Kate Middleton

This post has been corrected. See note at bottom for details. Say it isn't so -- will unrepentant high-heel fashionista Victoria Beckham have to hang up her stilettos because of a possible slipped disc? Will her wearing flats in public represent the end of fashion as we know it? Probably not. The U.K.'s Daily Mail reports online that Beckham's friends are saying the sky-high heels she wore during her recent pregnancy may have caused a back injury. She was even photographed wearing towering Christian Louboutin heels at the wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton about 10 weeks before she gave birth to baby Harper Seven.

When it comes to understanding the British royals, no one knows their heads better than the one who cuts their hair. "The media would say, 'If you want to find out anything, just ask the hairdresser,' " said Richard Dalton, stylist to the late Princess Diana. But the media would be wrong in Dalton's case. The Dana Point resident said he never spilled a single royal secret in the 12 years he dressed Di's famous golden locks. Today, Dalton works as a consultant and wigmaker at Charles' Wigs in Laguna Beach.

SERIES How I Met Your Mother: Barney (Neil Patrick Harris) bonds with his dad (John Lithgow) in this new episode (8 p.m. CBS). Chuck: Chuck and Sarah (Zachary Levi, Yvonne Strahovski) seek help from Sarah's con-man father (Gary Cole) in this new episode (8 p.m. NBC). House: Masters (Amber Tamblyn) reaches a crossroads and must decide if she wants to be a surgeon or officially join House's (Hugh Laurie) team in this new episode (8 p.m. Fox). Hawaii Five-0: Sean Combs, a.k.a.

Was it only a year ago that sparkling commoner Kate Middleton ascended the ranks of the British royal family, marrying Prince William in a global media frenzy?  It hardly feels like it, but the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge will reach 12 months of wedded bliss come April 29, and the Ministry has some exclusive video to help you celebrate. "William & Kate: One Year Later," which airs on TLC this Sunday, recaps a whirlwind year that includes a secluded honeymoon, a revving up of royal duties, tours of Canada and Southern California and a bit of nesting in Anglesey, North Wales.

Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, has been on a sartorial roll this week in London - most recently at a gala celebrating the forthcoming Olympic Games. On the arm of husband Prince William, Duke of Cambridge, the former Kate Middleton dazzled in a teal Jenny Packham creation with a matching clutch and sweeping updo. The Friday gala, "Our Greatest Team Rises," celebrated the countrymen and women who will compete before their own come summer. "You, our Olympians and Paralympians, will inspire people up and down this country, and far beyond its borders," William told the crowd in opening remarks.  Earlier in the week, another of Kate's choices definitely inspired fashion bloggers and royal watchers, who were wowed by the cream-colored Roland Mouret dress with a high slit she wore at a Tuesday dinner for the Thirty Club of London.  Sure, Kate's sophisticated glamour is an attention stealer, but William knows how to compete: At the Olympics event, he took a jab at younger brother Prince Harry.

Prince William reportedly spent about six hours with his pregnant wife Kate on Tuesday at King Edward VII Hospital, where the duchess of Cambridge is being treated for acute morning sickness. He did not speak to the assembled media mob coming or going, but was said to have left with a smile on his face. Also visiting Kate in the afternoon were the royal gynecologist, Dr. Alan Farthing, and her primary OB/GYN, Dr. Marcus Setchell, the BBC reported . Tell us you don't love the idea of a royal gynecologist, eh?

We're carrying our own Olympic torch here at the Ministry: our burning flame for the royal-and-celebrity watch we're kicking off on the eve of the London Games.  Energized by Friday's opening ceremonies, world athletes will compete for gold medals while their famous admirers hole up in the glamorous bones of London Town, but make no mistake: This is royals country.   So what better way to drum up excitement than trotting out Great Britain's star couple: William and Kate, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge.

Prominently displayed at the Princess Diana exhibit at the Queen Mary last week was a rack of diaphanous dresses, copies of the one Kate Middleton was modeling when she caught Diana's elder son's attention. The flimsy strapless knit was designed as an overskirt. But at the insistence of organizers of the charity function where she appeared, Middleton wore it over undergarments. Now married to a prince, Middleton has retreated to a more chaste look. But the dresses, and the teasing placard that accompanied them, show how far we have come from the days when Diana "shocked the world" in a low-cut black strapless frock entirely appropriate to a beautiful 19-year-old woman on the verge of becoming a princess.

Kate and Wills got married Friday -- not. Rather, look-alikes of the royal couple publicly "wed" Friday in London during an elaborate launch of a new satirical photo book, "Kate & Wills Up the Aisle: A Right Royal Fairy Tale" by Alison Jackson. A story in London's Daily Mirror says Jackson uses look-alikes in the book "to create paparazzi-style pictures of celebrities in risque poses. " Risque aside, to me there's something appealing about the idea of the royals dining at a KFC among their subjects.

As devoted royal watchers, the Ministry was thrilled with Monday's news that the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge are expecting their first child.  The only thing that would make Will and Kate more lovable would be teeny Will-and-Kate's.  Though the palace says the duchess' pregnancy is in its early stages , here are five things to look forward to as she carries the next in line for the House of Windsor:  1. Maternity fashion ...