September « 2009 « Royalty in the News

Queen Rania’s Visit to the U.S.

During this week, Jordan’s Queen Rania has been in the United States, touring on behalf of her country and of UNICEF. She has been speaking with the press and meeting with Americans in regards to education and the Israeli-Palestinian peace process.

Chris Hondros/Getty Images

First, on Monday, the Queen stopped by the Young Women’s Leadership School in East Harlem. As UNICEF’s first eminent advocate for children, as well as the United Nations Girls’ Education Initiative’s (UNGEI) honorary global chairperson, Queen Rania gave the girls a few inspirational words.

“I want you, girls with voices, to speak up and shout out for girls whose cries fall silent. I want you to fight for them, as others are fighting for you. I want you to pull up another girl, and help her stand tall and strong. I want you to be great and inspire greatness in others. If anyone can do it, you can.”

“Providing quality education to girls is a sound investment that helps build a brighter future for their communities and their countries,” said Ann M. Veneman, the executive director of UNICEF, who was with the Queen on Monday. “Her Majesty Queen Rania is a strong voice promoting access to a quality education for children around the world.”

Tuesday, Rania went up to Yale University for a Q & A session with its students, faculty and staff. There, she switched from being an advocate for girls’ education, to a voice for the Palestinians in the Mideast peace process.

“In Palestine, walls are going up rather than coming down,” the Queen, who is a Palestinian origin, said. “Time has not been a friend” to the Palestinians.

“Land is the geography of the Palestinian soul,” she continued, and each new settlement on the West Bank “is a blow to their existence.”

Below is video of Queen Rania’s visit to Yale:

Wednesday night, the Queen attended the Important Dinner for Women at the Cipriani’s 42nd street restaurant. Attended by various high profiled women, such as Wendi Murdoch, Sarah Brown, Nicole Kidman and Liya Kebede, the event discusses ways

Jordan News Agency

to help women survive childbirth in third world countries, where mortality rate for such women is high.

On Thursday, Queen Rania had two major events. One was the commemoration on the UNRWA’s 60th anniversary. The UNRWA, which was set up to aid Palestinian refugees.

“UNRWA’s presence reminds the Palestinian people that they are not alone; that in their darkest hours, an international aid agency stands by their side,” the Queen said. ”

You know, this is one event I wish I wasn’t at. I wish there was no need for UNRWA. I wish there was no anniversary to mark and I wish that there were not for 6 million Palestinian refugees in need of humanitarian aid. But you and I know the reality is very different.Theirs is a life interrupted, a life half lived.”

Later in the afternoon, she took part in a forum at the Clinton Global Initiative.

On Monday, Queen Rania said on Twitter, “Arrived in NYC for work. As always, excitement and trepidation. Will I be able to champion the causes & people I represent well enough?”

Well, Your Majesty, many people would say you did your job very well!

Prince Albert II Calls for Action on Climate Change

Monaco’s Prince Albert II spoke at a press conference at the United Nations Tuesday, addressing the issue of climate change and its effect on the Arctic.

Reuters

“We have no choice: we must protect Arctic ice,” the Prince said.

“Enable it to continue to act as an essential temperature regulator for the planet, avoid the catastrophic rise in sea levels that would result from the ice melt, and stop the disappearance of permafrost releasing irreversible quantities of greenhouse gases back into the atmosphere. It is a duty for ourselves and for all of humanity – for our children, of course, but also all those who are already suffering the dramatic effects of these developments.”

Albert also called for the international community to solve the trouble with air pollution.

“We must not forget there are four million people representing thirty different cultures, all intimately related to the natural environment…Therefore we appeal to the eight Arctic governments. We solemnly ask them to work together to provide effective and rapid reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, and the establishment of a network monitoring and control to measure and prevent real-time the evolution of Arctic ice.”

Prince Albert was not alone in his press conference. He was joined by fellow members of the Aspen Institute Commission on Arctic Climate Change, including the President of the Natural Resources Defense Council Frances Beinecke, Director General of WWF International Jim Leape, Chancellor of the University of Alaska Fran Ulmer, Inuit Advocate Sheila Watt-Cloutier, and Lindblad Expeditions Founder & President Sven Lindblad.

Royal Wedding This Weekend in Morocco

It has been announced that the 28 year-old cousin of King Mohammed VI, Prince Moulay Ismail, is engaged to marry German Muslim Anissa Lehmkuhl.

The King will chair the wedding, which will take place this Saturday, September 26th.

Miss Lehmkuhl is the daughter of a former German military attache to Morocco. Her parents, Omar and Amina, converted to Islam while living in the country.

Morocco Royal Wedding

Crown Princess Maxima Named U.N. Advisor

Crown Princess Maxima added another title to her long list yesterday. United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon named her the U.N. Special Advocate for Inclusive Finance for Development. She will be Ban’s representative on making financial development available to third world countries.

Reuters

In those countries, many are unable to take out a loan or even open a bank account. The U.N. is focused on changing that.

A former banker, Maxima has been a member of a U.N. board for microfinance and an accessible financial sector for a few years now, and this position displays how she is well trusted with these kinds of issues.

The Crown Princess is the second member of the Dutch royal family to be given a high position in the United Nations. Her husband, Crown Prince Willem-Alexander has been Chairman of the water and sanitation committee since 2006.

Maxima is also going to be present at the Clinton Global Initiative, and will be making a speech there later on today.

Haakon & Mette-Marit Stop By Hungary

Reuters

This morning, Norway’s Crown Princely couple arrived in Hungary for a two day visit. They are there to open Pennon, the Hungarian version of Telenor, as well as other Norwegian backed EEA projects.

Haakon and Mette-Marit were welcomed to Budapest by President Laszlo Solyom. They were given a brief tour of Budapest before sitting down and discussing with Solyom Norwegian-Hungarian ties.

At 2pm, they went to the Pannon House, where the Crown Prince gave an opening speech.

Pannon is one of Hungary’s leading mobile operators, and owned by Telenor Group of Norway, established in 1994.

Tomorrow, Haakon and Mette-Marit will visit other projects before hopping on a plane to New York. They will be present for the Clinton Global Initiative taking place this week.

Thai King Hospitalized

AP FILE

The King of Thailand is currently being hospitalized in Bangkok today. The 81 year-old King Bhumibol Adulyadej was admitted on Saturday night to Siriraj Hospital, after suffering from fever, fatigue and loss of appetite.

It is being reported that the monarch – the world’s longest serving – is being treated with antibiotics and glucose drip. Doctors are trying to diagnose his illness.

Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva told the country King Bhumibol’s condition is not of concern.

In the past, the King has suffered a minor stroke, bronchitis and stomach inflammation.

Tables were set up at the hospital for citizens to wish their beloved King well.

King Bhumibol is highly revered in Thailand, and there are concerns that when he passes, the monarchy would be in trouble. This is because the King’s son, Crown Prince Vajiralongkorn, is not as politically savvy as his father.

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.

Nepali Royalists Demand Referendum

About 1,000 supporters of Nepal’s deposed monarchy gathered in Kathmandu Friday, to demand a referendum on the issue. They also called for Hinduism to be the state religion.

AFP

“We want a public referendum to decide on the fate of the monarchy and whether Nepal should be a Hindu state before the new constitution is completed,” said Kamal Thapa, chairman of the pro-monarchy Rastriya Prajatantra Party.

In addition, the protestors produced a yards long petition of signatures, which they claim are the names of the 2 million Nepali people who want the monarchy back.

In May 2008, King Gyanendra was ousted by a mainly communist government. He was largely unpopular, and many people felt he was responsible for the June 2001 massacre of the royal family, including his more popular brother, King Binendra.

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