Michelle Obama dazzled in a glittering array of jewels Wednesday night as she co-hosted a dinner in honour of the Queen. The First Lady scored a final fashion bulls-eye in a stunning black off-the-shoulder dress by all-American designer Ralph Lauren at the black-tie dinner. Obama had invited the monarch and Duke of Edinburgh to Winfield House in Regent’s Park, the official home of the US Ambassador as a thank you for Tuesday night’s Buckingham Palace state banquet. Guests, who numbered more than 50, included Prime Minister David Cameron and wife Sam, England footballer David Beckham, Hollywood actor Tom Hanks, Oscar winner Colin Firth, and Harry Potter author JK Rowling. The Queen wore an Angela Kelly white evening dress with gold and silver sequins, an emerald necklace and matching earrings. The two heads of state led the way through the residence’s entrance, which was flanked by two US marines. The guests enjoyed a three-course meal that included lobster ravioli, griddled filet of aged Highland beef, crushed jersey royals with rosemary, asparagus and minted broad beans topped off with classic pecan pie and brandy ice cream for dessert. After the last plates had been cleared, American Tony Award-winning singer and actress Kristin Chenoweth performed for the diners.

— Daily Mail

Who’s that girl?

She’s a famous face in Hollywood, but Scarlett Johansson is barely recognisable in her latest photo shoot. The 26-year-old channels former stars of the silver screen including Buster Keaton, Marlene Dietrich and Sarah Bernhardt in an unusual photo shoot for W Magazine. The issue was a tribute to director Woody Allen and his ‘women’, with Scarlett among his many modern-day muses. In the first striking photograph, taken by Tim Walker and styled by Jacob K, the Vicky Christina Barcelona star portrayed Sarah Bernhardt, the French stage actress from the 1870s. Posing in an all-white outfit, complete with white face make-up and dramatic black eyes and lips, Scarlett looks like an exaggerated caricatured version of the notorious star. For several of the pictures Scarlett donned a pinstriped suit and straw boater hat to portray Buster Keaton from the 1920s. The cinema icon earned the nickname The Great Stone Face for his stoic deadpan expression, and in the photographs Scarlett copies the scowl and sad face as she poses with a magnifying glass. The next portrait shows Scarlett as Italian actress Guilietta Masina. Scarlett posed with a trumpet in honour of Guilietta’s last wish to have a trumpet player perform La Strada by Nino Rota at her funeral. The actress looked the spitting image of the petite blonde star, complete with cropped hair and signature black bowler hat. In the final picture, Scarlett embodied one of the greatest female stars of all time — German-born actress Marlene Dietrich. With her naturally blonde hair dyed a rich reddish-brown and curled into voluminous waves, with flawless 1930s-inspired make-up, the young actress looked every inch the sultry star.

— Daily Mail

Special relationship? Meet the 16-year-old ‘dream team’ who beat Obama and Cameron at table tennis

These are the schoolboys who rocked the US-UK ‘special relationship’ on Wednesday by beating President Barack Obama and Prime Minister David Cameron at ping-pong. The leaders had arrived at the school directly from Downing Street in the heavily armoured presidential limousine called The Beast. As they geared up to take on the schoolboys, both ditched their suit jackets and rolled up their shirtsleeves. However, a handful of winning shots and a smattering of handshakes and high-fives were not enough to prevent Cameron and Obama taking a sound beating at the hands of Do and Mojaji. Looking like a lean, mean, table tennis machine, Obama was every inch the all-American sportsman as he approached each move with style and panache. But if he was looking for a winning team-mate in Cameron, then Obama might well have been disappointed. As Obama moved effortlessly around the table, with a look of steely determination on his face, he seemed to win the admiration of the schoolchildren watching the game. However, Cameron at times looked as though he didn’t quite know what to do with the ball… or himself.

— Daily Mail