The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge are expecting a baby - bit.ly/11GYnaj

— Clarence House (@ClarenceHouse) December 3, 2012

For all my followers who believe this is some kind of spoof account, here's a photo to prove that it is me. #royalbaby twitter.com/IamRoyalBaby/s…

— Royal Baby (@IamRoyalBaby) December 3, 2012

Any chance of the first interview @royalfoetus ?

— Piers Morgan (@piersmorgan) December 3, 2012

Well, that didn't take long. Minutes after Buckingham Palace confirmed that the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge are expecting, spoof Twitter accounts popped up including @IAmRoyalBaby and in an Atlantic-spanning move, @royalfetus and @royalfoetus. The British Monarchy was not amused, as the former account was swiftly suspended, despite an interview request by CNN's Piers Morgan. (Never mind: @IAmRoyalBaby is back.)

Clarence House broke Kate and William's good news, which quickly spawned #royalbaby as a trending topic on Twitter. The Guardian and the BBC are covering the news in live-blogs. Also joining Twitter today in a royal blessing for the social media platform: @pontifex, the official account for the Vatican's iPad-handy pontiff, Pope Benedict.

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For decades, if not centuries, groups of men that travel together for work or pleasure have been murmuring to one another, “You keep my secrets and I’ll keep yours.”

It was only 12 years ago that marketing firm R&R Partners borrowed the idea and came up with “What Happens in Vegas, Stays in Vegas,” which has so firmly lodged itself into popular culture that it’s hard to remember a time when the phrase didn’t exist. It’s easy to think that Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin were using it back in the mid-‘60s or certainly the larger-than-life Elvis using it during his jumpsuited years there in the early ‘70s.

The phrase certainly suggests that visitors to the city go right ahead and toss whatever inhibitions they may have aside, and so plenty of folks have followed suit. You’ve got O.J. Simpson and a few pals breaking in on some sports-memorabilia peddlers. You’ve got Tiger Woods hooking up with mistresses. You’ve got Paris Hilton getting nabbed for cocaine possession.

And then Prince Harry, third in line to take over for Queen Elizabeth II, went and played some strip billiards with some gals he just met. Continue reading...

As the UK stops all the clocks to celebrate the Diamond Jubilee — yes, the Queen of England has been wielding her Royal Tea Cozy for 60 years now — don’t think the Brits don’t know how to celebrate. There was a 1,000 boat river pageant on Sunday, and a star-studded concert on Monday.

From a McQueen fit for a future Queen to jubilant Marmite to Cadbury's Dairy Milk to much, much more, there's one subtle branded tribute that actually comes from an American brand. The city of London now boasts a new lighting system across its Tower Bridge that went live in time for the Diamond Jubilee celebrations. The lights burn a particular "diamond" color to help pay respects to Her Royal Highness.Continue reading...

Marmite is considered a yeasty feast by some, and ick-inducing goo by others, but love it ior hate it: the iconic British brand has earned a reputation worldwide since its conception in 1902. 

Marking its 110th anniversary this year, Marmite is tipping its cap to another iconic British brand celebrating a major milestone this year: Queen Elizabeth, who celebrates 60 years on the throne at her Diamond Jubilee on June 5th.Continue reading...

The closure of the News of the World on Sunday wasn't the end of Rupert Murdoch's media woes.

The homepage of the Guardian (above) shows the latest revelations in the phone-hacking scandal, which has widened to include other Murdoch-owned titles and additional targets, including former British prime minister Gordon Brown (and his family), the Royal Family (with Prince Charles' phone calls to now-wife Camilla believed to be hacked), and the news that News Corp. has withdrawn its plan to spin off Sky News as part of its $12 billion bid to assume control of BSkyB.

That BSkyB bid now faces a potential six-month review in the wake of fresh allegations including the attempted hacking of British 9/11 victims' cellphones to retrieve their final frantic messages, and the revelation by Scotland Yard that Murdoch's Sun reporters ferreted out details about Gordon Brown's disabled son from his medical records, among other crimes.Continue reading...

As Prince William and Kate Middleton prepare for their April 29th nuptials, the couple unveiled a website that's refreshingly free of pomp and glitz, and seeks to invite the public to participate through social features, video and newsy updates.

Bearing the URL of OfficialRoyalWedding2011.org, the site incorporates videos from the official royal YouTube channel, Twitter comments tagged with #rw2011, a link to ye olde Facebooke page, Flickr photos tagged #rw2011, and news updates (if not blog posts) with tags. 

The site invites visitors to check out virtual tours of Buckingham Palace, travel information for London (which directs to the government's more staid official royal wedding website). There's even info on the members of the wedding party, and a link to Royal Doulton's official wedding china. Reuters reports that Middleton's dress (and its designer) will be revealed on the site on the day of the wedding.

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