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Amsterdam recently finished up its Sail Amsterdam 2010 festival, in which ships of all kinds are put on display for the public to see, free of charge. The nautical event has been held since 1975 and whenever it takes place, Sail Amsterdam is one of the city’s biggest attractions.
 Getty Images Among the many participants in Sail 2010 were Holland’s Crown Princely family. Prince Willem-Alexander and Princess Maxima brought their three young daughters on board one of the ships Saturday. The little princesses – Catharina-Amalia, 6 1/2 years old, Alexia age 5, and 3 year old Ariane – put on life jackets as they went on the Green Draeck ship.
Willem-Alexander got behind the wheel of the Green Draeck and sailed into the Amsterdam harbor.
That night, Willem-Alexander, Maxima, and Her Majesty Queen Beatrix boarded the Green Draeck to participate in the “New Amsterdam Sea Shanty” competition, in which 200 musicians and bands participated.
The Queen and the Crown Princely couple have been taking part in the festival since it began on Thursday, August 19th.
Sail Amsterdam originally started in 1975 to mark the Dutch capital’s 700th anniversary. Since it was such a big hit, it is held every five years.
Sources: Sail2010.nl, Radio Nederland Wereldomroep
In the Al Talifeh Governate Monday, Jordan’s Queen Rania paid a visit to various charities, as well as the Jordan River Foundation (JRF) development programs to see how locals are benefiting from them.
 Jordan News Agency Dressed in a traditional Jordanian caftan, the Queen first took part in a training program and capacity building session for 30 community based organizations in Talifeh.
She also paid a visit to the “Abna’a Al Tafileh” Association for Special Needs facilities, visited the crafts room and a workshop for mothers and teachers. The participants explained to Her Majesty that they learned skills that they can apply in their homes and schools, plus the whole community.
Queen Rania then went to the “Shabat Al Tafileh Youth center” where she met with a group of 27 young people, divided into three groups representing the three main components of a JRF capacity training program in the center.
Started in 1995 by Rania, the Jordan River Foundation seeks to empower society, particularly women and children. Its mission reads as this: “The foundation’s mission is to promote, in partnership with stakeholders, the development of a dynamic Jordanian society by initiating and supporting sustainable social, economic and cultural programs that empower communities and individuals based on their needs and priorities.”
Sources: Jordan News Agency, Wikipedia
This Wednesday, former Greek Prince Nikolaos will tie the knot with long time love Tatiana Blatnik. The nuptials will take place on the Greek island of Spetses during the afternoon local time.
 Milos Bicanski/Getty Images/FILE Since the Greek royal family are a non-reigning family, there won’t be as much media attention as there were with Sweden’s Crown Princess Victoria and Prince Daniel this past June. This wedding won’t be broadcast on TV and most of the reporting will consist of photographs.
However, if any video does come about, I will post it or direct you to it!
The following is the confirmed guest list for the wedding:
Denmark:
Queen Margrethe, Crown Princess Mary, Prince Joachim, and Princess Marie
Greece:
King Constantine, Queen Anne-Marie, Princess Alexia and her family, Crown Prince Pavlos, Princess Marie Chantal and children, Princess Theodora, Prince Philippos, and Princess Irene
Spain:
Queen Sofia, Prince Felipe, Princess Letizia, Infanta Elena, Infanta Cristina, and Iñaki Urdangarin
Sweden:
Crown Princess Victoria, Prince Daniel, Prince Carl Philip, and Princess Madeleine
Supposedly, Jordan’s Queen Noor will come as well, but that is not yet confirmed. No word on any British royals coming or not.
Source: Mad Hattery!
Pauline Ducruet, the daughter of Monaco’s Princess Stephanie, competed in the diving competition on Monday at the Youth Olympic Games in Singapore. The sixteen year old took part in the 3m springboard event, representing Monaco.
 REUTERS/Tim Chong Sitting in the crowds cheering her on was her royal mother, plus her brother and sister, Louis and Camille, her father Daniel Ducruet and her uncle Prince Albert II.
Pauline originally came in 10th in the preliminaries but placed 12th in the finals.
She has been a competitive diver for about four years. Last month she competed in the European Junior Swimming and Diving Championships in Helsinki. Pauline is aiming for the 2012 Olympics in London.
“I guess we have the Olympics in our blood,” Princess Stephanie recently said. And perhaps she is right. Besides coming from a long line of royals, the Princess can also claim Olympic blood. Her great-grandfather John Kelly competed in the Olympics and her brother, Prince Albert II, is a former Winter Olympian.
In the future, maybe Stephanie could add her own daughter to the list of family Olympians.
After Pauline finished the day’s competition, she received loving hugs from both her mother and father.
“I am just a good old mum,” Princess Stephanie said about supporting her daughter through the tough training.
Source: The Royal Forums, Strait Times
 REUTERS/David Moir The King of Jordan will be at the first Mideast peace talks in 20 months on September 1st. He accepted an invitation from U.S. President Barack Obama to attend.
“President Obama has invited President [Hosni] Mubarak of Egypt and King Abdullah of Jordan to attend in view of their critical role in this effort,” said U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton during a recent news conference.
Both Egypt and Jordan have peace agreements with Israel.
Also expected at the talks are Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
The talks between Israelis and Palestinians will aim to set up a peace deal within one year.
Sources: Reuters, Maan News Agency
Sweden’s Crown Princess Victoria was acquitted of bribery after a leading prosecutor said her honeymoon gift did not need investigation.
 Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images/FILE Victoria, along with her husband Prince Daniel, were accused of taking bribes last week from millionaire family friend, Bertil Hult. He gave them a private jet, a yacht and his home in Colorado for their honeymoon following their June 19th wedding.
“The Crown Princess has inherited her position and it would therefore not seem relevant to compare her duties to those of someone who had been elected or appointed to carry them out,” Chief Prosecutor Gunnar Stetler wrote in a decision released on Friday morning.
“There is no reason to believe that a crime subject to public prosecution has been committed. An investigation will therefore not be commenced,” Stetler added.
In addition, Stetler will not look into the conduct of Bertil Hult, the millionaire who loaned Victoria and Daniel his luxury.
It was several members of the public who accused the Crown Princess for taking bribes. It is believed the gifts cost one million kronor (105,000 euros, 134,000 dollars).
“It is strange that Sweden’s heir to the throne would allow a Swedish billionaire to provide transport and housing during her honeymoon when the same person through his (business) can potentially be interested in having the favors repaid,” Peter Wolodarski, the top political commentator at Swedish paper of reference Dagens Nyheter, wrote when the corruption complaints first surfaced.
Gunnar Stetler explained Friday that the existing corruption law appeared to have “strange consequences,” calling on the Swedish parliament to change it.
“If I offer an excessive gift to the prime minister, I can be prosecuted, but if I offer an excessive gift to the royal family, I cannot be punished since the royal family does not figure on the list of people” considered corruptible.
The royal family did not see what the problem was.
“It was a private trip and a wedding present from an old friend of the Royal Family,” Ulrika Näsholm, information secretary to the Royal Family, said when the initial complaints were made public.
Sources: The Local, Swedish Wire
Newlyweds Crown Princess Victoria and Prince Daniel emerged from a two month honeymoon to join the rest of their family in celebrating 200 years of the House of Bernadotte being the royal family of Sweden.
 JONAS EKSTRÖMER / SCANPIX The celebrations took place on a rainy Saturday in the town of Örebro. The royals – King Carl XVI Gustaf, Queen Silvia, Prince Carl Philip and Princess Madeleine – started the day off by attending services at St. Nicholas Church at about 4pm local time. Everyone arrived in three separate cars with Swedish flags adorning the vehicles.
Upon exiting the cars and walking into the church, Prince Daniel and his brother-in-law Prince Carl Philip shared a hug.
After the mass, the royals went to the Iron Market, where King Carl gave a speech in regards to his family’s bicentennial. He started by jokingly saying, “I have looked forward to visit Örebro for a very long time for several reasons. Among other things, that I finally can start by saying ‘ladies Örebro’.”
But mostly, the King’s speech focused on the Bernadotte history in Sweden. He ended it with a four-fold cheer for Sweden.
From the Iron Market, the family went to Örebro castle, where they met with the crowds gathered to see them. Victoria and Daniel both received bouquets from the people.
They even took time to talk to the press. Prince Daniel told one reporter that entering St. Nicholas was like “déjà vu” for him and his wife.
At the castle, the royal family will dine with the governor of Örebro, Rose-Marie Frebran, the chairmen of the municipal council of Örebro and Askersund, Archbishop Anders Wejryd and representatives of the Royal Academy of Letters.
The House of Bernadotte dates back to 1810 when Jean Baptiste Bernadotte, one of Napoleon’s marshals, was elected King of Sweden when the previous dynasty was out of heirs. He ruled as King Carl XIV Johan. He was also King of Norway until the country broke away from Sweden in the early 20th century.
Source: Aftonbladet, Wikipedia
Princess Ingrid Alexandra of Norway began her first day of school Thursday just down the road from the Asker palace where she lives with her family. Although the 6 year-old may be the future Queen, she was treated like any other student.
 AP Photo/Scanpix, Stian Lysberg Solum “We will follow our regular program for the first day of school Thursday. After the school has sung the song welcome to the first graders through a small program, with voice and some small surprises,” Beitnes Johansen, principal of Jansløkka, said.
Ingrid Alexandra was accompanied by her parents, Haakon and Mette-Marit, her grandfather, King Harald V and her maternal grandmother, Marit Tjessem. Every0ne stood in the rain for the welcoming ceremony before the little Princess entered the school with the rest of her new classmates.
“Ingrid Alexandra has gone to kindergarten here in Asker, and she comes into class with several of the children there. It is probably both safe and good, and in addition, she has lots of new friends here.”
Attending Jansløkka is a big break from royal tradition. Both the King and the Crown Prince grew up in the same palace Ingrid Alexandra is living in, but traveled to Oslo to attend a more elite school. It was quite a distance, and perhaps Haakon wanted to change that.
“I think maybe Haakon and Martha [Haakon's sister, Princess Martha Louise] felt wanted by the local community when they went to school, and taken into account when they chose the school for their children,” Se og Hørs reporter Kjell Arne Totland said to Side2.
Jansløkka was once attended by Ingrid Alexandra’s half brother, 13 year-old Marius.
Source: Side2.no
You read that headline right – the youngest son of Prince Charles and the late Princess Diana is going to do a reality show. No, it won’t be about charity or the military. Instead, it would be a talent search. Prince Harry is teaming up with DJ Goldie to search for 12 youngsters between the ages of 17 and 24 with for a new BBC 2 series, Goldie’s Band – By Royal Appointment.
 Ben Stansall - WPA Pool/Getty Images/FILE DJ Goldie, who is a drum and bass DJ, will search the UK for musically talented youths and the finale will take place in October at Buckingham Palace – yes, the Buckingham Palace – with Harry being the guest of honor. The winner of the talent search will be revealed then.
Contestants would range from classical musicians to R&B aspiring artists.
The Prince and the DJ met last year at the Wireless Festival in Hyde Park. There, Harry quoted some of the DJ’s lyrics, which set off the unlikely friendship.
Speaking about the venture, one royal aide said: “Harry is a fan of reality TV, but what is particularly good about this one is that its about mentoring and encouragement – nobody gets voted off or laughed at, so its not nasty at all.”
“Harry believes music can be a way for young people who haven’t had the best of starts to get a new chance.”
This isn’t the first time the British royal family has taken part in a television show, entertainment-wise. In the 1980s, Princess Anne and her brothers Princes Andrew and Edward took part in The Royal Knockabout. Many saw the program as degrading to the royal family.
Source: Hello! Magazine
Julia Gillard, the Prime Minister of Australia, wants her country to be a republic after Queen Elizabeth II dies.
 CARL DE SOUZA/AFP/Getty Images While she does admit that Australians have a deep affection for the Queen, Gillard says it won’t last for long.
“What I would like to see as prime minister is that we work our way through to an agreement on a model for the republic,” she said during an election campaign stop in Queensland
“I think the appropriate time for this nation to move to be a republic is when we see the monarch change.
“Obviously I’m hoping for Queen Elizabeth that she lives a long and happy life, and having watched her mother I think there’s every chance that she will.”
In other words, when Prince Charles becomes King, it is possible Australia – and other Commonwealth states – will get rid of him as their Head of State and become republics, completely breaking away from the United Kingdom.
Australia once held a referendum in 1999, but that failed.
Gillard’s opponent in Saturday’s election is Tony Abbott, an ardent monarchist. He sees no reason to change the status quo.
“I think that our existing constitutional arrangements have worked well in the past and I see no reason whatsoever why they can’t continue to work well in the future,” Abbott told the National Press Club.
“So while there may very well be further episodes of republicanism in this country, I am far from certain that at least in our lifetimes that there’s likely to be any significant change.”
Sources: AP, Daily Telegraph
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