Britain's Queen Elizabeth II, centre, front, poses with members of the Order of Merit, in the Music Room at Buckingham Palace in London, Wednesday May 20, 2009. The member are, back row, from left; Rt Hon Lord Rees of Ludlow, Sir Tim Berners-Lee, Prof Sir Michael Howard, Sir David Attenborough, Lord May of Oxford, Prof Sir Roger Penrose, Sir Tom Stoppard, Lord Rothschild, Rt Hon Betty Boothroyd, Lord Eanes, Lucien Freud, and Sir Robert Fellowes. Front row, from left, Sir James Black, Sir Michael Atiyah, Baroness Thatcher, Rev Prof William Chadwick,Prince Philip, Queen Elizabeth II, Prince Charles, Sir Andrew Huxley, Dame Joan Sutherland, Lord Foster of Thames Bank, and Sir Anthony Caro. The Queen joined members of the Order of Merit for a service of thanksgiving dedicated to the award, founded in 1902 by Edward VII, and which is a personal gift of the Monarch awarded for exceptional distinction in the arts, sciences and other areas. AP Photo logo AP Photo 5 months ago

Britain's Queen Elizabeth II, centre, front, poses with members of the Order of Merit, in the Music Room at Buckingham Palace in London, Wednesday May 20, 2009. The member are, back row, from left; Rt Hon Lord Rees of Ludlow, Sir Tim Berners-Lee, Prof Sir Michael Howard, Sir David Attenborough, Lord May of Oxford, Prof Sir Roger Penrose, Sir Tom Stoppard, Lord Rothschild, Rt Hon Betty Boothroyd, Lord Eanes, Lucien Freud, and Sir Robert Fellowes. Front row, from left, Sir James Black, Sir Michael Atiyah, Baroness Thatcher, Rev Prof William Chadwick,Prince Philip, Queen Elizabeth II, Prince Charles, Sir Andrew Huxley, Dame Joan Sutherland, Lord Foster of Thames Bank, and Sir Anthony Caro. The Queen joined members of the Order of Merit for a service of thanksgiving dedicated to the award, founded in 1902 by Edward VII, and which is a personal gift of the Monarch awarded for exceptional distinction in the arts, sciences and other areas.

More Photos of

Explore Photos of Related Topics

  1. LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM - NOVEMBER 08: (EMBARGOED FOR PUBLICATION IN UK NEWSPAPERS UNTIL 48 HOURS AFTER CREATE DATE AND TIME) HM Queen Elizabeth II lays a wreath during the Remembrance Sunday Service at the Cenotaph on November 8, 2009 in London, England. This year marks the 70th anniversary of the start of the Second World War and on Remembrance Sunday the country honours its veterans with the commemorations paying particular focus to the troops who have lost their lives in current conflicts. A British soldier from 2nd Battalion The Rifles, became the 200th British soldier to lose his life in combat in Afghanistan yesterday, bringing the total number of British losses, including accidents and illnesses, to 231.
  2. LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM - NOVEMBER 08: (EMBARGOED FOR PUBLICATION IN UK NEWSPAPERS UNTIL 48 HOURS AFTER CREATE DATE AND TIME) HM Queen Elizabeth II lays a wreath during the Remembrance Sunday Service at the Cenotaph on November 8, 2009 in London, England. This year marks the 70th anniversary of the start of the Second World War and on Remembrance Sunday the country honours its veterans with the commemorations paying particular focus to the troops who have lost their lives in current conflicts. A British soldier from 2nd Battalion The Rifles, became the 200th British soldier to lose his life in combat in Afghanistan yesterday, bringing the total number of British losses, including accidents and illnesses, to 231.
  3. LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM - NOVEMBER 08: (EMBARGOED FOR PUBLICATION IN UK NEWSPAPERS UNTIL 48 HOURS AFTER CREATE DATE AND TIME) HM Queen Elizabeth II attends the Remembrance Sunday Service at the Cenotaph on November 8, 2009 in London, England. This year marks the 70th anniversary of the start of the Second World War and on Remembrance Sunday the country honours its veterans with the commemorations paying particular focus to the troops who have lost their lives in current conflicts. A British soldier from 2nd Battalion The Rifles, became the 200th British soldier to lose his life in combat in Afghanistan yesterday, bringing the total number of British losses, including accidents and illnesses, to 231.
  4. LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM - NOVEMBER 08: (EMBARGOED FOR PUBLICATION IN UK NEWSPAPERS UNTIL 48 HOURS AFTER CREATE DATE AND TIME) HM Queen Elizabeth II attends the Remembrance Sunday Service at the Cenotaph on November 8, 2009 in London, England. This year marks the 70th anniversary of the start of the Second World War and on Remembrance Sunday the country honours its veterans with the commemorations paying particular focus to the troops who have lost their lives in current conflicts. A British soldier from 2nd Battalion The Rifles, became the 200th British soldier to lose his life in combat in Afghanistan yesterday, bringing the total number of British losses, including accidents and illnesses, to 231.
  5. LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM - NOVEMBER 08: (EMBARGOED FOR PUBLICATION IN UK NEWSPAPERS UNTIL 48 HOURS AFTER CREATE DATE AND TIME) HM Queen Elizabeth II attends the Remembrance Sunday Service at the Cenotaph on November 8, 2009 in London, England. This year marks the 70th anniversary of the start of the Second World War and on Remembrance Sunday the country honours its veterans with the commemorations paying particular focus to the troops who have lost their lives in current conflicts. A British soldier from 2nd Battalion The Rifles, became the 200th British soldier to lose his life in combat in Afghanistan yesterday, bringing the total number of British losses, including accidents and illnesses, to 231.
  6. LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM - NOVEMBER 08: (EMBARGOED FOR PUBLICATION IN UK NEWSPAPERS UNTIL 48 HOURS AFTER CREATE DATE AND TIME) HM Queen Elizabeth II attends the Remembrance Sunday Service at the Cenotaph on November 8, 2009 in London, England. This year marks the 70th anniversary of the start of the Second World War and on Remembrance Sunday the country honours its veterans with the commemorations paying particular focus to the troops who have lost their lives in current conflicts. A British soldier from 2nd Battalion The Rifles, became the 200th British soldier to lose his life in combat in Afghanistan yesterday, bringing the total number of British losses, including accidents and illnesses, to 231.
  7. LONDON - SEPTEMBER 14: Prince William and Sir David Attenborough host the opening of the The New Darwin Centre at The Natural History Museum on September 14, 2009 in London, England. Britain's Prince William joined Sir David Attenborough on Monday to open the GBP 78 million centre based around a 65 metre long, eight storey high cocoon contains a state-of-the-art research and exhibition facility named after the father of the theory of evolution. Some 200 scientists work in the new building that also houses 17 million plant and insect specimens.
  8. LONDON - SEPTEMBER 14: Prince William, Dr Michael Dixon and Sir David Attenborough host the opening of the The New Darwin Centre at The Natural History Museum on September 14, 2009 in London, England. Britain's Prince William joined Sir David Attenborough on Monday to open the GBP 78 million centre based around a 65 metre long, eight storey high cocoon contains a state-of-the-art research and exhibition facility named after the father of the theory of evolution. Some 200 scientists work in the new building that also houses 17 million plant and insect specimens.
  9. LONDON - SEPTEMBER 14: Prince William and Sir David Attenborough host the opening of the The New Darwin Centre at The Natural History Museum on September 14, 2009 in London, England. Britain's Prince William joined Sir David Attenborough on Monday to open the GBP 78 million centre based around a 65 metre long, eight storey high cocoon contains a state-of-the-art research and exhibition facility named after the father of the theory of evolution. Some 200 scientists work in the new building that also houses 17 million plant and insect specimens.
  10. LONDON - SEPTEMBER 14: Prince William and Sir David Attenborough host the opening of the The New Darwin Centre at The Natural History Museum on September 14, 2009 in London, England. Britain's Prince William joined Sir David Attenborough on Monday to open the GBP 78 million centre based around a 65 metre long, eight storey high cocoon contains a state-of-the-art research and exhibition facility named after the father of the theory of evolution. Some 200 scientists work in the new building that also houses 17 million plant and insect specimens.
  11. LONDON - SEPTEMBER 14: Prince William (C) looks to the roof of the building beside Dr. Michael Dixon (L) and Sir David Attenborough while museum employees try to catch a glimpse during a visit to open The New Darwin Centre at The Natural History Museum on September 14, 2009 in London, England. Britain's Prince William joined Sir David Attenborough on Monday to open the £78 million GBP centre based around a 65-metre-long, eight-storey high cocoon contains a state-of-the-art research and exhibition facility named after the father of the theory of evolution. Some 200 scientists work in the new building that also houses 17 million plant and insect specimens.
  12. Prince William (C) looks to the roof of the building beside Dr. Michael Dixon (L) and Sir David Attenborough while museum employees try to catch a glimpse during a visit to The Darwin Centre part of The Natural History Museum in London, on September 14, 2009. Prince William joined Sir David Attenborough to open the new state-of-the-art Darwin Centre. The Darwin Centre will be Prince William's first official opening at a museum, and it reflects The Prince's interest in the preservation of the natural world and climate change. The completed Darwin Centre at the Natural History Museum is a unique new public gallery, showing the hidden scientific life of the Museum and houses the Museum's 20 million insect and plant specimens. It is the most significant development at the Museum since its opening in 1881. The Darwin Centre includes a newly built eight-storey 'cocoon', in which visitors can view insect and plant specimens, as well as see scientists and researchers at work.

Recent Photos From The Wire

  1. The guests of honor walk through the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin, Germany, Monday, Nov. 9, 2009, during the commemorations of the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall on Nov. 9, 1989.
  2. Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri, the son of slain former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, reacts, as he prays at his father grave, in downtown Beirut, Lebanon, Monday Nov. 9, 2009. Hariri has formed a 30-member Cabinet including Hezbollah and its allies, after more than four months of tough wrangling and bargaining over who would get which Cabinet positions. Hariri's Cabinet is the first since the June parliamentary elections in which his Western- and Saudi-backed bloc defeated a Hezbollah-led coalition which is supported by Iran and Syria, retaining a slim majority in the 128-member legislature.
  3. From left, French President Nicolas Sarkozy, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, German President Horst Koehler, Berlin's Mayor Klaus Wowereit and U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton wave to the crowd in front of the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin, Germany, Monday, Nov. 9, 2009, during the commemorations of the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall on Nov.9, 1989.
  4. Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri, the son of slain former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, prays at his father grave in downtown Beirut, Lebanon, Monday Nov. 9, 2009. Hariri has formed a 30-member Cabinet including Hezbollah and its allies, after more than four months of tough wrangling and bargaining over who would get which Cabinet positions. Hariri's Cabinet is the first since the June parliamentary elections in which his Western- and Saudi-backed bloc defeated a Hezbollah-led coalition which is supported by Iran and Syria, retaining a slim majority in the 128-member legislature.
  5. Front row from left, French President Nicolas Sarkozy, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, German President Horst Koehler, Berlin's Mayor Klaus Wowereit and U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton wave to the crowd in front of the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin, Germany, Monday, Nov. 9, 2009, during the commemorations of the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall on Nov.9, 1989.
  6. From left, French President Nicolas Sarkozy, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and German President Horst Koehler wave to the crowd in front of the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin, Germany, Monday, Nov. 9, 2009, during the commemorations of the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall on Nov.9, 1989.
  7. New Zealand's players celebrate during their third one-day international cricket match against Pakistan in Abu Dhabi on November 9, 2009. New Zealand survived Mohammad Aamir's explosive half-century to clinch the series against Pakistan with a narrow seven-run victory in the third one-day international.
  8. Joe Jimenez, CEO of Novartis Pharma AG, speaks at the Reuters Health Summit in New York, November 9, 2009.
  9. Spain's Borja celebrates after scoring his side's second goal against Uruguay during their FIFA Under-17 World Cup quarter final soccer match at Ahmadu Bello Stadium in Kaduna November 9, 2009. ACTION IMAGES/Craig Brough VIA.
  10. BERLIN - NOVEMBER 09: (L-R) British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, French President Nicolas Sarkozy, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and German President Horst Koehler and Berlin's Major Klaus Wowereit attend the celebrations for the fall of the Berlin Wall near the Brandenburg Gate on November 9, 2009 in Berlin, Germany. Approximately 1,000 dominoes, painted by schoolchildren and artists all over the world, are meant to symbolically represent the end of communist rule across Eastern Europe and are the highlight of celebrations in the German capitol marking the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall.
  11. BERLIN - NOVEMBER 09: (L-R) British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, French President Nicolas Sarkozy, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and German President Horst Koehler, Berlin's Major Klaus Wowereit and U.S. secretary of state Hillary Clinton attend the celebrations for the fall of the Berlin Wall near the Brandenburg Gate on November 9, 2009 in Berlin, Germany. Approximately 1,000 dominoes, painted by schoolchildren and artists all over the world, are meant to symbolically represent the end of communist rule across Eastern Europe and are the highlight of celebrations in the German capitol marking the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall.
  12. Sesame Street's Big Bird charactor walks after a temporary street sign was unveiled November 9, 2009 at West 64th Street and Broadway in New York on the eve of the 40th anniversary of the broadcast of the children's television show. The sign is across the street from Sesame Workshop's corporate headquarters which will launch the 40th season of Sesame Street on PBS on November 10.
  13. Joe Jimenez, CEO of Novartis Pharma AG, speaks at the Reuters Health Summit in New York, November 9, 2009.
  14. A United States soldier walks past an Army poster advertising "Mental Strength For Life" at the Resiliency Center on Fort Hood Army post in Texas November 9, 2009. Thirteen people died in the mass shooting Thursday at the sprawling U.S. Army base in Texas. An Army psychiatrist trained to treat war wounded is suspected in the killings. The suspect, Major Nidal Malik Hasan, a Muslim born in the United States of immigrant parents, was shot four times by police.
  15. Pakistan's Saeed Ajmal (top-L) bowls during their third one-day international cricket match against New Zealand in Abu Dhabi on November 9, 2009. Off-spinner Saeed Ajmal took a career-best 4-33 to help Pakistan dismiss New Zealand for 211 in 46.3 overs in the third and final day-night international.
  16. BERLIN - NOVEMBER 09: (L-R) British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, French President Nicolas Sarkozy, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and German President Horst Koehler, Berlin's Major Klaus Wowereit and U.S. secretary of state Hillary Clinton attend the celebrations for the fall of the Berlin Wall near the Brandenburg Gate on November 9, 2009 in Berlin, Germany. Approximately 1,000 dominoes, painted by schoolchildren and artists all over the world, are meant to symbolically represent the end of communist rule across Eastern Europe and are the highlight of celebrations in the German capitol marking the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall.