Queen Victoria

A new queen is visiting Los Angeles this winter: The Queen Victoria ocean liner. This sedate and oh-so-British Cunard Line vessel, which called Jan. 30 in L.A., will return Feb. 13 for a four-night round trip to Ensenada, Mexico . Her other 2011 sailings from here will be longer. Among them is a 14-night round trip to Hawaii that departs Feb. 17; a 15-night Panama Canal cruise that departs March 3 and ends in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.; a 42-night cruise that extends the March 3 itinerary to other ports in the Caribbean, Portugal and other destinations, ending in England ; and another 14-night round trip to Hawaii, which departs Dec. 21. Art Sbarsky, a correspondent  for Cruise Week , an industry newsletter, who sailed on the the Queen Victoria en route to the West Coast, filed a report this week that said, in part:     "This is a decidedly classy, quiet, elegant ship that attracts an older audience with virtually no kids.

LONDON (AP) — A small town that honored British soldiers killed in Afghanistan as their bodies were returned home received a royal title Sunday for its compassion — the first such honor granted to a town in over 100 years. Princess Anne delivered the Letters Patent — official documents from her mother Queen Elizabeth II — to the town of Wootton Bassett, giving it official permission to change its name to Royal Wootton Bassett. The bodies of soldiers killed in Afghanistan used to be repatriated to the RAF Lyneham airbase near Wootton Bassett, 85 miles (135 kilometers)

A pair of Queen Victoria's bloomers, with a 50-inch waist, were snapped up for $9,000 by a Canadian buyer at a central England auction. The handmade knickers -- which date to the 1890s -- bear the monogram "VR" for Victoria Regina. The royal drawers belonged to a family in western England whose ancestor was a lady-in-waiting for the queen, who was said to be 5 feet tall. Also up for auction was Queen Victoria's chemise, with a 66-inch bust. It sold for $8,000. Her nightgown sold for $11,000.

Her Majesty the Queen apparently is a fan of the charming Fairmont Empress hotel in Victoria, Canada. Named after Queen Victoria, her great-great-grandmother and empress of India, Queen Elizabeth II has visited the regal British Columbia landmark six times during her nearly 60-year reign. In her honor, the hotel has a set of fine china created exclusively for use during royal visits. That exclusivity, however, is about to disappear. For three evenings, April 29 and 30, and May 1, commoners will be able to dine on the posh china in the Empress Room.

England's Queen Victoria is most often remembered as a dour, elderly widow whose long reign came to symbolize steadfastness and middle-class sensibility. Now Buckingham Palace is showing a different side of the monarch as part of a special exhibition that opens today on the role music has played for more than 250 years in the palace. The exhibition reveals the queen as a vivacious young woman who loved to dance.

Queen Mary, meet Queen Victoria . That's pretty much how the introduction would go if these two Cunard ships -- one docked in Long Beach, one on its way to the Panama Canal -- could speak. Instead, the ships  will exchange a whistle salute amid fireworks when they "meet"  Thursday in Long Beach Harbor. Admission to the Queen Mary, usually $24.95 plus tax for adults, will be free to mark what Cunard calls a "royal rendezvous. " Queen Victoria is expected to sail into Long Beach Harbor between 5:30 and 6:15 p.m. and rendezvous with its sister ship between 6:15 and 6:45 p.m. The ship opens to visitors for free at 10 a.m.; guided tours and dining, however, are not free.

Victoria was queen of England for more than 63 years, and she'll be ruling the roost until the end of April at the presidential library in Simi Valley, where a world-class exhibit explains her amazing story. "Queen Victoria: Powerful Ruler of a Mighty Empire," on exhibit at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library, marks the centennial of the monarch's death.

Toward the end of Queen Victoria's 64-year reign, an elderly English gentlewoman attended a performance of the tempestuous Sarah Bernhardt in "Antony and Cleopatra." When the final curtain was rung down, the old lady turned to her companion and said: "How different, how very different, from the home life of our dear Queen." The monarch who came to symbolize traditional family values and middle-class morality grew up under conditions that today's social workers would find disturbingly familiar.

The grieving Queen Victoria was so overcome by the memorial to her late husband that his bronze effigy was hidden, like some enormous caged parrot, under a black drape whenever she passed. More than a century later, his Royal Highness Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha is under wraps again. But this time, to the dismay of many Londoners, his renowned Gothic canopied memorial in fashionable Kensington is to stay hidden until the 21st Century.

If you go Queen Victoria's current world cruise ends in April. The next cruise begins Jan. 5. Info: (800) 728-6273, www.cunard.com. From September through April, most cruise lines offers Panama Canal trips, either full transits or partial transits, the latter turning in Gatun Lake and leaving the way they entered.

Queen Mary, meet Queen Victoria . That's pretty much how the introduction would go if these two Cunard ships -- one docked in Long Beach, one on its way to the Panama Canal -- could speak. Instead, the ships  will exchange a whistle salute amid fireworks when they "meet"  Thursday in Long Beach Harbor. Admission to the Queen Mary, usually $24.95 plus tax for adults, will be free to mark what Cunard calls a "royal rendezvous. " Queen Victoria is expected to sail into Long Beach Harbor between 5:30 and 6:15 p.m. and rendezvous with its sister ship between 6:15 and 6:45 p.m. The ship opens to visitors for free at 10 a.m.; guided tours and dining, however, are not free.

A new queen is visiting Los Angeles this winter: The Queen Victoria ocean liner. This sedate and oh-so-British Cunard Line vessel, which called Jan. 30 in L.A., will return Feb. 13 for a four-night round trip to Ensenada, Mexico . Her other 2011 sailings from here will be longer. Among them is a 14-night round trip to Hawaii that departs Feb. 17; a 15-night Panama Canal cruise that departs March 3 and ends in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.; a 42-night cruise that extends the March 3 itinerary to other ports in the Caribbean, Portugal and other destinations, ending in England ; and another 14-night round trip to Hawaii, which departs Dec. 21. Art Sbarsky, a correspondent  for Cruise Week , an industry newsletter, who sailed on the the Queen Victoria en route to the West Coast, filed a report this week that said, in part:     "This is a decidedly classy, quiet, elegant ship that attracts an older audience with virtually no kids.

Costume design "The Young Victoria" Sandy Powell Upon accepting her third Oscar in this category, Powell deadpanned, "I already have two of these, so I feel greedy." The British costume designer created the royal couture for the court of Queen Victoria circa 1837. For inspiration, Powell consulted the archives at Kensington Palace, where she studied some of the actual clothing worn by the monarch during her youth. She subsequently created her own designs for the historical romance.

Abraham Lincoln Vampire Hunter Seth Grahame-Smith Grand Central: 336 pp., $21.99 Queen Victoria Demon Hunter A.E. Moorat Eos/HarperCollins: 376 pp., $14.99 paper

If you go Queen Victoria's current world cruise ends in April. The next cruise begins Jan. 5. Info: (800) 728-6273, www.cunard.com. From September through April, most cruise lines offers Panama Canal trips, either full transits or partial transits, the latter turning in Gatun Lake and leaving the way they entered.

Emily Blunt has a suggestion for all those sticklers who demand real history in their film biographies. "Watch the History Channel if you want it literal and historically perfect." The star of "The Young Victoria" was reacting to some of the quibbling of British critics about the film, which is enjoying much better reviews in Australia and the United States than it did when it opened in Queen Victoria's native land. Gripes about this invention (the queen's husband taking a bullet for her)

Lucy Askew, 114, oldest woman in Britain. Born in 1883, Askew lived under the reign of six monarchs, from Queen Victoria to Queen Elizabeth II. The deeply religious Askew never married. She had remained healthy until she died in her sleep. Askew's younger brother Frank died earlier this year at 100. On Tuesday in London.

We also traveled on the Queen Victoria's 16-day voyage over the Christmas and New Year's holidays. Beverly Beyette's review ["New Queen Holds Court," Jan. 20] was too kind. The stomach virus was rampant in England. The hand sanitizer appeared too late. The crew was miserable and rude. This was the worst cruise we have ever taken. Jose Ruelas Culver City

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