Royal courtiers wanted to block the sale of "tasteless" memorabilia when Britain's Queen Elizabeth II married Prince Philip in 1947. Papers released Tuesday by the National Archives at Kew, west London, revealed that members of Britain's Royal Court took their concerns over the wedding souvenirs to the Home Office. The courtiers were particularly annoyed about the "undesirable" handkerchiefs, produced by the Cheadle Fabric Factory.

Patients at a British hospital got their much desired hot cross buns on Monday rather than Easter Sunday after many of them complained to a local newspaper about not receiving them. The hospital authorities decided to do away with the bun distribution on Good Friday to avoid offending non-Christian patients.

In a bizarre chase for zoo officials, a spider monkey not only escaped from a Mexico City zoo but also boarded a bus. If this was not enough for his antics, the monkey also attacked a passenger during its ride. According to Red Cross officials, the monkey boarded the bus at about 11 pm Monday after escaping from the San Juan de Aragon Zoo. It then sat next to the bus driver for almost an hour as he drove through the city.

A woman trying to smuggle baby crocodiles strapped to her waist at the Gaza-Egypt border was caught after the officials became suspicious of her strangly bulging body. According to the officials, even though the woman was wearing a loose robe to hide the bulges, she looked "strangely fat" causing the policewoman at Rafah crossing to search her. Maria Telleria, a spokeswoman for European observers who run the terminal, said the incident happened Thursday after a policewoman at the crossing became suspicious and ordered her to submit to a search.

A mother of a 6-month-old son got the surprise of her life last month when her son started walking around their home on her own. Connie Robinson, who hails from the British town of Harlow, said she was shell-shocked to see her son, Reuben cross the milestone of walking at such an early age. The Sun quotes the surprised 38-year-old mother as saying, "He just got up and started walking round the front room. I couldn't believe it. He's so young. It looks very funny. "