15 « May « 2009 « Royalty in the News

Crown Princess Mary Goes Red

Billed Bladet

Denmark’s Crown Princess Mary appears to have celebrated her 5th wedding anniversary by seeing red – as in hair dye.

Yes, the dark haired Australian born princess has colored her locks a nice shade of red.

Mary revealed her new look Friday, the day after her anniversary. She was at Copenhagen University Amager to participate in the opening of a conference on brain disease.

The princess smiled naturally as onlookers were surprised by the unexpected change.

Mary was dressed in a dark outfit, which included a green skirt. The ensemble went well with her new hair hue.

Princess Stephanie Builds Refuge House for HIV Sufferers.

Friday saw Monaco’s Princess Stephanie right outside of her principality, in France’s Provencal countryside, where she helped build a house for those suffering from HIV/AIDS. stephanie-house-of-life

The house, known was the House of Life, is for HIV sufferers to spend a couple of weeks resting and finding peace.

As President of Fight AIDS Monaco, the Princess has kept this project at arm’s length for about three years now. Once this house completed, she will be its director.

Designed by architects Fabrice Notari of Monaco and Ysabelle Roustan of France, the House of Life will have 28 beds, a patio connecting the two buildings, kitchenettes, a dormitory, plus a wing for offices and technicians. And yes, the House will be environmentally friendly, with wall insulation, solar panels and a heat pump.

In addition, there will be room for a lounge, dining hall, a gym and a theater.

The House of Life will be completed on June 21, 2010.

Queen Sofia Fights to Give Love and Hope to Lonely Elephant

In fairy tales, it was always the fairy godmother who came to rescue those in need.

: AP

Well, for one elephant, it was a real-life Queen who gave it a better life.

An African elephant named Susi was having it tough. She lost her only companion, another elephant named Alicia, and became the only elephant in a Barcelona zoo. Susi also had a small pen to live in and was said to be eating her own waste out of depression and frustration.

Upon hearing about Susi’s plight, animal lover Queen Sofia of Spain, called up the Barcelona City Hall and asked to move Susi to bigger place, perhaps a safari.

“The queen is very sympathetic to animals,” said Carla Cornella, president of the Foundation for the Adoption, Sponsorship and Defense of Animals, which told Sofia of the elephant. “She wants to know what is the best situation for Susi.”

: Reuters

So far, the City Hall has not yet responded to Queen Sofia’s request.

The zoo insists all is well for Susi. But others have gotten involved in saving the elephant. There’s a group called Libera a Susi (Free Susi), and even world famous author, Jose Scaramango has joined the fight.

The Queen has long been outspoken on animal’s rights. She is even against bullfighting, a tradition in Spain.

Mathilde Visits Nursery School’s Literacy Project

Crown Princess Mathilde traveled to a Kortrijk nursery school Friday to see how its literacy project works in getting young children to read and write. mathilde-puppet

As a patron of many causes aimed at the needs of children, and the mother of four herself, this was a natural event for Mathilde to attend.

The Princess was greeted by dozens of young children waving self-made Belgian flags.

Inside, she met with the parents and briefly chatted with the students of the nursery school.

The down-to-earth Princess even used one of the school’s toy puppets to interact with the children.

The project aims at getting parents involved in helping their kids work on their language and literacy skills. The city of Kortrijk is in co-organization with the nursery school on the project.

Jordanian King Speaks of Wealth and Peace at World Economic Forum

The World Economic Forum on the Middle East got underway Friday on the shores of the Dead Sea in Jordan.

: AFP/Getty Images

King Abdullah II was the one who opened the forum, which is dedicated to discussing the world economic crisis’ effects in the region.

During his speech, the King spoke of his hopes that the Mideast becomes an economic powerhouse.

“At this year’s forum, you will be addressing the most critical issues of our time. Let your answers be just as bold.”

He urged “answers that do not simply help our countries get through the global economic downturn but ensure the region emerges as a powerhouse: the go-to place for opportunity and wealth-building and a determining factor in reshaping the global economy.”

The process should begin with “a region-wide consensus on action – a home-grown, home-based approach to unity, progress and peace.

“To succeed, we must build regional multi-sector, multi-skill partnerships. No single entity owns the region’s most pressing challenges – or their solution.”

In addition, King Abdullah praised the United States’ renewed commitment to finding solutions to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

“The new American commitment has now opened an opportunity to change the direction of events.

“Just as the United States has committed to momentum, so we in the region and all our friends must keep the focus on results. There are no excuses for failure.

“The time to act is not indefinite,” the King added. “Every delay has brought more danger, not only for the parties but for the region and indeed the world. There must be no more missed opportunities, no more process without progress.”

King Abdullah said all this while Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu sat in the audience, after making a surprise arrival to the forum.

About 1,300 officials and executives from 80 countries are in the Dead Sea region for the World Economic Forum.

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