Norway’s Crown Princess Mette-Marit spent Sunday doing winter sports activities with young asylum seekers at the Hvalstad School in Asker. The down-to-earth Princess did such things with the group as tobogganing, cross country skiing and grilling hot dogs on the campfire with the students.
Lise Aserud/Scanpix
The pupils and the school administrators were very pleased with Mette-Marit’s visit.
“This was completely sovereign and very successful. We appreciated very much that the Crown Princess Mette-Marit popped up and makes such a good job,” said Fredrik Aars-Rynning told the newspaper, NRK
“In addition to giving youths memorable days, we feel it’s nice to share some of the great Norwegian values inherent in voluntary work, volunteering and ski. It means a lot to the asylum seekers that they can participate on an equal basis with others in their community.”
Mette-Marit was also quite modest about her skiing skills. “I do not know if I’m good,” she said. “But I’ve been skiing every day.”
Britain’s Prince Harry spent this weekend in the Caribbean island nation of Barbados, where he promoted his charity Sentebale, which helps children in the African Kingdom of Lesotho. The Prince arrived on Friday, along with Lesotho’s Prince Seeiso, and did several things to draw attention to Sentebale, including kicking off the Sentebale Polo Cup.
AP Photo/Arthur Edwards, PA
On Friday, Harry was greeted by Sir Clifford Husbands, Governor General of Barbados, and several other local dignitaries. But his real work began the next day when he and Prince Seeiso visited the pediatric ward of the Queen Elizabeth II Hospital. There. Harry met with the sick children, and even held some of the babies.
Later, the two Princes went to the Bay Primary School and spoke with the students there.
“It’s very easy to make a small difference, but how long will that difference last for?” Prince Harry asked the boys and girls.
“If things are really, really bad, you can make things less bad for a short amount of time, but to make a real difference is to stop those bad times from really happening . . . .”
What Harry was referring to was his Sentebale charity (which means “Forget Me Not”) he and Seeiso set up four years ago to help disadvantaged children in Lesotho. But this charity does more than just give alms to those kids, it helps them “to really stand up on their own two feet,” Prince Seeiso said.
Later, Harry and Seeiso met with Barbados’ war veterans and shared their experiences serving their countries.
Today was the big polo event, where Harry played with Mark Tomlinson, one of Britain’s leading polo players, against a South African team in the Sentebale Polo Cup at the Apes Hill Club.
Before the match, he told guests: “It seems to be one of life’s cruellest ironies that when natural disaster strikes – whether it be earthquake in Haiti, or years of drought and ravaging by HIV/Aids in Lesotho – it is always the most vulnerable, the defenseless, normally the children, who are left exposed and needing more help.
Splash News
“We seem so powerless to prevent these things from happening, but out of such tragedy, comes the purest of human reactions: love, charity, and, in time, a sense of renewed hope. This is really what Sentebale is about.”
Later, Harry and Seeiso attended a Haiti benefit concert at Farley Park which was televised all over Barbados. It was at that concert that the two royals displayed their fun side. The hosts told the audience that if they donated 5,000 Barbados dollars, the two princes would get on stage and dance.
Indeed that happened and Harry and Seeiso strutted their stuff on stage to loud cheers from the crowd. The pair both wore T-shirts produced to promote the concert with the words Haiti We Care on the front. They moved to the thumping rhythms by singer Red Plastic Bag.
There are some reports that Prince Harry may go to Haiti soon, but so far there are no confirmations.
Yesterday, her husband King Abdullah II spoke about the Mideast peace process during one of the debates at the World Economic Forum. Today, Queen Rania of Jordan had her chance to speak on the rights of education during the session, “Rebuilding Education in the 21st Century.”
AP Photo/ Michel Euler
“There is no better equalizer in this world than education,” the Queen told about 800 delegates. “It’s the greatest justice you can give people.”
Rania gave various examples on how that is so, such as a child born to a literate mother was more likely to live past the age of 5 than one born to an illiterate mother. She also said education could help reduce the HIV/AIDS rate.
“Education is a balm that can help soothe many social ailments,” she said.
But as the Queen pointed out, there is still much work to be done in providing global education. According to her, at the current rates the Millennium Development Goals set for 2015 would not be met due to wrong approaches.
Queen Rania suggested unifying the global education sector much like the health field formed the Global Alliances for Vaccines and Immunizations ten years ago.
The King of Jordan attended the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland Friday. He spoke about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and said Jordan will not take over the West Bank.
AP Photo/Michel Euler
“Jordan does not want any part of the West Bank,” King Abdullah II said. “The only credible solution, is the two state solution. There is no Jordanian solution.”
According to the King, if rule over the territory was transferred to his country, it would instead “replace Israeli military rule with Jordanian military rule…and the Palestinians want their own state.”
Sitting in the audience was Abdullah’s wife, Queen Rania, who proudly tweeted about the King’s comments about protecting Jordanians.
“If someone threatens my people I have the right to defend them,” Rania quoted her husband on Twitter.
On Thursday, Abdullah met with Israeli Prime Minister Shimon Peres after reports suggested relations between the two have become strained. During the cordial meeting, the King expressed concern over the Mideast peace process which seems to have stalled.
Meanwhile, Queen Rania is doing more than just tweeting in Davos. She held a press conference on Friday with Milan mayor Letizia Moratti to launch a women’s advisory board for the 2015 World’s Fair and its theme, “Feed the Planet, Energy for Life.”
REUTERS/Arnd Wiegmann
“Who’s at greatest risk when food crises arise, when disaster strikes, when water and fuel are in short supply: women and their children,” Rania said.
“And we see this all too clearly in Haiti today where women are rising from the ashes of the earthquake to create shelters from the rubble, to cook stews on the pavements and to comfort the suffering even as they count their own losses.”
“That’s why I’m keen to get working with this group so we can really reach out to women, especially in my region, the Middle East, where cultural traditions still hold women back from realizing their full potential,” Queen Rania said. “And I really want to see them as being equal partners and progress.”
Wednesday evening saw Danish Queen Margrethe II host the Cour Ball, in which the members of Denmark’s government, Parliament and those who represent the country in the European Union are invited. All the members of the Danish royal family attended the gala, including the Crown Princely couple, Prince Joachim, Princess Marie and Princess Benedikte, the Queen’s sister. The event was held at Christianborg Palace.
The royal women dressed glamorously, complete with sashes and tiaras. Crown Princess Mary wore the same tiara she wore when she married Crown Prince Frederik in 2004. She also wore a deep blue sleeveless dress plus her usual fur shawl.
Princess Marie wore a one shouldered pale blue gown with gold embroidery in the front, as well as a fur shawl.
To see video of the arrivals and the opening part of the dinner, click here. The royals start to arrive at about 1:19 into the video.
Following in the footsteps of the British and Dutch royal families, the royal house of Norway have set up their own YouTube channel.
This goes along with Crown Prince Haakon and Crown Princess Mette-Marit’s Twitter and Facebook page.
There are a few videos up already, such as that of Haakon in Davos. If the Norwegians are going to do it like their British and Dutch counterparts, they would add file footage to their channel.
With so many royals setting up Twitter, Facebook and YouTube accounts these days, one wonders who would be next?
Holland’s Prince Constantijn has been promoted. The youngest son of Queen Beatrix will be working full-time for EU Dutch Commissioner Neelie Kroes’s Digital Agenda. The Prince was hired due to his experience with telecommunications and IT.
Currently, Constantijn works for the American research institute RAND, as head of the Information Policy and Economics department. He recently published a report “Towards a Digital Europe, To Serve the Citizens”. In it he describes how the EU can help people shop online through international websites more easily, and how the government can offer more services on the Internet.
During the late 1990s, the Prince worked for the Cabinet of former EU Commissioner Hans van den Broek.
Constantijn is not the first royal to be hired by Kroes. His cousin, Prince Jaime de Bourbon Parma, used to work as an expert in
conflict management and is presently working with the UN.
Prince Constantijn will be begin his position on February 10th.
On Monday, Dutch Crown Princess Maxima attended the microfinancing event, “Who Profits?” at the Peace Palace at The Hague. The meeting, organized by Radio Netherlands Worldwide, focused on how to help Third World nations receive proper finances, and Maxima asked for developed nations to allow poorer countries to get easier funding.
“What I would like to make clear here is that we are inclined to focus on loans, while other financial products like savings are possibly more important for poor people,” the former banker said in her opening speech.
Check out the video below about the “Who Profits?” event, which includes an excerpt of the Crown Princess’ speech (in English)
On Sunday, Norway’s future King, Crown Prince Haakon took his stepson, Marius Borg Høiby, to the Oslo Opera House to watch a benefit concert for Haiti’s earthquake victims. The event raised more than $700,000 and the money was distributed to the Norwegian Red Cross, UNICEF and other humanitarian organizations.
Christian Thomassen/Scanpix
“I’m impressed with all those who have set up, both the artists and all those working in the Opera House. It was very nice to see the voluntary work spirit. It was also nice to see all those who contribute in other ways, including those that help from home,” Crown Prince Haakon told the newspaper VG Nett after the concert.
Haakon also said the images from Haiti have had an affect on him.
“They make an impression, and I think we have a need to help. At the same time, I hope, and dare me to believe that it also means a lot to those living in Haiti to see that there are concerts all over the world,” he said.
13 year-old Marius is the son of Crown Princess Mette-Marit, whom she had in a relationship prior to meeting Haakon.
It was announced by the Belgian royal court that Princess Astrid, the daughter of King Albert II and Queen Paola, will become patron of the charity, Damiaanactie. Until last week, Queen Fabiola was the charity’s patron, but she stepped down due to her fragile health.
Damiaanactie raises money to buy leprosy and TBC medications for those living in the Third World. It usually auctions such items as pens to help raise money.
News that the octogenarian Fabiola will relinquish being this charity’s patron does mean she will be giving up any royal engagements in the near future. So far, she is expected to participate in the usual events she took part in the past, such as National Day and King’s Day.
Recent Comments