Audience stars in Britain's Last Night of Proms (Reuters)

LONDON (Reuters) – Chinese piano superstar Lang Lang wowed them, Wagnerian soprano Susan Bullock got a laugh as a "British Brunnhilde," but the stars of the Last Night of the BBC Proms were standing in the middle of the Royal Albert Hall.

The 700 or so "Prommers" who pay 5 pounds ($8) each for standing room in the cavernous, sold-out 5,000-seat oval hall on Saturday night gave almost as good a show as they got from the soloists, the BBC Symphony Orchestra conducted by Edward Gardner and the 140-strong BBC Symphony Chorus.

Sporting everything from British Union Jack vests to horned Viking helmets, and armed with a formidable array of noisemakers, flags and spluttering balloons launched in a valiant but vain attempt to reach to the hall's vertiginous ceiling, the Prommers kept up their side of the bargain for a high-spirited celebration of the end of the Proms season.

They cheered the stagehands and the musicians tuning up, and generally set the tone for an event on the musical calendar as important for some as the Wagner festival in Bayreuth or Vienna's New Year's Concert.

Nor is it just for natives or anglophiles.

Anne Bucht said she'd flown to London on short notice, and at considerable expense, from her home in Malmo, Sweden, after her daughter Amelie, married to an Englishman, called to say she'd got two tickets at the last minute.

"I waited for it for 20 years," said Bucht, who usually watches the concert on Swedish television to revel in "the joy of everyone," and because Sweden has nothing like it.

Gardner, whose podium was mischievously bedecked with coloured streamers and big, white "L" signs that learner drivers display on their cars, paid special tribute to the Prommers, some of whom queued for as long as 10 hours to buy a ticket entitling them to stand for a concert lasting at least three hours more.

"It's you, the Proms audience, that needs to have the biggest accolade. With your vociferous, passionate, sometimes unruly support you really guarantee that the Proms remain a cornerstone of our cultural identity in this country," he said to an outburst of cheering, applause and blaring noisemakers.

SEA OF UNION JACKS

The final Proms concert traditionally includes a large dollop of Britannica, including rousing audience singalong versions of Elgar's "Land of Hope and Glory," the stirring "Jerusalem" by Hubert Parry, not to mention "Rule, Britannia!" and "God Save the Queen" to end the formal programme.

Although it is a blatant celebration of Britishness, at least one Irish, one French and one American flag joined the sea of waving Union Jacks.

The first half of the concert was devoted to a heady international mix, including a new concert overture written by Sir Peter Maxwell Davies, Bartok's "Miraculous Mandarin" suite, Bullock singing Brunnhilde's immolation scene from Wagner's "Gotterdammerung" and, in recognition of the composer's 200th birth year, Liszt's Piano Concerto No. 1.

Soloist Lang Lang, whose latest CD is called "Liszt - My Piano Hero," put all his stunning technique, plus the dramatic body language for which he is famous, into a performance that Liszt, who practically invented the concept of showman, probably would have applauded.

But it was Bullock, the daughter of a policeman who hauled home a junked piano that spurred his daughter into a career in music, who brought down the house in her show-stopping, and previously secret, "British Brunnhilde" outfit featuring a red-white-and-blue winged helmet, a huge red rose on a white shield and a spear that shot off a shower of confetti.

"There's so much depressing stuff going on around us all the time that I think on one Saturday night in the year people should come together and have a good old singsong and join hands and have fun and just celebrate for a change," she told Reuters in an interview the day before the concert, which was her first appearance at the Last Night of the Proms.

(Writing by Michael Roddy; Editing by Jonathan Thatcher)

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Yacht party on eve of Britain's second royal wedding (AFP)

EDINBURGH (AFP) – Queen Elizabeth II's eldest granddaughter Zara Phillips and her fiance Mike Tindall threw a party on a yacht Friday on the eve of their wedding, with Prince William and wife Catherine among the guests.

Phillips and England rugby star Tindall hosted drinks on the Royal Yacht Britannia after a wedding rehearsal for Saturday's service in Edinburgh, which they ended with a brief kiss outside the church to the delight of well-wishers.

Among guests arriving at the party was Catherine, wearing a mid-length green dress, who headed up the red-carpeted steps followed by husband William, second in line to the throne, wearing a blue suit and red tie.

They are attending the wedding just three months after their own marriage on April 29, which drew worldwide attention.

Prince Harry, William's younger brother, was last to arrive at the yacht, bouncing up the steps two at a time and entering the party to a huge cheer.

Phillips, wearing a white one-shoulder dress with a blue print design, and Tindall mingled with guests on the outside decking area of the ship during the two-hour party, as a live band played and waiters served champagne and canapes.

The older generation of Britain's royal family was absent, with no sign of the queen, her husband Prince Philip or William's father Prince Charles and his wife Camilla.

The yacht, permanently moored in Edinburgh's port of Leith, served the royal family for 44 years, carrying them on 968 official voyages all around the world before it was decommissioned in 1997.

Phillips' parents, Princess Anne and Captain Mark Phillips, honeymooned on the ship, cruising the Caribbean in 1973.

The queen adored the yacht and wept in public for the first time when it was retired.

Before the party, former eventing world champion Phillips and rugby World Cup winner Tindall arrived at Edinburgh's 17th century Canongate Kirk in a chauffeur-driven Jaguar for one last run-through of the service.

The couple, both dressed in jeans, spent about 50 minutes inside, along with the Reverend Neil Gardner, who will conduct the ceremony, and Tindall's best man Iain Balshaw, his former Bath and England colleague.

At William and Catherine's wedding, more than a million people lined the streets of London and an estimated two billion more watched on television.

Phillips' wedding, a much more intimate affair, is not being televised but filming equipment was seen being moved into the church.

Canongate Kirk holds up to 400 people and is about 400 metres away from the Palace of Holyroodhouse, the monarch's official residence in Scotland, where the reception will be held.

The last royal wedding in Scotland was that of Anne and her second husband Timothy Laurence.

They married in 1992 at Crathie Kirk near Balmoral, the queen's private estate in Scotland.

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Britain's "Rehab" singer Amy Winehouse dies aged 27 (Reuters)

LONDON (Reuters) – Amy Winehouse, one of the most talented singers of her generation whose hit song "Rehab" summed up her struggles with addiction, died in London on Saturday at the age of 27.

The Grammy winner, famed for her black beehive hair, soulful voice and erratic behavior on and off stage, was found dead at her new home in Camden a month after a shambolic performance in Serbia forced her to cancel her entire European tour.

Police were called to the address at around 1500 GMT and nearly five hours later the body was removed for a post mortem after it appeared she had lost her battle with drink and drugs.

"Inquiries continue into the circumstances of the death," said police superintendent Raj Kohli. "At this early stage it is being treated as unexplained and there have been no arrests in connection with the incident."

He said reports that Winehouse had died of a suspected drugs overdose were speculation at this stage.

Family members had long warned that Winehouse's lifestyle, which saw her in and out of rehab and blighted her career as a live and recording artist, could be her downfall.

Her last filmed performance was in Serbia in June, when Winehouse was jeered by the crowd as she struggled to perform her songs and stay upright. On some tunes, the audience did most of the singing.

The gig, posted on the YouTube video sharing site, prompted her management to cancel all scheduled performances and give the performer as long as it took to recover.

Winehouse's record label Universal said in a statement: "We are deeply saddened at the sudden loss of such a gifted musician, artist and performer. Our prayers go out to Amy's family, friends and fans at this difficult time."

Around 50 shocked fans and onlookers as well as camera crews and photographers gathered behind police tape blocking off the leafy street where Winehouse had just moved into a new house.

A few left flowers, candles and a teddy bear. One note of condolence read: "Beautiful Amy, night night, sleep tight."

"BACK TO BLACK"

The British singer was discovered by soul singer Tyler James at the age of 16 and in 2003 her debut album "Frank" was released, to general acclaim.

Her second album "Back to Black" was released in October 2006 and reached the No. 1 spot in Britain and earned her five Grammy awards, pop music's equivalent of the Oscars.

The album produced a string of memorable tunes, including "You Know I'm No Good," "Love Is a Losing Game" and "Rehab," which contained the line: "They tried to make me go to rehab. I said 'no, no, no.'"

Born on September 14, 1983, to a Jewish family with a history of jazz musicians, Winehouse's personal life has filled Britain's tabloid newspapers.

Winehouse was photographed wandering the streets of London barefoot and in only a bra and jeans in 2007 looking confused, the same year she married Blake Fielder-Civil who spent time in prison for beating up a pub landlord. They divorced in 2009.

In 2008, the singer's father Mitch said she had developed the lung condition emphysema and warned it could kill her if she continued to smoke drugs.

Mitch, a taxi driver who launched his own musical career on the back of his daughter's success, was in New York when the news broke. British media said he was on his way back to London.

Tributes poured in for an artist whose personal troubles stole the headlines in recent years and thwarted plans for an eagerly-anticipated third album.

Soccer star and celebrity David Beckham told Sky News: "It's very sad, she was such a talented girl, and a girl with such a huge future. Our hearts go out to her family, her loved ones."

Sarah Brown, wife of former prime minister Gordon Brown, tweeted: "sad sad news of Amy Winehouse - great talent, extraordinary voice, and tragic death, condolences to her family."

Kelly Osbourne, a singer and television personality, also took to the micro blogging site, writing: "i cant even breath right now im crying so hard i just lost 1 of my best friends. i love you forever Amy & will never forget the real you!"

"RICH, SOULFUL VOICE"

The Recording Academy in the United States praised the singer, who brought elements of jazz and Motown back into the musical mainstream.

"Her rich, soulful and unique voice reflected her honest songwriting and earned her a devoted fan following, critical acclaim, and the genuine respect and admiration of her musical peers," said its president Neil Portnow.

Broadcaster and radio DJ Paul Gambaccini said Winehouse's early death was sadly no surprise.

"We have been dreading this news for some time, hoping against hope that she would turn herself around, but she showed no evidence of being able to do so," he told BBC TV.

"She just could not control herself. It's tragic because both (her) albums were superb. We have 40 years of Frank Sinatra records, it turns out we only have two Amy Winehouse records."

Daniel Rossellat, founder of the Paleo Festival in Nyon, Switzerland, where Winehouse had been due to perform before withdrawing from the tour, likened her to Janis Joplin, another gifted singer who died at the age of 27.

"It is the tragic end to a wonderful voice, similar to Janis Joplin both in destiny and in voice," he told Swiss television.

Singer Billy Bragg wrote on his Twitter page that Winehouse joined not only Joplin but also Jimi Hendrix, Jim Morrison and Kurt Cobain -- who all died at the same age.

(Additional reporting by Stephanie Nebehay in Geneva, editing by Peter Millership)

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Britain's princess Kate wows Canada (AFP)

CHARLOTTETOWN, Canada (AFP) – With her ready, warm smile and slender, elegant figure, Catherine has made a dazzling public debut as a royal seducing Canadian crowds on her first official visit with Prince William.

But royal watchers sense a bit of tension too.

From the Duchess of Cambridge's arrival in the capital Ottawa to Charlottetown on the Atlantic Coast, chants of "We love you Kate" seem louder than for the prince as the newlyweds step onto the international stage.

Full of pomp and ceremony, the trip comes just two months after a radiant Kate Middleton walked down the aisle in the wedding of the year, watched by two billion people worldwide.

Part of her attraction may be the lure of the Cinderella story: William was born to ascend to the British throne, but Kate's rise from commoner to future queen is perhaps proof that fairytales can come true.

"We've come to see her," said Marley MacCuaig, the five-year-old girl who was lucky enough to present the duchess with a bouquet of flowers during a walkabout in Quebec City, and told her idol, "I want to be a princess."

The same scenes have played out at every stop on the nine-day royal tour.

According to experts, or "royal watchers," Catherine has remained cool, showing no outward signs of nerves despite the cauldron-like atmosphere of public walkabouts.

Only once did the duchess briefly appear nervous as she watched her husband take the controls of a military helicopter to carry out emergency water landing drills on a Prince Edward Island lake.

And after smiling broadly and exchanging polite banter as she shook hands with an enthusiastic crowd for longer than intended at Canada's War Memorial in Ottawa, the duchess slipped into a car and rested her head on William's shoulder.

"It was a gesture that said: 'well, we got through that one,'" said the British newspaper The Times.

The lasting impression is a mixture of spontaneity and professionalism in the couple's gestures, as well as tiny moments of tenderness such as William's reassuring glances or when he stroked his wife's back as she spoke with gravely ill children at a Montreal hospital cancer unit.

"The underlying message is that none of this is easy. It is not easy coping with the constant intrusion of the media, not easy trying to come up with endless small talk for the hundreds of strangers she meets every day, not easy always being on show with a happy smile and an easy manner," opined Times correspondent Valentine Low.

In accordance with Buckingham Palace's protocol, the duchess will not make any public statements during this trip. In private moments, she also focuses on easy topics with the crowds of well-wishers.

A Huron chief welcomed her to Quebec City as the couple disembarked from a navy frigate and Catherine pressed him about the type of feathers used to make his headdress -- wild turkey feathers.

Her warm interest left him convinced that she would like to visit his village sometime soon in the future.

She has also taken care with her wardrobe, exhibiting the same easy fashion sense and grace with which she has already made a mark.

Her outfits have been perfectly matched to the events: Canadian colors red and white for a celebration of Canada's national holiday, a navy blue vest for a visit to a Coast Guard ship.

The elegant Catherine, standing tall in her stylish high heels, and Prince William stand out from afar despite their entourage and crowds of well-wishers.

And the visit has gone a long way toward boosting the image of Britain's future king and queen.

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Britain's Prince Philip praised at 90th birthday service (AFP)

WINDSOR, United Kingdom (AFP) – Britain's royal family gathered Sunday for a service of thanksgiving marking the 90th birthday of Queen Elizabeth II's husband Prince Philip.

More than 750 guests, including senior royals, his Mountbatten family relatives, foreign royalty, past and present staff and friends from the world of sailing, polo and carriage driving turned out to celebrate his milestone.

The Duke of Edinburgh, the longest-serving consort in British history, turned 90 on Friday and marked the occasion in idiosyncratic style -- getting on with his duties as he hosted a charity reception and a colonels' conference.

Sunday's service at Saint George's Chapel in Windsor Castle, west of London, was the focal point for his birthday commemorations.

His grandson Prince William and his new wife Catherine, the Duchess of Cambridge, braved the rain to attend, as did the former king Constantine II of Greece.

The Dean of Windsor, the Right Reverend David Conner, made the congregation laugh when he told them the duke, born a prince of Greece and Denmark, "doesn't like to the praised".

But he said praise was due for the royal patriarch, who for more than six decades has been the queen's tireless supporter.

The dean paid tribute to Prince Philip's service to Britain and the wider Commonwealth, his patronage of more than 800 organisations and his "modest" nature.

The duke, known for his plain-speaking, received a new title for his 90th birthday Friday.

The queen made him Lord High Admiral -- the titular head of the British Royal Navy -- partly in recognition of the promising seafaring career he gave up to spend a lifetime at her side.

Prince Philip told the BBC he would finally scale back his workload.

"I reckon I've done my bit. I want to enjoy myself a bit now, with less responsibility, less frantic rushing about, less preparation, less trying to think of something to say," he said.

"On top of that my memory's going, I can't remember names. I'm just sort of winding down."

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The exit factor: Britain's sweetheart dumped in US (AP)

LONDON — In northeastern England they say she's a canny lass — and maybe that's the problem.

British sweetheart Cheryl Cole has reportedly been dumped from U.S. television, and tabloid media say she lost her big break in part over fears American audiences wouldn't understand her regional accent or the phrases unique to her corner of Britain.

Cole, whose rags-to-riches showbiz story has captivated her country, had been expected to appear as a judge on Simon Cowell's "The X Factor" due to premiere in the United States later this year. But on Friday Britain's tabloids announced the 27-year-old had been removed as a judge, and her official status with the program, which has already started shooting, remains unclear.

Ann-Marie Thomson, public relations chief for Cowell's entertainment company, declined comment when called by The Associated Press. But Sinitta Malone, a guest presenter on the British version of "X Factor," told ITV television that Cowell and Cole were in talks "trying to sort something out."

Whatever happens, Cole's absence would dent her dreams of graduating to American — and international — celebrity. It's an ambition that seemed widely shared by her fans, and indeed by Britain's tabloid media, which have treated her with unusual deference over the years.

Born Cheryl Tweedy, Cole has long been dubbed the nation's sweetheart, a description that owes much to her inspiring rise from a gritty public housing estate in the northeastern England city of Newcastle. Her parents, who never married, split up when she was 11. Her brother was addicted to sniffing glue. Cole herself was expelled from school twice before leaving at 16.

But she had good looks and a good voice. After auditioning for "X Factor"-forerunner "Popstars The Rivals," she was placed in pop group Girls Aloud, which went on to score a string of hits.

Her successful solo career, a marriage to soccer player Ashley Cole and a job judging contestants on the U.K. "X Factor" cemented her stardom.

"It's important that she came through a talent show," said Sanna Inthorn, a professor of media and politics at the University of East Anglia, in eastern England. "The people made her, they chose her, they championed her."

Questions about her accent have been around as long as the idea of moving Cole to the United States.

Cole speaks with what's known in the U.K. as a Geordie accent. Particular to Newcastle, many from the region use words such as "bairn" instead of "child," "hinny" instead of "woman," and "me" instead of "my." Intonation tends to rise at the end of sentences, while vowel sounds tend to shift in such as way that the word "brown" ends up sounding more like "brune."

Finally there's a liberal helping of words such as "pet," "lass" and "like" — many on display as a kindly Cole guided contestants through the British version of "The X Factor."

Inthorn said that Cole's way of speaking was critical to her image as a caring, compassionate working-class girl-made-good.

"Her regional accent is very important," Inthorn said. "'Geordie' — that is itself a kind of endearing term, (suggesting) a down-to-earth, real person who speaks from the heart."

Cole has kept the emphasis on her homey image in the United States, telling American journalists in Los Angeles that "I miss me friends, me family, me tea and me soaps." After reporters were left confused about what kind of soap she was talking about — she meant soap operas — she was asked whether she'd considered changing her accent to suit an American audience.

"I would never, ever change how I speak," she said.

Inthorn said she was confident Cole could recover from the rebuff. "She could come back here and resume her career — because she's been misunderstood by Americans. She's coming back to her true roots," she said.

___

Online:

Hear Geordie for yourself on the British Library's website: http://www.bl.uk/learning/langlit/sounds/case-studies/geordie/

____

Raphael G. Satter can be reached at: http://twitter.com/razhael

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Britain's super-rich get even richer: list (AFP)

LONDON (AFP) – Britain's richest people got collectively wealthier by 18 percent as the rest of the country weathered harsh government cuts, according to an annual list published Sunday.

Indian-born steel tycoon Lakshmi Mittal retained the top spot in The Sunday Times Rich List for a seventh straight year, despite seeing about ?5 billion ($8 billion, 5.7 billion euros) wiped off his fortune.

The 1,000 richest people in Britain saw their wealth continue to bounce back from the recession and increase to a collective fortune of ?395.8 billion.

The number of billionaires in Britain now stands at 73 -- up from 53 last year and almost matching the record of 75 set in the list of 2008 before the financial crisis. Forty are British-born.

Russian businessman Alisher Usmanov moved from sixth position to second spot in the list after adding ?7.7 billion to his fortune, which is now worth ?12.4 billion.

Usmanov owns a large stake in Russian iron and steel firm Metalloinvest and recently courted controversy in Britain by trying to build up a controlling stake in English football giants Arsenal.

His bid was thwarted last month when US sports tycoon Stan Kroenke took control of the Premier League side.

Meanwhile the fortune of Mittal, the London-based head of ArcelorMittal, the world's largest steel maker, fell by around 22 percent to ?17.5 billion in the past 12 months, the biggest drop on this year's list.

The huge fall in the 60-year-old's wealth was driven by a plunge in the share price of ArcelorMittal as the global steel industry struggled to cope with costly raw materials and slow demand.

The highest new female entry is Chinese businesswoman Xiuli Hawken, 48, who made her fortune converting underground military shelters in China into underground shopping malls. She was ranked 61st, with a fortune of ?1.06 billion. She lives in London.

Another new female entry is Mary Perkins, who founded the chain of glasses shops, Specsavers, with her husband Douglas. Their wealth has increased 42 percent since last year and stands at ?1.15 billion.

The increased wealth comes as most of the country faces harsh austerity measures introduced by the coalition government to cut Britain's record deficit.

The list, which is for those who have Britain as their home or main base of operations, is based on identifiable wealth such as land, property or significant shares in publicly quoted companies, and excludes bank accounts.

- Britain's top 10 billionaires in The Sunday Times Rich List 2011 (last year's rank in brackets):

1. Lakshmi Mittal -- steel -- ?17.514 billion (1st)

2. Alisher Usmanov -- steel -- ?12.4 billion (6th)

3. Roman Abramovich -- oil, industry -- ?10.3 billion (2nd)

4. The Duke of Westminster -- property -- ?7 billion (3rd)

5. Ernesto and Kirsty Bertarelli -- pharmaceuticals -- ?6.87 billion (4th)

6. Leonard Blavatnik -- industry -- ?6.237 billion (15th)

7. John Fredriksen and family -- shipping -- ?6.2 billion (16th)

8. David and Simon Reuben -- property, Internet -- ?6.176 billion (5th)

9. Gopi and Sri Hinduja -- industry, finance -- ?6 billion (new)

9. Galen and George Weston -- retailing -- ?6 billion (7th)

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