People News Roundup: Farewell to Aznavour; Queen Elizabeth to vacate Buckingham Palace

Following is a summary of current people news briefs.

'I was told I would never make it in film,' veteran Judi Dench says

Veteran actress Judi Dench, who has won an Oscar, BAFTAs, Golden Globes and various theatre awards during her 60-year career, says her biggest achievement was to star in a movie - because she was once told she had the "wrong" face for films. The 83-year-old, whose big screen roles have included Queen Elizabeth I and James Bond's mentor M, said on the green carpet at the Zurich Film Festival on Wednesday evening she had been told early on in her career "you'll never make a film".

France bids adieu to Aznavour, pays tribute to Armenian roots

France bid farewell to Charles Aznavour on Friday in a tribute that reflected the late singer's status as a national icon at home as well as the country of his roots, Armenia. Pallbearers carried Aznavour's coffin into the courtyard at Les Invalides military museum in Paris, where Napoleon is buried, to the sound of haunting music played from a duduk, an oboe-like wind instrument native to Armenia.

Meghan and Harry inspect U.S. Declaration of Independence in England

Meghan Markle may now be part of the British royal family, but the former American actress' first visit to her new royal duchy began with a viewing of a copy of the U.S. Declaration of Independence from the British crown. Meghan married Queen Elizabeth's grandson Harry in May this year, and on Wednesday the couple visited the so-called Sussex Declaration one of only two known handwritten parchment copies of America's formative text, at Edes House in Chichester.

Ben Affleck, out of rehab, calls addiction a lifelong struggle

Oscar winner Ben Affleck said on Thursday he had completed a 40-day residential alcohol rehab program but said that battling addiction "is a lifelong and difficult struggle." Affleck, 46, who also went to rehab in 2017 and 2001, said in a posting on his Instagram account that he remained in outpatient care, and thanked his family, friends and fans for their support.

'M*A*S*H' star Alan Alda to get lifetime achievement award

Alan Alda, the "M*A*S*H" TV star with a long career on stage and screen, will receive the annual lifetime achievement award from the Screen Actors Guild, the actor union said on Thursday. Alda, 82, who announced in July that he had been diagnosed with Parkinson's disease, will receive the honour at the Screen Actors Guild (SAG) awards dinner in Los Angeles on Jan. 27.

Queen Elizabeth to vacate her Buckingham Palace rooms for refit: aide

Britain's Queen Elizabeth will vacate her private rooms at Buckingham Palace in 2025 as part of a 10-year refit of the building to prevent a catastrophic disaster such as a fire or a flood, a senior royal official said on Friday. The palace is undergoing a 369 million pound ($481 million) reservicing program to replace ageing and dangerous electrical wiring and boilers which started in April last year and is due to be completed in 2027.