Mark Ruffalo celebrates his ‘best friend’ and wife Sunrise Coigney’s 51st birthday with sweet note: ‘So happy we found each other’

By Sharon Mai For Dailymail.Com

Published: 20:41 EDT, 17 September 2023 | Updated: 20:48 EDT, 17 September 2023

The schism between Prince Harry and the rest of the Royal Family was laid bare today after the Palace appeared to snub the Duke of Sussex’s birthday celebrations by failing to publicly acknowledge his 39th. 

As athletes at the Invictus Games in Germany serenaded the prince with renditions of ‘Happy Birthday’ and inundated him with gifts – good wishes were notably absent from the monarchy’s official social media accounts. 

The palace’s official social media accounts instead spent all day posting about King Charles, Prince William, Princess Kate, and Sophie, Duchess of Edinburgh – without mentioning Prince Harry once. 

The Mail also understands that Harry, accompanied by his wife, Meghan, will fly back to the US this weekend without seeing his estranged family.

King Charles will be in Scotland and there are no plans for the couple to join him. Prince William hasn’t spoken to his estranged brother for many months.

The Duke of Sussex also failed to visit his family during his stop-over in the UK en route to the Invictus Games in Dusseldorf, when he stayed overnight in Britain to attend a charity event.

The following morning Prince harry visited Queen Elizabeth’s grave at Windsor alone on the first anniversary of his grandmother’s death.

Buckingham Palace has indicated that the Royal Family now only sends public birthday wishes to those who are senior working members. 

The Duke of Sussex‘s birthday celebration came as he attended the Invictus Games in Dusseldorf, where he watched a sitting volleyball match after a night of revelry drinking German beers and eating traditional food such as sausages, schnitzel and pork knuckle. 

Despite the late night out, the birthday boy looked fresh-faced as he arrived at the Merkur Spiel-Arena.

After Harry and Meghan took their seats in the stands, the stadium announcer asked the crowd: ‘Is there anybody here celebrating their own special occasion today? Anyone’s birthday? Oh I think it is someone’s birthday. A certain Prince Harry, the Duke of Sussex, 39 today. Happy birthday! Let’s sing along.’ 

The crowd then joined in as Harry clapped along and smiled next to the duchess – before he mouthed ‘thank you’ to the spectators.

Harry was later presented with a birthday cake by the Mayor of Dusseldorf, Dr Stephen Keller. The cake was in the colours of the Invictus Games with the words: ‘Happy Birthday Prince Harry, The Duke of Sussex.’

Prince Harry washed down bratwurst sausages and wiener schnitzel with six beers but his wife stuck to one small lager at restaurant Im Goldenen Kessel last night. 

Harry famously went teetotal and abandoned caffeine when Meghan was pregnant with Archie, dumping beer, tea and coffee for green juices. In 2018 he raised a glass of water while everyone else was drinking champagne in solidarity with his wife. He also quit smoking. But based on last night he is firmly back on the booze. 

Meghan was on the march today as she took part in a medal ceremony.

She was perfectly in step with a military officer as she walked to the presentation ceremony in front of a cheering crowd.

A large crowd cheered as she took each step perfectly in time and level with the officer.

Prince Harry also took part in a ceremony and showed he had not forgotten how to march in step.

As he came to a halt, he did a smart parade ground turn and stamped his feet – showing he had not forgotten his training at the Royal Military Academy at Sandhurst.

In blazing sunshine Meghan walked perfectly in step with a Naval officer holding the three medals to be presented for cycling event.

She gave a broad smile as she walked slowly making sure to stay in step with the practised military officer.

Harry followed minutes later and looked comfortable marching along and was full of smiles.

He presented the gold medal for a time trial event to Dave Jarvis from Team UK. He was draped in a Scottish flag partly covering his kilt.

Harry noticed Jarvis’s wife Stephanie weeping with emotion at the side of track with her daughter Sophia.

He attempted to pull the metal safety barrier aside and when that did not work leant over and lifted the four-year-old over and handed her to her father.

As the family hugged, Harry picked up the blue and white Saltire and draped it round the family.

Stephanie revealed she shared the same birthday with Prince Harry and was presented with a necklace by her husband.

Stephanie, from the North East of Scotland, said:’ This is very emotional for us.’

Meghan presented the gold medal to James Rogers, the captain of Team UK.

He was wildly cheered by the large British contingent in the crowd who shouted out: ‘Well done, skipper.’

Meghan and Harry continued to be treated as rock stars as they went on a brief walkabout.

One man called Harry over to have his photo taken, but then shouted out for Meghan.

She obliged and Harry even took off his sunglasses as the pair continued their charm offensive.

Harry, accompanied by Meghan and a dozen of his support team, last night made a secret visit to a popular restaurant in the old town of Dusseldorf.

The Duke, who is 39 today, sank six glasses of the Alt Schumacher beer as he celebrated not only his birthday but the success so far of the Invictus Games. 

His party dined on local delicacies such as Wiener Schnitzel, sausage and pork knuckle.

Harry was also presented with white chocolate which he took back to his hotel and shared with his team. Meghan had only sipped a single beer during the evening.

For her latest appearance today, Meghan wore a Zara jumpsuit Celine Blazer and Saint Laurent Sandals and had a purse from the Cesta range made in Rwanda .

The couple watched a sitting volleyball match between hosts Germany and Poland.

The Polish team mobbed Harry after the game and sang happy birthday again.

With Meghan he posed for numerous selfies before leaving where they were greeted with screams of ‘We love you, Meghan’ from a group of excited teenagers.

The group had rushed down from the stands to try to get close to the Duchess as she left.

Lina Dettling, 15, said: ‘We love Meghan. She is so pretty and we just wanted to see her.’

Kerlos Yosif, 15, added: ‘We are excited to see Harry and Meghan. To us they are like popstars . They do so much good.’

The teenagers were among hundreds of students given the day off from school to attend the games.

Later, Harry and Meghan hitched a ride on a golf buggy to take them to the road cycling event.

Last night, Harry partied with Meghan in a traditional German bar in Dusseldorf with friends where he washed down bratwurst sausage and wiener schnitzel with six beers.

Bar staff said the royals were ‘lovely’ and left a ‘big tip’ as they enjoyed plates piled high with red cabbage and mashed potato. While Harry celebrated with six half-pints, his wife stuck to just one small drink.

Diners at the Im Goldenen Kessel restaurant and bar were asked not to take pictures but said they saw the prince laughing and joking as the food arrived at his table. He also looked thrilled when a birthday cake arrived at the end of the meal.

He and Meghan posed for photographs with the owner of the restaurant Thea Ungermann and head waiter Frank Wackers who has worked at the restaurant for 38 years.

Ms Ungermann told MailOnline: ‘Harry was a lovely man and was having a very jolly time. Meghan was lovely.’

Meghan stuck with the white skinny jeans she wore to watch the volleyball match yesterday. She paired it with a red and white pinstriped shirt and nude ballet pumps. Meanwhile Harry wore dark jeans and a grey top.

During his meal, Harry was presented with a birthday cake by staff at the restaurant, based in Dusseldorf’s old town.

He and his party took up two tables at the restaurant, which is part of the Schumacher brewery, and were served their food and beer by Mr Wackers.

Mr Wackers told MailOnline that Harry had six small beers – about half a pint rather than the litre-sized beers most German breweries serve.

He said the group were served Wiener Schnitzel, pork knuckle, sausage and plates of roast and mashed potato.

Mr Wackers said: ‘They were very happy. He is a lovely man, and they were so nice.’

He also joked that Harry’s bodyguard asked what was the beer like. ‘He said that he would kill me if the beer was bad, but I know he was joking.’

Aides and staff sang Happy Birthday as the restaurant presented Harry with a white chocolate cake.

After tucking in, the party then walked back to their waiting cars in the cobbled Altstadt area of the city.

A source close to the prince said: ‘They drank local beer and ate family style dishes to experience a true German meal. Everyone was incredibly friendly, especially the waiters pictured in the photograph online.

‘They did not dine in a private space and were in joyful spirits, toasting and laughing with the team.

After dinner, the group headed back to the hotel to sing Happy Birthday and eat cake just shy of midnight.’

The owner of the restaurant said Harry picked up the bill and left a big tip for the staff.

The restaurant is attached to the Schumacher brewery, one of two popular venues in Dusseldorf.

Both Ms Ungermann and the head waiter speak fluent English so were able to take Harry and Meghan’s orders without needing to translate them into German.

Harry and his party had driven from their hotel in the Media Harbour of the city and were dropped off by a pedestrian area.

They walked the 50 yards to the restaurant past other bars before occupying two tables in a raised section of the restaurant which is next door to a McDonalds.

The party drank the locally brewed beer called Alt Schumacher which is also served at the Merkur Spiel-Arena where the Invictus Games are held.

Ms Ungermann said: ‘The couple were very relaxed, they drank our beer, Schumacher Alt – it’s the same beer they are serving at the Invictus Games.

‘Harry and Meghan sat next to each other during the meal. I had goosebumps when they walked into the restaurant, I had watched his speech on the stage at the Invictus Games and couldn’t believe he was in my restaurant. Prince Harry was so lovely and gave me a hug.’

The restaurant posted the group photo of Harry and Meghan with staff on their social media.

Harry is thought to have had an early 39th party because he will be busy with events at the games today.

EastEnders star Melissa Suffield celebrates her ‘wobbly body’ as she dances in her lingerie: ‘It’s totally normal’

By Kirsten Murray For Mailonline

Published: 06:24 EDT, 19 August 2023 | Updated: 06:25 EDT, 19 August 2023

Cheryl shunned a big party as she celebrated her 40th birthday on Saturday. 

The singer opted instead for a lavish glamping getaway and ‘fire feast’ with her nearest and dearest at the swanky Wilderness Reserve in Suffolk – where prices start from £1,299 per night for a three bedroom holiday home. 

Taking to Instagram, Cheryl shared a glimpse of the trip with her 3M followers as she toasted marshmallows and treated to a Champagne bar in the woods.

The mother-of-one was also greeted by a Jeep that was stuffed to the brim with luxurious essentials including fluffy white dressing gowns and drinks on ice.

The former Girls Aloud member looked sensational for her celebrations in a pink cropped shirt and high-waisted green trousers.

Shielding her eyes behind shades, Cheryl completed the ensemble with a fedora as she could be seen walking her dog along the picturesque river.   

The group then headed into the forest for dinner where they ate in a huge teepee that was decorated with gorgeous flowers.

Diners enjoyed steaks that were cooked on an open fire before toasting marshmallows for dessert. 

They later jumped into their chauffeur driven cars and appeared to be whisked off to more comfortable accommodation for the evening.   

According to it’s website Wilderness Reserve boasts ‘peace and tranquillity’ on it’s sprawling estate. 

Describing it Fire Feast as: ‘Set in secluded woodland, dine amongst the ancient tree canopies with one of our most magical dining experiences yet’. 

‘Our team will escort you along the leafy pathways ever deeper into the woodland until the smell of roasting meats, fish, and vegetables fill the air – as the clearing comes into view an immaculately laid table of white linen and fresh flowers await whilst the bar will have your welcome drink at the ready’. 

It comes after she shared a playful snap on Friday as she donned a pair of giant sunflower sunglasses.

Alongside the post, the mother-of-one wrote: ‘So… this is 40’. 

Cheryl was inundated with well wishes from her fans, with one writing: ‘Happy Birthday Geordie Queen’.

Another wrote: ‘Happiest 40th birthday Cheryl! Wishing you a year ahead filled with so much love, health and happiness’.

A third added: ‘Happy 40th Chez! Hope you have the most fabulous time celebrating!’

Cheryl is in talks to make a revealing documentary about her life to coincide with her 40th birthday, it’s been reported.

The former pop singer is believed to be following in the footsteps of Ed Sheeran and Beyonce and is now in talks with a production company.

Twice married Cheryl first found fame in Girls Aloud before becoming a household name as a judge on the X Factor, later welcoming son Bear with One Direction’s Liam Payne, 29, and acting on the West End stage.  

A source told The Sun: ‘There’s been a long line of other stars who’ve done the same, relishing the rare chance to give their side of the story in their own words’.  

‘But Cheryl will only go ahead if she’s completely comfortable with what approach they’ll take and her level of input’.

‘It’s too soon to say which broadcaster would most likely air the show, but with competition between terrestrial channels and streamers stronger than ever it would likely spark a bidding battle.’ 

MailOnline have contacted Cheryl’s reps for comment.  

She was married to footballer Ashley Cole from 2006 to 2010 followed by restaurateur Jean-Bernard Fernandez-Versini 2014-2016.

Cheryl was said to have split from Liam Payne after two years after feeling like she was raising their on her own The Sun reported in 2018.

Sources told the publication that the Girls Aloud star ‘effectively raised Bear on her own for most of his first year’, during the Bedroom Floor hitmaker’s time on the road.

Insiders insisted that the cause of the pair’s relationship breakdown was due to his ‘constant travelling to promote his pop career in the months after their child was born’, and received support from her mum Joan.

This is the moment the crew on board Virgin Galactic’s spaceplane celebrated with a fist-bump during the company’s first commercial mission.

Italian researcher Walter Villadei and the company’s astronaut instructor Colin Bennett shared a celebratory moment inside the craft that left Earth’s atmosphere and soared to the edge of space to conduct science experiments in weightless conditions.

It is a landmark moment for Virgin Galactic, which was founded by Richard Branson in 2004 with the goal of offering commercial space flights – a feat that has taken just shy of 20 years to achieve.

Today marked the company’s first ‘purchased’ mission, instead of just a test flight. The 90-minute mission took off from Spaceport America in New Mexico at around 8.30am local time.

The rocket plane, known as Unity, was strapped to a ‘mothership’ a carrier aircraft called VMS Eve. 

Eve is a type of carrier plane that took Unity 44,500 feet above Earth’s surface to release it.

Unity ignited its thruster and shut off once it reached space.

At the apex of the flight, the spaceplane ‘feathered’ its wings open and hovered above our planet’s atmosphere, allowing the men to experience weightlessness and epic views of the final frontier for a few minutes.

The crew also held an Italian flag as they floated inside the cabin. 

‘Welcome to space, astronauts,’ Virgin Galactic’s Sirisha Bandla said in a livestream. 

The mission, dubbed Galactic 01, landed back on the New Mexico runway at 11:50.

Also onboard for the epic journey were Pantaleone Carlucci and Lt. Col. Angelo Landolfi.

Unlike Branson’s rivals, Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos, this flight was not crewed by wealthy individuals or celebrities who dish out hundreds of thousands to millions of dollars for the experience.

The focus of the Galactic 01 mission was to test 13 experiments in zero gravity, which collected biometric data, measured cognitive performance and recorded how certain liquids and solids mix in microgravity conditions. 

And the three Italian researchers did not pay for their seats.

The cost for future tickets was originally slated as $250,000 each, though Virgin Galactic recently raised that price to $450,000. 

Musk’s SpaceX and Bezos’ Blue Origin also use rockets to launch capsules into space, while Branson chose to take a different approach with mid-air launches. 

Once Virgin Galactic’s planes reach an altitude of about 45,000 feet, the mothership will release the spaceplane, which will then shoot off to the final frontier. 

The technique has been explored over several decades of flight research, including the X-1, the first plane to break the sound barrier, and the X-15, the fastest-piloted aircraft ever flown, topping out at 4,520 miles an hour during a 1967 flight.

And it reduces the need for massive amounts of fuel since the craft is not using force from the rocket to crawl through the dense lower atmosphere. 

Virgin Galactic’s spaceplane was powered by two pilots while the four passengers sat in the cabin bracing for space.

For Italian Air Force Colonel Walter Villadei, designated as commander, the flight aboard the spaceplane was part of his astronaut training for a future mission to the International Space Station. 

Joining him on Thursday were two Italian colleagues – Air Force Lieutenant Colonel Angelo Landolfi, a physician and flight surgeon, and Pantaleone Carlucci, a research council member acting as a flight engineer and payload specialist.

Rounding out the crew was their Virgin Galactic trainer, Colin Bennett, the company’s lead ‘astronaut instructor,’ and Unity’s two pilots, Michael Masucci and Nicola Pecile.

One of the Italian researchers was wearing a special suit that measures biometric data and physiological responses, while another conducted tests using sensors to track heart rate, brain function and other metrics while in microgravity. 

And the third studied how certain liquids and solids mix in that very weak gravity.

The gleaming white spaceplane is designed to separate from its dual-fuselage mothership, then fall away as the pilots ignite the vehicle’s engine to send the rocket plane streaking in a near-vertical climb at about three times the speed of sound to the blackness of space.

At the apex of the flight, the crew experienced a few minutes of weightlessness with the engine shut off before the craft shifted into re-entry mode and glided back to the spaceport for a runway landing. 

The flight, from takeoff to touchdown, lasted about 90 minutes.

Branson became the first billionaire in space when he took the maiden voyage of the VSS Unity on July 11, 2021.

The Virgin Galactic founder was one of six Virgin Galactic employees aboard VSS Unity.

However, the spaceplane was grounded shortly after the flight due to an investigation when it veered off course during its descent back to the runway in the New Mexico desert.

Branson became the first billionaire in space when he took the maiden voyage of the VSS Unity on July 11, 2021.

The Virgin Galactic founder was one of six Virgin Galactic employees aboard VSS Unity.

However, the spaceplane was grounded shortly after the flight due to an investigation when it veered off course during its descent back to the runway in the New Mexico desert.

In September 2021, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said it was investigating a deviation in the descent of the flight.

The FAA, which oversees commercial air and spaceflight in the US, found the spaceplane ‘deviated from its Air Traffic Control clearance’ and did so for about a minute and 41 seconds.

Branson and his team have since worked out the issue and recently sent a test crew of four employees 54.2 miles above Earth’s surface in May, paving the way for Virgin Galactic’s first commercial, Galactic 01.

‘World’s oldest woman’ celebrates upcoming ‘123rd birthday’ in Brazil

• Amantina dos Santos Duvirgem’s pension records show she was born in 1900
• She celebrated her upcoming June 22 birthday at a party organised by officials

By Alexander Butler

Published: 11:39 EDT, 16 June 2023 | Updated: 11:41 EDT, 16 June 2023

CULTURE

THE INVENTION OF ESSEX: THE MAKING OF AN ENGLISH COUNTY 

by Tim Burrows (Profile £16.99, 336pp) 

What’s the difference between an Essex girl and a supermarket trolley? Answer: the trolley has a mind of its own.

As Essex girl jokes go, Tim Burrows could have been far crueller in his choice of example. But either way, as his book about the county shows, the girls themselves won’t mind — Essex residents have been shrugging off criticism for a very long time.

In 1700, a clergyman named James Brome wrote that the county was home to ‘Persons of so abject and sordid a Temper’ that they seemed ‘by conversing continually with the Beasts to have learn’d their Manners’.

More recently, the TV programme Spitting Image had a song called Essex Is Crap, in which Bruce Forsyth’s puppet sang about shell suits, leather sofas, coal-effect fires and karaoke. The late radio presenter John Peel, who lived in Suffolk, was so averse to Essex (and in particular its drivers) that whenever he headed home from London he bypassed it completely, choosing a longer route that took him through Hertfordshire and Cambridgeshire instead.

But even though the rest of the world delights in mocking the county, we can’t help being fascinated by it. One of the biggest TV hits of recent years has been The Only Way Is Essex, or Towie to its devoted fans, who include the Hollywood star Jennifer Lawrence. The series chronicles the lives of Essex’s twentysomethings, and led to a surge in popularity for fake tan and ‘vajazzles’.

If you’re unfamiliar with the latter, Burrows describes them as involving ‘adhesive diamante gems’. We’ll let your linguistic intuition (and possibly Google) fill in the gaps.

Essex is a county of firsts. There was the UK’s first nudist colony (1924, in Wickford, intriguingly called ‘Moonella’), and the world’s first regular radio broadcasting company (established near Chelmsford by Guglielmo Marconi in 1922).

But the examples most relevant to modern British politics (one of the book’s main themes) both belong to Margaret Thatcher. Her Tory government’s policy of allowing people to buy their council houses was launched in 1980 with a photo opportunity in a kitchen of a house in Romford. And the first public services she privatised were the bin collections in Southend, in 1981.

It was fitting that one of Thatcher’s most prominent supporters was Norman Tebbit, an Essex MP (first Epping, later Chingford).

The establishment’s attitude towards Mr Tebbit was summarised by Tory grandee Harold Macmillan, speaking to friends at his gentleman’s club: ‘Heard a chap on the radio this morning talking with a Cockney accent. They tell me he is one of Her Majesty’s ministers.’

Not that Tebbit would have been bothered — his view of the landed gentry was that ‘I don’t hold any brief for someone whose only contribution is to have been born in the right bed’. Instead, Tebbit liked people who got on through their own hard work and talent.

Chantelle Houghton grew up near Wickford, in a family so poor that ‘my dad, when the neighbours went on holiday, would get the hose pipe from their house and then put it through the window of our bathroom and fill up our bath so we could wash’.

She’s done very well for herself since then, initially by winning the 2006 series of Celebrity Big Brother, then by giving interviews to OK! magazine and making public appearances.

On one occasion, a crane lifted her up to become the fairy on top of the massive Christmas tree outside Lakeside shopping centre (‘I was so frightened, my legs just went limp’). Houghton has invested her earnings in property.

It’s a very ‘Essex’ success story. A lot of people will take the easy way out and sneer, as they always have. After the sitcom Birds Of A Feather featured sisters called Sharon and Tracey, the names became shorthand for ‘Essex girl’.

So much so that in 1994, when Volkswagen were launching a new people carrier, they thought about (but eventually decided against) changing its name in the UK. It was the VW Sharan.

That magnificent woman in a flying machine: New book celebrates the tragic heroines of the sky

By Helen Brown For The Daily Mail

Published: 17:02 EDT, 27 April 2023 | Updated: 17:14 EDT, 27 April 2023