SWEDEN'S ROYAL FAMILY CELEBRATE NATIONAL DAY

IN TIME HONORED TRADITION, THE PEOPLE OF SWEDEN MARKED THEIR NATIONAL DAY THIS WEEK. AS IS CUSTOMARY, THE MAIN FOCUS OF THE CELEBRATIONS WAS THE PROCESSION OF THE ROYAL FAMILY TO THE OPEN AIR MUSEUM OF SKAGEN IN STOCKHOLM, AND A GRAND RECEPTION IN SOLLIDEN PALACE WHICH BROUGHT THE GALA PROCEEDINGS TO A CLOSE. BUT THERE WAS AN EXTRA SPECIAL ELEMENT ADDED THIS YEAR, AS THE DAY OFFICIALLY KICKED OFF CELEBRATIONS LEADING UP TO THE UPCOMING ROYAL WEDDING OF CROWN PRINCESS VICTORIA AND DANIEL WESTLING. AND ROYAL FANS WERE PARTICULARLY HAPPY TO SEE THE GROOM TO BE ATTENDING THE CELEBRATIONS FOR THE FIRST TIME, ALONGSIDE HIS FIANCEE AND HER PARENTS QUEEN SILVIA AND KING GUSTAF XVI. THE ONLY MEMBER OF THE ROYAL FAMILY MISSING WAS PRINCESS MADELEINE, STILL STAYING OUT OF THE PUBLIC EYE FOLLOWING HER SPLIT FROM FIANCE JONAS BERGSTROM. THE SUBJECT OF THE UPCOMING ROYAL NUPTIALS, WHICH WILL TAKE PLACE ON 19.JUNE, WERE ALSO INCLUDED IN THE TRADITIONAL SPEECH OF THE SWEDISH MONARCH. THE KING RAISED A HUGE WAVE OF APPLAUSE AFTER REMINDING THE CROWDS THAT HIS FIRST-BORN DAUGHTER WOULD WED IN LESS THAN TWO WEEKS TIME. 'THIS SUMMER THERE WILL BE A VERY IMPORTANT EVENT IN THE HISTORY OF OUR FAMILY, OUR ELDEST DAUGHTER MARRIES', SAID CARL GUSTAF, BEFORE BEING INTERRUPTED BY RAPTUROUS CLAPPING. HE CONTINUED: 'THE QUEEN AND I FEEL AN ENORMOUS AMOUNT OF HAPPINESS AT THIS TIME.' THE 6.JUNE HOLIDAY MARKED THE START OF THE 'FESTIVAL OF LOVE', WHICH WILL FILL STOCKHOLM WITH A PROGRAM OF CULTURAL EVENTS IN THE LEAD UP TO THE COUPLE'S BIG DAY.

GALILEO MUSEUM TO DISPLAY NEWLY DISCOVERED GALILEO REMAINS

A TOOTH, THUMB AND FINGER CUT OFF FROM THE BODY OF RENOWNED ITALIAN SCIENTIST GALILEO, WHO DIED IN 1642, GO ON DISPLAY THIS WEEK IN FLORENCE AFTER AN ART COLLECTOR FOUND THEM BY CHANCE LAST YEAR. THE BODY PARTS, ALONG WITH ANOTHER FINGER AND A VERTEBRAE, WERE CUT FROM GALILEO'S CORPSE BY SCIENTISTS AND HISTORIANS DURING A BURIAL CEREMONY 95 YEARS AFTER HIS DEATH. 'THE LAYMEN AND MASONS THAT WERE ATTENDING THE CEREMONY THOUGHT THAT THEY SHOULD HAVE SOME SOUVENIR OF GALILEO'S BODY', PAOLO GALLUZZI, DIRECTOR OF FLORENCE'S GALILEO MUSEUM, TOLD REUTERS IN A RECENT INTERVIEW. 'THEY THOUGHT THAT HAVING A PIECE OF THE MAN WOULD HAVE BEEN A HOMAGE TO HIS TRADITION. THE IDEA OF HAVING RELICS OF SCIENCE IS VERY SIMILAR, IS A MIRROR OF THE RELICS OF RELIGION', HE ADDED. THE REMAINS, ALONG WITH TWO TELESCOPES, A COMPASS AND A WEALTH OF OTHER INSTRUMENTS DESIGNED BY GALILEO, ARE THE MAIN ATTRACTION AT THE REFURBISHED, AND RENAMED, GALILEO MUSEUM, WHICH OPENS ON 10.JUNE AFTER TWO YEARS OF RENOVATION. WHILE ONE OF GALILEO'S FINGERS AND THE VERTEBRAE HAD BEEN CONSERVED IN FLORENCE AND PADUA SINCE 1737, THE OTHER FINGER, THE THUMB AND THE TOOTH HAD PASSED FROM ONE COLLECTOR TO ANOTHER UNTIL THEY WENT MISSING IN 1905. ALBERTO BRUSCHI, A RENOWNED FLORENCE ART COLLECTOR, UNKNOWINGLY BOUGHT THEM WITH OTHER RELIGIOUS RELICS LAST OCTOBER AT AN AUCTION, WHERE THEY WERE BEING SOLD AS UNIDENTIFIED ARTIFACTS CONTAINED IN A 17th CENTURY WOODEN CASE. WHEN BRUSCHI AND HIS DAUGHTER NOTICED THAT GALILEO'S BUST TOPPED THE CASE, AND READ A BOOK BY GALLUZZI DOCUMENTING HOW PARTS OF THE SCIENTIST'S BODY HAD BEEN CUT OFF AT HIS BURIAL, THEY CONTACTED THE MUSEUM. TESTS AND STUDIES CONFIRMED THAT THEY HAD FOUND GALILEO'S MISSING REMAINS.

A HIDDEN PAINTING BY JACOPO TINTORETTO GOES ON DISPLAY

A HIDDEN PAINTING BY JACOPO TINTORETTO, THE LAST OF THE THREE GREAT VENETIAN RENAISSANCE PAINTERS, HAS GONE ON PUBLIC DISPLAY FOR THE FIRST TIME AND CAN BE SEEN AT KINGSTON LACY IN DORSET. THE PAINTING HAS SPENT MOST OF THE LAST 30 YEARS IN STORAGE BUT, FOLLOWING A MAJOR PROGRAM OF CLEANING AND RESTORATION, 'APOLLO (OR HYMEN) CROWNING A POET AND GIVING HIM A SPOUSE' CAN BE SEEN AT LAST. HOWEVER, AS WELL AS GIVING VIVID NEW LIFE TO THE PAINTING AND CONFIRMING ITS ORIGINS, THE CLEANING HAS RAISED AS MANY QUESTIONS AS IT ANSWERS AND THE NATIONAL TRUST IS ASKING FOR HELP TO SOLVE ITS MANY MYSTERIES. THEIR ART EXPERTS BELIEVE THAT THE PAINTING DEPICTS APOLLO, OR POSSIBLE THE GOD OF MARRIAGE, HYMEN, PLACING A CROWN ON AN UNKNOWN FIGURE, PROBABLY A POET WHO IS HOLDING A BOOK. MYTHICAL FIGURES SURROUNDING THEM INCLUDE THE GOD HERCULES AND A WOMAN BELIEVED TO BE THE INTENDED SPOUSE. HOWEVER, IDENTIFICATION OF OTHER FIGURES IS STILL OPEN TO QUESTION ALONG WITH THE SIGNIFICANCE OF VARIOUS OBJECTS WHICH WOULD HAVE HAD A CLEAR MEANING TO THOSE WHO SAW IT WHEN IT WAS PAINTED. THESE INCLUDE A DIE DEPICTING FIVE DOTS AND THE PRESENCE OF A GOLD BOX AND DISH WITH COINS IN IT. ALASTAIR LAING, CURATOR OF PICTURES AND SCULPTURES SAID: 'THIS IS UNDOUBTEDLY A WORK OF GREAT SIGNIFICANCE, TITIAN, VERONESE AND TINTORETTO ARE THE THREE GREAT MASTERS OF THE MID TO LATE 16th CENTURY IN VENICE AND TO HAVE A PAINTING BY TINTORETTO IN AN ENGLISH HOUSE, RATHER THAN STILL IN ITS ORIGINAL LOCATION IN VENICE, OR IN AN ITALIAN MUSEUM, IS EXTRAORDINARY. IT IS ALL TEH MORE FASCINATING THAT WE DO NOT YET KNOW WHO OR WHERE IT WAS PAINTED FOR, OR WHAT THE ACTUAL SUBJECT IS.' THE PAINTING WAS GIVEN TO THE NATIONAL TRUST AS PART OF THE CONTENTS OF KINGSTON LACY IN 1981 BUT IT WAS IN SUCH POOR CONDITION THAT IT REMAINED IN STORAGE. FOLLOWING SUCCESSFUL FUND-RAISING, IT HAS NOW BEEN FULLY CLEANED AND RESTORED. LAYERS OF DARKENED VARNISH AND DISCOLOURED OVER PAINT HAD CAUSED DIFFICULTY IN IDENTIFYING THE SUBJECT MATTER OF THE PAINTING, AND EVEN WHETHER IT WAS BY TINTORETTO HIMSELF. THE CLEANING AND RESTORATION, UNDERTAKEN BY THE HAMILTON KERR INSTITUTE NEAR CAMBRIDGE, INCLUDING X RAYS AND INFRARED ANALYSIS THAT HELPED TO IDENTIFY THE UNQUESTIONABLE STYLE AND BRUSH STOKES OF TINTORETTO. THEY ALSO REVEALED ORIGINAL UNDER-DRAWINGS THAT SHOW CHANGES HE MADE TO FACES, CLOTHING AND POSITIONING OF SUBJECTS IN THE FINAL VERSION. THE PAINTING PROBABLY DATES FROM THE 1560s OR 1570s FROM A PALAZZO IN VENICE WHERE IT WAS ACQUIRED IN 1849 BY WILLIAM JOHN BANKES, THEN OWNER OF KINGSTON LACY. THE PAINTING WAS LAST KNOWN TO HAVE BEEN DISPLAYED IN THE DINING-ROOM AT KINGSTON LACY. IT IS HERE THAT IT WILL BE REINSTATED.

CITY OF LEEDS ACQUIRES ITS FIRST FRINK SCULPTURE

THE CITY OF LEEDS, KNOWN FOR ITS RICH COLLECTION OF 20th CENTURY BRITISH SCULPTURE, HAS ACQUIRED ITS FIRST PIECE BY ACCLAIMED BRITISH ARTIST ELISABETH FRINK (1930 - 1993) THANKS TO A MAJOR GIFT. THE LIFE-SIZE PLASTER MAQUETTE, ENTITLED BIRDMAN, HAS BEEN GIFTED TO LEEDS ART GALLERY THROUGH MEMBERSHIP CHARITY THE ART FUND BY THE FRINK ESTATE AND BEAUX ARTS, LONDON. LEEDS ART GALLERY REPRESENTS SOME OF THE GREATEST BRITISH SCULPTORS OF THE 20th CENTURY AND THE ADDITION OF A SIGNIFICANT FRINK SCULPTURE TO THE COLLECTION IS A MAJOR COOP. THE SCULPTURE HAS BEEN VALUED AT £250,000. ELISABETH FRINK IS WIDELY RECOGNIZED AS ONE OF THE UK's MOST IMPORTANT POST-WAR SCULPTORS, AND BIRDMAN IS A WONDERFUL ILLUSTRATION OF SOME OF THE ARTIST'S KEY CONCERNS. BIRDMAN REPRESENTS A HALF MAN, HALF BIRD FIGURE. MADE IN PLASTER ON A STEEL ARMATURE, IT IS 190cm TALL. THE MALE FORM, ALONG WITH ANIMALS SUCH AS DOGS, HORSES AND BIRDS, WAS A MAJOR PREOCCUPATION FOR FRINK THROUGHOUT HER CAREER. IN PARTICULAR, THE ARTIST WAS RENOWNED FOR REPRESENTING BOTH THE STRENGTH AND VULNERABILITY IN THE MALE FORM. WITH ITS THIN SPINDLY LIMBS AND SLIGHT TORSO, BIRDMAN CAPTURES THE FRAIL, VULNERABLE SIDE OF MAN. ALTHOUGH ITS CREATION DATER IS UNCERTAIN, IT IS THOUGHT TO HAVE BEEN MADE AROUND 1958/9. IT IS THOUGHT THAT FRINK COULD HAVE BEEN INSPIRED TO CREATE THE BIRDMAN MOTIF AFTER READING IN PARIS-MATCH THE STORY OF THE DEATH OF A REAL-LIFE 'BIRDMAN', LEO VALENTIN, WHO HAD FALLEN TO EARTH WEARING WOODEN WINGS IN AN ATTEMPT TO FLY. A SPOKESPERSON FOR THE ART FUND SAID: 'WE THANK THE FRINK ESTATE AND BEAUX ARTS FOR CHOOSING TO GIVE BIRDMAN THROUGH THE ART FUND, AND WE ENCOURAGE ANYONE, WHETHER A GALLERIST OR A PRIVATE COLLECTOR, WHO MIGHT BE DONATING A WORK OF ART TO CONSIDER DOING SO THROUGH US. WE WORK HARD TO ENSURE THAT EACH GIFT IS PLACED IN A PUBLIC COLLECTION THAT WILL LOOK AFTER IT WELL AND PRESENT IT TO ITS BEST ADVANTAGE.'

PRINCESS DIANA'S FIRST OFFICIAL DRESS SELLS FOR £192,000

THE STUNNING BLACK TAFFETA GOWN, DESIGNED BY ELIZABETH AND DAVID EMANUEL, WHICH CATAPULTED THE THEN 19 YEAR OLD DIANA ON TO THE WORLD STAGE WHEN SHE WORE IT JUST WEEKS AFTER BECOMING ENGAGED TO PRINCE CHARLES, SOLD AT AUCTION FOR £192,000, NEARLY FOUR TIMES WHAT IT WAS EXPECTED TO ACHIEVE. THE PRINCESS OF WALES, WHO WAS THEN LADY DIANA SPENCER, WORE THE DRESS TO A BLACK-TIE EVENT AT GOLDSMITHS' HALL IN LONDON IN MARCH 1981, HER FIRST OFFICIAL ENGAGEMENT WITH HER FIANCE, CHARLES. THE COUPLE WERE ATTENDING AN EVENT IN AID OF THE ROYAL OPERA HOUSE DEVELOPMENT APPEAL AND IMAGES OF THE ROYAL BRIDE TO BE STEPPING OUT OF A LIMOUSINE IN THE BLACK GOWN WITH A PLUNGING NECKLINE MADE NEWSPAPER HEADLINES AND IMMEDIATELY ESTABLISHED DIANA AS THE MOST GLAMOROUS MEMBER OF THE ROYAL FAMILY. AS THE ROYAL WEDDING APPROACHED THE PRINCESS RETURNED TO THE DESIGNERS TO HAVE IT ALTERED AS SHE HAD LOST WEIGHT, BUT IT WAS EASIER TO MAKE ANOTHER AND THE ORIGINAL REMAINED FORGOTTEN FOR MANY YEARS. THE DRESS, WHICH HAD BEEN EXPECTED TO SELL FOR AROUND £50,000,, WAS BOUGHT AT AN AUCTION IN LINDON BY A FASHION MUSEUM IN CHILE. DESIGNER ELIZABETH EMANUEL WRITING IN HER BOOK ABOUT THE BRIDAL GOWN, DESCRIBED HOW THE INFAMOUS BLACK DRESS BEGAN LIFE AS A SAMPLE THAT HAD BEEN LOANED OUT TO THE ACTRESS LIZA GODDARD. SPEAKING ABOUT DIANA, SHE ADDED: 'THE TRANSFORMATION WAS INCREDIBLE. SHE ARRIVED LOOKING LIKE THE NURSERY SCHOOL TEACHER SHE WAS, BUT NOW SHE LOOKED LIKE A MOVIE STAR. WE GAVE HER THE DRESS, MADE A LITTLE SHAWL TO GO WITH IT SO SHE COULD COVER UP ON THE NIGHT AND AWAY SHE WENT. WE HADN'T CONSIDERED THE FACT THAT WHEN DIANA BENT OVER, AS SHE WOULD HAVE TO DO WHEN GETTING OUT OF THE CAR, SHE WOULD SHOW QUITE A LOT OF CLEAVAGE. WE JUST THOUGH SHE LOOKED FABULOUS.' THE DRESS WAS THE STAR LOT AT AN AUCTION OF ITEMS FROM THE EMANUEL'S ARCHIVE HELD AT LA GALLERIA, IN CENTRAL LONDON, BY SPECIALIST VINTAGE FASHION AUCTIONEERS KERRY TAYLOR AUCTIONS.

BARONESS THATCHER RETURNS TO NUMBER 10

BARONESS THATCHER WAS WELCOMED BACK TO 10 DOWNING STREET YESTERDAY FOR AN A HISTORIC PRIVATE MEETING WITH THE NEW PRIME MINISTER. DAVID CAMERON CAME TO THE DOOR OF NUMBER 10 TO WELCOME THATCHER AND HELPED THE VISIBLY FRAIL FORMER PRIME MINISTER FROM HER LIMOUSINE. THE 84 YEAR OLD 'IRON LADY' WAVED TO WAITING PHOTOGRAPHERS BUT MADE NO COMMENT AS SHE ENTERED THE ADDRESS FROM WHICH SHE LED THE UK BETWEEN 1979 TO 1990. WEARING A POWDER BLUE DRESS AND COAT, THE FORMER PM BRIEFLY HELD ON TO THE RAILINGS OUTSIDE NUMBER 10 AS SHE MOUNTED THE DOORSTEP TO POSE FOR PICTURES OUTSIDE THE ICONIC FRONT DOOR. SHE WAS LAST IN 10 DOWNING STREET IN NOVEMBER LAST YEAR WHEN SHE ATTENDED THE UNVEILING OF HER PORTRAIT, THE FIRST PAINTING OF A LIVING POLITICIAN TO BE HUNG IN THE OFFICIAL RESIDENCE OF THE PRIME MINISTER. LADY THATCHER ENJOYED A CUP OF TEA AND A CHAT WITH THE NEW PRIME MINISTER BEFORE HEADING HOME.

REMAINS OF ROMAN GLADIATORS EXCAVATED IN NORTHERN ENGLAND

DOZENS OF HEADLESS SKELETONS EXCAVATED FROM A NORTHERN ENGLISH BUILDING SITE APPEAR TO BE THE REMAINS OF ROMAN GLADIATORS, ONE OF WHOM HAD BITES FROM A LION, TIGER BEAR OR OTHER LARGE ANIMAL, ARCHAEOLOGISTS SAID MONDAY. EXPERTS SAID NEW FORENSIC EVIDENCE SUGGESTS THE BONES BELONG TO THE PROFESSIONAL FIGHTERS, WHO WERE OFTEN KILLED WHILE ENTERTAINING SPECTATORS. MOST OF THE SKELETONS WERE MALE AND APPEARED STRONGER AND TALLER THAN THE AVERAGE ROMAN, WITH SIGNS OF ARM-MUSCLE STRESS THAT SUGGEST WEAPONS TRAINING THAT BEGAN IN THE MEN'S TEENAGE YEARS. THE TEAM INVESTIGATING THE REMAINS SAID THAT ONE OF THE BEST CLUES WAS CARNIVORE TOOTH MARKS FOUND ON THE HIP AND SHOULDER OF ONE OF THE SKELETONS. 'THE PRESENCE OF BITE MARKS IS ONE OF THE STRONGEST PIECES OF EVIDENCE SUGGESTING AN ARENA CONNECTION. IT WOULD SEEM HIGHLY UNLIKELY THAT THIS INDIVIDUAL WAS ATTACKED BY A TIGER AS HE WAS WALKING HOME', SAID MICHAEL WYSOCKI, A LECTURER IN FORENSIC ANTHROPOLOGY AND ARCHAEOLOGY WHO STUDIED THE SKELETONS. THE BITES WERE BELIEVED TO HAVE CAUSED THE PERSON'S DEATH, HE SAID. YORK, ABOUT 200 MILES NORTH OF LONDON, WAS ONE OF THE LARGEST CITIES IN ROMAN BRITAIN, AND EXPERTS BELIEVE BANDS OF GLADIATORS TOURING THE ROMAN EMPIRE OCCASIONALLY TRAVELED TO THE CITY TO PUT ON FIGHTING SHOWS. WYSOCKI SAID GLADIATORS WERE OFTEN BEHEADED AS AN ACT OF MERCY AFTER SUFFERING HORRIFIC INJURIES DURING THEIR FIGHTS. ALL OF THE SKELETONS WERE BURIED WITH POTTERY, ANIMALS OR OTHER OFFERINGS, SUGGESTING THEY WERE RESPECTED PEOPLE, NOT CRIMINALS. BUT SOME EXPERTS SAID MORE EVIDENCE WAS NEEDED TO PROVE THAT THE YORK BURIAL SITE WAS EXCLUSIVELY FOR GLADIATORS. THE YORK ARCHAEOLOGICAL TRUST SAID THAT THE BURIAL GROUND WAS NOT THE FIRST OF ITS KIND TO BE UNCOVERED BUT IT WAS AMONG THE BEST PRESERVED. THE ONLY OTHER COMPARABLE GLADIATOR CEMETERY IS IN EPHESUS, TURKEY, SAID WYSOCKI. THE HUMAN REMAINS FOUND THERE WERE FRAGMENTED AND NOT AS COMPLETE AS THOSE UNEARTHED IN YORK HE ADDED. ARCHAEOLOGISTS STUMBLED UPON THE YORK SKELETONS IN 2003, WHEN THEY WERE ASSESSING AN AREA FOR HOUSING DEVELOPMENT. THE SITE WAS PART OF A LARGE CEMETERY ON THE OUTSKIRTS OF THE ROMAN TOWN. AN EXCAVATION PROJECT FOLLOWED, EVENTUALLY UNCOVERING 80 ROMAN SKELETONS, INCLUDING 23 THAT WERE FOUND IN A LOCAL RESIDENT'S BACK GARDEN. THE REMAINS WERE BELIEVED TO DATE FROM THE LATE 1st CENTURY TO THE 4tH CENTURY AD.