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It was revealed this week that the heir to the Norwegian throne visited his country’s troops in Afghanistan. Crown Prince Haakon’s visit to the war torn nation was kept under wrap for his safety, and the media only learned about it when he left on Monday.
 Forsvaret The Crown Prince was there to see how Norway’s military was helping to build up Afghanistan. His trip took him from Kabul to Maymenah and Faryab, and then back to Kabul. The Norwegian Aero Medical Department displayed for Haakon their evacuation helicopter and a mock rescue.
“It was nice for me to come down here and see with your own eyes what the situation is for the Norwegian armed forces in this country. I am impressed by the Norwegian force contribution and I have learned a lot,” said Haakon.
The Crown Prince’s trip ended when he met with UN special envoy Kai Eide, Afghanistan’s Foreign Minister Dadfar Spanta and Ambassador Kåre Aas. He then had dinner with Norwegians who are living in Kabul.
King Abdullah II stopped by Saudi Arabia on Tuesday for a religious and political pilgrimage to the birthplace of Islam.
 Reuters First, the King performed the Umrah, or mini pilgrimage to Mecca. While the Umrah could be done at any time, Ramadan is a favorite time for Muslims to travel to the holy city.
King Abdullah did the ritual in the morning, and in the evening, he did the ishaa (evening) prayers and taraweeh (special Ramadan prayers) with Muslims from all over the globe.
Between those two religious events, the King met with his Saudi counterpart to discuss the Israeli-Palestinian peace process. The two King Abdullahs agreed that the creation of a Palestinian state needed to be done “as soon as possible,” according to a Royal Court statement.
The two Kings “looked into efforts to resolve the Palestinian-Israeli conflict based on the two-state solution within a regional context”, the statement said, adding that the solution must “entail a lasting and comprehensive peace in the Middle East in accordance with the relevant terms of reference, especially the 2002 Arab Peace Initiative.”
 AFP FILE The King of Morocco has come down with a rotavirus infection and “severe” dehydration. This, as the Muslim holy month of Ramadan ends its first week.
King Mohammed VI will be recovering for the next five days.
“The health of His Majesty the King does not warrant any concern,” said a statement signed by Dr. Abdulaziz Maaouni, personal physician of the King and director of the clinical royal palace.
The rotavirus infection is similar to the stomach flu.
The King was expected to visit the city of Casablanca earlier this week to preside over Ramadan events.
 Reuters Japan’s Prince Akishino and Princess Kiko continued their week long tour of the Netherlands. On Tuesday, they met with Dutch political leaders, and royalty.
First, the couple met with Prince Constantijn and his wife, Princess Laurentien in The Hague at the Royal Library. There, the Dutch royals showed their Japanese counterparts the exhibit, “From Here to Tokyo,” which celebrates 400 years of trade relations between the two countries. Constantijn and Akishino posed for the media displaying their commemorative coins.
Constantijn and Laurentien were the ones who met with the Japanese royals at this exhibit likely because of Princess Laurentien, who spent part of her youth in Japan. Her father was head of the European Community office.
 Reuters Later on, Akishino and Kiko met with Dutch Prime Minister Jan-Peter Balkenende, and held talks with the Dutch head of government. Throughout the whole day, Princess Kiko was dressed in a traditional kimono.
Tuesday is the only day for the Japanese royals to have official visits. Previously, and for the rest of their stay, they will be on private tours around the Netherlands.
Despite hard economic times, the Danish government will increase their budget and the salary of the House of Glucksburg. The increase will be at 2.7 percent, or 95.5 million kroner (18.4 million dollars) from taxpayers.
 Getty Images All members of the royal family will receive more money. However, it is the Crown Princely couple – Frederik and Mary – who will see the biggest raise. Their pay will increase 400,000 kroner to 17.6 million.
Meanwhile, Queen Margrethe II, Prince Henrik, and the Queen’s sister Princess Benedikte together will see a raise of 1.9 million. The Queen will get 63 million kroner, while her husband gets 7.1 million and Benedikte gets 1.1 million.
Prince Joachim will have 3.1 million more in his wallet. His former wife, Alexandra the Countess of Frederiksborg, will also see a an increase of 2.1 million, but since she is now a private citizen, she would be taxed. It is not known how much Joachim’s second wife, Princess Marie, would receive.
If this sounds like a lot during a global economic recession, the Danish media is reporting last year, the average Dane’s wages went up 5 percent.
However, recent polls have shown a decrease in popularity for the Danish royals. Whether or not a salary raise would affect them remains to be seen.
Japan’s Prince Akishino and Princess Kiko are in Holland to commemorate 400 years of trade between the two countries. The couple arrived on Friday, and got started with their official, yet private visits, on Saturday.
 Haarlems Dagblad First, Akishino and Kiko went to an organ recital at St. Bavo’s Church in Haarlem, which is not too far from Amsterdam. They listened to Ludwig van Beethoven’s Symphony No. 5 ‘‘Fate,” played by Jos van der Kooy, the Church’s organist. Princess Kiko gave her try with the organ, though it is not known how well she did.
Next, the couple visited two museums, the first being Teyler’s Museum, which houses a large library of everything from biology to zoology. The second museum Akishino and Kiko toured was the Van Gogh Museum, which has the largest collection by the legendary Dutch painter.
Princess Kiko mentioned she was pleased to be able to walk the streets of Holland, something she cannot do back in Japan as a member of the Imperial family.
The Prince and Princess will be staying in the Netherlands for a full week.
As Muslims around the world prepare for Ramadan, the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia asked the followers of Islam to live up to the holy month’s message.
 AP FILE In a joint message with Crown Prince Sultan, the King urged Muslims to follow in the footsteps of the Prophet Muhammad, and to be merciful, tolerant and generous during this time.
“We should also work to kindle the spirit of brotherhood and enhance the feelings of sympathy, mercy and giving, seeking the reward of God,” the King and Crown Prince said in their message, which was broadcasted on Saudi TV.
King Abdullah and Crown Prince Sultan sent Ramadan greeting cables to Muslims leaders all over the world,
Ramadan lasts from August 22nd to September 20th. It is a time of fasting from food, drink and sexual relations from sunrise till sunset. In addition, it is also a time to perform good deeds and meditate.
Muslims are also expected to perform the Umrah, or travel to Mecca. There is concern over whether swine flu would be a problem during this event.
Denmark’s Queen Margrethe II is on tour of Germany this weekend. She arrived Saturday afternoon and was greeted by President Horst Koehler in Berlin.
 Reuters Despite arriving in Berlin, the Queen is really on an official visit of Dresden in Saxony. A Danish and German arts and culture event would be the point of this visit, as it commemorates a Saxon-Denmark festival that took place here in 1709. It was Queen Margrethe’s ancestor, Frederik IV, who traveled to the German city for the festival.
The first stop for Queen Margrethe’s visit was to Frauenkirchen, or Our Lady of Dresden. Crowds waited outside the cathedral waving Danish flags for the Queen.
In the evening, the Queen would attend the ballet, “Giselle,” which would be performed by the Danish Ballet at the Semper Opera House. This is another part of the Danish-Saxony bi-cultural ties.
Sunday will see the Queen and Saxony’s Prime Minister Stanislaw Tillisch open the exhibition,”The Fortune Across the Sea: Saxony and Denmark – Marriages and Alliances in the Mirror of Art (1548-1709).” A total of 260 art pieces from both Denmark and Dresden on display at the Dresden Castle. Some of the exhibits document the festival from 300 years ago.
Denmark and Saxony have a long royal history together. Several Danish princesses married Electors of Saxony back in the 17th century.
The last time the Queen of Denmark toured Dresden was for a state visit to Germany in 1994. Back then, her husband Prince Henrik accompanied her. But this time, it is Margrethe’s sister, Princess Benedikte, who is the Queen’s companion.
August 19th 2009 marked the last time war was fought on Swedish soil. It was between Sweden and Russia over the territory of Finland, in which the latter won the area. 
To commemorate this historic event, King Carl XVI Gustaf, Queen Silvia and Crown Princess Victoria have been visiting the sites of the war, starting in Ratan, in northern Sweden.
Crowds greeted the royals as they arrived in the town by ship. Once on land, the royals took time to speak to the people. Crown Princess Victoria in particular spoke to many young children. Witnesses noted that she seemed very happy and was eager to talk to people.
Once everything was settled, the royal couple and their eldest daughter watched a reenactment of the Battle of Savar.
Later on, the Swedish royals had dinner with the local governor Chris Heister. When the family posed for pictures, the King was very quick to walk away. That was when Victoria said gently chided him, “Dad! Everyone haven´t got their pictures.” King Carl XVI Gustaf obeyed and returned to have more photos be taken.
 The next day, the family moved on to the town of Pitsund, where they arrived by navy ships. King Carl laid a wreath at a memorial.
Later in the day, King Carl, Queen Silvia and Princess Victoria took a helicopter ride to the border town of Tornio in Finland. There, they also saw a reenactment of the war.
There is more to come for the royal couple and the Crown Princess. Next week, they travel to southern Finland.
This year, Sweden and Finland have been commemorating two hundred years since Finland split from the Scandinavian country. Earlier this year, Finnish President Tarja Harlonen had a state visit to Sweden.
Sweden’s Prince Carl Philip was on hand to give out the annual Stockholm Water Prize Thursday. Usually, Crown Princess Victoria hands out the award. But since she is on tour of Finland with her parents these days, it was the second child of King Carl XVI Gustaf to award this year’s recipient at Stockholm City Hall.
 Reuters The winner this year is India’s Bindeshway Pathak, the founder of the Sulabh sanitation movement. He had developed a simple toilet system for India and several other poor countries.
“Sanitation is humanity’s and the world’s most urgent and critical crisis of our times,” Pathak said in an interview prior to the ceremony. “However, it is not yet an unsolvable crisis but a huge challenge. It will require massive, dedicated and selfless labour to achieve the goal.”
Upon receiving the award, Pathak said he would use the $150,000 prize to fund the education of India’s Dalit minority. The Dalit children are the ones who empty the latrines around the country.
“Provision of sanitation provides dignity and safety, especially to women, and reduction of child mortality,”Pathak said in his acceptance speech.
The Stockholm Water Prize is considered to be akin to the Nobel Prize, in terms of environmental issues.
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