The Queen Mother celebrates her 98th birthday today with a lunch with senior members of the royal family.
She will greet well-wishers outside Clarence House, her London residence, before spending time with Prince William, Prince Harry, Queen Elizabeth, the Duke of Edinburgh, Prince Charles and other royals.
After the birthday celebrations, she is expected to travel to Balmoral for the traditional summer holiday with Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip.
Czech doctors opened a hole in President Vaclav Havel's throat yesterday to aid his breathing after the partial collapse of his lungs overnight, the president's office said.
In a statement, doctors said he required the tracheotomy "for preventative reasons" to sustain his recovery from intestinal surgery performed eight days ago.
Prince Andrew the Duchess of York braved the weather yesterday to launch a charity golf tournament.
The two arrived at Wentworth Golf Club in Surrey with their two daughters Princess Beatrice (9) and Princess Eugenie (8) to start the celebrity event in the pouring rain. Celebrities including Henry Cooper, Bruce Forsyth and Gary Lineker, who turned out for the fifth celeb-am golf tournament.
Richard Rodriguez (39) has been crowned "King of the Coasters" after a record-breaking 47 days riding on Blackpool's Big Dipper.
The American spent just over 1,013 hours to secure the world record for riding a roller coaster continuously.