20 « September « 2009 « Royalty in the News

Mathilde & Maxima Open Museum Together

nieuwsblad.be

The Crown Princesses of Belgium and the Netherlands teamed up Sunday to open Museum “M” in the Belgian city of Leuven. It seemed fitting for the women to open such a museum, since both of their names start with the letter “M.”

Mathilde and Maxima gleefully chatted as they cut the ribbon and interacted with the crowds. They were even given a tour of the place, which displays works by Flemish primitive artist Rogier Van der Weyden, who lived in the Medieval Low Countries.

Some Flemish nationalist activists who had mixed in the audience began chanting anti-Belgium slogans. They were immediately removed from the crowds and were arrested. One of the three was identified as a leader of the Vlaams Belang Youth of the Leuven region.

Queen Beatrix, Prince Philip Commemorate Dutch City Liberation

In 1944, the Dutch university town of Nijmegen was liberated from Nazi German forces. It was a brutal battle to set the town free, but in the end, it was worth it since it was a step to the end of World War II.

Reuters

65 years later, Holland’s Queen Beatrix presided over the anniversary of Nijmegen’s liberation. She was accompanied by the Duke of Edinburgh, Prince Philip, himself a WWII veteran.

The two royals began the ceremony by inspecting the Guard of Honor, and laying a wreath at the Monument of the Resistance.

Queen Beatrix and the Duke then watched the military parade.

Also in attendance was the German ambassador to the Netherlands. The crowds of several thousand people cheered as he laid a wreath at the Monument.

The battle for Nijmegen began with Allied soldiers parachuting in and fighting over a three day period.

The liberation of Nijmegen was the only time the Germans pulled back from the Netherlands. The rest of the country – the north and central parts – remained under Nazi control until the end of the war in May 1945.

Haakon Takes Children to Semiaden 2009

Scanpix

When Crown Prince Haakon went to witness a demonstration by the Norwegian Air Ambulance this morning, he had no idea he would be picked to take part in the mock rescue mission.

But he participated anyway, and did not regret it.

“I think it was fun to be able to be lifted out of the water by a helicopter – I have never done before. And so I think it’s nice to be with and see up close the quality of the important work that Air ambulance perform,” Haakon said afterwards.

The Crown Prince wore a special yellow suit that helped him stay afloat in the water. A helicopter came by and a rescue worker fished Haakon out of the water. He was then lifted into the helicopter.

Cheering him on were his two children, Princess Ingrid Alexandra and Prince Sverre Magnus. At one point, they asked their father if he was freezing. But he was too far out in the water to hear them.

Scanpix

This was the 31st commemoration of the Norwegian Air Ambulance. The event took place not too far from Haakon’s palace in Skaugum. Given the rainy conditions, the Crown Prince’s mock rescue looked realistic.

“We were very happy that he posed. It is an important signal that the crown prince shares our opinion, that it is safe, that he will participate as a marker and information officer,” said Marte Ramborg of the Air Ambulance.

Your Ad Here

</iframe</p> <p><iframe src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=royinthenew-20&o=1&p=21&l=ur1&category=green&banner=0W3BBZMQZ1ZKRQZY2502&f=ifr" width="125" height="125" scrolling="no" border="0" marginwidth="0" style="border:none;" frameborder="0">

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.