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She shies away from the spotlight these days, but even Kate Bush couldn’t resist an invitation to Windsor Castle yesterday. The star made a rare public appearance to receive a CBE from the Queen for services to music. Now 54, the singer behind hits such as Wuthering Heights and Babooshka added to her mystique by insisting she would not pose for photographs and leaving the castle by a different entrance to the rest of the recipients so she could avoid journalists.   Thank you Ma'am: Kate Bush receives CBE from The Queen She did, however, agree to official pictures being released of her receiving her award. Afterwards, her agent issued a statement in which she said she felt ‘incredibly thrilled with the honour which I share with my family, friends and fellow musicians and everyone who has been such an important part of it all’.   More... RICHARD KAY: Queen dines out on Bafta with Bond The Queen wins honorary Bafta for being the most 'memorable Bond girl y

Margaret Thatcher funeral: Family should pay bill NOT taxpayers, say three out of five in poll Our poll reflected the anger at the ceremonial send-off on the lavish scale of those the Queen Mother and Princess Diana were given £10m goodbye: Margaret Thatcher (inset) will receive a state funeral in all but name Crippled by savage Tory cuts, ordinary Brits are furious at forking out £10million for the funeral of a woman who shattered many of their communities all those years ago and left them a legacy of despair. And a Mirror poll yesterday reflected the growing anger at the decision to give Margaret Thatcher a ceremonial send-off along the lavish scale of those the Queen Mother and Princess Diana had as national treasures. Almost three out of five insist the procession, church service and security operation should be paid for by the former PM’s family – especially given her son Mark is worth an estimated £20million. Only one in five agree the

Amanda Bynes has sparked even more concern after the troubled star visited a New York hair salon on Tuesday. According to a hairstylist who worked on the actress's hair, the 27-year-old displayed erratic behaviour as she had her platinum blonde tresses tended to. The stylist in question told Radaronline.com that the Easy A star sat in the chair for four hours and kept her sunglasses on the whole time.   The bizarre behaviour continues: Amanda Bynes has sparked even more concern after the troubled star visited a New York hair salon on Tuesday During that time, staff members were reportedly forced to call the police in order to get two officers to man the doors outside of the premises for when she left.  The Queens-based hairdresser told the website that she believed that Amanda was 'under the influence of something'. 'I feel sorry for her,' the stylist told Radaronline.com. 'I don’t know what she was on exactly, but she was definitely on som

Kate Middleton baby: Bookies slash odds on royal tot being called Alexandra They have slashed the odds on royal tot's name after a flurry of betting Pregnant: Kate Middleton Kate Middleton's baby could be called Alexandra - if you believe the bookies.They have slashed the odds on royal tot's name after a flurry of betting.Kate and William are expecting their first child in July.And with the child widely thought to be a girl Coral have cut the odds on Alexandra from 25-1 to 12-1.A spokesman said: "It's the second biggest surge of bets we have witnessed since we were forced to suspend betting on the couple having a girl after Kate dropped a hint."The name Elizabeth is currently the punters' favorite with odds of 5-1, with Diana a close second at 6-1 and Victoria third at 7-1.The name Alexandra has a good royal pedigree, though.Princess Alexandra, 76, is a cousin of Queen Elizabeth and Queen Victoria's son Edward VII and his wi

Prestatyn house fire murder trial: Drunk neighbour 'torched flat and killed family of five in rage over pram in hallway' The fire ripped through the first-floor flat killing mum, her partner, her son, her nephew and her niece Victims: Bailey Allen and Skye Allen and Charlie Timbrell PA A neighbour killed five people by torching their flat in a drunken rage over a pram left in a shared hallway, a court heard today.Melanie Smith set light to the home of Lee Anna Shiers, 20, who died along with her 15-month-old son Charlie, nephew Bailey, four, niece Skye, two, and partner Liam Trimbell, 23, jurors were told. Days before the blaze she had also accused her boyfriend Stephen Clarkson of having a fling with Lee Anna, who lived upstairs from the couple.Smith allegedly threatened several times to burn the home down after a string of bust-ups over noise from the flat and Lee Anna’s habit of leaving cigarette butts outside the accused’s door.And the 43-year-old had been heard row

Sir Robert Edwards: Tributes to IVF pioneer who helped create 5million babies and won Nobel prize His work led to the birth of the world's first "test tube baby" in 1978  Thanks: First test tube baby Louise on her 21st birthday with Prof Robert Edwards The world’s first test-tube baby paid tribute to IVF pioneer Prof Sir Robert Edwards, who died today aged 87Louise Brown was born in 1978, a decade after Sir Robert and Dr Patrick Steptoe began to develop the technique of in vitro fertilisation.Their project has led to the birth of five million babies worldwide. Louise, 34, said: “It was so sad to hear the news. I always saw Robert Edwards as like a grandfather. "His work with Patrick Steptoe has brought joy to millions of people by enabling them to have children.”Louise – 34 and now Mrs Mullinder after marrying husband Wesley – added: “I’m glad he lived long enough to be recognised with a Nobel Prize for his work. "His legacy will live on with all the I

He was left fuming after he and his wife were repeatedly and wrongly informed they had been mis-sold Payment Protection Insurance  Peace at last: Steve Higgins A dad-of-three who was bombarded with nearly 100 cold calls in two months is one of the first people to successfully claim compensation from a PPI firm. Steve Higgins, 38, was left fuming after he and wife Gemma, 27, were repeatedly and wrongly informed they had been mis-sold Payment Protection Insurance. Despite telling Synergy Leads Ltd he was not eligible for a payout, he was called 94 times between October and November last year. He filed a small claims application and invoiced the firm £10 per call. When the company did not respond he then made a claim for a default judgment at Northampton county court.Synergy Leads Ltd was last week ordered to pay him £940 for the calls, plus £60 costs for making the claim application. Mr Higgins, of Nottingham, said: “When I tried to call them I was just spoken too very rudely and the