CONTACT Any questions or suggestions? Feel free to email me at: Sonjapearl@royaltyinthenews.com - and my real name is Megan :)
|
She may be only be 16 months old, but Princess Isabella of Denmark is already causing controversy. 
Recent pictures show the toddler, on vacation with her family in Australia, wearing a multi-colored mink vest. Her mother, Crown Princess Mary, got the vest from a Danish fashion house, Heart Made.
“There’s just no excuse in this day and age to be wearing fur,” People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) Asia-Pacific director Jason Baker said.
“Princess Mary is looked up to by a lot of people in Europe and Australia and she’s looked up to as a mother. I hope people will send a message to her that this is wrong.”
“Isabella will have grown out of the coat in a few months, but those animals will still be dead,” Baker added.
Heart Made, however, defends Isabella’s right to wear fur.
“It’s a unique piece. It’s various colours of mink, sewn together, but turned inside out,” sales manager Elsa Adams said.
“It’s really warm and it’s very soft and it’s quite strong quality, as well.”
“Kids will keep quite warm when they wear things like that and it also looks cool, of course.”
Asked about opposition to fur, she said: “In the Nordic countries, it is very, very difficult not to have fur because we get very cold winters. Fur is very warm and you will find a lot in the stores.”
Crown Princess Mary has been photographed wearing fur herself once. She wore a fur coat to King Harald or Norway’s 70th birthday last year. She even received some fur as a wedding present.
Danish farms provide a reported 13.5 million mink skins a year, of 49 million produced worldwide.
A Japanese man has been arrested after allegedly posted death threats aimed at Crown Prince Naruhito on a website. 
Tokyo Metropolitan Police arrested the 31-year-old suspect, Takeshi Yamamoto from Gifu, central Japan, on Friday on suspicion he posted the threats against Naruhito and his family from his home computer.
“I will kill the Crown Prince” Yamamoto allegedly posted on a message board, under the username of “Masako”, which is the name of Naruhito’s wife.
Yamamoto, who is unemployed, is charged with disturbing the work of police after imperial guards boosted security at the crown prince’s residence in light of the apparent threat, Jiji Press and Kyodo News said, quoting police officials.
Police say there is no evidence Yamamoto was actually planning on killing the Crown Prince or doing any harm to his family.
Denmark’s Crown Princess Mary addressed the issue of cyber-bullying and sexual predators targeting children, at a Melbourne charity dinner. 
The charity – The Alannah And Madeline Foundation - is an organisation that works to keep children safe from violence. Crown Princess Mary is its international patron.
The dinner was held at the National Gallery of Victoria’s Art Deco. Dressed in a black cocktail dress, and accompanied by her husband, Crown Prince Frederik, Crown Princess Mary told the 80 guests she has a similar foundation in Denmark, called The Mary Foundation. That one teaches children to have respect for one another.
“As children are the true essence of our future, the importance of providing them with the most basic right of having a safe and happy childhood can not be underestimated,” she explained.
“Children use the internet and their mobile phones to send harmful messages which marginalise children and can have devastating consequences,” she continued.
“As with bullying, cyber-bullying can lead to social isolations for those effected by it to a point where they can feel at the edge of their social network, and at the very worse of cases at the edge of life.”
The Danish royal said the community needed to ensure children were safe online.
“It’s frightening to know that 20 per cent of children online will be targeted by an online predator or pedophile each year,” she said.
“And, alarmingly, most children don’t tell adults about it for fear of losing access to their telephone or internet.”
National patron Prime Minister Kevin Rudd has at the dinner to welcome Mary back to her native Australia. He also spoke out against cyber-bullying.
“The new problem of cyber-bullying has become something of an epidemic.
“It requires therefore all of us at the level of being parents, at the level of community leadership, at the level of political leadership, to work together against a problem which now knows no geographic frontiers.”
 “No child in any playground, in any classroom in any school in Australia should at any time fear for themselves or their safety, or for their dignity,” Rudd said.
Before the dinner, Mary thrilled the Alannah and Madeline Foundation by showing up unannounced at its Melbourne headquarters.
“I am delighted to have had the opportunity to find out more about how The Alannah And Madeline Foundation initiative works and to talk about our programs at The Mary Foundation,” Crown Princess Mary said.
The Alannah and Madeline Foundation was set up after the two sisters, aged six and three, along with their mother, died when a gunman opened fire in Tasmania on April 28th 1996.
To learn more about the Alannah and Madeline Foundation, click here
To see video of Crown Princess Mary’s visit to the charity offices, click here
Prince Harry is asking military leaders for another tour in Afghanistan so he could fight Taliban insurgents, according to the Sun newspaper. 
The Prince spent 10 weeks fighting the Taliban in Helmand province earlier this year, until he was pulled out abruptly when the media made his deployment public.
“Harry has made no secret of the fact he wants to be there when the regiment returns to the front line next year. With one mission under his belt, he has the skills and experience which will make him an extremely valuable member of the battle group,” says a Blues and Royal source, where Harry is a Lieutenant.
The prince, who is third in line to the throne, was secretly sent to Afghanistan in December of last year. There, he fought along side the Gurkhas and lived like any other soldier. Meaning, he lived off rations, and in a camp was without electricity, running water or even basic sanitation. But, the 23-year-old had no complaints. “I think this is about as normal as I’m ever going to get,” he said.
The Prince even earned a medal in May for his service, awarded by his aunt, Princess Anne.
Harry, and other members of the Blues and Royals regiment are due to resume training at Windsor’s Combermere Barracks next week.
The regiment will begin six months of intense training for a second tour of Afghanistan next year, as well as other exercises in Britain.
Leading figures in the Army will now have to decide if the Royal can return to Afghanistan, but it is unlikely another media agreement will be made. This could lead to security and safety issues for Harry and his fellow troops.
Clarence House said there were no immediate plans to deploy the Prince back on the front line.
A spokesman said, “Prince Harry is committed to his career in the army and he remains ready to do whatever his required.”
 The heir to the Swedish throne gave to Finland’s president Tanja Halonen, the Baltic Leadership award – as part of the World Wildlife Fund.
Halonen was honored for her work on preserving the Baltic Sea. She was recognized for her “persistent efforts to unite groups and encourage cross-border discussions on the future of the Baltic Sea.”
Crown Princess Victoria gave Halonen the award at the Swedish embassy in Stockholm. Victoria has been a busy woman lately. Just last week, she gave out two awards during World Water Week.
Holland’s medal winners from the recent Beijing Olympics met with Queen Beatrix on Wednesday, who congratulated them on their success.
The medal winners gathered at the Queen’s Huis ten Bosch Palace just outside of The Hague.
“It was a very special occasion” one of the golden hockey players said. “It is not every day you visit the queen.”
The Olympians were taken by open bus from the Palace through the streets of The Hague, where a crowd of 25,000 people cheered them on, to the Knight’s Hal , for a reception by the Prime Minister.
Holland picked up 16 Olympic medals in Beijing – 7 of them gold.
In a state visit to France, King Abdullah II has been working on nuclear energy agreements for his country. Within one day, a civilian nuclear deal was signed with French President Nicolas Sarkozy, as well as a uranium mining deal with Areva and Jordan’s Atomic Energy Commission.
Sarkozy’s office says the deal will “reinforce and institutionalize” nuclear cooperation between the two countries.
Sarkozy has said France would support Muslim nations seeking civilian nuclear technologies. Under Sarkozy, France has signed similar nuclear accords with Tunisia, Algeria, Libya, Jordan and the United Arab Emirates.
Areva was a frontrunner among several international firms in talks with Jordan to develop a nuclear reactor as part of a longer term strategy of the energy importer to meet rapidly rising demand for power.
No details emerged on the nature of the reactor sought.
Jordan has signed agreements with France, China and Canada to co-operate on the development of civilian nuclear power and the transfer of technology.
article based on reports from Reuters and USA Today
An agitated Crown Princess Mary told Danish media to leave her family alone during a trip to the zoo – but allowed the Australian media to stay.
This is the latest move where the Australian-born Mary seems to be favoring her home country over her adopted homeland.
Speaking in Danish, the Crown Princess told reporters and photographers from two Danish publications to leave the Zoodoo Wildlife Park in Tasmania, where Mary is visiting relatives.
But no similar request was made in English to other media, which captured photographs of Mary, her husband Crown Prince Frederik and their children two-year-old Christian and 16-month-old Isabella in an arranged photo shoot.
“We realized later we missed the chance, of course we are angry,” said Anna Johannesen, who writes for the Danish newspaper Billed Bladet. “We are decent and treat them well so we left, we are not paparazzi.”
A witness said Mary was clearly not happy her family had been followed to the park.
“She was very angry by the sound of her voice,” the witness said. “I got the impression she did not want to be hassled.”
Zoodoo owner Trevor Cuttriss said the royals complained they received more media attention in Tasmania than in Denmark.
The snub could rub many Danes the wrong way. It comes less than a month after Mary noticably favored the Australian team over the Danish during the recent Beijing Olympics.
But then again, it was the Danish media who published nude photos of Prince Christian taken at a beach in July. However, it is unknown if the tabloid, Seg on Hor, which was the sole outlet that published those pictures, was shooed away by Crown Princess Mary.
Rock band Pink Floyd and opera singer Renee Fleming were the receivers of the Polar Music Prize – for their contributions to music. 
The winners got their awards from King Carl Gustaf XVI at the Stockholm Concert Hall, with each receiving one million kroner (70,523 pounds, 106,700 euros, 156,385 dollars) from the Royal Swedish Academy of Music.
The Academy honored Renee Fleming “in recognition of her sublime unparalleled voice and unique stylistic versatility.”
“Connoisseurs and the general public alike have been dazzled by the beauty of her soft and natural voice, which is equally supple in every register and exudes sensitivity in every tone,” it said.
Nick Mason and Roger Waters accepted the award on behalf of Pink Floyd, selected “for their monumental contribution over the decades to the fusion of art and music in the development of popular culture.”
“ Through extensive sonic experimentation, they captured the mood and spirit of a whole generation in their reflections and attitudes,” the academy said.
Waters, 64, paid tribute to his 96-year old mother at the ceremony.
“If there is any humanity and empathy in my work, which I think there is, I would rather owe it to her,” he said.
The Polar Music Prize has been awarded since 1992, when it went to ex-Beatle Paul McCartney.
Among other winners are Brazilian musician Gilberto Gil and German baritone Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, American jazz musician Dizzy Gillespie, Russian cellist Mstislav Rostropovitch, British pop musician Elton John, French classical conductor and composer Pierre Boulez, jazz pianist Keith Jarrett, US musician B.B. King, British rock legends Led Zeppelin and American popular and folk musicians Bruce Springsteen, Quincy Jones, Stevie Wonder and Bob Dylan.
Norway’s King and Queen are celebrating their 40th anniversary this week – with a cruise around the Mediterranean Sea aboard the royal yacht, Norge. 
King Harald and Queen Sonja’s children and grandchildren are also on board, making it a great end-of-summer family vacation for the Norwegian Royal Family. The last time everyone was together was when Harald and Sonja celebrated their joint 70th birthdays in the Caribbean last year.
King Harald at the time said the family gatherings are “incredibly important for us all to be together like this. Living with your grandchildren over an extended period is the only way to get to know them better.”
Princess Martha Louise and her husband Ari Behn are with their two daughters, Maud and Leah. The Princess is currently pregnant with her third child.
 Crown Prince Haakon and Crown Princess Mette-Marit are on board, along with Princess Ingrid and Prince Sverre, and quite possibly Mette Marit’s son Marius, whom she had in a previous relationship.
This week also marks Mette Marit’s 35th birthday and her 7th wedding anniversary to Crown Prince Haakon, so this is a festive time for the royal family.
|
|
Recent Comments