Lauren Charlotte Harries (formerly James Harries), was born in Surrey, England in 1978 and is a disputed (see below) child prodigy who became famous in Britain after appearing on Wogan, Terry Wogan's chat show in 1988. Should not be confused with Surry. ... Motto (French) God and my right Anthem No official anthem - the United Kingdom anthem God Save the Queen is commonly used England() – on the European continent() – in the United Kingdom() Capital (and largest city) London (de facto) Official languages English (de facto) Unified  -  by Athelstan 927 AD  Area  -  Total 130... A child prodigy is someone who is a master of one or more skills or arts at an early age. ... Wogan was a chat show on British television, hosted by Terry Wogan. ... Sir Michael Terence Wogan, KBE DL (born August 3, 1938, in Limerick, County Limerick, Ireland), more commonly known as Terry Wogan, is a radio and television broadcaster who has worked for the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) in the United Kingdom (UK) for most of his career. ...

On the programme the ten-year-old boy appeared to demonstrate a knowledge about antiques far beyond his years and this, combined with a striking appearance, dress sense (bow ties and formal attire), blonde curly hair, and his precocious manner of speaking caught the nation's attention.

Self-promotion was something of an obsession with James's father. His ambition was to get into The Guinness Book of Records. In 1977, he cooked a 26ft red, white and blue Yorkshire pudding to celebrate the Silver Jubilee. The stunt helped promote his business.

In 1991, the book Rags To Riches was published by the family publishing company Adviser and Weekly News. Writing was credited to James, with illustrations by his brother Adam. The book was a light hearted look at jumble sales written from real life experiences of James and his family. It purported to be a guide to making money by spotting bargains, and contained a reference guide to aid with identification of antiques. It did not sell in very large numbers and is quite hard to obtain nowadays, although it sometimes comes up for sale on internet auction sites.

Once he faded from the public eye, James was employed in a series of low paid jobs but by his own admission usually didn't last very long before being fired or quitting. Occasionally he would resurface on TV shows and expressed an interest in starring in a soap although nothing came of this. For Philippine soap opera, see Teleserye. ...

Initially he thought himself to be gay and tried the gay lifestyle but didn't fit in. After someone in a supermarket approached him and said they thought he should become a woman, he came to the realisation that he was transsexual, and transitioned to become a woman in 1998. In 2001 Harries had sex reassignment surgery. A transsexual (sometimes transexual) person establishes a permanent identity with the opposite gender to their assigned (usually at birth) sex. ... Transitioning is the process of ceasing to live in one gender role and starting to live in another, undertaken by transgender and transsexual people. ... This article does not cite its references or sources. ...

In 2004, Channel 4 broadcast a documentary Little Lady Fauntleroy made by actor Keith Allen in which he interviewed the Harries family. They told him they were marriage counsellors with a sideline in private investigation. They also claimed to have many qualifications demonstrating their abilities in those fields, the entire family being Doctors of Metaphysics. It has been suggested that Channel Four Television Corporation be merged into this article or section. ... Keith Allen (born 2 September 1953 in Gorseinon, Swansea, Wales) is a Welsh comedian, actor, singer and writer. ... Relationship counseling may be advertised under several headings: marriage, family, couples, ... . It is usually done by appointment with a face-to-face counsellor. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ...

Allen discovered that many of the qualifications had been purchased on the internet and that Harries' own mother had overseen Harries' counselling on the psychological aspects of gender reassignment. A number of other aspects of the family's life did not bear scrutiny.

Contrary to the perceived wisdom of the time, Harries may not have been a child prodigy at all. On Allen's documentary Lauren Harries revealed that she had been given stock, impressive sounding answers that could be used if asked a question she could not understand. Harries also received an unorthodox, home-based education and passed only three GCSEs (a below average, some might even say poor, academic record). This does not cite any references or sources. ...

The documentary was released on 4 July 2005 as a commercial DVD. is the 185th day of the year (186th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Since Harries' childhood the family, who live in Cardiff, Wales, have been persecuted by neighbours who take exception to Harries' "transvestitism" and the perceived snobbery of the family. Cabbages are often thrown at the windows of their house. On July 8, 2005, a gang of five to seven young men attacked Lauren, her father and her brother.^[1] One 17 year old boy was later fined and given a supervision order for his role in the incident.^[2] Cardiff (English:  , Welsh: ) is the capital, largest and core city of Wales. ... This article is about the country. ... Cultivar Group Brassica oleracea Capitata Group The cabbage (Brassica oleracea Capitata Group) is an edible plant of the Family Brassicaceae (or Cruciferae). ... is the 189th day of the year (190th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ...

In October 2006 Lauren appeared in a Channel Five television series Trust Me...I'm A Beauty Therapist which was filmed on location in a Beauty Therapists in Swansea, Wales. Five (often referred as five, as per the logo), formerly, and more commonly known as Channel 5, is the British fifth and final national analogue terrestrial TV channel. ... Trust Me - Im A Beauty Therapist was a Five reality television show in which eight British celebrities trained to become beauticians in a South Wales beauty salon. ...

Lauren was recently rumoured as being a housemate in the 5th series of Celebrity Big Brother which started in January 2007. She reportedly failed the psychological test that all prospective housemates have to take and was replaced by Cleo Rocos.^{[citation needed]} Celebrity Big Brother 2007 was the fifth series of the United Kingdom reality television series Celebrity Big Brother, a spin-off of Big Brother. ... Cleopatra Anderson Rocos (born 24 July 1962 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) is a UK-based comedy actress and television/theatre producer, best known as the co-star and close friend of the late English zany radio/TV comedian and DJ Kenny Everett. ...

References

1. ^ Anna Hammond (2005-07-13). Sex change ex-child star in brutal attack. icWales. Retrieved on 2007-04-04.
2. ^ Gareth Llewellyn (2005-09-19). Youth who attacked transsexual spared jail. icWales. Retrieved on 2007-04-04.

Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era. ... is the 94th day of the year (95th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era. ... is the 94th day of the year (95th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ...

External links

• Just call me Lauren - Lauren Harries interviewed by Matt Seaton for The Guardian (April 13, 2001)
• Lauren Harries on the Tongs Wiki
• BBC article re assault on Harries and her family (September 2005)