07 « February « 2009 « Royalty in the News

Jordan Marks 10 Years of King Abdullah’s Ascension

February 7th marks 10 years to the day King Hussein of Jordan passed away, leaving the Hashemite Kingdom to his son, Abdullah. jordan-rf-tomb

Today, King Abdullah II and the rest of the Jordanian royal family remembered King Hussein by visiting his tomb, where they took turns saying prayers.

King Abdullah was joined by his two eldest children, Hussein and Iman. His wife, Queen Rania, is believed to be in London at this time.

Then, Abdullah went to the King Hussein Medical Center in Amman. There he met with the doctors and medical staff, and embraced various Bedouins who were there to see their King.

The Jordanian press praised the King for his successful 10 years leading the country. The Jordanian News Agency explained that “the King, since assuming his constitutional powers, directed the government to support sovereignty of law, protect the Kingdom’s stability and security and prevail an ambiance of justice, integrity, accountability and effectiveness of governmental performance.

“Jordan enjoys an excellent position in human rights and freedom fields, King Abdullah II puts it at his top priority.”

It should be remembered that Abdullah was not meant to inherit the throne until the weeks leading up to King Hussein’s death from cancer. For years, it was Hussein’s brother Mohammed who was the Crown Prince. Then, in a last minute change of heart, King Hussein rewrote the line of succession and gave it to his eldest son.

Norway’s Crown Princely Couple Brave the Cold in Finnmark

Crown Prince Haakon and Crown Princess Mette-Marit were bundled up in traditional costume as they dealt with -13F temperatures during their official visit to the Sami region of Finnmark. haakon-mettemarit-finnmark3

The couple received cheers from the Sami people as they exited their hotel for Haakon to make his speech, opening the tour.

“I think the next few days will be very rich memory for us, so it was for my parents when they visited Kautokeino. I have heard much about the journey they carried for 40 years,” said the Crown Prince, before departure to Ardni Siida on snowscooter.

Haakon also added that he wanted to see how global warming has been affecting reindeer herding, a tradition among the Sami, who are indigenous to Norway, Sweden, Finland, and northwestern Russia.

When the royal couple got to the Ardni Siida, the Crown Prince was to sit in the reindeer sledge, but the reindeer was spooked and ran off so that the sledge fell over with the Crown Prince in it. The Crown Prince was fast on his feet again, running after the reindeer, trying to catch up, with one thought in his head.

“That was to try to catch up to it. It got away from me, but some people who were standing there helped me. They knew what they were doing and managed to catch it, so it went okay”, a laughing Crown Prince said.

haakon-mettemarit-sleigh The Crown Princess also fell out of the sledge, saying;”Sledging with reindeer isn’t my strongest side, but when driving a snow scooter, I do like to go fast.”

King Harald and Queen Sonja was at the same place in 1969 as a crown princely couple. Since the King and Queen were there the open plain has been called Sonjavadda.

Friday saw Haakon and Mette-Marit mark Sami National Day in Karasjok. They were greeted by more Sami people, who got a chance to ask the couple questions.

They were asked if they though a Sami could one day become Prime Minister, to which the Crown Prince replied, yes, we have a minister who is Sami now and it is nothing that stands in the way of anyone regardless of their heritage to hold high positions in politics.

A journalist also asked weather Princess Ingrid Alexandra will learn to speak Sami. To that the Crown Prince said, “That is not a language that us taught officially in the Oslo schools. If it were to happen it would have to happen privately.”

The Crown Princess said, laughing, that they made no promises. She also said she thinks the Sami language is a very beautiful one, the sound of it is very beautiful and that is an inspiration to learn more of it.

In fact, Mette-Marit spoke some Sami during her visit, and the local people were very impressed with it.

In addition, there was more laughter going on as it was revealed to Crown Prince Haakon that he was wearing his traditional Sami costume wrong. One of his hats had a tassle on the wrong side, meaning he was not married and single!

Dutch Crown Prince Blogs About Antarctica Trip

Holland’s Crown Prince Willem-Alexander and his wife, Crown Princess Maxima are spending four days in the South Pole, in order to understand the work Dutch scientists and researchers do. wa-maxima-antarctica

Willem-Alexander has been keeping a blog about his adventure, especially since there are no journalists accompanying the royal couple.

In his first entry, on Wednesday, the Crown Prince talked about visiting Tyndall in the southern most tip of Chile, which has the largest glacier after Antarctica and Greenland.

“As 80% of all glaciers withdraw the Tyndall Glacier rapidly back in rotsbed which until recently rested on the glacier,” wrote the Prince. “Are unique skeletons of ichthyosaurus found. In itself, the fossil remains of this reptile water all over the world, but which are around 180 million years old, they are “only” about 120 million years old, long after the ichthyosaurus was supposed to be extinct.”

The next day, when the couple made their way to the British Rothera Station on Antarctica, they were told about how the area has been seeing rising temperatures recently.

“Rothera station…one of the three hotspots in the world (the others are north Siberia and northern Canada / Alaska),” the Crown Prince said in his blog.

“Where the average temperature over the last 50 year by 3 degrees Celsius increase. The place therefore the consequences of that warming on the environment study.”

“Even if it is hot may literally be a few seconds later again cold. In addition to cold, the sun, or rather the radiation from the sun, an invisible danger. The hole in the ozone layer, you always your eyes and face well protected, even if the whole cloud.”

Willem-Alexander and Maxima will get to see more of what scientists do in Antarctica in the coming days. They will check out an aquarium, a laboratory, and other biological sites. Their visit will end on Monday, February 9th.

The royal couple has been receiving some criticism from members of the Dutch media, who say if the two want to learn about the South Pole, why not invite scientists to their home rather than disturb the environment?

Crown Princess Victoria Discusses Swedish Fashion in London

Looking dazzling in a purple silk shirt and black pants, the future Queen of Sweden’s outfit was perfect for the opening of the “Swedish Fashion – Exploring A New Identity” the Design And Textile Museum Thursday in London. victoria_fashion

It is where 13 young fashion designers have their work on display, and the event was organized by the Swedish Institute.

“The exciting exhibition focuses on a talented and imaginative group of creators, and will create a new understanding of the fashion industry in Sweden,” says Dennis Nothdruft, curator at the museum.

However, the one least excited about Swedish fashion maybe the Crown Princess herself.

At a panel discussing Swedish fashion on Friday, Victoria said, “I wear English clothes as often as I can. But when I am out in official contexts, there is simply no Swedish suited. I can not come up with the outfit at any time when I work.”

It has often been said that Crown Princess Victoria is completely disinterested in fashion and the younger sister Princess Madeleine, who is the family fashion princess. Any truth, it is perhaps in this, but,

“I think fashion is fun and that there are so many creative designers, “said Victoria sincerely.

“And it is my duty to support the Swedish designers and the Swedish fashion industry as best I can. But even if I think it’s fun to look at haute couture, it’s nothing that I ever would have in myself.”

And though the Princess during Thursday’s inauguration showed up in a purple creation of Anna Holt Leaves, suits are not the typical English in all official contexts.

“No. But I think that the (Swedish designers) should be thinking a little more on me and organize clothes for me,” said the Crown Princess with a smile.

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