01 « November « 2009 « Royalty in the News

Danish Royals Arrive in Vietnam

This week, Vietnam will be holding a state visit for the two main royal couples of Denmark – the Regent Couple and the Crown Princely Couple. As like any other state visit, this trip is to tighten Danish and Vietnamese ties. Queen Margrethe Vietnam

Queen Margrethe II, Prince Henrik, Crown Prince Frederik and Crown Princess Mary all arrived in Hanoi Sunday morning. Though their visit does not officially start until Monday, the Danish royals took both a public and private visit of the Vietnamese capital to start things off.

After their arrival, the royals were given a tour of Hanoi via bicycle rickshaws. They saw the Old Quarter and St. Joseph’s Cathedral, and an art exhibition which is meant to mark Hanoi’s millenium.

Later on, things got more personal, particularly for Prince Henrik. The French-born Prince Consort spent an early part of his childhood in Vietnam due to his family’s interest in doing business in the country. Today, Henrik got a chance to see the house he grew up in.

Prince Henrik Childhood Home The house, located in Phan Dinh Phung, was quite large, and quite typical of a wealthy family – filled with servants and gardens. The Prince’s family, the Monpezats’, owned rice and coffee plantations and even a newspaper. They left in 1954 when it got dangerous in Vietnam.

The Monpezats’ had been in Vietnam for generations. In fact, Prince Henrik’s grandfather, Henri de Laborde de Monpezat, had a high position in the country. The Prince placed a plaque in honor of the elder Monpezat in St. Joseph’s Cathedral, because his grandfather’s grave disappeared during the war. Crown Prince Frederik said it was moving for him to experience his father’s ancestry.

Denmark Vietnam

As Prince Henrik toured his childhood home, he saw that the reporters were gathered around the pagoda. This delighted him since the pagoda was his favorite spot as a youngster.

In the evening, the royal family attended a small reception held by the Danish ambassador to Vietnam.

Tomorrow, things will really get started. The state visit will last until Friday. During this time, Queen Margrethe will hold talks with Vietnamese leaders, and the family will travel to Ho Chi Minh City, Hue City and the Lam Dong province.

About 60 Danish business leaders are with the royals. Trade between the two nations have been increasing between 10-15 percent, and are expected to grow even more.

Denmark is also one of Vietnam’s biggest donors, with $1 billion given in aid annually.

Royals Descend on Abu Dhabi for F1 Grand Prix

Royalty mingled with sports fans for the final race of the Formula 1 Grand Prix at the Yas Marina Circuit in Abu Dhabi. Royals from Europe and the Middle East were there to not only cheer on the drivers, but to congratulate the United Arab Emirates for the Circuit, which has been described as a source of pride for the UAE. King Hamad Yas Marina

King Abdullah II of Jordan, King Hamad of Bahrain, Spanish King Juan Carlos and Sweden’s King Carl XVI Gustaf were at the race. The Bahraini King was given a tour of Yas Marina, and expressed hope that it would boost sports in the Mideast.

“This adds to the many achievements of the prosperous era of UAE President Shaikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan and rulers of all emirates,”he said.

King Juan Carlos of Spain was seen chatting with the race car drivers, including Spanish drivers Fernando Alonso and Jaime Alguersuari.

There were also women at this event. One of them was Sheikha Fatima bint Mubarak, Chairperson of UAE General Women’s Union and Supreme Chairperson of the Family Development Foundation. She watched the closing ceremony of the Formula 1 and had this to say about the race:

“The event’s marvellous success, which has been witnessed by everyone, is a source of pride for all citizens of the UAE and the excellent technical and organisational standards and facilities at the site proves the ability of UAE and its capital Abu Dhabi to host the world’s major sporting events. With this wonderful circuit and the unique organization of the event, Abu Dhabi has won a shining place on the world map in front of hundreds of millions of viewers from around the world.”

The winner of this race was Sebastian Vettel of Germany.

Royalty and the Swine Flu

With global concern spreading over the H1N1 virus, better known as the swine flu, even royal families are not exempt from it. Recent reports from Scandinavia reveal how royalty from Sweden and Norway are protecting themselves from the illness.

REUTERS/Bob Strong/FILE

Since the swine flu vaccine is being given mostly to those considered to be “at-risk”, that would include Daniel Westling, the fiance to Sweden’s Crown Princess Victoria. He is in this category because of his kidney transplant back in May. The Swedish Royal Court admitted that Westling received the vaccine, but not the rest of the royal family.

Royal Court spokeswoman Nina Eldh admitted to the Swedish media that King Carl XVI Gustaf and Queen Silvia have expressed their wishes to be vaccinated. But that won’t be happening for another several weeks.

However, next door to the House of Bernadotte, the Norwegian royal family have already received the swine flu vaccinations. That includes King Harald V, Queen Sonja and the Crown Princely couple. It is not known why this family got the vaccine so soon, especially since the royals are not considered to be at-risk. But it may have to do with King Harald V, who has had heart problems in recent years. Whether that constitutes as being part of the high risk group is not well known.

If any other royalty is vaccinated from the swine flu, I will keep you posted.

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.