Adoring crowds shower the Queen with affection

 Amid the adulation given to younger members of the royal family, such as Prince William and his glamorous new wife, it is sometimes easy to underestimate the star power projected by the head of the clan herself.

The Queen's tour in Australia is proving a triumph, with excited crowds giving her the sort of reception reserved for a favourite grandma.

By the time she leaves, hundreds of thousands of people will have seen her and Prince Philip on her 16th official trip to the continent.

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And the monarch, in turn, is delighted with the welcome. She positively beamed during a walkabout in Melbourne's Federation Square, accepting armfuls of flowers, flags and soft toys every step of the way

The couple also boarded the royal tram to Government House and visited a children's hospital.

A Buckinghaman Palace spokesman said not even the curtsying controversy, has taken the shine off her enjoyment.

"The person who is least concerned about protocol is the Queen, we've always said do what you feel comfortable with," she told AFP.

"Absolutely no offence was taken at all."

The Queen felt as though she was "coming home" and has a "huge fondness" for the country, the spokeswoman added.

She also played down speculation that it was likely to be the Queen's last visit to her realm Down Under, saying there was "no sense at all of 'Thank you and goodbye'."

Burberry beauty Rosie looking 'scentsational' at perfume party

Beverley Hills was host to a bevy of Burberry beauties on Wednesday.

Leading the pack was the brand’s poster gal Rosie Huntington-Whiteley, who was promoting their new fragrance, Burberry Body.

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Showing off her famous assets in a slinky champagne cocktail dress and matching heels, the supermodel certainly lived up to the perfume’s title.

She posed with fellow A-lister Kate Bosworth, who proved her fashion prowess in a tribal-print dress from Burberry's Spring 2012 collection.

Solange Knowles, Rachel Zoe, Cat Deely and Glee star Jayme Mays also ramped up the star power at the swanky bash.

In pictures: Rosie puts sexy back into premieres

Charming Kate wins praise on first solo engagement

 At her wedding, the Prince of Wales is said to have told guests that she was "the daughter he never had".

So it was fitting that the Duchess of Cambridge stepped in for her new father-in-law when he had to drop out of an official engagement this week.

The heir to the throne had travelled to Riyadh to present his condolences to the Saudi Royal Family following the death of the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia.

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In his absence from the Clarence House reception, Kate was the epitome of a gracious hostess, looking typically elegant in a floor-length aqua evening gown that showed off her statuesque figure.

A St James's Palace spokesman said: ''The Duchess of Cambridge was delighted to be able to step in for her father-in-law, The Prince of Wales, to celebrate the work of In Kind Direct at the dinner.''

''She was so pleased that her first solo engagement was for the Prince of Wales, who has shown her so much support over the years.''

The soiree was for In Kind Direct, the charity founded by Charles in 1996 to redistributes surplus goods from manufacturers and retailers to charities.

Chief executive Robin Boles: "We were delighted that the Duchess was able to step in at such short notice after our founder was unexpectedly called away.

"The Duchess hosted a very special evening with absolute professionalism and charm."

Dancing out for Duchess of Alba after she breaks hip

The world saw her dancing with delight on her wedding day.

But twinkle-toed activities are off the agenda for the billionaire Duchess of Alba for the foreseeable future.

The Spanish aristocrat has broken her hip bone after falling at her ancestral home, Las Dueñas Palace.

Cayetana Fitz-James Stuart y Silva, 85, had to cancel a promotional event on Wednesday for her memoirs, I, Cayetana after the accident.

The head of the book's publishing company assured journalists that the duchess was well and had returned to her residence after spending the morning in hospital.

Doctors have ordered complete rest as she recovers.

The much-loved duchess wed civil servant Alfonso Diez – who is, at 61, 24 years her junior – on October 2.

Before settling into married life together in Las Dueñas, the couple honeymooned in France.

They were spotted taking a romantic stroll around Eugénie-les-Bains, in the Lands department in the south-west of the country.

The pair were guests at an famed spa resort owned by renowned French chef Michel Guérard.

Cayetana and her new husband also planned to celebrate their newly-married status with a Trip to Thailand, but their plans will have to wait until she has recovered.

In the meantime Alfonso continues looking for work.

"When he finds a job he likes, he will love living in Sevilla," the duchess told HELLO! magazine's sister publication HOLA! when asked about how her husband was finding the relocation from Madrid.

"Maybe (he will work) in something to do with art, as he knows a lot about it."

The civil servant left his job in the Ministry of Employment in Madrid before the couple's wedding.

'Delighted' Billie Piper expecting baby number two

Billie Piper and husband Laurence Fox are expecting their second child.

The actress is 15 weeks pregnant.

Billie didn't made the announcement herself. It was the Almeida Theatre's artistic chief Michael Attenborough who let the cat out of the bag.

She had been due to perform in Neil LaBute’s play Reasons To Be Pretty at the theatre on November 10.

He explained that the Secret Diary Of A Call Girl star "very generously offered to withdraw" from the play.

"She was upset and told me she was pregnant," he told the Daily Mail. 

"However, she was Neil LaBute's and my first choice for the part – and fortunately the character is pregnant – so with a bit of judicious re-writing we're all delighted she'll be with us." 

"I told her that I'd love her to do it and she just wept on my shoulder. She thought that was it. She was thrilled," he added. 

The couple, who married in New Year's Eve in 2007, already have a three-year-old son, Winston.