The state of a royal marriage is, all too often, rather precisely mirrored by the choice of Christmas card the couple send (pictured main).  We should perhaps look more carefully at the image chosen by the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge for their Christmas card this year. On the surface, it's a picture of perfect family harmony. All glossy hair, glowing skin and pearly white teeth, Kate (pictured on Christmas Day at Sandringham, inset) beams at the camera with a direct and friendly gaze. Prince George is adorable, clowning around in a blue Fair Isle jumper. Not to put too fine a point on it, the second in line to the throne looks like a spare part; a gatecrasher in this lovely shot. No wonder, then, that two national newspapers gave in to the understandable, if slightly tactless, urge to crop him out of the picture completely and made it a holy trinity of mother and children happily posing together.

Christmas, as any newly divorced couple will tell you, is a particularly harrowing time. Just ask Emma Rathbone and James Ord-Hume for the reasons their marriage broke down. Their answers will, undoubtedly, chime with others who have just endured a painful break-up. 'We grated on each other,' says James. 'We are so different that it was never going to work out.' As for Emma, she admits things weren't great in the bedroom department.

Former valet Mike Hewitson is among a number who have departed Sir Elton's sphere - apparently due to the influence of the singer's much-younger husband, David Furnish (pictured together, right). It used to be said that Elton could not do without the dapper, handsome and unflappable Hewitson, who started out as the road manager for the pop group the Dave Clark Five. But this bond - and, it seems, so many other meaningful relationships in the star's life - has broken. It comes after the singer was spotted this week being pushed along, with son Zachary, in a wheelchair during a trip to Disneyland in California (left).

The unnamed man was thought to be preparing to jump (left) when Recep Erdogan's motorcade was passing over the 211ft-tall bridge, which links Europe with Asia, after Friday prayers. News footage showed Erdogan's bodyguards bringing the sobbing man (inset top right), who appeared to be in his early 30s, to talk to him through the window of his car (inset bottom right). After a few moments, the man can then be seen kissing Erdogan's hand before being escorted to safety. Police had allegedly been trying for almost two hours to talk the man out of committing suicide.

The 15-year-old who has accompanied his mother for much of the tour across the US and Canada, where he worked backstage is said to have grown upset with being on the road for two months. The exact source of Rocco's frustration is not clear but Madonna (pictured together, inset) has posted numerous pictures and videos of him on Instagram that could have caused him embarrassment. In May she uploaded a video of him in boxer shorts with the hashtag #nosausage (left), and months later shared an awkward image of him looking like a girl (right). As Madonna and Rocco's father Guy Ritchie work out the transatlantic custody dispute, their son's passport is said to be being held for safekeeping in London by a lawyer who is representing him.

High street outlets have lost out to internet stores over the past three weeks in a major shift in shopping habits but retail analysts believe the fact that December 26 falls on a Saturday this year means shopper numbers will be up by 3 per cent on a year ago. Tourists are expected to be at the head of the queue for designer labels, with some products discounted by more than 60 per cent (left). At the same time, the mild weather has been a disaster in terms of sales of winter fashions. As a result, stores are sitting on a mountain of unsold winter coats, woollens and boots. Right: M&S; Collection's sequin shift dress, which is reduced by 50 per cent in tomorrow's sales and will cost just £37.

Catherine MacDiarmid, centre right, pictured with her children Suzi, left, Zach and Marcus, right have been forced to move to her mother's home in Kendal while their nearby home dries out, inset. While Margaret McCracken, bottom left, was dramatically rescued from her home on the bonnet of a Land Rover, top left, They have all been forced to move out of their homes as a result of the floods, but they all vowed not to let the disaster ruin their Christmas

As Christmas Day fairy tales go, Disney would struggle to produce one as heartwarming, even if they filled it with puppies and Dickensian street urchins with an NHS song beating Bieber to number one. The Lewisham and Greenwich NHS Choir, a group of staff at two south London hospitals have topped the charts with a blend of Simon & Garfunkel classic Bridge Over Troubled Water and Coldplay's Fix You. The track, which cost a few hundred pounds to make, was only intended as a morale boost. The heroes are: 1 - Caroline Harbord - Senior Physiotherapist Pulmonary Rehab; 2 - Katie Evans - Doctor - Geriatrics & General Medicine; 3 - Bethany Hemming - Community Paediatric Occupational Therapist; 4 - Elem Nnachi - Neonatal nurse; 5 - Caroline Duffy - Theatre Nurse; 6 - Emmett Masterson - Senior Contracts Manager; 7 - Petrina Pottinger - IT Systems Manager; 8 - Caroline Smith - Children's Community Physiotherapist; 9 - Michelle Brockbank - Admissions Coordinator; 10 - Suzanne Benett - Speech & Language Therapist ; 11 - Phil Mitchell - Musical Director; 12 - Zoe Davies - Junior Doctor; 13 - Mike Corr - Immunisation Clinical Coordinator; 14 - Chidi Ejimofo - Consultant Emergency Medicine; 15 - Brenda Clark - Children's Nurse; 16 - Joe Blunden - Communications Manager; 17 - Katie Rogerson - Children's Doctor; 18 - Harriet Nerva - Junior Doctor

The new type of gastric balloon, which has just been approved for use in the UK, is designed to help those who find it impossible to lose weight through normal diets. But unlike existing products, no surgery is required to insert or remove it. Instead, the patient swallows a tiny capsule containing the deflated Elipse balloon, which is made from a delicate polymer film.

A former denim factory in West London was turned into 33 houses and shops from Dickens' most beloved novels for the ambitious 20-part BBC series, 'Dickensian', which aired tonight. The show is the brainchild of EastEnders scriptwriter Tony Jordan, who wondered what would happen if 30 of Dickens' most memorable characters were put into one fictional story, living in one street, jostling elbow to elbow. So we have Ebenezer Scrooge from A Christmas Carol hoarding his ha'pennys, while next-door Fagin, the handkerchief thief from Oliver Twist, fries his evening sausages. The central character in this fantastical, bizarre soap opera is the plodding, methodical, clean shirted Inspector Bucket, from Bleak House, one of the all time great fictional detectives.

Anita Harris (pictured) said angels have looked after her since her childhood and despite financial disasters, two cancer scares and the pain of never having children after several miscarriages. While most women her age would be enjoying retirement, Miss Harris is busier than ever. She is playing the wicked baroness in Cinderella at the Kings Theatre in Portsmouth and has a new single in the pipeline, In My Life. Miss Harris, who starred as Nurse Clarke in 1967 film Carry On Doctor opposite Sid James (right, in a scene with Miss Harris), said: 'I believe angels surround us, protectively and advisedly.'

Jen Chervin (pictured right as an adult and left as a baby) of Oregon who was abandoned on the steps of a California hospital 44 years ago has located her biological parents just in time for Christmas. Since Jen was the product of the affair, she is choosing not to name her parents who have kept the pregnancy a secret for many years. Her mother told her that the pregnancy happened while her husband was fighting in Vietnam. Both of her parents are still married to the person they were when the affair occurred.

Pueraria lobate (also known as kudzu),the world's most aggressive and invasive plant (pictured) species, is the subject of a photo-series by Swedish photographer Helene Schmitz.Schmitz, who had her first US solo show at the Turn gallery in New York from October 21 to November 29, spent the summer of 2012 traveling through Georgia, Alabama, and South Carolina with her assistant Felix Bridell in order to capture 'nightmarish' images of the powerful plant.

They were the best of friends and did everything together. Jenna Folland and Kellie Campbell even posed for a photo aged six clutching boy and girl dolls and planned to have babies at the same time. So it was only fitting that the friends from Newton Abbot, Devon later gave birth on the same day to the girl and boy they predicted at that young age.

Nineteen people, including six children, have drowned off the coast of the Turkish city of Izmir after their boat capsized in the Aegean Sea. Rescue teams managed to save 21 people and were still looking for one other survivor, according to the Turkish coast guard. The boat capsized near the town of Dikili, which lies directly across from the Greek island of Lesbos.

Sarah Corell, 36, from Liverpool, has a dog named Louis (pictured together, right) who has chewed through her £600 Louis Vuitton bag and torn the heels off her £850 Louboutin shoes. Helen Turner (middle) has had her dog Salvador since July and estimates he has already cost her £4,000. Violet Fenn (left) describes her dog Mort (left) as 'a demon', and he has cost her nearly £1,000. But this is no surprise to pet experts, after a new report named them as the most destructive breed, causing an average of £866 of damage to their owners in their lifetimes.

From 1961 until 1977, Fernande Grudet - better known as Madame Claude - provided the ultimate A-list of prostitutes for the ultimate A-list of clients, including John F Kennedy and Marlon Brando. Threatened by tax evasion allegations and a crackdown on prostitution, she was forced to flee Paris for the United States in 1977. In Los Angeles, she bumped into British actress Joan Collins (left) and Romanian actress Evie Bricusse, who she tried to recruit. She told the women: Your husbands don't have to know, and I believe you could make enough money to buy yourselves a few little extra baubles.'

Dr. Richard O'Connor (pictured) of Montana claims he captured photos of two UFOs on November 4 of this year. He says his photos are real and that he wants people to know the truth.

Judy and Jerry Sheindlin's 8,550-square-foot condo in Naples, Florida, comes with four bedrooms, six bathrooms, two private elevators, wraparound windows overlooking the bay, a sauna and access to a pool. The no-nonsense TV judge and her husband of 38 years bought the high-end penthouse at the Windsor at Bay Colony for $6.9million back in 2005, and last month they decided to trade it in for an $8.9million mansion located down the street.

Brazen Marie Buchan, 33 (pictured, right), who is dubbed 'Octo-mum' for her huge brood (left), will be able to sleep on her own for the first time since having her children after moving into a new house (inset) in Birmingham. The work-shy mum, who openly brags about living for free thanks to her treasure-trove of benefits, said the large property in Weoley Castle, Birmingham, is 'the perfect Christmas present'. She lives with Tia, 12, Leah, 11, Latoya, nine, Joshua, eight, Alisha, six, Mikayla, four, Amelia, two, and one-year-old Olivia and has not ruled out having a ninth child. Marie's £26,000 annual benefits package is made up of council tax, child benefit, child tax, income support and housing benefit of 50p a week.

Premier League legend Frank Lampard appears to have been snapped out on a Christmas shopping spree - at Poundland. Shoppers looked on in disbelief as the former Chelsea star, or someone who is the spitting image of him, (pictured) perused the toiletries aisle at the Fulham store on Christmas Eve. The 37-year-old now rakes in a whopping £3.8million a season as a midfielder for New York City FC but is clearly still a bargain hunter at heart.

A Florida couple say presents have piled up for their year-old son, whose Christmas card with Santa captivated readers nationwide. Jaxon Buell first had a small following of family and well-wishers on the Facebook page his parents set up shortly after he was born August 27, 2014, with a rare condition that prevented much of his brain from forming and left half his skull flat. A Christmas card showing Jaxon leaning into Santa's ear garnered more gifts and donations for the boy and his parents. Six or seven presents have been arriving daily at the family's Tavares home, the boy's mother said.

Karina and Craig Waters from Perth in Western Australia purchased the Chateau de Gudanes in the south of France back in 2013. The Waters family, including their two teenage children, immediately began restoring the sprawling property, which was built in the mid 1700s. The restoration is being documented on the chateau's website and social media accounts. The historic chateau, which overlooks the Midi-Pyrénées, was half in ruins when the Waters family took over with many rooms having no ceiling or floor and the place had remarkably never been outfitted with heat or electricity. Since they purchased the property, the Australian couple have uncovered mysterious tunnels, ancient artefacts and even a fresco painting after peeling away some old wallpaper.

They are those moments we swear cannot be real and have no idea how to explain. But it is much more difficult to argue with the seemingly paranormal when you see it on camera. Here MailOnline reveals its top five weirdest videos to come out of the woodwork in 2015. Pictured top left, aspiring Albanian newsreader Enki Bracaj landed the role after this screen test. Top right, a woman looks to the sky in Texas after inexplicable screeching sounds are heard. Bottom left, a mother captures footage of a 'goblin' racing past her child in Argentina. Bottom right, Lexi Hood from Wales says 'naughty boy' after being pushed over by a 'ghost' while playing peek-a-boo with her father.

Christmas celebrations have been getting underway around the globe today with church services, beach parties and people even celebrating with fake snow. NATO troops in Kabul, Afghanistan, enjoyed some festive treats (bottom right). In Germany, brave bathers enjoyed a swim in a lake in Berlin as Europe celebrates an unseasonably warm December (left). There were similar festive celebrations in Barcelona, where people took a dip at the Nadal Cup swimming event (top right).