Victoria. Because of the royal connection we’ve always felt close to them.
“I just love Prince Harry. For him to have found someone who he really loves it is amazing. You can feel their love I wish them all the best.
“I just want to say it was a dream to meet them. I wish them all the best and thank you so much for coming to Brixton.”
During their visit to Pop Brixton, Harry learnt how to fist bump as a means of saying goodbye shortly before he left.
The pair met members of the community project, which houses local start-ups and restaurants.
Earlier in the day, Harry and Meghan met DJs from Brixton’s Reprezent Radio, a 24-hour underground music station presented by people under 25.
Harry praised the radio station’s founder Shane Carey, 46, describing his work as “amazing”.
They were greeted with cheers as they arrived at the radio station’s studio for their second official engagement together since it was announced they are to marry in May.

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OHMYGOSSIP — A DJ has started a petition to perform at Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s wedding after handing them his business card yesterday (09.01.18).
Reprezent Radio presenter Jevanni Letford gave the 33-year-old prince his card as the royal couple visited the station’s studio in Brixton, south London, on Tuesday afternoon, and a video showing him handing Harry his details has been viewed more than 250,000 times online.
Jevanni posted the clip on his Twitter account, writing: “Just slipped Prince Harry the old business card in a bid to secure that #weddingdj gig @KensingtonRoyal @ReprezentRadio @meghanmarkle #triedit #godj – at Pop Brixton (sic)”
In the video, Meghan and Harry are seen walking along when the DJ slips Harry his card and then starts cheering when the flame-haired prince puts it in his coat pocket.
Following the success of the clip, Jevanni started a petition to try to make his dream of performing at the pair’s wedding, which will take place on May 19, a reality.
He tweeted: “Whilst I await that call from @KensingtonRoyal and Prince Harry himself, I’ve created a little petition to help further my chances. Thanks to everyone who has shared my video, 250,000 views and counting! Didn’t expect that! (sic)”
During their visit, the pair spoke to presenter Gloria Beyi, 17, who was surprised the couple had visited the station.
Meghan said she plans to tune in to the station, and added: “I can see why your show is so popular. You’re so thoughtful and your approach is so engaging.”
The visit marked the second official royal engagement Harry and Meghan have been on together since Prince Charles announced in November 2017 that they are to marry.
Reprezent Radio is a 24-hour underground music station presented by people under 25.

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OHMYGOSSIP — Meghan Markle has closed her social media accounts.
The former ‘Suits’ star has de-activated her Facebook, Twitter and Instagram accounts ahead of her wedding to Prince Harry, 33, on May 19 at St George’s Chapel in Windsor.
Meghan had nearly 800,000 likes on her Facebook page, while her Instagram account was followed by three million people and featured more than 2,000 of her pictures.
The 36-year-old retired actress had posted photos of her ‘Suits’ co-stars and also liked to upload snaps of her rescue dogs, Guy and Bogart.
Meghan will also no longer be tweeting on her Twitter account which will no doubt come as a disappointment to the 475,000 followers she had on the social networking site.
She had posted 5,000 tweets during her time on Twitter but hadn’t used the account since Prince Charles announced in November 2017 that she and his son Harry are to marry this year.
Meghan previously ran a lifestyle blog, The Tig, but closed the site in April last year, and thanked her readers in a heartfelt post.
She wrote: “To all my Tig friends
“After close to three beautiful years on this adventure with you, it’s time to say goodbye to The Tig.
“What began as a passion project (my little engine that could) evolved into an amazing community of inspiration, support, fun and frivolity.
“You’ve made my days brighter and filled this experience with so much joy. Keep finding those Tig moments of discovery, keep laughing and taking risks, and being “the change you wish to see in the world.”
“Above all, don’t ever forget your worth – as I’ve told you time and time again: you, my sweet friend, you are enough.
“Thank you for everything. Xx (sic)”

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OHMYGOSSIP — A £27 million Windsor Castle refurbishment is underway ahead of the royal wedding.
Scaffolding on the big gated entrance at The Royal Mews – the exclusive Royal Family-only entrance – went up on Monday (08.01.18) and work is expected to take between four and five weeks to complete, meaning it should be done in time for Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s nuptials on May 19.
According to Mail Online, if some of the work is not ready in time then castle bosses could make it “disappear” by using life-size images of the castle walls which have been used during previous building to hide unsightly scaffolding.
Castle renovations were announced in 2016 but Harry, 33, and Meghan, 36, were still keen to hold their wedding at St George’s Chapel in the grounds, rather than Westminster Abbey.
Other refurbishments being made to the castle include a Georgian entrance hall being reinstated, a new education centre, and there are also plans to build a new cafe on the ground floor.
The refurb is expected to run until the end of 2018.
While Harry and Meghan got their choice of Windsor Castle for their wedding, they are said to have been put off having their reception at their first choice, Frogmore House, which is a mile away from the castle, and look set to hold it at nearby St George’s Hall instead.
A senior royal source recently said: “They would have loved Frogmore for the party, particularly Meghan, who has called it ‘dreamy’, but they have been told St George’s Hall is far more practical.
“One person who would have readily approved of their choice was the queen, for whom Frogmore is a very special place.
“The queen would also have loved the family to see what had been done at Frogmore: the house has just been renovated by a group of friends as a 70th wedding anniversary gift to her and Philip.”

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OHMYGOSSIP — Queen Elizabeth once caught her mother out after she’d been secretly drinking gin.
Ballet dancer Wayne Sleep recalled being at Clarence House when the 91-year-old monarch discovered four empty bottles of the alcohol after they had been drunk by the Queen Mother, who passed away in 2002 aged 101.
Speaking on ‘Celebrity Big Brother’, he said: “I think some delegate from Ghana was over and invited to Clarence House.
“And the queen came along, just the three of them, and she went, ‘What would you like?’ She said, ‘I’d like a gin and tonic’.
“She said, ‘no worries at all’. Opened the cupboards. There were four empty gin bottles there and she turned and went, ‘Mummy!’
“That was the queen with the Queen Mother. ‘Mummy.’ Empties.”
In April, Major Colin Burgess, who was the Queen Mother’s equerry for two years, revealed she was “far from being an alcoholic” but did love “social drinking”, and used to have her first beverage of the day at noon.
He recalled: “What was memorable was her fondness for red wine, particularly heavy clarets, which she loved. We must have got through a bottle- and-a-half at that first meeting.
“Following my appointment, I discovered the Queen Mother’s pattern of drinking rarely varied. At noon, she had her first drink of the day – a potent mix of two parts of the fortified wine Dubonnet to one part of gin.
“This was followed by red wine with lunch and, very occasionally, a glass of port to end it. Later came the ritual observed at 6pm, deemed the earliest acceptable time for an evening drink.
“‘Colin, are we at the magic hour?’ the Queen Mother would invariably ask, and I’d mix her a Martini. After a couple of these, she would sit down to dinner and drink one or two glasses of pink champagne.”

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OHMYGOSSIP — Wayne Sleep was worried he would drop Princess Diana when they performed a dance together.
The 69-year-old dancer and the Princess of Wales took to the stage at the Royal Opera House in 1985 for a private show for supporters and friends of the Royal Ballet – but before the spectacle he was “nervous” about lifting her up.
H said: “I choreographed a three-minute number for her and she kept it a surprise for her husband for Christmas. So he didn’t know about it. We went down to the stage and did the number and it worked really well. She was excited. I was nervous.
“I did a lift from her from one corner of the stage right diagonally across to the other corner.
“And I thought, ‘Oh god, what if I drop her?’ The future Queen of England at that time.”
Wayne has also recalled making Diana – who passed away in August 1997 aged 36 – bow to her then-husband Prince Charles in the Royal Box.
He said: “After the eighth curtain call she says, ‘Let’s do it again,’ and I say ‘No, leave them wanting more’.
“I said, ‘By the way, you’ve got to bow to the Royal Box’. She said, ‘I’m not bowing to him! He’s my hubby’. So I made her turn and bow and as we ran off she said, ‘You won’t get your OBE that way!’ ”
Diana rang Wayne to personally ask him if he would perform with her at the event.
Speaking on ‘Celebrity Big Brother’, he added: “She’d seen a lot of my work in Covent Garden. Well you could say she was a fan I suppose.
“She rang me and said, ‘I want to dance with you at Covent Garden this Christmas for the big Christmas gala party that they do as a thank you to all the supporters of the Opera House.’
“I met her and I think she was in the headband and the leg warmers, the leotard and the tights. She said, ‘I want to do a number with you to Billy Joel’s ‘Uptown Girl’.’ ”

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