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 Kongehuset.no It is being reported that Norway’s Crown Princess was bit on the lip by a puppy she and her family recently got. According to the newspaper, Seher, Mette-Marit received a minor bite on her lip while playing with the 4 month old labradoodle named Milly Kakao. She was sent to the emergency room, where she got a tetanus shot. This occurred on Monday, the day Mette-Marit was supposed to celebrate husband, Haakon’s 36th birthday.
Prince William went hiking through England’s countryside Friday, in the name of charity.
Six teenagers from Centrepoint, an organization which helps homeless youths, and members of Mountain Rescue, a volunteer run charity, joined the future King in a trek up Helvellyn, a mountain in the Cumbria region of northeastern England. Prince William did this to help the teens get a different view of life. “A lot of these guys have never done anything like this so it is a real challenge for them and I have really enjoyed meeting them,” he said, according to the Daily Mail. The location of the hike of kept secret until today. Therefore, other hikers who were not part of the group were surprised to see a Prince go by. But according to Andy Simpson, the spokesman of Mountain Rescue, William stopped to chat with those hikers. “It was nice to see him engaging with so many members of the public. They just happened to be out for a walk and it’s just made their day,” Simpson said. Once reaching Helvellyn’s top, the Prince and his team raised a flag to mark three years until the start of the 2012 Summer Olympics, taking place in London. Those who trekked with Prince William were a bit taken aback by how down-to-earth he is. “I didn’t know he was coming until last night but he was a lot more down-to-earth than I expected, he was canny.” said Johnny Glendinning. At the end, William praised the folks of Mountain Rescue. “These men and women are unsung heroes. They are up and down these mountains rescuing people with broken legs every day.” Afterward, the Prince went on a boat ride with the members of WellChild, a charity that looks after sick children.
This past Thursday saw Luxembourg’s Grand Duke Henri at the Chateau de Berg saying good-bye to the old and hello to a new government. He spent the morning thanking the outgoing ministers, and in afternoon, he swore in the new politicians.
For the outgoing members of the government, the Grand Duke thanked them for the service. Those who served a first term were awarded the Order of Civil Merit of Adolphe. Later on, Henri held audience with the new government ministers. He started first with his prime minister, Jean-Claude Juncker, in the swearing-in ceremony before doing all 15 ministers. Everyone swore “loyalty to the Grand Duke, obedience to the Constitution and laws of the State” and “promise to fulfill my duties with integrity, accuracy and impartiality.” Afterward, the Grand Duke signed five decrees which officiated the new government. Once everything was done, a reception was held for the new members of Luxembourg’s government. Denmark’s Prince Joachim and Princess Marie joined the regent couple and Joachim’s two sons on board the royal ship, Danneborg, for a family gathering as Queen Margrethe and Prince Henrik did their annual tour of the Kingdom.
Also with them was their two and half month old son, who’s name would finally be revealed this Sunday during his baptism. It is tradition for the Danish royal family to keep the baby’s name a secret until the ceremony. Once the moniker is mentioned, it would satisfy many royal watchers who have been biting their nails over the name of the little prince. Some guess the name would be Albert, since it is of French origin, which Princess Marie and Prince Henrik are. Others say the boy would be called Waldemar, Benjamin, or even Joachim and Henrik – the baby’s father and grandfather! Either way, Sunday’s baptism would be an exciting event for Denmark and the royal fans everywhere. It would take place starting at 17:30 local time at Mogeltonder, the church where Joachim and Marie married in May 2008. A golden baptismal font, that has been used by the Danish royals since 1671, will be brought to the church. Also what will be revealed at the baptism are the baby’s godparents. Who they are is also not known yet.
Wednesday saw the Prince and Princess of Asturias in Comillas to meet with over 70 directors of the Cervantes Institute. The institute, which promotes the Spanish language and culture around the world, is having a five day meeting period where the directors are discussing ways to open more Cervantes schools in order to make Spanish a more important global tongue.
During the meeting, Crown Prince Felipe called Cervantes an “efficient, exemplary and irreplaceable” institution. He also congratulated the directors for the “quality and prestige” the Institute has achieved in recent years. Felipe is quite familiar with it, as he has opened some schools in other countries as the heir to the Spanish throne. His wife, Crown Princess Letizia, has accompanieed him to the more recent openings. So familiar are the two with the Cervantes Institutes, that they spent about five minutes with most of the over 70 directors before the meeting. At the gathering, the discussion was about how to open the Institute in sub-Saharan Africa, where increasingly more people are studying Spanish. Other topics included how to further promote Spanish once Spain gets its turn to the presidency of the European Union, and using the language as a “language of peace, coexistence and understanding between peoples with different religions, customs, values and ways of seeing the world.” Felipe expressed interest in the latest technology at Cervantes, plus its cultural activities used to educate students about the culture of Spain. In 2005, the Cervantes Institute won the Prince of Asturias Award for its academic achievement. July 21st was a big day for Belgium and its royal family, as they celebrated in National Day, marking the day when King Leopold I swore an oath, and Belgium won its independence from the Netherlands.
Festivities began the previous evening, when the royal family went to the “Preludium to the National Day” concert at the Palace of Fine Arts. The royals listened to music by the Belgian National Orchestra and opera sung by Helene Guilmette. Tuesday saw the actual Nationa Day celebrations. The day began with the Belgian royals attending Te Deum mass all over the country. King Albert II, Queen Paola, Queen Fabiola, Crown Prince Philippe and Crown Princess Mathilde went to mass at St. Michael and St. Gudule Cathedral in Brussels. The other two children of the King – Princess Astrid and Prince Laurent – and their spouses went to services at Antwerp and Mons. After the mass, the royals in Brussels went up to the crowds outside of the cathedral, and chatted and posed for pictures with their subjects.
Later came the military defile. King Albert II inspected the troops before joining his family in the stands for the parade. The royal women had changed their attire for this event. Crown Princess Mathilde, for example, switched from a black fascinator and a white dress she wore to for Te Deum, to a brilliant pink outfit with a matching fascinator. Philippe and Mathilde chatted with Queen Fabiola right before the parade. The dowager Queen was in a bright mood, despite her previous illness this year, plus the death threats that warned that she would be killed during the defile. But nothing happened. Queen Fabiola held a green apple during the event, perhaps to show she would not back down from anything. Also at the defile were the children of Princess Astrid and Prince Laurent. None of the Crown Princely couple’s children were present, for reasons unknown. After the military parade, the royals visited various locations in Brussels that were also marking National Day. Philippe and Mathilde visited a UNICEF stand in the royal park, while Princess Astrid and her husband, Prince Lorenz stopped by to chat with the Brussels police. By nightfall, the royal family of Belgium enjoyed a magnificent fireworks display. The King of the Belgians gave his annual speech on the eve of Belgium’s National Day celebrations. In his speech, King Albert II discussed the economic crisis gripping his country, and called for economic reforms.
The King said his thoughts foremost were with the Belgian people who had either lost their jobs or were suffering financially due to the crisis. He went on to say that it raises “questions over the increasing materialism” in society. King Albert went on to call for Belgians to “put more importance on family values, solidarity and respect for others.” He also asked that the financial sector must use its position to serve the human race. In addition, King Albert brought up the ever present Belgian issue of state reforms. “Let’s agree state reforms,” he said with optimism. That meant giving the federal areas of Belgium more responsibility and financial means to carry out their citizens’ needs. Tomorrow, Belgium would be in full celebration as it celebrates its independence from the Netherlands. On Friday, Princess Stephanie was busy tackling the HIV/AIDS issue in her principality of Monaco. As the founder of Fight AIDS Monaco, it is her duty to attend the organization’s events – be it a press conference or a gala.
First, the Princess was present for a press conference in the early part of the day. Along with Marc Toesca and Laurent Petitguillaume, Stephanie spoke to the press about the evening’s concert/dinner. For the event, Princess Stephanie was dressed glamorously as she arrived with her brother, Prince Albert II and his girlfriend, Charlene Wittstock at the Sporting Club of Monaco. For the gala, Stephanie arranged for such music artists as Luna Parker, Peter & Sloane, Eric Morena, Jakie Quartz and Thierry Pastor, all whom were from the Party Rfm 2009 tour that is running through Europe right now. In order to attend the event, each person had to pay 160 Euros. It is likely those proceeds were donated to Fight AIDS Monaco. Since its inception in 2004, Fight AIDS Monaco has helped raise money, and be a source of support for HIV-positive people and their families, not only in Monaco and France, but also in AIDS-ravaged countries as Burundi and Madagascar.
Prince Muhammad Fakhry of the Kelantan state of Malaysia, the husband of an Indonesian teen model, is suing both her and her mother for defamation.
In late May, Manohara Odelia Pinot accused the 31 year-old prince of drugging her and sexually assaulting her during their 10 month marriage. She managed to escape him during a visit to Singapore. Now, her estranged husband is suing her and her mother, Daisy Fajarina for 105 million ringgit, the equivalent of 30 million U.S. dollars. Prince Fakhry’s lawyer, Mohamad Haaziq Pillay, says he would serve a writ on Pinot and her mother. “They have 21 days to enter a (response)…. Anyone can say anything but do they have proof? This is the time for them to come forward and prove their allegations,” he was quoted as telling state news agency Bernama. Recent medical examinations back up Pinot’s claims. She also tried to file abuse charges against the prince, but since the alleged assault took place in Malaysia, Indonesian police can do very little.
This time, it is the Dutch Crown Princely family allowing the media to photograph them. They are currently enjoying their summer at the beach at The Hague, which is not too far from their home in Wassenaar. Crown Prince Willem-Alexander and Crown Princess Maxima displayed their three daughters – Amalia, Alexia and Ariane – to let the world see how quickly the little princesses are growing up. The little girls are starting to look more alike, as each are growing out their blond hair. They also looked quite cute in their matching denim jeans and white shirts as they played in the sand. To see more pictures of the family, click here
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With so many royals having their summer holiday these days, it is only natural to have plenty of photo-ops for the royals to show off their family.
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