LONDON , Dec. 17 (UPI) -- Queen Elizabeth II soon will have the distinction of being the oldest monarch in British history.

SOUTHAMPTON, England, Dec. 11 (UPI) -- A champagne bottle used to christen the Cunard ocean liner Queen Victoria in Southampton, England, didn't break, leading some to wonder if bad luck lies ahead.

ROYAL DEESIDE, Scotland, Oct. 14 (UPI) -- British royal watchers say Kate Middleton turned a corner in her romance with Prince William by being invited to hunt at Balmoral during the weekend.

TRIESTE, Italy, Oct. 10 (UPI) -- An Italian shipbuilder has won a contract to build a new luxury liner for Britain's Cunard Line, the shipbuilder announced Wednesday.

LONDON, June 11 (UPI) -- Ethiopia is calling on Great Britain to return the body of one of its princes who died in England 128 years ago.

EDINBURGH, Scotland, June 2 (UPI) -- William Topaz McGonagall, the Scottish poet widely reviled in life, is getting no honor in death either.

UPI almanac for Thursday, May 24, 2007.

PETSWORTH, England, Feb. 22 (UPI) -- Derek Waring, known as Detective Inspector Goss in the BBC drama "Z-Cars," has died of cancer at Petworth Cottage Hospital in West Sussex, England, at age 79.

UPI almanac for Monday, Jan. 22, 2007.