Elizabeth Hyde was only four years old when the Queen Mother visited her after being injured by a German bomb near her South London home in 1943. During that eventful visit, Elizabeth was given a couple of bananas by no less than the Queen Mother herself, who was then still Princess Elizabeth.

A photographer had put out a call for a Gordon Brown lookalike, which she said was urgently needed. The artist was 37-year old Alison Jackson, who has been known to take and publish photographs of mirror images of such figures as Princess Diana, David Beckam, George Bush, and the Queen herself. The notoriety of her photographs stems from the fact that the photos she takes are of the lookalikes in compromising positions.

Britain's Duchess of Cornwall has been blamed for "cursing" a luxury cruise liner. Cunard's Ł300 million MS Queen Victoria - which was officially launched by Camilla in Southampton three weeks ago when she failed to successfully smash the champagne bottle on its side - has been struck by a potentially fatal stomach bug.

On its second voyage a virus outbreak struck passengers on the Queen Victoria. Blame it on bad luck, which is exactly what crew members of the $602 million 90,000 ton vessel, the Queen Victoria, are doing after 78 of their 3,000 passengers were infected by a highly contagious stomach known as norovirus. According to the crew members, during its naming ceremony, the champagne bottle swung by the Duchess of Cornwall against the hull of the Queen Victoria failed to break, which is considered a sign of bad luck in the seafaring world.

Royal titles to benefit a cause are now for sale: for $180,000, one can become a duke or duchess. The cheapest title is a knighthood, for only $40,000. The titles are sold online through Nobility. co. uk by David Howe, aka King David of the Isle of Man.