It was one of his mother's favourite cities, so it's little wonder that Prince Harry's first official visit to the city was met with enthusiasm by New Yorkers. What perhaps is surprising, though, is the aplomb with which Harry pulled off his two day solo visit.

 

Fairly or unfairly Harry has been cast in various roles over the past few years. There's 'party Harry' and 'soldier Harry'. 'Party Harry' we're all familiar with: spilling out of nightclubs at 3am, the extra long 'gap' year and the polo parties. Don't get me wrong, many of us have been there in our early 20s, but Harry's life is one lived in the spotlight. Together with Chelsy Davy, who's also fond of a good night out by all accounts, he formed half of a formidable team on the London social circuit. No crime, but they lacked William and Kate's poise and self restraint. (Can you recall Kate Middleton falling out of a club looking worse for wear? No, me neither).

 

Then, just as some had written Harry off as a party boy with no serious career prospects, he won back respect for surviving the grueling military training course at Sandhurst and completing a military stint in Afghanistan. 'Soldier Harry' was born. There have been flashes of 'party Harry' since, but it seems the tour of duty and the breakdown of his first major relationship with Chelsy Davy has made Harry grow up.

 

 

      

Which brings us back to the New York trip. Looking every inch a royal on tour, Harry showed the sense of fun and personality that made his late mother the Princess of Wales so adored and a successful ambassador for the UK. During his two-day visit, Harry squeezed in an impressive number of engagements (including trips to Ground Zero, a disadvantaged children's home, a school and a celebrity polo match - for good measure).

 

All of this activity was aimed at raising money for his children's charity in Lesotho, and is bound to improve Harry's profile. The success of solo trips such as these should also provide him with the training and experience he needs to take his place as a senior royal in the future 'slimmed down' monarchy anticipated by Prince Charles.

 I love a good awards ceremony, and there's none better than Cannes film festival. Don't get me wrong, the Oscars and the Golden Globes are still front runners on the awards season watch list, but Cannes has that something that even the Oscars can't match.

Maybe it's the sun and sea, the European glamour mixed with Hollywood royalty, or simply because even the most serious actors and directors appear to have fun at Cannes. How often do you see stars dancing up the red carpet a la Quentin Tarantino and Melanie Laurent? 

It's also one occasion where we get to see Angelina Jolie in colour - rather than the basic blacks and muted tones she favours for most of the US award shows. Like the glorious canary yellow number she wore two years ago to promote Ocean's Thirteen with Brad, or the beautiful jade coloured gown she wore last year whilst heavily pregnant. This year, Angelina channeled Veronica Lake with sleek hair and a leg-revealing Versace dress in dusky pink that draped in all the right places. To my mind these choices beat the lovely but safe black strapless gown she wore to this year's Oscars hands down.

 

Angelina wasn't the only actress looking gorgeous at Cannes this year, Indian superstar Aishwarya Rai and Spanish actress Elsa Pataky were elegant in long-trained white and black gowns. Their presence certainly injected some international glamour to the event.

However, for me at least, this year's Queen of the Croisette has to be Sharon Stone. Ms Stone looked a million dollars in a long-and-short Balmain gown that showed off her killer legs to perfection. I must admit I wasn't immediately won over by the gown when I first saw it, but it certainly grows on you. Besides, there is no denying how stunning Sharon looked in it, positively defying her 51 years. 

 

An honourable mention goes to Rob Pattinson. Yes I know, he didn't wear a gown so technically doesn't qualify, but he's just gorgeous and definitely one to watch. You might like to check out  hellomagazine.com's new Twilight blog for your Rob fix until the latest Twilight installment is released later this year.  

I was surprised when I read about Katie Price and Peter Andre's breakup. Their courtship seemed to be one made in tabloid heaven - especially given that it was carried out in plain view of the I'm a Celebrity cameras. The union seemed a happy one, though.

 

Peter appeared to be bowled over by Katie, and endearingly took to her disabled son Harvey as if he were his own. For her part, Katie seemed to soften in the relationship and began to show a side of herself very different to the out-there "Jordan" persona. After the larger-than-life fairytale wedding, two more kids, a joint album and a reality TV show, the family image the pair created - not to mention their bank balance - seemed rock solid. What could go wrong?

 

No one is really sure yet, although recent reports point to Katie getting close to a man on a night out. Perhaps Peter is acting of out jealousy and the couple will kiss and make up soon. Some friends and family certainly think so.

 

Or is it all an elaborate publicity stunt? A tad cynical perhaps, but the thought is inevitably going to come up given the way the couple have commercialised their life in recent years.

 

Call me an old romantic, but I do think Katie and Peter were (and perhaps still are?) genuinely in love. The devotion they've shown to each other, and Peter towards little Harvey, seems too sincere to be a hoax. No doubt the couple have profited out of their domestic happiness, and have shared - and bared - so much of themselves with the public over the past few years that it's easy to feel like you know them. Indeed some may argue the stress of all this publicity has contributed to the breakdown.

 

As far as I can see Katie and Peter have always been refreshingly honest about their relationship. Their reality TV programme shows them regularly bickering on camera in a way they might if there was no camera around. It makes it difficult not to find them endearing for their honesty, no matter what your opinions are about their lifestyle. Only time will tell if this row will blow over, or if it really spells the end for one of Britain's best known celebrity pairings.

It's been a big week for the Danish royal family with the birth of a fifth grandchild (and fourth grandson) for Queen Margrethe and Prince Henrik. The yet-to-be named prince was born to the Queen's second son Prince Joachim and his beautiful French-born wife Princess Marie. Following Danish royal tradition, the little boy's name won't be revealed until the christening. However we've now seen gorgeous pictures of the baby nestled peacefully in a grey blanket in the arms of his radiant looking mum.

It has been a whirlwind fairytale for Princess Marie, who less than a year ago was Marie Cavallier, a former executive secretary from Switzerland. Her courtship with Joachim began in 2005 following the prince's split from his ex-wife, the also lovely Princess Alexandra, now Countess of Frederiksborg.

It must have been a difficult time for Joachim, separating from his wife and mother of his two small sons at the same time as his brother Frederick and new wife Mary were enjoying the first flush of married life after their sumptuous wedding.

However Joachim did not take long to bounce back after becoming reacquainted with Marie, whom he'd previously met through mutual friends in Denmark. Pictures began to emerge of the couple enjoying holidays together and looking very much in love. The relationship also appeared to have the blessing of Alexandra from early on, as she was often photographed with the new couple at social events. Most importantly, Marie has been a hit with Joachim's sons Nikolai and Felix. Photos of the princes and Marie on ski holidays together confirmed to onlookers that the relationship was serious.

It wasn't long afterwards that the couple confirmed Denmark would have another royal wedding to look forward to. Joachim and Marie's engagement was announced in October 2007, and seven months later the marriage took place in a beautiful ceremony near Joachim's home, Schackenborg Manor in southern Denmark. The bride looked stunning in a full gown with a tight-fitting lace bodice and sleeves. Although unmistakeably a royal occasion, the wedding differed from that of Frederick and Mary in that it had more of an intimate, family feel.
The Danish princes seem to be attracted to successful career women, who then are transformed seemingly effortlessly into elegant princesses, and Marie is no exception. Since her wedding she has cut a stylish figure at Joachim's side on royal engagements, and has no trouble keeping up with the style standards set by her chic sister-in-law Mary. And now Marie's life has completely changed again, enriched with the joy of a new baby.

I'm not sure what to make of this whole situation with Mel Gibson. It was quite a surprise to see photos of him and his new lady love, Oksana Grigorieva, walking the red carpet at the Wolverine premiere. After all, it has only recently become public that his wife was filing for divorce.

 

The older guy/younger woman combination is definitely nothing new in Hollywood, however I must say my first though was for Mel's soon-to-be-ex wife Robyn, who has been married to Mel for 28 years and bore him seven children (no small feat in anyone's language). In the midst of a divorce, it can't be easy to see your husband moving on. 

 

Still, it's not known how long the Gibsons have been living separate lives (it has been suggested that Mel has already been single for some time) ... and the thought of a multi-million dollar divorce settlement is bound to make a girl feel better.

 

As for the couple themselves, they've certainly not been backward in coming forward and putting their love on display. I don't recall seeing Mel Gibson on many red carpets recently, so perhaps this was conceived as a good way to introduce Oksana without too much prying.