BBC apologizes for saying Queen walked out of sitting

London – The British Broadcasting Corp. apologized to Queen Elizabeth II on Thursday for saying she had walked out of a portrait sitting with photographer Annie Leibovitz.

The BBC said a promotional trailer released Wednesday from the upcoming documentary, “A Year With the Queen,” showed the monarch arriving, not departing.

That scene showed the queen walking down a Buckingham Palace corridor, wearing a crown and her Order of the Garter robes, and telling her lady-in-waiting: “I’m not changing anything. I’ve had enough dressing like this, thank you very much.”

“In this trailer, there is a sequence that implies that the queen left a sitting prematurely,” the BBC said.

“This was not the case, and the actual sequence of events was misrepresented. The BBC would like to apologize to both the queen and Annie Leibovitz for any upset this may have caused.”

The promotional video showed the queen balking at the photographer’s request that she remove her crown.

Leibovitz told the queen, “I think it will look better without the crown because the Garter robe is so …,” but the monarch cut her off with an icy stare.

“Less dressy! What do you think this is?” the monarch said, gesturing to her attire.

The BBC Trust, the corporation’s new governance body, said it has asked BBC Director General Mark Thompson to provide a full explanation of how the mistake was made.

The BBC also issued a statement Thursday night saying the footage was shown by mistake.

Judge freezes cash sought by Birkhead in attorney dispute

Los Angeles – A judge froze a half-million-dollar account Thursday until it’s decided whether the money belongs to Larry Birkhead or his ex-attorney in the Anna Nicole Smith paternity case.

Superior Court Judge Charles C. Lee said he will decide by Tuesday whether to order arbitration to settle the dueling lawsuits by Birkhead and attorney Debra A. Opri.

Opri contends that Birkhead owes her more than $600,000 for her legal work on his request for DNA testing of Smith’s baby daughter – testing that in April showed he was the father.

Opri withdrew from the case in March and sued him two months later, seeking binding arbitration over the legal bills.

Birkhead countersued days later, contending that Opri owes him $505,250 held in a client trust account. He claims the money – along with $200,000 that Opri already returned – came from a deal he had with the Bravo cable network to talk about the paternity case.

Opri placed the money in the account against Birkhead’s wishes and after Birkhead fired her when she refused to turn over the money, the lawsuit contended.

The judge took under submission a request by Birkhead to temporarily block Opri from spending money in the account.

Special treatment allegations surround Paris Hilton’s jail stay

Los Angeles – Los Angeles County jail officials vowed to treat Paris Hilton like any other inmate.

But the Sheriff’s Department on Thursday launched an internal investigation into whether the hotel heiress received special perks while at the Century Regional Detention Center in Lynwood.

The department union, which has long clashed with Sheriff Lee Baca, said deputies have come forward to complain that Hilton had free access to a cordless phone while other prisoners must wait in line to use pay phones during set hours.

Hilton also received daily visits from top brass at the Lynwood facility – including a captain who hand-delivered her mail – in contrast to others who receive letters brought to them by inmate trusties, they said.

And officials were allegedly ordered to give her a new jail uniform while many inmates use recycled ones.

Two sheriff’s officials – who spoke on condition of anonymity – confirmed those details of her incarceration.

Michael Gennaco, chief attorney for the Sheriff’s Department’s Office of Independent Review, said he would track the investigation.

“We want to make sure the department looks into these matters in an objective and thorough way,” Gennaco said.