Charles Has Now Waited Longest to Ascend Throne

US president, first lady welcomed at Buckingham Palace

(NEWSER) - The Obamas were grandly received at Buckingham Palace today, greeted by a 41-gun salute as Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip welcomed them to London. Earlier in the day, the president and first lady had a chance to meet with Prince Charles and wife Camilla, as well as newlyweds Prince William and wife Kate—and the Obamas are even staying in the same suite Wills and Kate used on their wedding night. According to the AP , royal watchers say the queen took a liking to the Obamas after their 2009 visit, during which the first lady famously touched the royal back . Click for more pictures, and details on what all the ladies wore . More»

Who is the nicest, who's the fussiest, and who never picks up his clothes

(NEWSER) - Who is the fussiest member of the British royal family? Where is the secret closet in Buckingham Palace for private drinks? Who can swim in the royal pool? These secrets and more are revealed in the Daily Mail's excerpts of the new book Not in Front of the Corgis (it's been released in Britain, but you'll have to wait for it to hit shelves in the United States). Among the revelations:

• The Prince of Wales gets his shoelaces ironed by his valet every time his shoes come off.

Bill also increases public audits to royal family's expenses

(NEWSER) - God might save the queen, but not from budget cuts and the government peeking at her checkbook, reports the Telegraph. The belt-tightening and increased transparency will ensure "value for money" for the royal institution, proponents say; others contend the changes will attack the dignity of monarchy. Under the Sovereign Grant Bill, announced yesterday, the Crown's finances will face audits like any other branch of government. The queen's financing system will also change, so now it will get about 15% of profits from public property owned by the state, amounting to about $56 million per year—an estimated 9% cut by 2015. More»

Annual Trooping the Colour ceremony salutes official birthday

(NEWSER) - Another British occasion, another display of crazy hats: London today rolled out the redcoats and bear-skin hats to fete Queen Elizabeth's 85th birthday—even though it's not her 85th birthday. The annual Trooping the Color ceremony, which dates from 1748, is held on a Saturday in June, when the weather is ostensibly better than the queen's real birthday, April 21. Catherine, the royal clan's newest duchess, nevertheless warded off the chill with a tartan blanket, notes the AP, whilst Prince William rode in the parade in the same Irish Guards uniform in which he married her. More»

The Windsors are pretty wacky, says Christopher Hitchens

(NEWSER) - For those salivating over every bit of cake or gown drivel that oozes out of the royal wedding, Christopher Hitchens is here to rain on your parade. The "constitutional absurdity" (ie, monarchy) is getting ready to claim its latest victim, he writes in Slate, and Kate Middleton had best consider the spectacularly dysfunctional family she's marrying into:

• Queen Elizabeth: Praised for her "stoicism and a certain integrity," she really "refused to allow her younger sister Margaret to marry the man she loved and had chosen, and she let her authoritarian husband have charge of the education of her eldest son." Both to "gruesome" results.