A Roman parade cavalry helmet that fetched more than £2.2 million at auction after it was unearthed by a metal detector enthusiast in a Cumbrian field is going on public display in a museum for the first time.

The Crosby Garrett Helmet, which is almost 2,000 years old, is named after the village near to where it was discovered in 2010.

It is one of the stars of a new Royal Academy show on bronze featuring works spanning 5,000 years. The helmet, which would have been covered in silver, is one of only three of its type to be found.

It is seen as “a great masterpiece of Roman metalwork” and would have been used for cavalry sports rather than battle.

HMS Ark Royal set for scrap

Former Navy flagship HMS Ark Royal will be sold as scrap metal for £3 million as part of a move that the Ministry of Defence has described as “difficult but necessary”.

An announcement in Parliament is expected to reveal the details of the deal after the vessel was decommissioned in 2010, five years ahead of its expected sell-by date. The decision comes following a bidding process that included proposals to turn the 22,000-ton ship into a helipad in the Thames, a museum, a hotel, a casino or a diving wreck off the south coast.

Last year HMS Invincible was also sold to a Turkish scrap metal firm as part of the MoD’s drive to get its finances in order.

High bid for Presley’s Bible

A Bible used by Elvis Presley has sold at auction for £59,000.

The holy book, given to Presley on his first Christmas in Graceland in 1957, was expected to raise around £25,000, but went for more than double the price.

The Bible was used by Presley throughout his life until his death on August 16 1977.

It contains his handwritten notes, thoughts, annotations and underlining throughout.

Poignantly, one of the many lines emphasised by the troubled entertainer states: “What is a man advantaged if he gain the whole world and lose himself or be cast away.”

Queen’s corgi Monty dies

One of the Queen’s corgis, which appeared in a James Bond sketch for the Olympics opening ceremony, has died.

Monty and two other corgis greeted the secret agent, played by Daniel Craig, as he arrived at the palace to accept a mission from the Queen in a scene filmed for the curtain-raiser to London 2012.

The dogs ran down the stairs, performed tummy rolls and then stood as a helicopter took off for the Olympic stadium, carrying Bond and a stunt double of the monarch.

The death of 13-year-old Monty, who was previously owned by the Queen Mother, leaves two corgis in the palace.

Humperdinck for Dalai Lama

Music veteran and Eurovision entry Engelbert Humperdinck has been chosen to perform for Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama.

The 76-year-old has been added to a bill including acts such as Nelly Furtado, Cyndi Lauper and Roberta Flack for the New York show next month.

Humperdinck who was a huge chart star in the 1960s, will be performing at the Dalia Lama Love Concert on October 9.

The exiled Tibetan lives in India, the country in which Humperdinck was born.