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Friday saw the Netherlands awash in orange as the Dutch celebrated Queen’s Day, or Konininginnedag as they call it. It is the day where the people honor their monarch, Queen Beatrix and enjoy national pride. But sadly, this year’s festivities had a dark shadow over them.
 REUTERS/Michael Kooren 2009′s Queen’s Day was a tragic one, as a car driver plowed into a crowd watching the royal procession on a bus in the central city of Apeldoorn. Eight people, including the driver, died and there was some calls to end the holiday.
But despite what happened last year, the Dutch were willing to enjoy themselves. Even the royals were just as festive as they went to the town of Wemeldinge, located in the southern province of Zeeland to meet with the people and have fun.
Although it rained most of the day, no one held back in celebrating. Crown Princess Maxima herself took part in a beer shuffleboarding contest while husband Crown Prince Willem-Alexander kicked a ball around for some schoolchildren.
The Queen herself seemed pleased with all the activity. In her speech at Middelburg Queen Beatrix thanked everybody for being so enthusiastic. “You gave us back Queen’s Day,” she told the crowds.
 ROBIN UTRECHT/AFP/Getty Images Her Majesty had a lot to be happy about. With the troubles in the government, many in Holland are looking to her for unity and observers are saying she is doing just that.
Despite the enthusiasm, there were still a few things to complain about. Security was understandably extra tight this year, with 1,400 police securing Wemeldinge. In addition, only invited guests and citizens that had passed security checks were allowed near the royal procession. The police even frisked a woman sitting in a wheelchair, something the Mayor of Wemeldinge condemned.
Also, train cars and stations were jam-packed with people moving around the country. Many Dutch had to wait a long time for their train to arrive. At one point, all trains to and from Amsterdam were canceled to deal with the crowds.
Furthermore, the Dutch sanitation workers are on strike, so the streets are filled with garbage and reek of beer.
Sources: Hello! Deutsche Welle, The Royal Forums.
 REUTERS/ANP/Robin Utrecht/Pool Friday marks Queen’s Day, when the Netherlands honor Queen Beatrix. It will also be a day of remembrance, since last year’s national holiday was one of tragedy. A unemployed man plowed his car into a crowd watching a bus carrying the House of Orange in Apeldoorn. Seven people were killed, and the driver later died of his injuries.
On Thursday, the royal family, including Queen Beatrix, Crown Prince Willem-Alexander and Crown Princess Maxima honored those who died during a somber memorial at The Hague. The monarch unveiled a small monument that had balloons are decoration, symbolizing vulnerability and celebration.
Several of the royals, such as Maxima, got emotional as they laid white roses at the monument.
Also in attendance were the victims’ families, many of whom the royal family are still in touch with.
Because of last year’s attack – the driver of the car was aiming for the royals on the bus – security will be tight for tomorrow’s less festive Queen’s Day. Already, two men have been arrested for suspicions of threatening to corrupt the events.
 REUTERS/ANP/Robin Utrecht/Pool Friday will also mark Queen Beatrix’s 30th year on the throne. Despite that, not too many are hoping she would abdicate in favor of Crown Prince Willem-Alexander, who’s popularity has dropped due to his wanting to build a resort in Mozambique last year.
“A vast majority of Dutch want Beatrix to stay on as Queen,” said the poll conducted by agency TNS Nipo.
“Half are of the opinion that 2013, the year the Queen turns 75, is a good year for succession.”
Sources: AP, AFP
With the wedding of the year less than two months away, more news and speculations are being reported each day. Some have been confirmed, some not. One that has created a lot of buzz in the past week is how will Crown Princess Victoria enter Stockholm Cathedral? With her beloved, Daniel Westling by her side? Or will her father the King give her away the traditional way?
 Paul Hansen/Swedish Royal Court Some in Sweden believe if the future Queen does the latter, she will be going against the Swedish Church’s policy.
Annika Borg, a minister in the Church who often writes books and lectures on faith issues, believes Victoria and Daniel should walk down the aisle together, just as Crown Prince Haakon did when he married Mette-Marit in 2001.
“The old Swedish tradition, the couple go in together, have an important meaning,” writes Borg in DN.se. “The woman is of legal age to make her own decisions and stand beside her future husband of her own free will.”
In other words, having the bride being given away by her father certifies that she is his property, and by handing him over to the groom means she is now the groom’s property.
Although having the couple enter a church together is way things are done in Sweden, increasingly brides are choosing to have their fathers walk them down the aisle. This is because of the influence of American movies and television shows which show just that.
If Victoria does choose to enter the cathedral the traditional way, some would wonder if she is aware of Swedish tradition.
“How is it possible that the royal family does not have deeper knowledge of the Swedish tradition it claims to manage?” writes Annika Borg. “Some say they want the prospective spouse to really see them, see how beautiful they are. And of course you want to be beautiful this great day. This is good for both women and men. But marriage is not about the woman, but about two people that is deeply and seriously show their love.
“Many couples believe that it is the old tradition to be surrendered by the father. But the old is instead the “modern”, which of course, although it is old, expresses a modern view of gender and men and women.”
When King Carl XVI Gustaf married Silvia Sommerlath in 1976, they both enter the cathedral together.
There is no official word yet on how Victoria will begin her marriage ceremony on June 19th.
On Wednesday, Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands toured the house where a Dutch Jewish girl Anne Frank and her family lived in fear of the Nazis from 1942 to 1944. This is the 50th anniversary of the museum, and this time around, it is unveiling the missing papers Anne wrote on.
 AP/Evert Elzinga The teenager wrote of her experiences in hiding, her passage from childhood to adulthood, her family and her first love in a red and white checkered notebook. She also wrote of her life in other notebooks and looseleaf paper. It is those papers that are now on display at the museum on Prinsengracht 263.
Previously, those notes were stored at the Netherlands Institute for War Documentation (NIOD). The institute recently handed over the documents to the Anne Frank Foundation for inclusion in the museum.
Anne Frank and her family were discovered after two years in hiding. She died in the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp.
Her father, Otto, was the only survivor in the family. It was he was discovered his daughter’s diary and had it published. The diary went on to be a bestseller and was published in numerous languages.
Sources: Euronews, Earth Times
The Yekaterinburg Diocese of the Russian Orthodox Church has allowed a marathon to take place at the locations connected to the murder and burial of the last Tsar and his family. 
The 21 kilometer marathon will begin at the Church of the Blood, built on the site where Nicolas II and his family were executed by Bolsheviks in 1918, and the monastery at the Ganina Yama birch forest, where their remains were uncovered in 1991. This decision has the descendants of the Russian imperial family up in arms.
“It is incomprehensible,” German Lukyanov, a spokesman for Grand Duchess Maria Vladimirovna, the disputed head of the Romanov family, told Russian media. “They (the organisers) are going to have to explain this. Sport and a graveyard are incompatible concepts. The place where the Tsar’s family died is a sacred place. To organise sporting events there is, putting it mildly, strange.”
But the Russian Church defends its decision. “Yes we need to mourn what went on here but this should not be done eternally,” a spokeswoman said.
“Anyway, the Tsar’s family and Nicholas II enjoyed sport. We should not forget that Russia sent its first team to the Olympics during his rule.”
Sources: The Moscow Times, The Daily Telegraph
The future King and Queen of the Netherlands attended Wednesday the 50th anniversary of the Foundation Duivenvoorde, a castle that was turned into a cultural landmark in Voorschoten. 
Crown Prince Willem-Alexander and Crown Princess Maxima arrived for the function in a very unorthodox way for royalty – they rode on their bicycles! This may have been done because Voorschoten is not too far from their home in Wassenaar. Also, a few years ago, the couple went to an event at Wassenaar’s city hall by use of a car, and were criticized for it. So, bike riding was the mode of transportation, as well as the Dutch way!
Castle Duivenvoorde was once owned by Ludolphine Henriëtte baroness Schimmelpenninck van der Oye. When she died, she chose to have her castle turned into a museum. That was 50 years ago, and since then the castle has been home to many exhibitions.
This time around, the “Timesless Trendy” exhibit blends modern art with historic interiors and the collection of Duivenvoorde. It shows a unique contrast of modern art and historical heritage, both inside and outside the castle.
The celebrations of the exhibit’s opening included stage performances. One of them were scenes from “Romeo and Juliet.” Crown Princess Maxima was invited on stage to act out with performer Pierre Bokma.
The “Timeless Trendy” exhibition will on open to public until October 3rd 2010.
Sources: midvliet
After spending 24 hours in Norway, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev arrived in Denmark where he was invited by Queen Margrethe II for a state visit.
 AP Photo/RIA-Novosti, Dmitry Astakhov, Presidential Press Service After landing at Copenhagen Airport, the Queen and the President greeted each other, introduced national delegations and then inspected the honor guard. National anthems were played, and the two heads of state, along with the their spouses, Prince Henrik and Svetlana Medvedeva, headed to Fredenborg Palace.
A state dinner was held at the Palace in honor of the Russian President. Medvedev is expected to meet with Prime Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen tomorrow to discuss energy, business ties and an international defense missile shield.
This is the first state visit to Denmark from Russia in 50 years.
Sources: Itar-Tass, Earth Times
Emir Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmed al-Sabah began his visit to Europe Monday, beginning with a stop in Germany. He was welcomed by German President Horst Koehler in Berlin and later met with Chancellor Angela Merkel.
 REUTERS/Tobias Schwarz The Emir and the Chancellor discussed mainly joint reconstruction projects in Iraq and Afghanistan. The two leaders also talked about Iran’s nuclear program, which could have an effect on tiny Kuwait and other Gulf states if the country got nuclear weapons. Finally, they talked about Kuwait’s relationship with the European Union and it’s plan to sign a free trading deal with the EU.
Sheikh Sabah’s European visit comes just days after he blasted his country’s Parliament, saying it has “disappointed the aspirations of the Kuwaiti people,” as cited by the Kuwaiti news agency KUNA. The Emir has accused Parliament of stalling development and blamed the constitution for the country’s political problems.
“It (parliament) has wasted a golden opportunity and a long time discussing issues totally far away from development projects,” the Emir told a German newspaper.
“What the people say, that parliament has obstructed development and has been engaged in impotent political debates, is true and this was acknowledged by the lawmakers themselves,” he said.
Emir Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmed al-Sabah will travel to Italy and the Vatican for the remainder of his European tour.
Sources: Earth Times, AFP
 REUTERS/Francois Lenoir/FILE After a few days of hesitation, King Albert II of the Belgians accept Monday the resignation of the government. Prime Minister Yves Leterme had handed in his letter of resignation last week and the King tried to get Leterme’s coalition government to stay together. But now the country is facing a crisis during economic problems and an upcoming EU presidency.
It is now up to King Albert to come up with a new initiative for Leterme, who has now resigned twice in three years. If the monarch cannot come up with anything, Belgium will have elections in early June, before its scheduled 2011 elections.
The Royal Palace said that “the King has tasked the government to continue in a caretaker capacity.”
Belgium’s cultural woes come from its Dutch speaking Flemish population and its Francophone Walloons. For decades, both groups have had difficulty coexisting, and it often spread into politics. The latest spat is over the bilingual capital of Brussels, where an electoral debate ignited this crisis.
Some are wondering if Belgium could survive this problem and remain a nation.
Sources: AP, Reuters
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev is on a two day state visit to Norway this week. He, along with wife Svetlana, arrived at Gardermoen military air base at 10:38am local time Monday where Crown Prince Haakon welcomed them.
 HEIKO JUNGE / SCANPIX / AFTENPOSTEN Haakon then accompanied the couple to the royal palace in Oslo, where the King and Queen and Crown Princess Mette-Marit were waiting for them.
After the national anthems of the two nations played, the King, who was dressed in military uniform, escorted the President around the crowd of school children, whom were waving Norwegian and Russian flags.
Shortly afterwards, Medvedev went to Parliament and was given a briefing on how Norway’s government functions. Once that was over, the Russian President and First Lady had lunch with the royal family.
Later, the regent couple escorted the Medvedevs’ to the national monument for those killed in World War II. National anthems were played again as the couple laid flowers at the monument.
Dmitry Medvedev was later taken to the Armed Forces Museum where he met with Norwegian war veterans. He gave them medals to commemorate the end of the war, 65 years later.
In the evening, there was a state dinner in honor of the Russian President.
Expected to be discussed during this visit are fishing rights, and oil and gas, which both Norway and Russia have in common. What is also expected to be mentioned is the dispute over territorial waters in the Barents Sea, but doubtful to be resolved.
Sources: Aftenposten, AP
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