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After 16 days of cheering on their nations’ athletes, royals from around the world joined in with the rest of the world with saying farewell to the Beijing Olympics. They did this first with a banquet, and then by attending the closing ceremonies.
Before the closing events, 27 royals and statesmen gathered at a banquet lunch hosted by Chinese President Hu Jintao. Spain’s Infanta Cristina and her husband Inaki Urdangarin were among the guests at the event, held at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse.
President Hu made a toast in honor of the success of the Games.
“The success of the Beijing Olympic Games is attributable to the concerted efforts of the Chinese people and people from the rest of the world.”
 Later, royals such as King Carl Gustaf of Sweden, and his wife Queen Silvia, joined tens of thousands of others at the Olympic Stadium, known as the Birds Nest, to watch the closing ceremonies.
The ceremonies said good-bye to Beijing, but also geared up the excitement for the next Olympics in London.
In the UK, thousands gathered outside of Buckingham Palace to watch the handover ceremony. The Royal Air Force even flew over the Palace, with the colors of the British flag trailing behind them.
Prince Harry was on the rooftop of Buckingham Palace, watching all the excitement.
London will host the next Summer Olympics in 2012. And there will be no doubt a lot of royals attending that one!
King Abdullah II met with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev on Sunday at the Black Sea resort of Sochi. There the two discussed economic and trade relations.
“Economic ties are developing and trade turnover is increasing, although we would like it to grow even more intensively,” Medvedev said, according to the RIA Novosti news agency.
“The discussion of a range of issues of international importance” was also developing, the Russian leader added.
Medvedev also thanked King Abdullah for offering to send humanitarian relief to separatists in South Ossetia, a region in neighboring Georgia, where Sochi is near.
“I want to separately thank you for your offer of humanitarian aid to South Ossetia following what happened in the region,” Medvedev said at the beginning of the meeting, broadcast on Russian television.
This was the third meeting between the two leaders in three months.
The Princess of Asturias has gone for plastic surgery - to correct a breathing problem in her nose, the Royal Palace announced on Friday. 
Princess Letizia went for the surgery shortly after returning from the Beijing Olympics.
The septorhinoplasty she had – an operation to straighten the cartilage and bone that separates the nose into two sides – was carried out by palace medical staff to fix a deviated septum.
Patients with a deviated septum – the wall between the left and right sides of the nose – find that one side of their nose is wider than normal and one is narrower.
The consequences of a deviated septum can range from a mild impact on breathing to a complete lack of function of one or both nostrils.
Even with little or no breathing disturbances, a deviated septum can make the exterior bridge of the nose look crooked.
Princess Letizia’s first public appearance following the surgery was when she and her husband, Crown Prince Felipe, visited a Madrid hospital to meet with the survivors of the Spanair plane crash.
Crown Prince Frederik of Denmark is set to reunite with his family in his wife’s home country of Australia once the Olympics close – but it may not be a happy reunion. 
There are reports going around that two days after Crown Princess Mary left the Beijing Games for her vacation with the couple’s two young children, Frederik hit the Clup P superclub and had one too many drinks. Even worse, the club’s theme was the “Playboy Mansion” – modelling itself after the Hugh Hefner’s magazine and mansion.
The Danish heir’s group, including former Danish tennis player Kenneth Carlsen, was involved in heavy drinking before Frederik took part in a wild session on the dance floor.
At one point he was spotted taking the bunny ears from a waitress and putting them on a friend.
His bodyguards intervened at 3am and told the prince it was time to go home, it was reported.
The royal family is already dealing with published photos of young Prince Christian naked during a beach trip last month. Now, with these reports coming out about her husband’s behavior while she was away, Crown Princess Mary may not be having the vacation she was wishing for.
Prince Albert II of Monaco left Mongolia today, ending a two-day trip to further diplomacy with the quiet Asian country.
The Monagesque leader met with Mongolian president Nambaryn Enkhbayar before moving on to the Speaker of Parliament and the Mongolian Prime Minister. He also toured the museum of the Archeological Institute at the Sciences Academy. The Prince even received a honrary doctorate degree from the University of Education in Ulaanbaatar.
Ties between the two countries began only three months ago, but they are off to good start. Albert’s visit was centered on the cultural, scientific and environment sectors. The government of Monaco gave $20,000 in a non-refundable aid for the joint archeological research work for UNESCO, a project the two nations are teaming up on.
Despite all this, the Mongolia has a lot to learn about its new friend.
The Mongolian news agency Montsame addressed the Prince as “His Majesty” – an address bestowed to Kings and Queens, not princes. The correct address to the Prince of Monaco is “His Serene Highness”.
Mongolia seems to be popular with royals lately. Just days ago, Crown Prince Frederik of Denmark was in Ulaanbaatar to receive an honorary degree, just like Albert. He also was there to help develop Denmark and Mongolia’s environmental ties. The Danish heir also took some time in the countryside to practice archery and eat traditional foods.
Thailand’s foreign ministry is questioning Forbes’ Magazine’s report that King Bhumibol is the wealthiest royal,with a net worth of $35 billion. 
The ministry argues that can’t be, because the report included land and other assets “belonging to the Crown Property Bureau that are not part of the king’s net worth.”
“The Crown Property Bureau has clarified that the report is inaccurate and inconsistent,” the ministry said in a statement Friday.
It said the Crown Property Bureau is an institution “which essentially belongs to all Thais” that owns and manages the assets of the monarchy, and the assets are not the personal wealth of the king, The Nation newspaper said.
The Crown Property Bureau has large amounts of land holdings across Thailand and is one of the largest property owners in Bangkok. It also has a stake in industry heavy-hitters Siam Cement and Siam Commercial Bank.
A spokesman for Forbes could not immediately be reached for comment on the ministry statement.
The Thai government did not give a correction of how much King Bhumibol is worth.
When Forbes magazine did its report on the world’s richest royals, it admitted it is difficult to determine how much a royal is worth. This is due to “technical and idiosyncratic oddities in the exact relationship between individual and state wealth.” Therefore, Forbes admitted, “these estimates are perforce a blend of art and science.”
Belgian Prime Minister Yves Leterme is looking to change the way the royal family is financed, though he insists the reforms will be for the best.
“It’s necessary to reform them,” Leterme told French magazine Paris Match when asked about the public grants. 
Asked about King Albert II himself, Leterme said, “It’s more than a function, he’s a man I have learned to appreciate.”
Belgian daily La Libre Belgique said the push for reform comes from some members of the Flemish parties, including Leterme’s Christian Democrats.
A group of Flemish politicians are working on a draft law to limit public funds to the king and his heir, La Libre said.
But a member of the French liberal party — also part of the government — is drafting a rival law to ensure Philippe’s younger brother Laurent and sister Astrid are not left out of the public purse, La Libre reported.
Too many senators view a shake up of royal family funding as an attack on Belgium itself, La Libre added.
The Belgian royal family – lead by King Albert II – are one of the few unifying systems in this divided kingdom, where tensions between the Dutch-speaking Flemish and French-speaking Walloons have threatened the foundation of the nation. Earlier this summer, Leterme nearly stepped down as Prime Minister when he was unable to settle the fires between the Flemings and the Walloons. But King Albert made him stay.
Women’s rights activists in Swaziland have staged a protest over the extravagance of the Swazi royal family. The demonstration was sparked when 8 of King Mswati III’s 13 wives took a chartered plane to Europe and the Middle East to go shopping.
The women reportedly handed a petition in to the finance ministry, arguing that the money could have been better spent.
They claimed, “We can’t afford a shopping trip when a quarter of the nation lives on food aid.”
But royal sources defended the actions of the queens, explaining they are preparing for a major celebration called 40-40, in which the King’s birthday and the country’s independence will be celebrated.
According to Britain’s The Daily Telegraph, one source said, “The queens have to look radiant and that is why they have to go and buy quality for the big day. They were being spoiled.”
The rally took place in the capital of Mbabane, and was organized by the Women’s Coalition of Swaziland, whose spokesman Ntombi Nkosi gave her thoughts on the spree.
“Those given the money do not even contribute a cent to the money they are looting,” she said.
Siphiwe Hlophe, of Swaziland Positive Living, a co-organiser of the march, added, “We are against the idea of public funds being used in a questionable way by people who are not employed and do not bring any revenue to the country’s coffers.”
Protests are rare in this traditional country. Jim Gama, the governor of the Swazi royal capital Ludzidzini, condemned the women’s march as “un-Swazi”.
“I have never heard of women marching,” he said. “All I know is that a woman has to seek permission from her husband to register her disagreement with whatever was happening in society but not for her to march. That is un-Swazi.”
Swaziland is a landlocked country in southern Africa, and has the last absolute monarchy on that continent. It is also one of the poorest countries in the world, having been in a state of emergency since 1973, and more than 40% of the population is believed to be infected with HIV.
Queen Sofia of Spain cut short her Beijing Olympics trip to join with husband King Juan Carlos in mourning the victims of Spanair plane crash that killed 153 people Wednesday. 
The King and Queen first stopped at Barajas airport, then onto the crisis center. Lastly, they visited Madrid’s main convention center, to meet with the victims’ relatives. The center has been turned into an impromptu morgue for the 153 bodies. The center also is the same place where the victims of the Madrid subway bombings in 2003 were placed following the attacks.
Earlier, Crown Prince Felipe and Crown Princess Letizia visited a Madrid hospital to meet with the survivors of the crash and their families. Only 19 people survived, most with serious injuries.
Queen Elizabeth II extended her condolescenes to King Juan Carlos, saying, “I was deeply saddened to learn of the dreadful loss of life in the air crash at Barajas airport in Madrid, the news of which has shocked us all.”
“Philip (her husband) joins me in sending our warm and heartfelt sympathies to the families and friends of those who have died and our best wishes for a speedy recovery to those who have been injured.
“At this difficult time all those affected by this tragedy are in our thoughts and prayers.”
Spain has begun three days of mourning. Flags are flying at half-mast, and silent vigils were held Thursday across the country.
King Bhumibol of Thailand is the world’s longest reigning head of state. He is also the world’s richest royal. 
That according to Forbes magazine. It could never be truly clear of how much a royal is worth, due to what Forbes calls “technical and idiosyncratic oddities in the exact relationship between individual and state wealth”. So, therefore, royal wealth estimation is based on “art and science”. Whatever the case may be, it is still fascinating to see how much a royal is worth. After all, it is the wealthy and lavish lifestyle of royalty that sparks the imagination.
That being said, 82 year-old Bhumibol is said to be worth $35 billion dollars. His newfound wealth comes from “a result of increased transparency of his Crown Property Holdings,” said Forbes.com.
The Thai King is followed by a long list of royals from the Middle East. Not surprisingly, these royals are getting their wealth mainly from their nations’ oil reserves. Other royals making the Top 15 list include Prince Hans-Adam of Liechenstein, Prince Albert II of Monaco, Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands, and Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom.
Many have figured the British Queen to be the wealthiest woman in the world. But Her Majesty is only worth $650 million, with many women worth more than her, such as author JK Rowling for example.
Click here to take a look at a photo gallery of the world’s 15 richest royals
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