24 « October « 2009 « Royalty in the News

Crown Prince Philippe Meets Saudi King Abdullah

Crown Prince Philippe was received by Saudi Arabia’s King Abdullah today as part of the Belgian royal heir’s economic mission to the Middle East. He will be in the region for about a week in hopes of expanding Belgium’s business ties there. CP Philippe Saudi King

But first, Philippe met with the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, and they had talks about their countries bilateral ties. The Crown Prince was accompanied by a large Belgian delegation of 250 people that included former Prime Minister Yves Leterme.

One of the things the King and the Crown Prince discussed was interfaith issues. Philippe praised King Abdullah for creating events for interfaith dialogue, as he did last year in Spain. Even Leterme lauded the King for his efforts.

In addition, there were talks of the Mideast peace process, oil and other business ties.

“We discussed precisely the volatility of oil prices and about the diversification of energy supplies in Europe. Several regional issues were also taken up during discussions,” Leterme told reporters at the Belgian embassy.“We also made an assessment of our bilateral relations, which are very good,”

Business deals will be signed during the Crown Prince’s stay, which would last five days.

Then, he is off to the United Arab Emirates, where Philippe will continue to do his Belgian economic mission. He will also meet up with wife Crown Princess Mathilde in Abu Dhabi.

Spanish Village Receives Prize and Royal Visit

The tiny village of Sobrescobio, Spain was overjoyed today for two reasons. One, it won this year’s Prince of Asturias Award for Exemplary Village. Secondly, the villagers were treated with a royal visit by Spain’s Crown Princely couple, Felipe and Letizia.

Reuters/Eloy Alonso

Ever since Sobrescobio was awarded the prize, it has painstakingly preparing for the visit. Houses were painted, flowers were carefully planted, welcome banners and flags were collected. This small village – population 900 – multiplied in a month as relatives from all over Spain came for Felipe and Letizia’s visit.

When the big day came, large crowds gathered to welcome the Prince and Princess of Asturias, which is the region where Sobrescobio is located. Children and the elderly gave hugs and kisses to their future King and Queen.

During the ceremony where the village mayor received the diploma, Crown Prince Felipe congratulated Sobrescobio “for undertaking social and cultural projects to preserve admirable and so wisely reserve the wonderful life that always keeps your council.” Sobrescobio won the Exemplary Village award for beating depopulation, maintaining the environment, and for industrial gains.

The Crown Prince has also praised this town “by looking to the future from the love of tradition and to understand that without the care of the natural heritage can not move forward.”

Reuters/Eloy Alonso

After the ceremony came the tour of Sobrescobio. Folk dancers preformed for the couple as they met with the villagers. At one point, Felipe and Letizia met a basket weaver, who gave them a rattle and wicker baskets for their two daughters.

Later on, the couple celebrated the town’s commitment to the environment by planting a tree together.

The Award for Exemplary Town of Asturias was established in 1990 to recognize the town, village, population center, landscaped area or population in the Principality of Asturias, which has featured in “the defense and conservation of its natural environment, environmental, of its historical, cultural or artistic, or in the execution of works or other manifestations of communal solidarity outstanding.”

King Bhumibol Makes First Public Appearance Since Hospital Admittance

Friday afternoon was the first time Thailand’s beloved King Bhumibol Adulyadej appeared in public since being admitted to Siriraj Hospital on September 19th. He was shown on national television being pushed around on a wheelchair by doctors on hospital grounds.

Reuters/Stringer

This appearance was meant to ease Thailand’s worries over the health of the 81 year-old King. The country has been so concerned, stocks tumbled last week.

But doctors insist King Bhumibol’s health is getting better, and there will be no more daily updates on his condition, unless things turn for the worst.

The King was hospitalized last month for fever, loss of appetite and lung infection.

But Friday, he was shown being in good health. Siriraj Hospital said the King visited its photo exhibition of his late mother and then checked out Siriraj’s bookstore.

Thais see their King as a force of stability in their politically divided kingdom. Concern over what will happen when Bhumibol passes away is high, since the Crown Prince does not have the talent to walk the fine line between the political parties as his father does.

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.