Saturday saw the wedding for Hubertus, the hereditary prince of Saxony-Coburg and Gotha, and American banker, Kelly Rondestvedt in Coburg, Germany.
AP
This was their religious service, as they had done their civil ceremony on Thursday.
Kelly wore a white dress with lace on the sleeves, much like Princess Marie of Denmark. But she wore no tiara. This is unusual as the Saxony-Coburg and Gotha family is quite wealthy, and she was marrying an hereditary prince – which is similar to a crown prince.
There were 400 guests to the wedding. On that guest list was the King and Queen of Sweden, who got thunderous applause as they entered, and Simeon Saxe-Coburg, the former King and Prime Minister of Bulgaria.
After the service at St. Moriz Church, Hubertus and Kelly rode in a coach through the streets of Coburg, where thousands of well-wishers cheered for them.
Does the BBC know something the rest of the world doesn’t?
The Beeb is making a documentary about the courtship for Prince William and his longtime girlfriend Kate Middleton, called “Their Story”. This despite economic hardships currently going on in the U.K.
The documentary will air the very day the engagement between the couple is officially announced. When that will happen, no one knows for sure.
“Believe me, in these straitened times, we would not be spending money on this program if we had not been assured that they were definitely going to get engaged,” says a senior BBC executive, according to the Daily Telegraph.
Speculation of an engagement announcement has reach fever pitch ever since William and Kate were photographed with their arms wrapped around each other after a polo match two weeks ago. Hello! magazine is claiming a wedding will take place in 2010.
The media has been guessing when William and Kate will finally announce their engagement ever since the two were photographed on the Swiss ski slops five years ago.
In 2006, Woolworths’ created a line of dishware with the couple’s images on them amidst rumors of an engagement.
However, William and Kate called it quits in 2007 – only to get back together six weeks later.
One can expect the engagement speculations to increase as William finishes up his training to be a helicopter pilot. He will complete it in 2010, the year he will turn 28.
The Prince once told a reporter he doesn’t want to get married until he is 28 or 30 years old.
After 7 years, and many ups and downs together, the wedding bells are getting louder and louder for the university sweethearts.
Most of Monaco’s princely family witnessed the annual Grand Prix Sunday, as Jenson Button won this year’s event.
AP
Prince Albert II, Princess Stephanie, and the three Casiraghi children sat in the stadium to watch the 7 lap race, one of most prestigious Formula One events.
Monaco’s sovereign Prince awarded Button with the winning trophy, with niece Charlotte Casiraghi, and nephews Andrea and Pierre Casiraghi by his side. Button has now won five of the six F1 events, making him the dominant force in this year’s races.
Button’s win has been overshadowed this year, by threats from Ferrari and Renault to pull out of the F1 events due to the sport’s governing body’s governing budget cap initiative.
“I’m sure we cannot afford to lose teams like Ferrari or Renault,” Prince Albert urged. “I think it would be such a bad image for the sport that I am sure that a solution is going to be found.
“The economic impact [of holding a race in Monaco] can be measured in hundreds of millions of Euros. It is part of history, and should there be a change in regulations or in the sport’s outlook on things, then we would all put up a big fight to try and keep the grand prix here. We are happy to work with the FIA and everyone involved in F1.”
The Grand Prix is a four day event in Monaco.
During the past few days, Prince Albert and his family have been taking part in charity football games, opening hotels among other major social events.
Prince Kardam uttered his first words since getting into a serious car accident last summer.
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The Spanish publication, Reportaje Semana has not said what the Prince actually said, but it is a great improvement after Kardam spent months in a coma following the accident in Spain.
Kardam’s wife, Miriam Ungria, was also involved in the crash, but as since recovered.
She told Reportaje Semana that she spends her day with Kardam, pushing him around the house in his wheelchair.
When asked about what she would say to those who doubted the Prince had a future, Miriam said, “Just remember that before you say certain things it must be verified because they misinform and can do you much harm.”
Prince Kardam is the eldest son of Bulgaria’s former King and Prime Minister, Simeon Saxe-Coburg.
The House of Bourbon came together Saturday for the first communions of two of King Juan Carlos’ grandchildren.
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Juan and Pablo Urdangarin made the Roman Catholic rite at a church in Barcelona, where their mother, Infanta Cristina is based.
The King and Queen Sofia, the Crown Princely couple and their two young daughters, Leonor and Sofia, as well as Infanta Elena, joined the Urdangarins’ for the ceremony.
This is one of the last chances the royal family gets to be with Infanta Cristina and her family. This summer, they are transferring to the United States due to husband Inaki’s job.
Also making her first communion is Infanta Elena’s daughter, Victoria de Marichalar. She will be making the rite this coming Wednesday.
One of the reasons why it would be a big event is because it may be the first time Infanta Elena appears with her estranged husband, Jaime de Marichalar, since announcing their separation back in November 2007.
Just a little over two weeks since giving birth, Princess Marie and her husband, Prince Joachim, returned to their palace in Mogeltonder, in South Jutland, with their baby son in tow.
Billed Bladet
According to Denmark’s Image magazine, the proud parents are getting to know their little offspring, and are enjoying every minute of it.
“Right now we need to get to know each other,” said Princess Marie.
“We must learn to know his personality, his habits and needs. But he is very cute and reasonably easy. And he sleeps well and eats well, so we are just fortunate.”
According to Princess Marie is everything went very well after the birth. And being a mother has fully lived up to her expectations.
“It’s fantastic. But also very different. Everything changes suddenly, but of course the greatest experience in life. And we are very, very excited.”
The Danish media is speculating that the christening of the little prince would be either late July or early August. This way, the entire royal family would be in the country and be available to go to the event.
Friday marked five years of marriage for Spain’s Crown Prince Felipe and Crown Princess Letizia.
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But despite the need the celebrate, the couple spent the day doing their royal duties, something Felipe promised they would do when they wed five years earlier.
“The commitment that today Letizia and I have assumed, transcends of the merely personal commitment. Since that I was a child, I’ve been very aware of my institutional responsibilities and the loyalty to the King and the sense of duty has guided my life. So I’m happy that, from today, Letizia joins me to this project with conviction and responsibility… Your Majesty, you can be sure that we will always think about Spain and that all our common life will be devote to the well-being of the Spaniards,” Felipe said during his wedding speech.
So, the two lived up to their devotion to duty by attending the Caja Madrid Foundation ceremony, in which 200 postgraduate students received scholarships to study abroad.
Caja Madrid is something that interest the Prince of Asturias. Since 2000, 677 students have been able to study at major universities in the United States, Canada and Europe.
During the ceremony, Felipe admitted that he still felt the same love, the same enthusiasm and commitment to Letizia as he did when they stood at the altar at Almuneda Cathedral.
Friday, May 22nd marks five years since Felipe, Prince of Asturias married former news anchorwoman Letizia Ortiz Rocasolano.
It was the first wedding of a crown prince or king in Spain in nearly century. It was also historic since the bride was a divorced commoner.
But none of the seems to matter anymore, according to recent polls where Spaniards were asked what they thought of their King and the heirs to the Spanish throne.
El Mundo newspaper claims 60 per cent of the people want King Juan Carlos to reign until he dies.
81 per cent of Spaniards believe Crown Prince Felipe is ready to take over as King, while 82 per cent believe his wife, Letizia, is living up to her expectations as Crown Princess. However, only a little more than half believe she is ready to become Queen.
The polls come after recent events have led to some questions about the Spanish monarchy’s future.
Last year, Catalan separatists burned images of King Juan Carlos and Queen Sofia.
The King and Queen were also booed and whistled at a recent football game by separatists.
At the same time, various separatist groups – such as Basque, Galician, and Catalan – set up a website where the regions of Spain were shown as being individual countries.
The Spanish government considers such incidents as isolated, and insist that the monarchy is one of Spain’s strongest institutions.
The Spanish monarchy was restored in 1975 following the death of General Francisco Franco, who had made Spain a fascist state.
It has been a difficult week for Queen Elizabeth II as she watched the British government become ridden of scandal and resignations, during a time of economic troubles.
Reuters
She reportedly said she was “dismayed” by what was happening.
A former senior Palace official said: “Her Majesty has made clear her displeasure at what she has learnt. She is concerned about the effect that it is having on Parliament’s standing.
“It goes against everything she believes in.”
This all started when it came out that members of Parliament were using public funds for just about everything – pornography and Christmas decorations. This made the Queen concerned that the government – which is under her name – may lose credibility.
Then came the Speaker Michael Martin’s resignation over the scandal. The 83 year old sovereign supposedly discussed this with former Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher.
“Isn’t it extraordinary about the Speaker?” said the Queen, according to the Daily Telegraph.
“This is the first time it’s happened since, I think, 1628.”
Thatcher replied: “Quite extraordinary, but I think it was the right thing to do. The Speaker needs to explain more thoroughly the reasons behind his decision, however.”
Now even more problems for Queen Elizabeth.
Nick Griffin, the leader of the British National Party, a right-wing group that opposes immigration and wants Britain to withdraw from the European Union, and also once serve time for inciting racial hatred in 1998, has been invited to the annual garden parties at Buckingham Palace this July. He is going by invitation of Richard Barnbrook, an elected BNP member of the London Assembly.
The Assembly is now demanding Barnbook chooses someone else.
“Unless Mr. Barnbrook brings a more acceptable guest along and doesn’t turn it into a political stunt, the invitation will be rescinded,” Assembly Chairman Darren Johnson said, according to CNN.
Even worse, it has been revealed that the Queen has nothing to do with who is invited.
“The Queen does not scrutinize and is not consulted on the list of accompanying guests, as they are official guests and not personal invitations,” said the spokesman, who asked not to be named in line with policy.
“Buckingham Palace relies entirely on the nominating organizations” to compile their guest lists, the palace spokesman added.
As problems mount within the British government, both national and local, Britons are going to look towards Queen Elizabeth to see what she’ll do. Problem is, there is very little she can do, as she has little political power.
The only hope for her is that none of the political troubles the U.K. is experiencing would be taken out on the royal family.
On Tuesday, Emir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani and his wife, Sheikha Mozah, made a stop in Malaysia during their tour of Southeast Asia.
AP
The visit was marked by signing of agreements and talks of mutual concerns.
First, the Emir was welcomed by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong Tuanku Mizan Zainal Abidin at the Parliament House in Kuala Lumpur.
He then later met with Prime MinisterMohamed Najib bin Abdul Razak, and the two discussed ways to strengthen ties between the two countries. They also witnessed the signing of trade agreements between Qatar and Malaysia.
Meanwhile, Sheikha Mozah bin Nasser al-Missned met with the prime minister’s wife,
Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor. The Emir’s consort wanted to know more about an education program called, “permata negara.”
“Her Highness has given words of encouragement and invited me to visit Qatar to discuss early education for children, especially for those below the age of five, in Qatar.
“She believes that this is one way of ensuring an effective human capital development,” Rosmah told reporters.
The program, which is mooted by Rosmah, stimulates young children’s minds intellectually, and focuses on making the students intellectuals as they grow older.
In addition, Rosmah and Sheikha Mozah discussed ways for Muslim countries to educate the West through Islam.
“We also discuss Islamic fashion where we hope to promote it to the Western market so that the Western people will know more about Muslims,” Rosmah added.
She said Mozah had invited Malaysian fashion designers to Qatar for a fashion show.
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