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Four months after the Summer Olympics closed, Spain’s Crown Princely couple finally got a chance to reward those who brought home medals from those games. 
Spain won a total of 18 Olympic medals in Beijing, five of them gold.
One by one, Felipe and Letizia congratulated the Olympians with medals. Not all of the Olympians were there. Athletes such as tennis great Rafael Nadal were absent, but his father Sebastien came in his stead.
It was a relaxed atmosphere, with a lot of joking around. All the attending Olympians seemed to be delighted to be in the presence of their future King and Queen.
The Prince of Asturias thanked during his speech to the Spanish sportsmen, “for which you have obtained and for which continue doing”. The Crown Prince stood out “the successes of Spain”, and he desired to the Spanish athletes that they achieve better possible results in the next Olympics in Vancouver and London.
Felipe, that with his speech he put an end to the gala, he emphasized the work of all to obtain those results: sportsmen, family, friends, coaches, technical teams clubs, Olympic Committees, sponsors, institutions or administrations. And he dedicated the sportsmen his more enthusiastic compliments: “As all the Spaniards, we admire you and we desire fervently that continue scaling steps of human and sports success, because that encourages us and us full of pride”. Because, he has continued, “that energy next to the values and the talent that you project promote a magnificent assembly of virtues that contribute shine to the international image of the Nation”.
The royal trio of Monaco were united Wednesday to give Christmas presents to the tiny principality’s children, and allow those kids to see Christmas Tree at the Palace. 
This has been a Monagesque tradition since 1956 when Prince Rainier and Princess Grace began inviting the youth of Monaco to their royal residence.
And now their three children keep that tradition alive. Prince Albert II, Princess Caroline and Princess Stephanie held a snack for the kids before giving out the presents. Santa Claus was on hand to greet the children, providing a very royal and holiday delight for them.
Giving out gifts to children is not the only Christmas tradition in Monaco. The princely family also distributes presents to the sick in the hospital and pay visits to the elderly.
The Royal House of Bourbon had Spaniards and other royal watchers gushing as the eight grandchildren of King Juan Carlos and Queen Sofia happily posed for this year’s Christmas cards. 
Each child took a chance to show the world how much they’ve grown.
Spain’s little princesses, Leonor and Sofia posed like buddies for their picture. 3 year old Leonor had her arm around 1 1/2 year old Sofia, while the younger princess displayed how much she resembles her mother, Crown Princess Letizia.
What makes the Christmas cards of Letizia and Crown Prince Felipe different is that it is bilingual – written in both Spanish and English.
 Next comes, Felipe’s older sister, Infanta Cristina’s four children. Pablo, Miguel, Irene and Juan bunched up and smiled happily for their photo. It should be noted how much Irene and Leonor resemble each other.
Lastly, Infanta Elena’s two children, Frederick and Victoria – although they are on what looks to be a boat, dressed in summer clothes. This is because King Juan Carlos wanted to use photographs from throughout the year, not some taken recently.
The card the photographs appear in has a painting of the Magi giving gifts to the infant Jesus.
The mementos of the murdered King Birendra on Nepal are to be sold – though not through any fancy royal auction. It would be done through a sale similar to a flea market. 
And these are not just simple artifacts. They include, along with a pair of glasses, a crown, a dagger and some clothes. Keep in mind these belongings were once owned by a man who’s death broke the hearts of the Nepalese people
So reflects what has become of royalty in Nepal. After most of the Shah dynasty was shot and murdered in June 2001, the fate of the Nepalese monarchy fell into the hands of the Himalayan country’s Maoists. They stripped Nepal’s last King Gyanendra of his powers, and then finally abolishing the monarchy earlier this year. The royal family, once seen as deities, were reduced to being ordinary people, and their palace was turned into a museum.
It remains to be seen what the selling of these itemswill draw the attention of either Maoist Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal Prachanda or the slain king’s sole surviving brother, Gyanendra, and persuade an initiative by either to buy the mementos of the best loved king of Nepal and preserve them as national heritage.
The artifacts were previously owned by a man who was chosen to cleanse Nepal the sin of regicide after the 2001 killings. A Brahmin, Durga Prasad Sapkota, was gifted an elephant and money to symbolically leave the country on the back of the beast, signifying the purging of the national sin.
Sapkota died recently, and his wifetold Nepal’s state media Tuesday that she was in straitened circumstances and had decided to sell the royal items in her possession to the highest bidders.
The articles in her possession have been certified as authentic by a former palace official who used to head the palace treasury.
The news of the proposed sale comes at a time the new government headed by the Maoists is converting the royal palace into a national museum where priceless old royal artifacts, jewelery and documents would be preserved for the nation.
Queen Rania is in Oslo this week for the a UNICEF summit on education for young girls in the world. She was greeted by Norway’s Crown Prince Haakon. 
By kissing her hand, Haakon displayed the friendship and respect he has for the Queen of Jordan. She and her husband, King Abdullah, have had close ties with the Norwegian royal family ever since their state visit in 2000. Both royal families have quite a few causes in common, and one of them is education.
Queen Rania often campaigns for education issues on behalf of the United Nations. The Crown Prince was in Mongolia recently where he saw firsthand how education is being handled in the country.
Queen Rania met with the Norwegian King and Queen, and Crown Prince Haakon to the official lunch at the Palace in the days before they met again at the meeting “Eight High Level Group meeting: Education for all” under the auspices of UNICEF held at Oslo City Hall.
“Queen Rania calls herself a working queen – and has made it her life mission to improve women and children living in their own country and in the rest of the world. She is particularly concerned to give young girls education – and have engaged themselves in their own school projects in Jordan, “said court reporter in the See and Hear, Kjell Arne Totland to Norway’s Side2 newspaper.
During the two-day meeting, the state leaders, aid ministers, education ministers and leaders of international organizations discussed the global community’s collective efforts in achieving the UN Millennium goal on education for all children by 2015.
“The economic crisis in the world must not prevent us from focusing on education for all children. Education is key to combating poverty, “said Queen Rania.
“There are always girls who drop out from education first. That is why it is so important to make an effort for them. When the girls take education, we see that their health is better, they have increased confidence and have fewer children, “the Queen continued.
Since 2000, 40 million more children received education in the world, but there’s still 75 million children who receive no basic education.
“To achieve the goal of education for all, they need more capital and 18 million more teachers in the world. Only in Africa, there is a need for 4 million additional teachers, “said Nicholas Burnett, Deputy Director of Education in UNESCO.
The Norwegian aid to education was around 10 percent of the total aid in 2007. Norway supports basic education programs in, among other places, Zambia, Nepal, Bangladesh, Vietnam and Madagascar, as well as educational programs in Pakistan and Afghanistan.
Saudi Arabia, a desert kingdom rich with oil and royals, is also seeing its promises being dried up the global credit crunch. Its royals – King Abdullah and Prince Alwaleed – are seeing delays in development and a loss of personal wealth. 
The Saudi King had plans this year to develop the King Abdullah Economic City near Jeddah on the Red Sea. It was intended to be a place for the kingdom’s plans to diversify its economy and create a private-sector employment for a growing young population.
The city was supposed to attract both foreign and domestic companies to the city to create one million jobs and a population of two million people.
But instead, the global economic crisis set in, and developers now are having to increase their focus on luring Saudi businesses to its investment zones, according to Joseph Kilar, chief operating officer at Emaar, the Economic City (EEC), the developer.
“People are going to be hesitant to make a move from outside so we want to focus on the Saudi market,” he told the Financial Times. “Right now everybody is so cautious to do anything: that’s the problem even if it’s a good deal.”
The city is one of four economic cities launched by Saudi Arabia in an effort to ease social pressures and develop the economy. In spite of its oil wealth, the kingdom faces daunting challenges as it has the Gulf’s largest population, high unemployment and a sizeable lower and middle-income population.
Mr Kilar said the fundamentals for the city remained solid. “The population is still growing, the need for industry is still growing . . . and with the growth they are projecting you just can’t do it in cities that are existing today.”
 Meanwhile, a relative of King Abdullah, Prince Alwaleed bin Talal, considered to be “Arabian Warren Buffet” by Time magazine, is seeing his wealth dwindle. Not by much, it shows that even the very wealthy are being hit by the credit crunch.
The biggest shareholder of Citigroup saw his wealth go down by one-fifth, according to local reports. In other words, he went from being worth $21 billion, to $17 billion.
Prince Alwaleed still topped Arabian Business’ 2008 list of the world’s richest Arabs some distance ahead of Nasser Al Kharafi, the patriarch of the influential Kharafi merchant family of Kuwait. Mr Kharafi’s net worth fell to $9.6bn according to the magazine.
The Prince was born to Prince Talal, son of the founding King of Saudi Arabia, Abdul Aziz al Saud and Princess Mona El-Solh, daughter of Riad El-Solh, the Prime Minister of Lebanon. He is also a cousin of Prince Moulay Hicham of Morocco whose mother is Mona’s sister.
This article is based on the Financial Times
When Norway’s Royal Family distribute their annual Christmas photographs, they are usually indoors, and taking part in indoor activities. 
This year, however, the royal house of Glucksburg chose to go outdoors into the Norwegian winter, to show to Norway and the world, how much they enjoy outdoor activities.
“Christmas pictures of the royal family are usually indoors – and I think it’s fun to this year breaks with this tradition. I think actually it’s extra nice to see our sporty royal family so gathered outside in nature, “said See and Heard court reporter Kjell Arne Totland to Seher.no.
King Harald and Queen Sonja, Crown Prince Haakon and Crown Princess Mette-Marit took to the fun and games in Sneen outside Skaugum for the annual Christmas pictures.
 With snowmen, sausage grilling and sledging, there was no doubt that the Princess Ingrid Alexandra, Prince Sverre Magnus, and Mette-Marit’s son Marius Borg Høiby from a previous relationship, enjoyed the outdoors with their parents and grandparents.
Prince Sverre Magnus kept close to his mother, while Princess Ingrid Alexandra walked with her father before taking a seat with the others around the bonfire.
“We have eaten sausages outside in day-care as well,” the young Princess told the press.
The young heiress, who turns five in January, showed the photographers a little lam she held in her hand. Maybe it was this morning’s advent calendar gift?
In a week the Royal couple and the Crown Prince family will move to Kongsseteren where they will celebrate Christmas this year. Princess Martha Louise will celebrate at her home in Lommedalen with her in-laws.
Sunday saw the Royal Family of Denmark attend two separate Copenhagen performances celebrating the Christmas season. Most of the family were present at the annual Royal Christmas Ballet, while the Crown Princely Family went to the Royal Children’s Choir Concert. 
Both performances are patronized by members of the Danish royal house.
First, Prince Henrik, Prince Joachim, Princess Marie and Joachim’s two sons, Princes Felix and Nikolai, went to see the ballet, “The Little Snow Girl.” It was very important for the family to see the ballet. Denmark’s very own Queen Margrethe did much of the work for “The Little Snow Girl.” The Queen choreographed, designed the costumes, and the advertising work for the performance.
“Working on this project has been exciting for me,” the 68-year-old monarch told The Associated Press during a news conference back in October. “We did it the simple way, simple materials, we recycle almost everything.”
Based on a traditional Russian folktale, the ballet tells the story of a old childless couple wishing for a daughter. Their wish comes true when a snowball turns into a young girl, and they are overjoyed. Sadly, when spring comes, the girl melts away.
 Queen Margrethe is very active in the art world. She’s done illustrations for children’s books, including some for Hans Christian Andersen
In another part of Copenhagen, Crown Prince Frederik and Crown Princess Mary took both of their young children, Christian and Isabella, to the Children’s Choir of the Royal Danish Academy of Music. The concert took place at Isaiah’s Church on Malmo Street. Mary is a patron of the Choir, and has been present at concerts before. But this is the first time she and Frederik brought both of their children.
The little royal children were well-behaved during the performance. They also entertained the photographers at the event by acting up the way toddlers usually do.
With Christmas drawing nearer, you could expect more stories on how European royals will be celebrating and spending the holiday, so check back as December rolls on!
King Abdullah and Queen Rania greeted Lebanese President Michel Suleiman and his wife in Amman earlier today, as Suleiman becames the first Lebanese President to visit the Hashemite Kingdom since 1999. 
The visit is meant to strengthen bilateral ties, as well as regional and international issues.
One of them is the 2006 war between Israel and Hezbollah. The King and Suleiman called for the “full implementation” of UN Security Council resolution 1701, which ended the war between Israel and Hezbollah, according to a statement released by the Jordanian royal court.
“While discussing the situation in Lebanon, King Abdullah and President Suleiman underlined the necessity for implementing the resolution 1701 in its entirety,” the statement said.
Among other things, the resolution calls for the extension of the Lebanese government’s control and sovereignty to cover all Lebanese territory “so that there will be no weapons without the consent of the government of Lebanon,” a reference to the arms held by the pro- Syrian Shiite movement Hezbollah.
“King Abdullah reiterated Jordan’s support for dialogue and national reconciliation in Lebanon which is being led by Suleiman as well as for the Doha accord that paved the way for this dialogue,” the statement said.
The two leaders called for the “revitalization of Arab cooperation with a view to coming up with a unified Arab attitude to face dangers and challenges facing the Arab nation,” it added.
The resolution which brought an end to the devastating 34-day war between Israel and Hezbollah in August 2006 demanded the pullout of the Israeli army from south Lebanon and its replacement by a U.N.-backed Lebanese army deployment.
It also called for the disarming of all militias in Lebanon – an allusion to Palestinian militant groups as well as Hezbollah – and a halt to arms smuggling.
Suleiman, who will conclude his two-day trip to Jordan Monday, held talks with the king on the Middle East peace process as well as ways to boost economic links between their countries, according to the palace.
Article based on AFP and DPA works
On Thursday, Grand Duke Henri of Luxembourg saw his country’s Parliament move to trim his powers. He may no longer be able to sign bills into laws after this decision. 
A bill allowing euthanasia had landed on the Grand Duke’s desk last week, and due to religious beliefs, the sovereign declined to sign it. This was something that had never happened in this tiny Duchy wedged between Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands.
Under the country’s constitution, it is up to the Grand Duke normally to “approve and promulgate” new laws, by signing them within three months.
However, theParliamentary vote, which was backed by 56 of the 60 deputies with one abstaining and three absent, revised the constitution to give the Grand Duke responsibility merely for promulgating laws. In other words, this makes the role of Grand Duke more ceremonial than legislative.
If the reform is voted through in a second reading, approving laws will be the responsibility of the parliament and the minister in charge of the matter
“It’s just one clause that’s changing but it represents an enormous loss of monarchical rights,” Professor Paul Margue, a historian, said in an interview. “You might be right to ask what then is the point of having a Grand Duke at all?”
But although the popular 53 year old Grand Duke is highly unlikely to be deposed, his public image has been tarnished by the affair. “He badly overstepped his mark by meddling in politics. No Grand Duke has ever before opposed a law before it’s been approved by the parliament,” says Lucien Montebrusco, political editor with the Luxembourg daily, Tageblatt. “He was pushed into taking a stand by the Catholic Church. They used him to try to make sure that this law would not get a majority.”
Many commentators also point the finger of blame at Henri’s Cuban wife, Maria-Theresa, who is thought to belong to a fundamentalist wing of the Catholic Church. “She may well have played a role but either way, he has brought it on himself. We can’t have a stand off between the parliament and the monarch over this, so they have to work fast to avoid such an institutional crisis.”
Although Henri backs this overhaul to the constitution, the move has divided the nation’s 400,000 inhabitants. Newspapers have applauded the push to finally axe this outdated practice, while others have derided it as ‘constitutional castration’. Marie-Josée Frank, a parliamentarian with the Christian-Social Party, is outraged.
“This is our Grand Duke we are talking about here. We can’t just make huge decisions like this overnight. And everything is being thrown into this discussion instead of taking things one step at a time.”
Despite the changes, the Grand Duke need not worry that he will become a redundant figure. His portrait adorns pubs and restaurants across the country, including the walls of the Cercle Munster, an exclusive private club for Luxembourg’s elite.
“The Grand Duchy of Luxembourg can’t live without its Grand Duke. He’s part of our identity,” says George Wagner, the manager of the Cercle Munster. “And he plays a huge role for us abroad. He’s helped put Luxembourg on the map and brings in business. Most of us are very proud of him.”
Article heavily based on report from Radio Netherlands and Nasdaq. Photo from the AFP.
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