Thursday gossip round-up: Britney Spears off of ‘X-Factor’

After mixed reviews and speculation that the show’s producers were planning to oust her, Britney Spears has decided to leave “The X Factor” after one season, according to Us Weekly. Spears earned $15 million for her stint as a judge for the singing competition series, and sources say Simon Cowell and the shows other bosses were less than thrilled by what they got for their money. Cowell “wanted crazy Britney, but he got boring Britney,” a source says.

Taylor Swift has recently broken up with One Direction’s Harry Styles, so naturally it’s time for rival boy band the Wanted to chime in on Swift’s love life. “I think she should stay single for a bit,” the Wanted’s Jay McGuiness tells E! News. Fellow band member Nathan Sykes agrees, adding that Swift should “write a whole album about [being single].”

Queen Elizabeth gave her granddaughter-in-law quite the birthday present. On what just happened to be Kate Middleton‘s 31st birthday, the monarch decreed that decreed that her next great-grandchild’s title will be prince or princess and be referred to as His or Her Royal Highness, according to the BBC. A previous rule had allowed the male child of the Prince of Wales could be a prince, but a daughter couldn’t be a princess. “All the children of the eldest son of the Prince of Wales should enjoy the style, title and attribute of Royal Highness with the titular dignity of Prince or Princess prefixed to their Christian names,” the Queen’s ruling, called a Letters Patent, states. In addition, those in line for the throne are now allowed to marry Roman Catholics.

Lily Allen and husband Sam Cooper welcomed their second daughter, Marnie Rose, earlier this week, the singer announced via Twitter. “Quite overwhelmed by the well-wishing going on,” she wrote. “Thank you everybody!” In the weeks leading up to the birth, Allen had tweeted about trying to move things along by eating several helpings of curry. Marnie shares a birthday with Elvis Presley and David Bowie.

Josh Brolin is taking his New Year’s day arrest for public intoxication in stride. “New Year’s — that’s what happened,” he says during a visit to “Good Morning America.” “I’m the one guy who’s out there, and they go, ‘Hey, there’s Josh. Let’s grab him.’ You know, it was New Year’s. It was a pretty innocent thing. It was a fun thing.” If Brolin is upset about anything, it’s the grim-faced mugshot that was released from his arrest. “They don’t show you the other shot where I turn and have a huge smile on my face,” he says. “So you know, whatever.”