Zombie royals by Canadian artist give Brits the shivers

Credit: Images of zombie-fied Prince Charles and Queen Elizabeth from 'Zombiewood' by Rob Sacchetto.

Rob Sacchetto knows how to get under the British skin ... and veins and brains and rotting gums for that matter.

Sacchetto, you see, is a "Zombie Illustrator", as is evidenced by the above pieces of his artwork. Better yet, he's born and bred in Sudbury, Ontario, a city that is used to digging things out of the earth.

It's his business to turn perfectly normal-looking people into hideous undead creatures. Celebrities are not immune, and that includes the Royal Family.

Prince Charles and Queen Elizabeth were given the rotting treatment in Sacchetto's 2010 book 'Zombiewood.' You don't even have to squint to see the family resemblence under Sacchetto's talented yet poisoned pen.

This past week, the Daily Mail website in London published a story on Sacchetto, highlighting the royal corpses among the many other celebs-turned-worm-food images from his collection, which includes Marilyn Monroe, Donald Trump and Alfred Hitchcock.

The sight of the decaying corpses of the current and future monarch certainly caught the attention of some readers, many barely containing their gag reflex at both the paper and this warped fellow from the colonies.

Commented one: "What sort of reader is the DM trying to attact I wonder, proving that one cannot underestimate the taste of the newspaper reading public ..."

Another: "What is the matter with the DM that it does these sick articles."

And another: "What business has a national newspaper showing pictures that will give our kids nightmares without a warning outside the story, with no pics until within it?"

One reader from Toronto lept to the 43-year-old artist's defence: "I love these! Quite a few uptight responses, but art is suposed to elicit a response so this fellow is quite a success."

As for Sacchetto (right -- with his zombie self-portrait) any type of reaction is better than a graveyard barbeque at midnight. "Oh, you love me, you really really love me!" he commented on the site. "Thank you all for your kind, wonderful words, your insight and your encouragement! More nightmares to come!"

Sacchetto, the creator of two zombie books and thousands of macabre makeovers in his 25-year career, has yet to tackle Prince William and Kate, but be forewarned: "I really have not gotten around to doing more yet, but one day soon, I may do the entire Royal Family," Sacchetto replied in an email to us. "That should ruffle some feathers!"

And test their sense of humour.

 

Prince Harry lands in Afghanistan ready to battle Taliban

Prince Harry is shown the Apache helicopter flight line by an unidentified member of his squadron at Camp Bastion, Afghanistan on Friday. (John Stillwell/Reuters)

Prince Harry has taken another out-of-country trip, but the parties will be few and it sure isn't Vegas.

The 27-year-old royal is in Afghanistan, beginning a four-month deployment with the British forces battling the Taliban.

The Army captain arrived at Camp Bastion in the wee hours of Friday and spent his first few hours inspecting the Apache attack helicopter that he'll be co-piloting while posted with the 662 Squadron, 3 Regiment Army Air Corps.

Unlike his last deployment into the war zone, in 2008, there was no attempt to keep Harry's mission a secret after the Ministry of Defence decided his presence would not put him or his squadron at any more risk than they already deal with. It has even allowed a reporter and photographer on the base to provide coverage (video below).

In a series of photos, Harry is seen checking over the cockpit and weapons of one of the helicopters and gives a thumbs-up.

"He's approached the deployment with a range of emotions like any other soldier and feels both pride and anticipation as he deploys for a job he's trained for, for so long," said a St. James's Palace spokesman.

The Palace also said his father, Prince Charles, was "immensely proud of his son" and had said his goodbyes when Harry was at Birkhall last weekend. Harry had a final visit with his brother William when the two were in London earlier this week.

Harry qualified as an Apache co-pilot gunner in February after several months of 'top gun' type training in the U.S.

The prince will have 10 days to get used to the routine at Camp Bastion before officially getting on with the job of hunting down Taliban and providing troop support. The unit he's assigned to has the largest "kill rate" in Afghanistan, according to the Telegraph, averaging two dead Taliban a week. No UK Apache helicopters have been lost in the campaign yet.

"Killing insurgents is what the machine Prince Harry flies is there for. You cannot put it any other way," one source told the paper.

Camp Bastion, in Helmand province, is the largest military base in Afghanistan and the central support for UK troops.

Harry's commanding officer, Capt. Jock Gordon, extended an official welcome to Prince Harry. "He will be in a difficult and demanding job," Gordon said in a statement, "and I ask that he be left to get on with his duties and allowed to focus on delivering support to the coalition troops on the ground."

Harry's sudden appearance in Afghanistan has also put a new spin on his naked romp in Las Vegas a few weeks ago. The Daily Mail website splashed his return to the war zone with the headline "From Las Vegas to Camp Bastion: Prince Harry retuns to duty in Afghanistan to fly attack helicopters in war with the Taliban (so perhaps we shouldn't blame him for enjoying the odd pool party)."

Photos of the unclothed Prince in his suite produced an internet storm, especially in Britain where the media felt handcuffed by privacy laws. The Sun tabloid finally printed the pictures, leading to about 3,800 complaints to the Press Complaints Commission, though none from the Palace. On Thursday, the PCC said it would be "inappropriate" to open in investigation at this time without involvement from Prince Harry's representatives.

In any case, Harry's party time will be dramatically curtailed while on this mission. He celebrates his 28th birthday on Sept. 15, but it'll probably be a dry one, since the camp is an alcohol-free zone.

Prince Harry is shown the Apache helicopter weapons at Camp Bastion. Prince Harry will be based at Camp Bastion during his tour of duty as a co-pilot gunner, returning to Afghanistan to fly attack helicopters in the fight against the Taliban. (AP Photo/John Stillwell)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Pippa power on court ... while Harry's strip party pal hits a different court

If Andy Murray has any sense of destiny, he would do well to invite Pippa Middleton to sit courtside when he takes on Tomas Berdych in Saturday's semifinal of the U.S. Open tennis championships.

Britian's Olympic gold medal winner -- but still without a Grand Slam title -- didn't appear to have fate was on his side in the quarters on Wednesday night.

But then along came Pippa, a little burst of sunshine in an $80 yellow dress from London's Phase Eight store.

What the younger sister of Kate Middleton walked into was a dire scene at Flushing Meadows. Her countryman was down one set already and playing badly. The match had already been cursed because rain forced it to move from the Arthur Ashe Stadium to the Louis Armstrong court, where Murray had did not have a good history.

There must be something about the Middletons, though. Pippa's sister, the Duchess of Cambridge, was at the All England Club when Murray captured Olympic gold a few weeks ago. An ocean and a month away, Pippa's presence certainly didn't hurt Britain's No. 1 player.

After falling behind 5-1 in the second set, Murray rallied and Cilic collapsed. The Brit came back to win the set 7-6, then breezed through the final two sets to keep his title quest alive.

Pippa magic? Probably not. But why mess with a good thing?

Pippa Middleton waves as she watches the U.S. Open men's singles action in New York. (Getty Images)

PRINCE HARRY NAKED PARTY GIRL ARRESTED

The 15 minutes of fame given Carrie Lynn Reichert appear to be up.

Reichert was one of the girls who claim to have partied with Prince Harry during his naked billiards game in Las Vegas several weeks ago. She was the first to tell the tale in an interview with The People gossip magazine in the UK.

It looks like she is also the first to get arrested post-party. The blonde beautician was nabbed on Aug. 24 on a felony warrant in San Diego as she tried to board a plane to Mexico.

She is wanted in Harrison County, Miss., charged with allegedly writing four bad cheques, dating back to 2003, worth a total of $21,672.

“How stupid can you be?" a law enforcement official told the New York Daily News. "You know you’ve got warrants on bad cheques you’ve written. After 9/11, you know we’re checking everyone on every flight."

While Reichert told The People she is 32 years old, her arrest record in the Santee, Calif., detention centre lists her as 40.

Obviously, 27-year-old Prince Harry doesn't deal in age discrimination. Buckingham Palace, however, claims she and Prince Harry didn't have the suite encounters she described in the article.

ROUGH SAILING FOR ROYAL BARGE

It was a grand sight ... the royal barge with the Royal Family sailing down the Thames, leading a flotilla of a thousand boats in celebration of the Queen's Diamond Jubilee.

So much of past glories.

Less than three months later, the Spirit of Chartwell has been sold for less than half what the owner paid for it and is off to Portugal to ferry tourists on the Douro River.

The barge, which underwent a $1.6-million renovation for the Jubilee pageant, has been at the centre of a battle between its owner, Philip Morrell, and the Port of London, according to the Telegraph.

"I am sad she has gone but we faced difficulties which made it unviable to use her on the River Thames," Morrell told the paper. "Without revealing figures the boat has been sold for half what I paid for her".

Morrell had planned to use the boat for luxury cruises sail along the Thames through central London, but said negotiations hit a snag over the boat's route under a bridge. Then the boat's berth was lost during the Olympics, Morrell said, pushing him over the edge and into the sale.

The craft began its journey to Portugal early this week. If there's every a Diamond Jubilee there, they'll know what boat to call.

Pippa packs parties, tennis and plenty of men into New York trip

Pippa Middleton and Spencer Vegosen watch Victoria Azarenka of Belarus take on Samantha Stosur of Australia during their 2012 U.S. Open women's singles match at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in New York on Tuesday. The top-ranked Azarenka advanced to the semifinals. (AFP/GettyImages)

Prince Harry can have Las Vegas ... it's New York that Pippa Middleton wants.

The most famous single sibling of a royal is nibbling at the Big Apple this week and stepping out with the rich and handsome as she prepares for the launch of her party planning book next month.

There's a few pesky publishing meetings to attend, but they are all a sideshow to having a good time during one of the busiest weeks of the New York season, which includes the U.S. Open tennis and the city's Fashion Week.

There are even reports that she was out with a realtor looking for an apartment, according to the Huffington Post, though there have been rumours of an impending move from England since the spring.

Throw in Pippa's 29th birthday on Thursday and you have the makings of perfect party planning storm.

Needless to say, the younger sister of Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge is not without the company of some eligible men. Having split from Alex Loudon, Pippa has become the poster girl for mate-searching and her name has been linked to just about anyone within her eyesight.

Over the weekend, it started with multi-millionaire Andre Balazs (left), who owns eight hotels and has had his share of celebrity hookups, including Uma Thurman and comedian Chelsea Handler. The 55-year-old divorced father of two flew Pippa to his boutque hotel on Shelter Island off the eastern tip of Long Island in his private sea plane.

According to at least one source with Daily Mail, there was "a lot of flirting going on" during their day of ping-pong, sightseeing and, later, dinner. Later, Pippa was at the exlusive Electric Room lounge in Manhattan, gabbing with hockey bad boy Sean Avery, ex of the Rangers.

On the surface, it's hard to believe they would have much in common, but Avery (right) is a big fan of women's fashion and was once an intern at Vogue magazine. It's a sure bet Pippa is being invited to every runway in use during Fashion Week. Can't forget that Avery has that old British colonial connection, too, born and bred in Toronto.

Pippa's most public exposure in NYC has come at Flushing Meadows, where she watched the action behind designer sunglasses with Spencer Vegosen, a 24-year-old Harvard grad and junior tennis player. Her 'player guest' badge reportedly came from Swiss court superstar Roger Federer, but the dress was all British, from Paper London, a multi-coloured outfit that goes for about $590 (Canadian).

On Wednesday, the ever popular Pippa shifted gears and was spotted in jeans and a NYC baseball cap roller-blading in a Upper East Side park.

As usual, there were no words from the lips of Pippa for publication. At least not yet. Once her book -- "Celebrate: A Year of Festivities for Families and Friends" -- is released Oct. 30, it's hard to imagine she won't be trying to drum up a little publicity to earn back some of her reported $630,000 advance for the publisher.

 Pippa Middleton makes her way to her seat at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center. (AFP/GettyImages)

PRINCE EDWARD AND SOPHIE ON CANADIAN TOUR

The Earl and and Countess of Wessex (right) will be making a week-long visit to Ontario and Nunavut, Sept. 11-18.

Prince Edward and his wife Sophie will begin in Ottawa, followed by stops in Trenton, Toronto, Hamilton, St. Catharines, Midland and Iqaluit.

This will be 33rd visit to Canada for Queen Elizabeth's 48-year-old son, while Sophie will be making her ninth visit. Both were in Toronto last year at separate times.

Their visit to the Canadian Arctic will be a first for both of them.

 

Prince Harry plunges back to work, one smile at a time

Prince Harry poses for photgraphs with British swimming gold medallist Jessica-Jane Applegate at the Aquatics Centre during the London 2012 Paralympic Games on Tuesday. (Reuters)

Prince Harry is using his considerable people skills to dig himself out of the mess he found himself in after naked romp in Las Vegas -- and it seems to be working.

After lying low for a week, the prince has vaulted back into the good graces of at least the company he has kept in the past two days. First came his appearance at the WellChild Awards on Monday, where he deftly managed to steer clear of naked photo questions from a 6-year-old, then on Tuesday he plunged into the Paralympic Games, where he stayed dry and spent much of his time posing for pictures with athletes.

First, he attended the Britain-Denmark goalball game for visually impaired athletes. Spectators remain silent during the game -- except when goals are scored -- so the players can hear the sound of the bells inside the ball. The prince seemed especially intrigued by the concept, trying out the ball on his lap (right).

After Britian's 5-0 victory, it was off the the Aquatics Cente, where he spent about 45 minutes posing for photos quite unlike the ones he found himself in during his wild Vegas weekend.

His appearances were planned well in advance of the photo brouhaha and there was talk Harry would bow out for fear of the distraction it would cause and potentially embarrassing moments. Buckingham Palace also clearly saw an opportunity to get Harry back on track in a positive way.

It's still an open debate as to whether it will serve to curb the prince's occasional wild ways or win him new fans. Several comments from Daily Mail readers in London weren't kind. A sample: "Bone-idle playboy prince tuns up to chat to children, then goes to watch sport that other people have to buy tickets to see. What is worthy, remarkable or commendable about ANY of those activities? Please STOP feeing us Palace PR as if we're mindless 12th centure serfs."

Clearly, this prince still needs work, and the Royal Family is never going to win over everyone.

Prince Harry has little choice but to carry on, one smile at a time.

Prince Harry is given a mascot from an Australian swimmer on Day 6 of the London 2012 Paralympic Games at the Aquatics Centre on Tuesday. (Getty Images)

Prince Harry poses for a picture with a member of Great Britain's Paralympic team during the swimming heats at the at the Aquatics Centre. (Reuters)

Prince Harry was the centre of attention for many Paralympians anxious to get a picture with the royual at the Aquatics Centre on Tuesday. (Getty Images)

Prince Harry charms the kids in first outing since wild Vegas trip

Prince Harry talks to Alex Logant, who puts a toy penguin against his head, as he attends the WellChild awards ceremony InterContinental Park Lane Hotel in London on Monday. (AP)

Alex Logan had it all rehearsed.

The 6-year-old was due to meet Prince Harry (aka Dirty Harry) at the WellChild Awards in London on Monday and he knew exactly what he was going to say when he got face to face: "I'm glad you've got your clothes on Prince Harry."

Young Alex's mistake was revealing his plan on ITV's lunchtime news and Harry caught wind of it.

When the prince crouched down to the youngster, who suffers from leukemia, the dapper royal  made sure he got the first word: "You keep looking up at your mum," he said with a smile and a wag of his finger. "It looks like you're dying to say something but you're worried she'll tell you off. I heard you were on ITV earlier and you said something cheeky -- but lets not talk about that here."

Alex took the hint and instead rubbed his toy penguin Hookie on the Prince's brow. If that's the worst punishment Harry gets for his wild and naked weekend in Las Vegas, he'll gladly take it.

The event was Harry's first public appearance since he bared all during a booze-induced strip billiards game that was caught on camera. Reports are he was worried the media frenzy that ensued would dog him at the charity event and take away from the cause that helps critically ill children, but he kept his smile intact as he greeted the youngsters.

He even managed to slip in a light reference to his recent adventures in his speech at the awards ceremony, which recognizes some of the courageous stories of the kids dealing with illness: "All of you are, quite frankly, too remarkable for me to adequately describe with mere words. But never one to be shy in coming forward, I'll give it a go."

Teaming Harry with kids was a coincidental PR coup. The prince was clearly enamoured with the children, and they with him. One 5-year-old girl, Hope (right), showed her affection with two licks of her tongue on his face.

"But we've only just met," Harry protested with a grin.

The party-prince episode won't disappear just yet, and it'll take more than charitable appearances to wipe out the embarrassing light it shed on the royal. But if Harry has shown anything, it's an ability to charm the masses and, like his grandmother the Queen, just get on with the job.

Prince Harry playfully wags his finger at Alex Logan at the WellChild awards ceremony, giving him some advice about not bringing up a certain party in Las Vegas. (AFP/GettyImages)

Prince Harry poses with Rose Whittle, 9, left, Alex Logan, 6, and Matthew Merritt, 9, at the WellChild Awards in London on Monday. (Getty Images)

Prince Harry poses with award winners at the WellChild awards ceremony in London on Monday. The eighth WellChild Awards Ceremony that recognises the bravery or seriously ill children. (AFP/GettyImages)