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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.
This evening in Oviedo, Spain, the annual Prince of Asturias Prizes were given to those who have made contributions in various fields. The awards are named after, and handed out by, the Prince of Asturias, Crown Prince Felipe. They have been around since 1981.
 Reuters/Felix Ordonez At the Campoamor Theater, Felipe gave a speech to the recipients. They come from the areas of sports, letters, the arts, international cooperation, social sciences, communications and humanities, technical and scientific research, exemplary village, and finally, concord.
“A course that is far from easy, forged with great effort day by day so as to recognize and extol, as we do today,” said the Crown Prince in his speech. “The work and life of personalities and institutions from all over the world with careers and traditions that have remained impervious to passing fancies. These were often embarked upon alone, overcoming major obstacles with scant means. This brings to mind the biblical proverb that humility always precedes glory. Our Laureates are, for this reason, supreme models of effort, sacrifice, intelligence, nobleness, of the spirit to excel and of such qualities that dignify human beings.
 AP Photo/Prince of Asturias foundation, Pool “From this beautiful, refined city of Oviedo, from this beloved land of Asturias, our Awards have, year after year, expressed before the international community Spain’s firm commitment to the values that ennoble and exalt our lives and provide essential support and guidelines in such intense and difficult times as these, when we find ourselves at a crossroads of opportunity and hope.”
In his speech, the Crown Prince acknowledged each of the laureates, one by one. After Felipe was done, the Prizes were given out.
Here is the list of the recipients of the 2009 Prince of Asturias Prizes:
Sports: Yelena Isinbayeva, Russia
Letters: Ismail Kadare, Albania
Arts: Norman Foster, United States
International Cooperation: World Health Organization
Social Sciences: David Attenborough, United Kingdom
Communications & Humanities: National Autonomous University of Mexico
 Reuters/Felix Ordonez Technical & Scientific: Martin Cooper and Raymond S. Tomlinson, United States
Exemplary Village: Sobrescobio, Spain
Concord: Berlin, Germany
All the winners were awarded their diploma and badge, save for Sobroscobio. That will receive its prize tomorrow.
To see more photos of the event, click here
Like any other constitutional monarch, Japan’s Emperor Akihito does not ever voice his politics. Even when he opens Parliament, or the Diet, as he did back in September, his speech is written for him by the Cabinet and approved of by the government.
 AP FILE But now, the Foreign Minister would like to change that a bit. Katsuya Okada told members of the Cabinet in an informal conversation about “whether we can make efforts to have the wording reflect the Emperor’s thoughts, even if it’s just a little bit.”
“I want it (the agency) to consider arranging things so we are given words in which the Emperor’s feelings are included to some degree,” Okada told reporters.
Okada also pointed out that Emperor Akihito’s words rarely change from each session opening.
According to Kyodo News Agency, the Emperor has described this duty as a “great pleasure to gather with one and all who represent the whole nation,” and also, “It is my sincere hope that in dealing with domestic and international problems we face, the Diet as the highest organ of state power will fully accomplish its mission and comply with the trust of the people.”
The King and Queen of Jordan’s state visit to Italy ended on Thursday. Judging by Queen Rania’s comments on Twitter, one could safely assume that the Queen and King Abdullah certainly enjoyed their stay in the country.
 Jordan Times/Youssouf Allan On Wednesday, the King laid a wreath at Italy’s Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. Later, he and Rania met with the Italian military leaders.
In the afternoon, Queen Rania launched the Italian version of the 1-Goal Campaign, which promotes education to needy children worldwide. “We’re here today to tap into that famous Italian passione on behalf of 75 million children sent to the sidelines not because they’ve done anything wrong, but because we haven’t played by the rules. We haven’t given them what should be their birthright: an education,” the Queen said in a speech.
On Wednesday evening, the King and Queen, plus their eldest daughter Princess Iman, and the King’s two sisters, Princesses Aisha and Zein, held a dinner in honor of their Italian hosts. The dinner included Jordanian music and dances, which Queen Rania tweeted it would, “hopefully enticing our guests to come visit!”
Thursday saw the Jordanian royals bid farewell to Rome and head north to Milan. There, Abdullah, Rania and Princess Zein attended the Jordanian-Italian Business Forum. The King encouraged Italian business leaders to invest in the Hashemite Kingdom. At the same time, he also pressed on the need for peace in the region.
The people of Milan were later doing double takes on the Milan streets, if they recognized who was at a local cafe. Yep, following the forum, the down-to-earth royal trio were getting coffee like any other Italian.
Afterwards, everyone boarded a plane back to Jordan.
As patron of the Walter Sisulu Pediatric Cardiac Centre for Africa (WSPCCA), Dubai’s Princess Haya was in Johannesburg to open a house at a children’s hospital for those undergoing cardiac treatment. The name of the house is Sheikha Al Jalila, after Haya’s little daughter with her husband, the Sheikh of Dubai.
 The Sowetan “We needed a place that not only had the space and facilities for parents to stay, but also a place for children to recover after their discharge before going home. We could not be more blessed,” said Lynda Bleazard, the CEO of the WSPCCA.
The house can hold about 14 people – seven children and their mothers. They will arrive two days before their surgery, and leave about a week later.
Already, the Sheikha Al Jalila House is taking care of three children: Ollarato age 5, Nkgokena who is 1, and baby Angel, who is only two weeks old. Angel was found in a garbage can, and will be given heart surgery once she gains more weight.
The house is supported by private donors.
“It is the hope of all the donors that this will be a special place of rest and relaxation for the parents of patients at the centre,” Princess Haya said.
“We hope it will provide them with a temporary sanctuary at a very difficult time in their lives and a home away from home.”
Last night, Norway’s royal family held their annual Stortinget, or Parliament, Gala to mark the start of the new legislative year for Norwegian politics. This is a traditional dinner that goes back over a hundred years.
 Stian Lysberg Solum/Scanpix One of the main events of this gala is the King’s speech at its beginning. King Harald V delivered his speech to an audience of 225 guests, and it was filled with both serious and funny touches.
“Most of you have behind you a long election campaign,” the King said about the new members of Parliament. “For some it was a happy choice. For others, it was a downturn. The road to the Parliament can obviously be both demanding and unpredictable. It is told about a minister in a previous government that once stood below the big stairs inside the building and saw a small child who struggled and crawled up the stairs. When dry, the minister exclaimed: “Oh, it’s many of them up there that have crept both longer and harder to get there!”
 King Harald’s speech talked about the state of Norway’s economy and society. In some ways, the speech sounded a lot like the one he opened Parliament with a few weeks ago.
“Our politicians have had to deal with serious challenges to the financial crisis this past year,” the King said at one point. “Evidence indicates that we still face a financial uncertainty in the future, and that it is too early to end financial crisis completely. We know that some businesses are struggling and that individuals are experiencing the pain of being unemployed. But it is reassuring that we have governments that have the will to stand together when needed and make decisions for the good of our community.”
After his speech, the King gave a toast and the speaker of Parliament gave his speech.
The Parliament gala dates back to 1906, when King Oscar I first held the dinner in the winter. Back then, there were very few women in attendance, cigars were abundant and the menu was in French. But times do change, and now 40% of the attendants are female, there are no cigars going around and the menu is written in Norwegian.
 REUTERS/Fredrik Sandberg/Scanpix It was announced yesterday that Princess Madeleine and her fiance, Jonas Bergstrom, will live in Villa Beylon once they are married.
The pink palace is close to Haga Palace, where Crown Princess Victoria and Daniel Westling will live after their June 2010 wedding. It is also close to Jonas’ parents in Djursholm, Sweden.
Built in 1803, Villa Beylon is the former home of Madeleine’s aunt, Princess Christina. Ambassadors and courtiers have also stayed there. It has 12 bedrooms and 500 square meter large.
Since the Princess has a knack for interior decorating, its being speculated she will have a grand fun time designing her new home when the time comes!
Last night, Prince Albert II of Monaco was in New York City to hand out the annual Princess Grace Awards. The award are for those who either are emerging in the arts field or have made a contribution to the profession. Grants are also given out to help artists in their field. The Princess Grace Awards is named after the Prince’s late mother, herself a former Hollywood actress.
 Getty Images/Matthew Peyton Prince Albert arrived at the gala ceremony and proudly posed with the recipients on the red carpet for the media. He was later joined by girlfriend Charlene Wittstock.
Then the awards were given out. Artists from such fields as theatre and playwriting were honored. They included Ann Bartek, from the Milk Can Theatre Company, and Craig Bazan of the Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey.
The Princess Grace Statute Award was presented to those who have won previously, and have since succeeded in their field. The winners were Classic Stage Company artistic director Brian Kulick and American Ballet Theatre principal dancer Gillian Murphy.
A major winner last night was veteran actor Mandy Patinkin, who took home the Prince Rainier III award, named after Princess Grace’s husband.
The awards were given out at Cipriani’s on 42nd Street and were co-hosted by Tommy and Dee Hilfiger.
To see more photos of Prince Albert at the event, click here
Royal mother and daughter team, Queen Silvia and Princess Madeleine of Sweden, were at the United Nations today to mark the tenth anniversary of the World Childhood Foundation – a charity the Queen began to tackle issues facing many children
 AP Photo/Seth Wenig worldwide.
The two attended a symposium on child abuse and exploitation at the UN, in which several projects that have worked with WCF were reviewed. The Foundation currently has 500 projects working in 16 countries.
Queen Silvia began WCF in 1999 after witnessing how children in other countries she has visited as Queen lived. She originally began WCF in Brazil, where Silvia spent part of her childhood since her mother was Brazilian. The Foundation eventually grew into a global charity, aiming to provide a normal childhood to those who are not living one.
Although WCF helps all sorts of children, girls in particular are its focus, since it is girls who are more likely to be victims of sexual exploitation than boys.
 AP Photo/Tina Fineberg Following the UN symposium, Queen Silvia spoke to the press. There, she displayed a bracelet that can be bought in support of WCF.
The Queen’s youngest daughter, Princess Madeleine, has been getting more involved in her mother’s work. She has spent the past month touring the United States on behalf of the Foundation.
Later in the evening, the royal duo attended a gala in New York to mark WCF’s 10th anniversary. Both women dressed glamorously, as they always do, and smiled proudly. They know quite well the work they do for the world’s needy children is being done.
The Belgian royal court denied speculation Wednesday that Queen Fabiola is in poor health.
 REUTERS/Sebastien Pirlet Telling the national media, the court said, “she is not ill, just tired.There is nothing wrong. She walks, moves about, but she is tired and needs rest. That is why she is not travelling or going out.”
Concern for the sister-in-law to King Albert II began when the dowager Queen did not make any appearances since July 31st, the anniversary of the death of her husband, King Baudouin.
She is not expected to make anymore appearances in the near future.
The royal court also added that Queen Fabiola is still recovering from pneumonia, which she was hospitalized for at the beginning of this year.
“Everyone needs time to recover from such a disorder, especially one lady of 81.”
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