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Queen Elizabeth II is under fire in the U.K. as a newspaper ran a story saying she tried to use the country’s poverty grant to help heat Buckingham Palace.
 John Linton - WPA Pool/Getty Images According to The Independent, when the staff at the Palace looked into getting money from the program, they were turned down by the fund’s officials out of fear of a public relations backlash.
The newspaper learned of this after requesting documents under the U.K.’s Freedom of Information law.
A Buckingham Palace spokeswoman confirmed that royal officials had looked into using the poverty fund, explaining it was part of an attempt to reduce both taxpayer money and improve the palaces’ energy efficiency. She claimed the royal household was not initially aware that the money had been earmarked for low-income Britons.
Royal aides complained to ministers in 2004 that the Queen’s gas and electricity bills had become “untenable”, having increased by 50 percent that year to more than £1 million.
News of Queen Elizabeth trying to use government funds intended for her subjects that live in poverty has lead her to be accused of “contempt” by the anti-monarchy campaign group, Republic. They called for the management of all of the Queen’s palaces to be opened up to full scrutiny.
A Republic spokesman said: “These documents are clear evidence of the contempt the Palace has for ordinary people in this country. We have our head of state demanding cash that has been set aside for low-income families, for the most vulnerable in our society.
“This sense of entitlement speaks volumes about the attitudes of the Windsors and their household. For them it’s all about take, take, take.”
Many in Britain are disappointed in their Queen. As one of the wealthiest women in the country, some say there are a lot who need government grants than she does.
Sources: The Independent, Press Association, AP
 Gulf Times The wife of the Emir of Qatar, Sheikha Mozah bint Nasser al-Missned, spoke Wednesday at the United Nations’ Millenium Developmental Goal (MDG) Advocacy Group’s opening session. The Sheikha, who is a member of the Group, gave a speech on how important education is in order to meet the MDG.
“My passion is education for all, regardless of gender, location or circumstance,” Sheikha Mozah said.
“I had started to be publicly involved in educational issues when I realised that without major reform in Qatar we would never be able to achieve political and social changes and ensure economic sustainability for our country.
“Our reforms in Qatar opened my eyes to the global need to focus on the role that education plays in equitable development.
“Through my work at UNESCO and the UN Alliance of Civilisations, I have focused on education as the key element of development strategies, particularly in countries affected by war.”
Mozah mentioned that progress has been made for universal education, but “Maintaining progress is not enough,” she insisted. “For example, if current trends continue, the MDG of universal primary education will not be met until 2040.”
“That assessment concerns me greatly.”
The Sheikha described education as the “key to unlock the potential to achieve all MDGs.”
She said: “An educated person is an independent, healthy and active citizen. Education provides hope and understanding. It enhances tolerance. It ensures that there are no disillusioned youth out in the street looking for answers through radical ideologies.
 Gulf Times “Or else, Victor Hugo’s statement ‘he who opens a school door, closes a prison’ would be considered lost in translation.
“Unfortunately in conflict-affected areas, all doors are closed.”
“Today, my fellow Advocates and I will begin to detail measurable actions to achieve our goals. We should look into existing initiatives and build on them. For instance, many of you are aware of the work being done at the UN Alliance of Civilisations also co-chaired by [Spanish] Prime Minister Zapatero.
“I would like to ensure that the objectives of the Alliance which encompass peace, prosperity and cross-culture are also central to the MDGs.
“Without achieving equity, peace, security and understanding will remain an illusion.
“I therefore invite you to work with us on these two UN projects together towards the common good.
“Let me reiterate, knowing the challenge ahead, if we are not ready to act then let us not expect to achieve our mission.”
With the annual General Assembly of the United Nations going on this week, plenty of royals have taken part in conferences, meetings and other U.N. related events. Among them were the Netherlands’ Crown Prince Willem-Alexander and his wife, Princess Maxima. Both even spoke at conferences linked to the U.N.’s Millenium Development Goals (MDG).
 STAN HONDA/AFP/Getty Images Maxima, who is the United Nation’s Special Advocate for Inclusive Finance for Development, spoke at the Financial Inclusion: A Path to the Millennium Development Goals’ Side-Event during the MDG Summit 2010 on Wednesday.
“We are all gathered in NY to discuss how to achieve the Millennium Development Goals by 2015,” she said in her speech’s opening. ”There are 8 development goals, but none of them mentions financial inclusion. This is because financial inclusion is a cross-cutting issue. Financial inclusion is not an end in itself; it is a means to an end.”
“Financial inclusion is more than ‘microcredit’ or ‘microfinance.’ Financial inclusion is universal access, at a reasonable cost, to a range of financial services for everyone needing them, provided by a diversity of sound and sustainable institutions,” The Princess went on to explain. ”Financial inclusion recognizes that people and businesses require a range of financial services in addition to credit-savings, payment services, remittances, insurance, just to name a few. ”
 STAN HONDA/AFP/Getty Images “In order to make financial inclusion possible, we need the right policies and environment for this to take place in a sustainable way. I have to say that lately more attention has been given to this issue. The G20 has shown leadership in making this a priority and has brought many organizations together. Also, new organizations such as the Alliance for Financial Inclusion, for example, has provided a very effective platform for regulators and supervisors to exchange ideas, share best practices and learn from each other.”
“Donors, different government ministries, private sector and NGOs should all work together to attain this cross-sectorial gain. We should all be looking at funding promising pilots that can be sustainable and scalable after the initial testing, learning and adjusting. The challenges that we face are multi-faceted. Our solutions must be too. Let us build upon the successes booked so far in financial inclusion, to give people the opportunity they deserve.”
Princess Maxima ended her speech by expressing her hope for everyone to be inspired to do more to help those in poorer countries.
That same day, Maxima’s husband, Crown Prince Willem-Alexander gave an address at the Global Water and Sanitation Challenge: The Key to the MDGs. A long time advocate for better sanitation and clean water, the Crown Prince had this to say about the issue:
“Rapid progress is possible if countries prioritize and plan for sanitation and water coverage. And by linking water management to national planning, budgeting and priority setting, countries can better achieve their development priorities and all the MDGs. Above all, we know that strong national commitment along with a robust policy framework are essential. Given the importance of national commitment, we look forward to gaining invaluable insights into the complexities of the national policy dynamic from our panelists, who are at the very highest levels. You have to make crucial decisions among competing priorities on a daily basis. I would like to thank all of you for taking the time today to share your experience and to demonstrate your support for sanitation and water.
“The Board which I Chair, is fully behind the Five Year Drive. We will contribute all of our influence to help put basic sanitation at the center of the international development agenda, by consistently and clearly repeating the facts about how basic sanitation underlies all the MDGs. Facts like: 443 million schools days are lost each year due to water and sanitation-related diseases; Diarrhoea kills an estimated 4,000 children every day, and every $1 invested in sanitation, generates an economic return of up to $9. We urge all countries to join us to make the “sustainable sanitation – five year drive to 2015″ an international effort and a global success.”
To read more of this power couple’s speeches, click here and here
Source: Koninklijhuis.nl
During Monday’s annual Women: Inspiration and Enterprise Symposium (WIE) conference, Jordanian Queen Rania accepted a leadership award given to her by Sarah Brown, the wife of the former British prime minister.
 Photo by Andrew H. Walker/Getty Images The award was given to the Queen for her work for women and girls’ rights throughout the world.
Accepting the award, she thanked organizers saying that they managed to gather “some of the most impressive women in the world, from politics and media, to philanthropy and the arts.”
“Women in this room are redefining their industries as leaders of today and tomorrow,” Rania said.
During her acceptance remarks, the Queen also stressed the importance of collaborative work to promote the rights of girls and women; saying: “it’s together you’re reshaping the lives of women around the world, too. Under the White Ribbon Alliance, women in over 140 countries are living longer, healthier lives; proof that, united, women can be an unstoppable force for good.”
The White Ribbon Alliance is an organization that promotes increased awareness of maternal mortality statistics, and the need to make pregnancy and childbirth safe for all women.
The Women: Inspiration and Enterprise Symposium conference is in its 5th year, and coincides with the annual UN General Assembly and the Clinton Global Initiative. It is run by Queen Rania, Sarah Brown, journalist Arianna Huffington and fashion designer Donna Karan.
Source: Middle East Online
The third Tuesday of every September is the day Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands opens Parliament on a day called Prinsjedag. She arrives at the Hall of Knights in The Hague in a golden coach along with most of her family, and delivers a speech from the throne.
 REUTERS/Peter Dejong/Pool This year, her speech focused on the country’s inability to form a government for almost the entire year, and a need for a balanced budget.
The Queen stressed the need for tolerance between the three political parties that are currently struggling to form a coalition government. She called those parties to work on social cohesion. The parties the Queen did not mention directly are the free market VVD, Christian Democrats and Geert Wilders’ anti-Islam Freedom Party.
Next, Her Majesty discussed the budget deficit, in which public spending will be lower this time around. The monarch said the Netherlands would have to take measures in order to remain competitive in the labor market and the world economy.
 REUTERS/Jerry Lampen After her speech, Queen Beatrix joined most of her family, including Crown Prince Willem-Alexander, Princess Maxima, Prince Constantijn, Princess Laurentien, and her sister, Princess Margriet and her husband Pieter van Vollenhoven, on the balcony of Noordeinde Palace, where they all waved to the thousands who gathered below.
The Queen seemed calm and cool throughout the day, despite an upsetting disturbance when she rode her golden carriage to the Hall of Knights. A 29 year-old man threw a candlestick holder at the carriage and was quickly tackled by police. A spokesman for The Hague police said the man’s motive was unknown and no one was injured.
Security has been tight around the Dutch royal family since the attack of 2009′s Queen’s Day when a man narrowly missed ramming his car into a bus carrying the royals, and instead plowed his vehicle into the crowds, killing several people.
Sources: AP, Radio Netherlands Worldwide
After nearly six years and 220 million Danish kroner, the home of Crown Prince Frederik and Crown Princess Mary and their two children was ready to occupied once again. The palace of Frederik VIII, which is part of the Amalienborg complex, was officially handed over the Crown Princely family Tuesday during a welcome home ceremony.
 AP Photo/POLFOTO, Tariq Mikkel Khan Ten minutes after 2pm local time, Frederik, Mary, Christian and Isabella arrived at the Palace. 15 minutes later, the flag of the Crown Princely family was placed over Frederik VIII, signifying that the family was living there.
Finance Minister Claus Hjort Frederiksen gave the keys to the palace to the future King and Queen on behalf of the state.
The little royal children seemed delighted during the handover. Christian took time to talk to the invited guests, which shows how his parents are preparing him for his future role. Little Isabella was even given a bouquet of flowers, which confused the three year-old since she never has received flowers in such a situation.
Chancellery House in Fredensborg, where Crown Prince couple have lived since they married in 2004, will now primarily be the place the couple will live in the summer, while Frederik VIII’s Palace in Copenhagen will be their winter home.
Frederik VIII Palace has got a new roof, new floors and is decorated by contemporary Danish artists. The renovations cost Danish taxpayers $40 a person.
It was built between 1750-1760 for Baron Joachim Brockdorff by the royal builder Niels Eigtved. Since 1828, the building served as housing for changing members of the royal family. The previous occupants were King Frederik IX and Queen Ingrid, the parents of Queen Margrethe II.
Despite the renovations being completed, Frederik, Mary and their two children will not move into the elaborate palace until the end of the year. There is still a need for new furniture. But moving into Frederik VIII will take place just in time for Christmas and New Year’s – and right before the birth of the twins.
Sources: BT.dk, Billed Bladet, AP
Although the Spanish school year already started, Spain’s future King and Queen officially inaugurated the academic year in the town of Logroño. They visited the public school Maundy Gallarza González and were greeted by its students, who were very excited to see Prince Felipe and Princess Letizia.
 Terra Noticias The royal couple arrived at 11:30 local time on the dot to a crowd of hundreds trying to get a glimpse of them.
Inside, Felipe and Letizia met with the school board members and unveiled a plaque to mark their visit. They then went into separate classrooms to meet the students. La Rioja has pupils between the ages of three and twelve.
Each classroom had decoration of the royal family to celebrate the visit. There were photos of Felipe and Letizia’s two daughters, Infantas Leonor and Sofia, on the walls, as well as King Juan Carlos, Queen Sofia and Felipe’s two older sisters, Infantas Elena and Cristina.
The Prince and Princess sat at the desks with the children, asked them their names and what they were hoping for this school year. Letizia even drew pictures with a young girl. After this classroom, the couple stopped by another one meant for autistic students, and then paid a visit to the upper grades where pupils use laptops for their schoolwork.
After touring the classroom, Felipe and Letizia went to one classroom, where the students were at physical education, and the Prince and the director of La Rioja gave speeches. The director, Carmen Camarero, stressed the importance of education for children and society. She even said to “be thankful that this school represents all schools in Spain with this act.”
Once it was Felipe’s turn to speak, he praised the school’s teachers and said, “in this time of the school year, we are very close, as parents, the hardships and hopes to live to be part of the school community.”
The Prince also highlighted the “need for our young people are open to other countries and cultures, master information technologies and communication and fluent in at least one foreign language.”
After the speeches, Felipe and Letizia shook hands with the school’s administration as a farewell, and headed back to Madrid.
Sources: ¡Hola!, Europa Press
Serbia’s Crown Prince Alexander and Crown Princess Katherine were in Belgrade Friday and Sunday to celebrate their silver wedding anniversary. Marking the occasion with them were their three sons and plenty of other royals.
 Official Website of the Serbian Monarchy Most of the royalty in Belgrade were exiles like Alexander and Katherine. They included King Mihai of Romania, his daughter Crown Princess Margarita and son-in-law Prince Radu, King Constantine (who was the best man in the wedding) and Queen Anne-Marie of Greece, and King Simeon and Queen Margarita of Bulgaria.
The other non-deposed royals in attendance were from Luxembourg and Liechtenstein.
The guests were given a tour of Belgrade and the royal palace during their stay according to a statement.
The Crown Prince and Princess married in London’s Saint Sava Church in 1985. Crown Prince Alexander has three boys: Hereditary Prince Peter, Prince Philip and Prince Alexander. Crown Princess Katherine has two children from a previous marriage: David and Alison.
The Serbian royal family have been active in Belgrade and elsewhere in the country, performing duties and making appearances. In 2001, the family set up residence at the Royal Palace.
No word if Serbia would restore the monarchy anytime soon.
To learn more about the royal family, click here
Source: Official Website of the Serbian Monarchy
70 years to the day the Royal Air Force battled German pilots over British skies during World War II, the U.K. commemorated the anniversary with an air show, a military parade and of course, members of the House of Windsor.
 REUTERS/Luke MacGregor Prince Charles, Camilla the Duchess of Cornwall, and Prince William were at Westminister Abbey for the event Sunday morning. Also in attendance was Prime Minister David Cameron and many RAF leaders.
The Prince of Wales, who stood on a podium since he is the patron of the Battle of Britain Fighter Association, and his son and wife saluted as the RAF servicemen and women as they marched passed the Abbey. They were later treated to an air show which included Spitfires and Hurricanes.
RAF Chaplain in Chief Raymond Pentland said at the ceremony: “Seventy years ago a generation of young men took to the skies and their bravery and sacrifice won our freedom.
“Today we salute the few and give thanks for their bravery, sacrifice and our freedom.”
While the Battle of Britain was a major focus for today’s commemoration, the war in Afghanistan was also mentioned, since the RAF is involved in that conflict.
“Without the freedom of the skies in Afghanistan,” said Sir Stephen Dalton, Chief of Air Staff. “There would need to be 10 times the number of soldiers and marines on the ground to achieve the same effect.”
The Battle of Britain began on July 10th 1940 and ended on October 31st. Nearly 3,000 British, Commonwealth and Allied aircrew took part.
Source: BBC
Prince William has finally achieved his goal in becoming a search and rescue pilot. Eighteen months after he began training, the 28 year-old Prince received his diploma Friday and officially joined 22 Squadron, C Flight, where he will co-pilot Sea King Mk3 helicopters at the Royal Air Force (RAF) Valley base on Anglesey, northwest Wales.
 AP Photo/ Royal Air Force, MOD, SAC Faye Storer He will fly Sea King helicopters providing a life-saving rescue service to both military personnel and civilians in the UK.
“I am really delighted to have completed the training course with my fellow students,” William said. “The course has been challenging, but I have enjoyed it immensely. I absolutely love flying so it will be an honor to serve operationally with the Search and Rescue Force (SAR), helping to provide such a vital emergency service.”
Prince William also said he will do his royal duties during downtime while in the service.
Group Captain Jonathan Dixon, commander of the RAF SAR Force, said: “He has fitted in very easily. He has been very low-key and when he is with us he is Flight Lieutenant William Wales. He drops his royal highness at the gates to the station and becomes a junior officer.
“The ability to earn his crew’s trust is natural to him. It has been a good course they have all gelled together, they socialise as well as work together.”
William will be expected to work up to ten 24-hour shifts per month answering callouts.
During the graduation ceremony, the Prince was with his fellow training pilots. Family and friends of the new pilots were not allowed to attend.
Sources: AP, AFP
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