Markle’s first official event with Queen Elizabeth II
LONDON (AP) — Prince Harry’s bride-to-be has made her first public appearance with Queen Elizabeth II.
Meghan Markle joined the queen and other senior royals Monday at the Commonwealth Day service at London’s Westminster Abbey.
It marked another milestone in Markle’s path to joining the British monarch’s family. The American actress is set to marry Harry on the grounds of Windsor Castle on May 19.
Harry and Markle were greeted with screams and shouts from some members of the public when they arrived at the venerable abbey.
They were joined by Prince William and his wife, Kate, Prince Charles, and other royals.
Ava DuVernay to attend this Ebertfest
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. (AP) — Director Ava DuVernay is scheduled to be a guest at the 20th annual Ebertfest next month in Illinois.
The University of Illinois said Monday that the Oscar-nominated director of “Selma” and “A Wrinkle in Time” will attend the film festival in Champaign honoring the late movie critic, Roger Ebert.
She’ll bring her film “The 13th,” which was nominated for an Oscar for best documentary.
The festival will open with a showing of the “The Fugitive” starring Harrison Ford and Tommy Lee Jones. The 1993 film’s director, Andrew Davis, is a University of Illinois alumnus. He’s also attending the festival.
Ebert and his wife, Chaz Ebert, co-founded the event in collaboration with the university. Films are shown in downtown Champaign’s Virginia Theatre.
Festival organizers say more films and guests will be announced in the coming weeks.
French couturier Givenchy dies at 91
PARIS (AP) — French couturier Hubert de Givenchy, a pioneer of ready-to-wear who designed Audrey Hepburn’s little black dress in “Breakfast at Tiffany’s,” has died at the age of 91.
The artistic director of Givenchy, Clare Waight Keller, said on her official Instagram account she is “deeply saddened by the loss of a great man and artist I have had the honor to meet.”
Givenchy was part of the elite cadre of Paris-based designers, including Christian Dior and Yves Saint Laurent, who redefined fashion after World War II.
A towering man with impeccable manners, he forged close friendships with his famous clients, among them Liz Taylor, Jackie Kennedy and Princess Grace of Monaco.
He founded his label in 1952, selling it to luxury conglomerate LVMH in 1988.
