Britain's Queen Elizabeth II leaves London's King Edward VII hospital after undergoing surgery on Friday to remove skin lesions on her face and torn cartilage from her left knee, December 13, 2003. The knee operation had been announced in advance, but the removal of what Buckingham Palace described as "some minor benign skin lesions" from the Queen's face came as a surprise. REUTERS/Lee Besford Pictures of the month December 2003 Pictures of the Year 2003 LB/MD/CRB