The United Nations unveiled new members of a panel for its Millennium Development Goals (MDG) on Wednesday. Included on that list was Qatar’s First Lady, Sheikha Mozah bint Nasser al-Missned, who was named because of her being the Chairperson of the Qatar Foundation for Education, Science and Community Development.
For her new role as member of the MDG, she will support Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon on reaching development goals set for the year 2015. Those goals include eliminating poverty, increasing school enrollment, bettering maternal health and access to clean water and sanitation.
The Secretary-General calls the panel a “collection of superheroes.” Other members are Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates, Nobel Peace Laureate Muhammad Yunus, former Chilean President Michelle Bachelet, and the former Mozambican First Lady Graca Machel.
The first meeting of this panel will take place in September in Madrid, Spain.
After decades of being Monaco’s perennial bachelor, sovereign Prince Albert II, 52, announced Wednesday that he is to marry longtime girlfriend former South African swimmer Charlene Wittstock, 32.
REUTERS/Amedeo M.Turello/Palais Princier/Handout
The news comes just days after the couple attended the wedding of Sweden’s Crown Princess Victoria – and years of speculation of whether the playboy Prince will finally settle down and produce an heir for Monaco.
This announcement also means this would be the first marriage of the tiny principality’s reigning Prince since 1956 – when Albert’s father, Prince Rainier married Hollywood actress Grace Kelly.
Albert and Charlene met in 2000 when she went to Monaco for a swimming competition. Charlene permanently moved to there in 2006 and has been the Prince’s constant companion at many royal events.
A date for the nuptials has not been set yet, but typically it takes six months for a royal wedding to happen.
Prince Albert may not have any legitimate heirs, but he does have two children born out of wedlock – a boy named Alexandre born to a Togolese flight attendant, and a teenage girl named Jazmin Grace born to an American. Neither can assume the throne because of their illegitimacy.
Many royal watchers are pleased and excited about this announcement, though some have to admit they didn’t think it would ever happen because of Albert’s many years being single.
But now with this long-last engagement, Monegasques could finally look forward to a royal wedding – and a new Princess.
Wittstock “fits the bill, she is kind of a celebrity in her own right,” said Nancy Wilson, editor of the Riviera Report. “They have really sculpted her image almost to be a younger Grace Kelly.”
“The Monegasques will be in excited. Who doesn’t like a wedding?” she added. “An event like that in Monaco would just be huge.”
Source: AP
Amedeo M.Turello/Palais Princier Monaco via Getty Images
On Tuesday, the Queen of Spain opened the Joaquin Rodrigo de Valencia Conservatory of Music in Madrid. Costing a total of 13.5 million euros, the conservatory has – along with the Madrid Conservatory – the largest number of teachers and students in the country.
A total of 648 students, 157 teachers and 8 administrative staff and services are part of the conservatory, with building capacity auditorium with 474 seats, of which 380 are in the stalls and the other 94 in the amphitheater.
Queen Sofia was given a tour of the facility and met with many of its students and teachers. Towards the end of her visit, she was given a brief concert from the conservatory’s symphony orchestra, which has played three musical pieces under the direction of Pilar van Bacete.
Her Majesty had hoped for a performance from the jazz band, but there wasn’t enough time to bring the players into the auditorium, assemble and then play.
The Queen left the conservatory, telling its directors that she was quite impressed with what she saw and heard.
After touring much of southern Africa, and watching England play Algeria during the FIFA World Cup (it was tied 1-1), Prince Harry made a final stop on his tour of the continent in Mozambique. Like his mother, the late Princess Diana, did in 1997, the Prince visited a landmine field to get an idea of what it is like to clear such a field. He also met with those injured from stepping on the weapons.
AP Photo/HALO Trust, Fiona Willoughby
As part of his visit, Harry watched a team clear a minefield and was taught to do the technique himself. The Prince denoted a couple of landmines under supervision of experts.
The HALO Trust was guiding Harry during his visit, as they did for his mother 13 years ago.
HALO Trust chief executive Guy Willoughby said: “HALO is delighted that Prince Harry has come out to support us in this quest to clear Mozambique of mines – a task we could complete in the next four years.
“By being with us in the field, and even personally destroying mines, he has learned something of the dirty, boring, dangerous work that Halo’s 7,700 staff undertake day-in, day-out in the world’s most mine-impacted countries.”
HALO (Hazardous Areas Life-Support Organization) has already cleared over 100,000 mines in northern Mozambique. They were laid in the ground first by the Portuguese in the 70s and later during the civil war.
After learning how to denote a mine, Harry went to meet with those who stepped on the mines and were maimed for life. One Mozambican was a 14 year old boy named Delisso, who lost part of his leg while herding goats. This boy’s case highlighted not only the dangers of landmines to people but to crops and livestock as well. Mozambique is one of the world’s poorest countries and with landmines in the way, how could it develop its economy?
When Princess Diana was shown minefields in Angola in 1997, she sparked outcries. Some felt she was getting involved with politics as she campaigned to ban landmines. The late Princess simply said she was not a political figure and her interests were purely humanitarian.
Right after their beautiful wedding, Crown Princess Victoria and her new husband, Prince Daniel, joined their friends, family and Swedish government leaders for the reception. It was very formal but it included lots of laughs and happy cheers for the newlweds.
Photo by Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images
As soon as everyone sat down, King Carl XVI Gustaf gave a short speech in English. He first welcomed everyone to the reception and thanked them for coming. He expressed joy for his daughter and – dare he say! – his new son-in-law. Victoria raised her eyebrows in mock surprise over that while there was endearing laughter from Daniel.
The King ended his speech with a “Skål!” – the Swedish word for cheers. All in attendance raised their wine glasses and had a sip.
Later on, King Carl Gustaf stood again to give another speech. This time he went into depth about the wedding, and even mentioned how June 19th is also his wedding anniversary to Queen Silvia. To commemorate his 34th marriage year, he gave the Queen a pink rose, which made her weep.
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Daniel’s father, Olle Westling, gave his speech for the couple – in English:
“Your marriage is not only a family affair — it is something that affects all the people of Sweden. The warmth and joy that stream towards you today from near and far are a wonderful acknowledgement of appreciation.
“Many people see the fact that you met and fell in love as something of a fairytale. The man of the people who won the Crown Princess. Yes, it is indeed a fairytale, but I do not think it is a coincidence that this has happened here in Sweden, where The King´s motto is “For Sweden — With the Times”.
“Daniel, you are our dear son, and your mother, your sister and I have always been extremely proud of you. You have always
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chosen to go your own way, and you have done so with honour, whether in terms of your career choices, your friends or your leisure activities. Of course you never became a professional hockey player, but we´re still proud of you!
“But once we had met you, dear Victoria, and experienced the warmth that you bring and the openness you show to everyone in our family — and not just our family; I remember one day in the lingonberry forest in Ockelbo, how you greeted everyone who crossed your path and showed such wonderful warmth. That´s when we understood why Daniel had fallen for you. It was quite clear that he had waited and made his choice with great care. He had once again gone his own way.
“The best way of dealing with the great and important work that lies ahead of you is by helping each another. Talking with each other, supporting each other and working as a team are what will serve you best in the long run. This is something that Ewa and I have plenty of experience of, and we will gladly give whatever advice we can. As your parents, Daniel, your mother and I know that in Victoria you will have a loving, warm and kind-hearted wife.
“It falls to me — and this is a great honor — to thank you for the hospitality that we have all shared this evening. Our hosts have invited us to this gala evening with personal warmth and generosity — an evening that is far from over, and which we will always remember. But for the food and drink that we have enjoyed so far, I would like to thank you most humbly and sincerely on behalf of myself and all my fellow guests!”
With that, Olle Westling led those at the reception with four hurrahs for the newly married couple.
The newly Prince Daniel gave his speech, which he memorized rather than writing down. Below is a YouTube video of the entire speech, in both English and Swedish:
Soon after Daniel’s speech, the wedding cake came out. It was very tall, taller than some of the guests, with yellow trimmings and the couple’s monogram. Victoria invited her page boys and flower girls to come up with her as she and her new husband cut the cake.
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After the dessert, it was time to dance! Everyone moved into a larger room where they could dance more freely. A band was in the room waiting for them.
As tradition holds, the bride and groom dance for their first dance as a married couple. Victoria curtseyed before Daniel before they began their waltz. After they danced, Victoria invited everyone to the dance floor, and they obliged!
It was already after midnight when the dancing began, and but it was clear all the royals were willing to party all night.
Tomorrow, the King will host a luncheon for the guests. Perhaps that same day Crown Princess Victoria and Prince Daniel would leave for their honeymoon which is believed to last for three weeks in an undisclosed location.
Once again, long live Crown Princess Victoria and Prince Daniel – may they have many years of wedded bliss!
In Stockholm, at 3:30 in the afternoon Saturday, Sweden’s heir to the throne, Crown Princess Victoria married her longtime love, former gym owner Daniel Westling. The wedding saw the largest gathering of royals from all over the world since the 2004 marriage of Crown Prince Felipe of Spain to Letizia Ortiz. But that didn’t seem to matter to the bride and groom – during the ceremony, they had eyes only for each other.
Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images
The guests began arriving at Storkyrkan at around 2:30pm local time. At first, royals who are not heirs in their respective countries came. But as the minutes passed, Swedish politicians, friends and family of Victoria and Daniel, and the crown princely and regent couples began to arrive. Everyone walked across the cathedral’s courtyard on a pale blue pathway, stopped a few times to pose for photographers before entering the building. A girl’s choir standing outside of the church sang songs during the procession of guests.
At 3:20pm, Princess Madeleine arrived with her mother Queen Silvia. A few minutes later, Prince Carl Philip came with the groom, Daniel Westling, by his side. Daniel looked composed as he walked to his own wedding, but one could guess he was a nervous and excited as any other groom. The small crowd near the church cheered and applauded, and even the choir girls strained their necks to get a glimpse of him. The man who would leave the church as a Prince simply smiled and waved.
Torsten Laursen/Getty Images
As soon as Daniel and Carl Philip went into Storkyrkan, a black car carrying King Carl XVI Gustaf and the bride, Crown Princess Victoria, came down the street. Guards opened the door for the Crown Princess to exit, and as she did, she revealed her wedding gown, designed by Par Engsheden and the cameo tiara her own mother wore to her wedding – on the same date 34 years ago. Victoria’s veil was also on loan from her mother. In her hands, Victoria carried a bouquet of numerous white flowers – rose, phalaenopsis orchid, peony, clematis, cosmos, wax flower, sweet pea, dicentra formosa, Mårbacka pelargonium, so many more!
The King walked his daughter down the aisle, but stopped before the altar. Before them were Victoria’s flower girls and page boys. The girls wore white dresses while the boys wore sailor suits. All were well-behaved.
At the stairs leading to the altar, Daniel Westling took Victoria from her father and the couple continued up the stairs, past their regal guests and up to the altar. Three bishops and the Archbishop Anders Wejryd from the Swedish Lutheran Church presided over the ceremony.
It was short but sweet ceremony, lasting only a half hour. Early on, Archbishop Wejryd asked the bride and groom if they would take each other as their spouses. Both Victoria and Daniel firmly said, “Ja!”
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When it came time to exchange the rings, the Archbishop gave them to the couple, whom together held each side of the two rings in both hands. Meaning, Victoria and Daniel held one ring in her left hand and his right, and vice versa for the other ring.
As they said their vows, the bride and groom got a bit emotional. Victoria blinked back tears and once the two put the wedding rings on each other, Daniel seemed to be crying. His bride – now wife – wiped the tears from his face.
Others wiped away tears, such Denmark’s Crown Prince Frederik and Crown Princess Margarita of Romania.
The ceremony continued with prayers and the Archbishop blessing the marriage. He gave a speech as the Crown Princess and her Prince stood before him:
Torsten Laursen/Getty Images
“Your situation, Crown Princess Victoria and Prince Daniel (we can now use this title for the first time), is both shared and unique. You’ll be taking on tasks that you won’t be able to turn down — but that you can influence. One of you has had many years to prepare for and live this life — and one of you only a few. You won’t have complete control over your lives — but you will successfully make your way through life if you keep your focus on people other than yourselves, on wider contexts, on society, on family and on the future. “Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.”
“So, you are now husband and wife. Privately, you have set up a ‘refuge’ that has now been confirmed as publicly as is possible. Through marriage, a bridge is forged between the most personal side of your lives and the public side. “Therefore what God has joined together, let man not separate.” We who all over world are following your wedding are responsible for helping you with this. We have prayed for you, we will carry on praying for you and thinking of you, and will help you to stay together — in the same way as we have done at all other weddings we have been to, and will attend in the future!”
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Then the husband and wife turned to the orchestra, and listened to Swedish singers, Agnes Carlsson and Bjorn Skifs, sing a song in English, “When You Tell The World You’re Mine.” As they sung, Daniel seemed to get emotional again. Victoria could not stop smiling.
After the song, there was an official blessing of the marriage, and Victoria and Daniel left the altar. Her parents and siblings, plus his parents followed them as well as the page boys and flower girls. The other royals got up and followed the procession.
For a short while, no one was seen. That was because Prince Daniel was putting on a star onto his tuxedo. Earlier that day, he became a Knight of the Order of the Seraphim, and now that he was officially a member of the Swedish Royal Family, he could wear the star.
Finally, the doors to Storkyrkan opened and Victoria and Daniel emerged. The choir girls began to sing again, and as they did, the newlyweds shared a kiss.
Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images
After a few songs, an open top carriage came around and the couple got in. Queen Silvia blew kisses at the couple as the carriage trotted off towards the heart of Stockholm.
At first there were scant crowds. But as the carriage went through the streets, the crowds got bigger and louder. There had been reports prior to the wedding that less than half of Swedes support the monarchy. But by the looks of the crowds this day, that didn’t seem to be the case.
After going through the city, the carriage stopped at a pier with an elaborate boat waiting to take Victoria and Daniel to the palace. As they were escorted across the bay – Stockholm is called the Venice of the North – their families and guests were arriving at the palace, waiting for the couple to come.
It took about 10 minutes for the new husband and wife to make ashore, but when they did, their families, guests and the crowds
Pascal Le Sergetain/Getty Images
were waiting for them. They walked up to the stairs where a large landing allowed them to wave at the crowds. But there were more crowds on the other side of the palace – the one that doesn’t face the water. After disappearing inside the palace for several minutes, Victoria and Daniel emerged again on the balcony, which this time had a choir and orchestra singing songs for them. At this point, the couple gave what everyone was waiting for – a loving kiss!
King Carl XVI Gustaf gave a short speech at the balcony and ended it by encouraging the people to cheer for his daughter and new son-in-law. Then Crown Princess Victoria gave a short speech, thanking the people for giving her her Prince!
With that, everyone went inside for the festivities.
Long live Crown Princess Victoria and Prince Daniel!
Below is a YouTube video of the wedding’s highlights:
It was a night of celebration as Sweden and royals from all over the world marked Saturday’s wedding between Crown Princess Victoria and Daniel Westling. Just like her parents had 34 years ago, Victoria and her fiancè were a given a special concert at the Royal Concert Hall in Stockholm. Pop acts and classical artists played through the night as if it were a final hurrah before tomorrow’s big event.
First arriving at the Hall was the House of Bernadotte. When she got out of the car, Crown Princess Victoria wowed the crowd waiting for her. Beaming and radiating of joy, the Crown Princess waved as the people gave her and Daniel a four-fold cheer.
They walked up the red carpet behind her parents, King Carl XVI Gustaf and Queen Silvia. Bringing up the rear were her two younger siblings, Prince Carl Philip and Princess Madeleine.
After the Swedish royal family came the friends and relatives of the royal couple, and the Swedish government leaders. Then came the royals from all over Europe, plus Japan and Jordan. The royal guest list even included those who are from deposed monarchies, such as Romania and Serbia.
All in all, 1,600 guests.
Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images Europe
Once inside, everyone dined amongst each other before the big concert. Those who haven’t seen each other in a while were able to say hello, such as Denmark’s Crown Princess Mary and Spain’s Crown Princess Letizia.
King Carl XVI Gustaf gave a small speech during the dinner, thanking the Prime Minister for allowing the wedding to take place – after all, the wedding of an heir to the throne needs government approval.
“We can all see how happy and engaged the engaged couple looks,” the King went on to say. “They really… You can feel the joy and youth and optimism in their eyes. We can all feel the warmth and happiness also in this hall and during this day.”
At about a quarter to nine local time, all those in attendance were in the Hall. Everyone stood and sang when the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra played the Swedish national anthem. Even Denmark’s Queen Margrethe II, who’s mother was a Swedish Princess, sang along.
Right after that, the orchestra began to play “Party Song” and right in the middle of the stage, lights went on, illuminating two
REUTERS/Anders Wiklund/Scanpix
figures holding hands. Crown Princess Victoria and Daniel Westling had made their appearance. They received a standing ovation as they made their way to two seats in the front row especially made for them. With that, the concert began.
It was clearly a joyous occasion for everyone in the Hall. Ballet was performed, the opera classic “Nessun Dorma” was sung – even pop and jazz acts played. The host of the event also poked playful fun at the royals in attendance. At one point, the group Jazz Divas of Scandinavia were about the perform and the host gave a nod to the Scandinavian Crown Princesses – Victoria, Mette-Marit and Mary. The women had a good laugh about it.
But the biggest act to perform that night was probably the 80s Swedish pop duo, Roxette, said to be one of Victoria’s favorite bands. As the band played “The Look,” everyone in the hall clapped along and a few – such as Norway’s Princess Martha Louise – moved their heads to the song. Once done, there was a standing ovation for Roxette.
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The concert came to a close when all the singers returned to the stage and together sang Elvis Presley’s classic, “Can’t Help Falling In Love.” As they did with the Roxette song, many of the royals sang along.
Overall, it was an emotional event for everyone. Queen Silvia was seen wiping away some tears and it looked as if King Carl Gustaf was getting teary-eyed. Even Princess Madeleine looked red in the eyes – as did Queen Margrethe and Dutch Queen Beatrix.
With that, the pre-wedding events were over. Tomorrow comes the wedding of the year as Crown Princess Victoria marries her love – and a former gym owner from a small village in central Sweden becomes Prince Daniel.
Below is the guest list for the wedding of Crown Princess Victoria and Daniel Westling. The list I have here shows all the royals and the heads of state from Finland and Iceland.
Belgium
Their Majesties H.M. King Albert II and H.M. Queen Paola
Their Royal Highnesses H.R.H. Crown Prince Philippe and H.R.H. Crown Princess Mathilde
Their Royal Highnesses H.R.H. Princess Astrid and H.R.H. Prince Lorenz
H.R.H. Prince Laurent and H.R.H. Princess Marie Claire
Bulgaria
Their Majesties H.M. King Simeon and H.M. Queen Margarita
H.R.H. Prince Kyril
H.R.H. Princess Rosario
Denmark
H.M. Queen Margrethe II and H.R.H. Prince Henrik
H.R.H. Crown Prince Frederik and H.R.H. Crown Princess Mary
H.R.H. Prince Christian, Page Boy
Captain of H.M. The Queen’s Naval Household Lars Rosendahl Christothersen, Commander of Dannebrog
Finland
H.E. Republic of Finland’s President Mrs Tarja Halonen and Doctor Pentti Arajärvi, LL D
Greece
H.M. King Constantine and H.M. Queen Anne-Marie
H.R.H. Princess Alexia, Mrs Morales and Mr Carlos Morales Quintana
H.R.H. Prince Nikolaos and Ms Tatiana Blatnik
H.R.H. Prince Philipos
Iceland
H.E. Iceland’s President Dr Ólafur Ragnar Grimsson and Mrs Dorrit Moussaieff
Japan
H.I.H. Crown Prince Naruhito
Jordan
H.M. King Abdullah II Bin Al Hussein and H.M. Queen Rania al Abdullah
H.R.H. Prince Ali bin Al Hussein and H.R.H. Princess Rym Ali
H.R.H. Prince El Hassan bin Talal and H.R.H. Princess Sarvath El Hassan
H.R.H. Prince Rashid bin El Hassan
H.R.H. Princess Noor bint Asem
H.R.H. Princess Eman
Former Yugoslavia
H.R.H. Crown Prince Alexander and H.R.H. Crown Princess Katherine
Liechtenstein
S.D. Erbprinz Alois von und zu Liechtenstein and Prinzessin Sophie I.K.H. von und zu Liechtenstein
Luxembourg
H.R.H. The Grand Duke of Luxembourg and H.R.H. The Grand Duchess of Luxembourg
S.A.R. Le Grand-Duc Héréditaire Guillaume de Luxembourg
H.R.H. Prince Félix of Luxembourg
Monaco
S.A.S. Le Prince Albert II
Ms. Charlene Wittstock
The Netherlands
H.M. the Queen of the Netherlands
H.R.H. the Prince of Orange, and H.R.H. Princess Máxima of the Netherlands
H.R.H. Princess Catharina-Amalia of the Netherlands, Bridesmaid
H.R.H. Prince Friso of Orange-Nassau and H.R.H. Princess Mabel of Orange-Nassau
H.R.H. Prince Constantijn and H.R.H. Princess Laurentien
Norway
H.M. King Harald V and H.M. Queen Sonja
H.R.H. Crown Prince Haakon and H.R.H. Crown Princess Mette-Marit
H.R.H. Princess Ingrid Alexandra, Bridesmaid
Princess Märtha Louise and Mr Ari Behn
Captain Frank Bondø, the Royal Ship Norge
Romania
H.R.H. Crown Princess Margarita, and H.R.H. Prince Radu of Romania
Spain
H.M. Queen Sofia
H.R.H. the Prince of Asturias, Spain, and H.R.H. the Princess of Asturias
H.R.H. the Infanta Doña Elena de Borbon
H.R.H. the Infanta Doña Cristina and H.E. Don Iñaki Urdangarin
United Kingdom
H.R.H. The Earl of Wessex and H.R.H. The Countess of Wessex
Commander Nick Cooke-Priest, Commander of HMS Kent
Germany
H.R.H. Princess Benedikte and H.H. Prince Richard zu Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg
S.D. Prinz Gustav zu Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg
Ms Carina Axelsson
I.D. Prinzessin Alexandra and Jefferson-Fredrich Graf von Pfeil und Klein-Ellguth
I.D. Prinzessin Nathalie and Mr Alexander Johannsmann
S.K.H. Prinz Manuel von Bayern and I.K.H. Prinzessin Anna von Bayern
S.H. Erbprinz Hubertus von Sachsen- Coburgund Goth and I.H. Prinzessin Kelly von Sachsen- Coburgund Gotha
To read the entire guest list, which includes the members of Parliament, political leaders and all of Victoria and Daniel’s relatives, check out the Swedish Royal Court website.
Reminder: the wedding will take place at 3:30pm local time. If you want to watch the event, click here
Earlier on Thursday, Europe’s royal women and children were seen arriving at Storkyrkan Cathedral, the site of the wedding of the year on Saturday. The Crown Princesses of Norway, Denmark and the Netherlands were with their children, the future monarchs of their respective countries, to rehearse for the wedding of Crown Princess Victoria and Daniel Westling.
Aftonbladet
Victoria will have many of her godchildren as bridesmaids and page boys in her wedding, and that includes the royal godchildren – Princess Catharina-Amalia of the Netherlands, Norway’s Princess Ingrid-Alexandra and Danish Prince Christian.
Svensk Damtidning
The practice took only twenty minutes, but Lars-Goran Lonner Mark, the minister who might conduct the ceremony, told Expressen yesterday that all the kids taking part in the wedding will have the chance to train together in the church before the Saturday wedding.
“It went very well,” said Norway’s Crown Princess Mette-Marit on the exercise.
Then in the evening, King Carl XVI Gustaf and Queen Silvia held a private party for friends of the House of Bernadotte at Drottningholm Palace. Those friends also included the Norwegian royal family, Crown Princess Mary of Denmark and Willem-Alexander and Maxima, Crown Prince and Princess of the Netherlands.
Svensk Damtidning
When the Norwegian royals left their yacht, the Norge, for the party, Crown Princess Mette-Marit was stopped by her daughter, Ingrid Alexandra. The little Princess kissed her mother’s hand, and in turn Mette-Marit gave Ingrid Alexandra a hug.
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Upon descending the ramp to get off the yacht, the Crown Princess had difficulty walking off in her high heels. But she managed.
Also attending the private party was Princess Margarita and Prince Radu of Romania. Supposedly, Prince Guillaume of Luxembourg was there, but there is photographic evidence.
Crown Prince Frederik of Denmark is also believed to have not been at the party because he is stilling flying in from South Africa where he watched his country play at the World Cup.
Just a reminder that SVT.se will be broadcasting the wedding live on Saturday, so be sure to log on and watch the most romantic event of the year!
These past two days saw Princes William and Harry of the U.K. finalize their trip to Botswana and head for the Kingdom of Lesotho. It is part of the brothers’ visit to southern Africa where they are checking in on how their charities are helping the region.
Photo by Chris Jackson/Getty Images
On Monday, Harry got a chance to see how local animals benefit from the Tusk Trust, which William is patron of. This time around, Harry showed his older brother how his charity, Sentebale, helps AIDS orphans in Lesotho.
As the royal brothers wrapped their Botswana stay, they stopped by a school in Maun. There, Prince William was shown a vuvuzela, a horn being used during the World Cup. Unfortunately, William had difficulty playing the instrument. Upon failing to hit a note, he said, “There you go, embarrassed myself again!”
Also in Maun, Prince William was shown around the Bio-boundry Lab at the Predator Conservation Trust. He was given a demonstration on the lab’s equipment which aims to help the animals on the conservation.
Later in the day, William and Harry left for Lesotho, a Kingdom that is completely surrounded by South Africa. Like their ancient ancestors, they entered the country on horseback, arriving in the village of Semongkong, and were greeted by ululating women and shepherd boys.
Photo by Chris Jackson/Getty Images
While in Semongkong, the brothers – along with Lesotho’s Prince Seeiso, the youngest son of King Letsie – visited a school and spent the day with its students.
Harry’s charity, Sentebale, helps the local boys here by opening schools that would teach them basic education, social skills and how to avoid AIDS. This area of Lesotho has young boys as young as eight year-old walking miles to the nearest school after spending the day tending herds. Sometimes, they board at the school in substandard conditions. When they return to their villages as 18 year-olds, after spending years being sexually abused by older boys, the young men become abusers themselves. Sentebale aims to prevent that.
“It’s the main thing to do”, said Harry, according to the Daily Telegraph.
“They’re herd boys from aged eight to 18 then they come back at 18 with no education, no social skills. All they want to do is…”, he added, pointing to his groin.
The three Princes spent the day listening to the boys’ stories and gave them all warm hats. They even danced with the students at one point.
One former shepherd boy, Julius Matsoso Majoso, 32, who now teaches at the school was impressed with William, Harry and Seeiso’s compassion for them.
“They are really shepherds because shepherds are the people who really take care of other things. So it means they are really Kings.” he said.
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