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 Chris Jackson/Getty Images The invitations for the royal event of the year have gone out – via fax rather than traditional invite cards. First on the list of invitees to Prince William’s April wedding to Catherine Middleton were of course, fellow royals. That is part of protocol, likely because of the busy schedule royals have.
But the first royals to RSVP to the wedding are the ones who were removed from their countries. Crown Prince Alexander and Crown Princess Katherine of Serbia were the very first to say yes. They announced on their website that they are “delighted” to attend the nuptials.
Next are the former Greek royals – King Constantine II, Queen Anne Marie and Crown Prince Pavlos. That is not a surprise because Constantine is William’s godfather. The Prince is also godfather to Pavlos’ eldest son.
The former King and Queen of Romania – Mihai and Anne – will also be present.
Some say it is too early to believe these royals will be at the wedding, although it is quite likely.
“One would assume these royal households took the decision to announce their attendance of their own accord,” a source told This is London.
While royalty received faxes, the other guests will get the traditional cards, with gold lettering on them.
Source: This is London, Telegraph
 Henrik Garlöv/Kungl. Hovstaterna Six promising postgraduate students in Sweden were awarded scholarships to continue their studies directly from Queen Silvia on Tuesday at the Palace. It was part of the Queen’s Jubilee Fund, set up on her 50th birthday in 1993, to encourage further research on children and the disabled.
Each year there is a certain priority in the research area. This time the theme was “Physical and psychological well-being disorders in children and adolescents”.
The recipients of the scholarships were: Charlotte Lindfors, Emma Arvidsson, Snjólaug Sveinsdóttir, Marja Tengvall, Bjorn Nodlund and Martina Abelius.
Source: Kungehuset.se
 Press Tanguera/Hola! Magazine Princess Maxima of the Netherlands attended the opening of the musical Tango Monday evening to support her fellow Argentinians in their worldwide success. The musical was debuting in Amsterdam, and Maxima dressed up for the event.
Unfortunately, she did not dress up wisely.
Wearing a black blouse made of a thin material and having a light colored bra underneath led to an awkward moment for the Princess when the flashbulbs went off.
Perhaps Maxima was unaware of the result of wearing such a combination.
But she appeared to enjoy herself while viewing Tango. After the program, she went backstage to greet the stars Stephen Domenichini, Gabriela Amalfitani, Junior Cervila, and executive producer Carlos Patanelos.
Source: ¡Hola!
The heir to the Japanese monarchy marked 150 years of Japan’s diplomatic ties with Germany in Tokyo today. Crown Prince Naruhito met with German government officials, such as President Christian Wulff and Culture Minister Bernd Neumann to celebrate the bilateral ties.
 YOSHIKAZU TSUNO/AFP/Getty Images “This anniversary means for both countries, an opportunity to look back at the long history of mutual exchange …. and new opportunities,” Naruhito said in an opening speech at the National Art Center.
Back in 1861, a treaty was signed between the Japanese shogunate and the representative of Prussia, Count Eulenburg to begin a political and trade alliance.
“Japan is for us a valuable partner in Asia, with which the government adjusts very closely,” said Wulff in his speech.
Today’s diplomatic anniversary also marks the 50th year when the German airline, Lufthansa, began to allow flights to and from Japan.
Royals and officials are not the only ones celebrating 150 years of friendship between the two countries. This year will see the art and culture world of Japan get a dose of Germany in it. There will be a concert called “Germany Rocks Japan” and an Oktoberfest later this year in Tokyo.
Naruhito expressed his delight over the German takeover of Japanese culture for 2011. He explained that he has “a deep personal affection for German art.”
Source: DPA
King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz of Saudi Arabia arrived in Casablanca, Morocco Saturday where he was greeted by King Mohammed VI. But the Saudi King is not in the North African country for a state visit; he is there to recuperate from back surgery which he had back in November.
 Maghreb Arabe Presse King Abdullah, age 87, was in New York for the past two months for operations for a blood clot complicating a slipped disc. Until now, he was in an undisclosed location receiving therapy for the procedure.
It is unknown how long Abdullah will stay in Morocco.
His half-brother, Crown Prince Sultan, stayed nearly a year in the same country recovering from cancer treatments until late 2009.
Concern over the health of the King is major on the world stage. Saudi Arabia controls more than a fifth of the world’s crude oil reserves and is a vital U.S. ally in the region as well as a major holder of dollar assets.
When King Abdullah passes, the question would be whether a conservative or a reformer like him will succeed the monarchy.
Source: Reuters
Last night, the 35th International Circus Festival began in Monte Carlo, Monaco with the Monegasque royals attending the opening ceremony. Prince Albert II, Princess Stephanie – who is patron of the festival – and her daughter, Pauline Ducruet arrived under the big top to watch the beginning of the ten day festival, which has circus groups from all over the world.
 Gaetan Luci/Monaco Palace via Getty Images Stephanie spent the past week preparing for this annual event, which was started by her father, the late Prince Rainier, in 1974 because of the family’s deep love of the circus.
“I have the eye of a child who grew up in the circus,” the Princess told Nice Matin. “The clowns always moved me so much. But now I also see the numbers with my professional eye. We have a quality to meet in Monaco. The public, accustomed for 35 years in Monaco has become a connoisseur and we have no room for error.”
Stephanie also talked about circus troops all over the world.
“There are a lot of circus schools [in Russia] and in this country, there is a real potential,” she said. “Many directors, choreographers working in this country and present original numbers with traditional disciplines. That said, China also, the practice of the circus is very strong. In Shanghai, I met with circus schools some young people working with the single goal to go the Festival of Monaco. It is unfortunate that in France, there is no culture. Perhaps due to a lack of circus schools.”
 VALERY HACHE/AFP/Getty Images Princess Stephanie also defended the circus’ use of animals, which many animal rights group criticize.
“I find the debate on animals ridiculous. Zoos and circuses do much for the preservation of endangered species. The circus animals are treated as artists in their own right.”
Earlier in the week, Stephanie spent time with the American troop, checking out its elephants and even climbing on top of one.
The International Circus Festival will last until January 30th. The winner will get an award shaped like a clown’s face.
Sources: Nice Matin
January 21st marks the seventh birthday of Norway’s future Queen, Ingrid Alexandra. A series of photographs were released, all taken when the little princess went on a world tour with her family last year.
 Crown Prince Haakon/ The Royal House Some of the photos were done in Dzongu, an area in east India where Ingrid Alexandra spent some time with her family in December. Half of them were taken personally by her father, Crown Prince Haakon (see above) while others were done by a professional photographer who stopped by Dzongu to broadcast to the world what the family was up to.
 Kristi Marie Skrede, NRK It is not exactly known what Ingrid Alexandra is doing for her big day, but it is possible she is having a simple party with friends and family, as she did last year.
To check out more pics, click here.
Jordan’s powerful opposition party, the Islamic Action Front (IAF), is calling for constitutional limits of King Abdullah II’s powers. They want to prevent him from naming prime ministers and leave that to the leader of the parliament’s majority.
 REUTERS/Ali Jarekji/FILE “The leader of the majority in parliament should become prime minister, or get elected directly by the people,” said Zaki Bani Rsheid, the leader of the IAF, told the AFP.
The political party – which is related to the Muslim Brotherhood – also said on Tuesday that November’s elections were not on a level.
“The elections were marred by fraud. We have evidence of the use of tens of thousands of fake identity cards during the electoral process,” said IAF secretary general Hamzeh Mansour.
Bani Rsheid said the IAF wants a “transitional government which should hold new, free and transparent elections on the basis of a law that is just and democratic.”
“We appeal to the king to dismiss the cabinet, allow for the formation of an interim government that enjoys the confidence of the people until a Cabinet elected by the people is in place,” Mansour told reporters Tuesday.
The party is now planning a nationwide protest along with leftist groups and trade unions to demand “political reforms as well as limiting hikes in commodity prices.”
Jordan is concerned what happened in Tunisia recently may spread to the Hashemite Kingdom. Already, the country suffers from a 14 percent unemployment rate – though other statistics say its 30 percent – and the average monthly wage is a little over $200.
Last weekend, thousands of Jordanians rallied against rising food prices despite King Abdullah’s 169 million dollar plan to lower them.
When King Abdullah inherited the throne in 1999, he voiced a vision of seeing Jordan become a constitutional monarchy. But he remains the absolute leader.
Sources: AFP, AP
 PRAKASH SINGH/AFP/Getty Images The only daughter of Belgium’s King Albert II and Queen Paola was in India this week, touring leprosy and TB centers. Princess Astrid was there as honorary president of Action Damien, which aims to fight those diseases. This was her first official trip to India.
“I have such great stories about the country heard from my parents,” said an enthusiastic Princess Astrid on arrival. Her eldest children Amadeo (24) and Maria Laura (22) have already traveled to India. “They were in the country pulling their backpacks. My children are not so keen on keeping up appearances. They have very basic traveled the country to really see it. ”
Besides meeting with patients and inspecting health centers, Astrid also saw the scientific and medical side of the centers. She viewed samples from the TB patients through microscopes.
The Princess is very active in health issues. Besides TB and leprosy, she also cares for those suffering from malaria.
Sources: Het Nieuwsblad, AFP/Getty Images
 Mark Renders/Getty Images/FILE The grants the Belgian royal family earns from the government in the past year fell by 10 percent. This is the first time ever the royals received a cut in their dotations.
The reduction is just not for King Albert II and Queen Paola. All three of their children – Prince Philippe, Princess Astrid and Prince Laurent – were effected by the cut.
Even dowager Queen Fabiola saw the cut, down to €1.4 million. Philippe will get €920,000 while his sister will now earn €320,000. Prince Laurent shall get €306,000.
The cost of Belgium’s royal family is €30 million, or 3 percent per citizen.
Source: Het Laatste Nieuws, Zita.be
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