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Nearly two months since they were born, Danish royal watchers have been waiting anxiously for the first official photos of Crown Prince Frederik and Crown Princess Mary’s twins. Friday saw the wait come to an end.
 Kongehuset/Steen Brogaard The dark haired twins – a boy and a girl – were photographed by longtime royal photographer Steen Brogaard. The pictures were taken at Amalienborg Palace, though it is not quite known when exactly.
 Kongehuset/Steen Brogaard The names of the twins will be revealed April 16th when they are christened. Until then, the Danish press is referring to them as Gemini boy and girl – in reference to the zodiac sign of the twins.
To see more pics of the adorable twins, click here.
This evening at the royal palace, members of the Swedish royal family hosted a gala dinner for the 150 members of the Diplomatic Corps, parliament, national government, local government plus Swedish science, culture, sports and business life. King Carl XVI Gustaf and Queen Silvia were there, as well as Crown Princess Victoria and Prince Daniel.
 Svensk Damtidning The guests were greeted by the royals in the White Sea hall. The dinner took place at the Karl XI’s gallery.
The dishes served at the dinner included duck breast with Dijon dressing and fillet of monkfish with shallot crisp. For dessert, there was chocolate twist with cherry panna cotta and chocolate sorbet.
Throughout the night, the King and Queen, Victoria and Daniel sat and chatted with the guests sitting at either side of them. Those guests included El Salvador’s ambassador Mr. Martin Rivera Gómez, Sheikha Najla Al Qassimi who is the ambassador from the UAE, and the Speaker of Parliament’s wife, psychiatrist Ylwa Westerberg.
Source: Swedish Royal Court
 REUTERS/Dylan Martinez Prince William and bride-to-be Kate Middleton performed their first royal engagement together at Trearddur Bay on Anglesey, Wales. Their job was to christen a new RNLI lifeboat, not too far from the Prince’s RAF base.
About 2,000 people gathered to see the couple, some coming as far as northwest England. It certainly showcases the excitement leading up to the royal wedding in late April.
Kate – or Catherine, depends on what you like – arrived wearing her hair in a ponytail to deal with the strong winds at the bay. She smiled and waved to the people as though she were a royal all her life.
She even displayed how well she is learning royal life when the national anthems of both the United Kingdom, “God Save The Queen” and that of Wales,”Hen Wlad Fy Nhadau” (“Land of My Fathers”), were sung. Both Kate and William sung the latter anthem in the Welsh language, something that pleased the crowd very much. Observers even said the future Princess sung the anthem with no problem, meaning she has been taking Welsh lessons.
 Christopher Furlong/Getty Images Prince William then gave a speech about the purpose of the event, some of it in Welsh. He also paid tribute to the rescue workers of the earthquake in Christchurch, New Zealand.
When it was time for the baptism, Kate simply opened a bottle of Champagne and poured the liquid over the lifeboat. Since the boat is inflatable, the bottle could not have been broken on it.
After that, the couple did a walkabout among the crowds where Kate accepted flowers and cards from the people.
William even joked to those waiting to see them, “I do the talking, she does the fun bit”.
Jean Critchley, 63, from Warrington, Cheshire, said: ‘They are a lovely couple. He is a great lad and she is a beautiful girl.’
Anglesey is where the couple will live once they are married.
Tomorrow, they will return to the place where they met and fell in love – St. Andrew’s University in Scotland. William and Kate will be there for an anniversary celebration.
Sources: BBC, Daily Mail, AFP
The King of Saudi Arabia returned to the desert kingdom Wednesday after a three month absence. King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz al-Saud was recuperating in Morocco for about a month following back surgery in New York. He was welcomed with open arms by male members of the Saudi royal family. He also ordered handouts to citizens in attempt to prevent any uprising currently being seen across the Arab world.
 REUTERS/Saudi Press Agency/Handout The octogenarian King descended from the plane on a lift before taking to a wheelchair at a Riyadh airport. Numerous male dancers doing a traditional Bedouin sword dance performed as part of the welcome-home ceremony.
Saudi Princes, such as Crown Prince Sultan, himself in poor health, hugged and kissed monarch.
Also in attendance was King Hamad bin Isa al-Khalifa of Bahrain. It is interesting to see him out of his Gulf country, which has seen demonstrations by its majority Shiite population, demanding for governmental reform and even removal of the monarchy.
King Hamad has close ties with his Saudi counterpart, and Saudi Arabia was concerned that what is occurring in Bahrain would spread to its country because of its Shiite minority on the east coast.
 REUTERS/Saudi Press Agency/Handout But King Abdullah is back in Saudi Arabia to prevent such an uprising from happening. He ordered a $37 billion handout to help lower- and middle-income people in his country which included rises to offset inflation, unemployment benefits and affordable family housing.
Saudi analyst Turad al-Amri welcomed what he called “a nice gesture” from the King, but other Saudis were not so impressed. “We want rights, not gifts,” said Fahad Aldhafeeri in one typical message on Twitter.
On Facebook, which has helped organize the demonstrations in the Mideast and North Africa, disgruntled Saudis are setting up a “Day of Rage”, scheduled for March 11th. They will call for an elected ruler, greater freedom for women and the release of political prisoners.
There are reports that King Abdullah will organize a new cabinet in order to install reforms.
“They are under pressure. They have to do something. We know Saudi Arabia is surrounded by revolutions of various types, and not just in poor countries, but in some such as Libya which are rich,” said Mai Yamani, at London’s Chatham House think tank.
“Basically what the King is doing is good, but it’s an old message of using oil money to buy the silence, subservience and submission of the people,” she said. “The new generation of revolution is surrounding them from everywhere.”
Ahmad al-Omran, who runs the popular Saudi Jeans blog, had this to say about the King’s handouts and reforms: “People don’t revolt because they are hungry. People revolt because they want their dignity, because they want to govern themselves. Money won’t solve our issues. We need true political and social reform. We need freedom, justice and dignity.”
Source: Reuters
 REUTERS/Leonhard Foeger The opening of the FIS Nordic World Ski Championship got underway in Oslo Wednesday, and many Norwegians turned out for its opening ceremony. That included the Norwegian royal family, who joined in with the celebrants.
The regent couple, the crown princely family and even King Harald V’s sister, Princess Astrid were present for the ceremony. Crown Prince Haakon had his son, Prince Sverre Magnus on his shoulders as the little Prince cheered and waved a baton.
The sporting event will last until March 6th.
The King and Queen are expected to appear frequently at the various events of the championships. On March 3rd and 4th, Sweden’s Crown Princess Victoria and Prince Daniel will stop by, as well as the Swedish King and Queen on the 5th and 6th. At some point, Denmark’s Queen Margrethe II will make an appearance.
Even Haakon and Mette-Marit will show up. After all, the Crown Prince is part of the advisory board of Oslo 2011, the committee that arranges the championships.
Source: Views and News from Norway
 Stella Pictures Sweden’s Princess Madeleine spent Tuesday at the United Nations for a seminar on women’s issues called Status of Women 2011. She was with the head of the Swedish delegation for the women’s commission, Nyamko Sabuni.
The Princess listened as Sabuni talked about the problems facing young girls in the world, particularly child marriage.
“Child marriage is one of the greatest obstacles to girls attending school. In my speech, I would urge world leaders to actively work to prevent child marriages,” Sabuni told reporters before the seminar.
A large number of ministers plus more than 3500 delegates, including from NGOs from around the world, will participate in Women’s Commission’s 55th session in New York. The Equality Summit is going from February 22 to March 4.
Source: Svensk Damtidning, Utbildningsdepartementet
The future Emperor of Japan celebrates his 51st birthday Wednesday. In the days leading up to his big day, Crown Prince Naruhito met with the press to discuss his family, particularly his father and his daughter.
 REUTERS/Imperial Household Agency of Japan/Handout When asked if he would take over more duties from the Emperor, Naruhito replied that it “should proceed in line with the thoughts of His Majesty, who is truly thinking a great deal about what he should do as the emperor.”
Earlier this month, Emperor Akihito was diagnosed with arteriosclerosis, a heart condition. He is currently under medication for it.
The Crown Prince was asked about his only child, Princess Aiko, age 9, who still suffers anxiety about going to school following rowdy behavior from classmates last year.
“I and Masako have always tried to figure out what we can do for Aiko as her parents,” Naruhito said about he and his wife, Crown Princess Masako.
Masako herself suffers from a stress induced mental illness which has removed her from public life for nearly eight years. According to Naruhito, she is “recovering steadily”.
The Crown Prince also talked about a recent scandal in a recent sumo wrestling match, which was rigged. “I myself am worried about the current situation (of the sumo world). I sincerely hope that the issue will be resolved so that people can continue to love it (sumo) as the country’s national sport.”
Sources: Japan Today, Mainichi Daily News
Shimon Peres, the President of Israel, is on a four day state visit to Spain. This is to mark 25th anniversary of the two nations’ diplomatic ties, despite Spain’s past mistreatment of its Jewish population. Peres was welcomed by the Spanish royal family, whom he had lunch with at the royal palace.
 Terra Noticias During the meal, King Juan Carlos expressed his support for the Mideast peace process. His Majesty said in a speech that he hoped Israel and the Arab nations will move “toward a more stable political situation, social and economic progress, according to the legitimate aspirations of the peoples of the region.”
The King went on to say he hopes that “in the coming months, Israelis and Palestinians will manage to resolve their differences in pursuit of a common future in peace and full security for the two states.”
“The road to peace that is hard and difficult” but “now we can not, Mr. President, to forget that peace in the Middle East is a long-awaited need for Israelis and Palestinians,” stressed Juan Carlos, prior to appeal this end the “tenacity” and “clairvoyance” of Peres.
Furthermore, the King emphasized the “strong and unequivocal commitment” to the Crown of Spain as a whole in the fight against anti-Semitism, through initiatives such as knowledge and appreciation of Jewish fact in education, recalling that the Judeo-Spanish heritage forces “to be particularly sensitive to the yearnings of the Jewish people.”
Prior to the lunch, King Juan Carlos and President Peres opened the Casa-Sefarad Israel, not too far from the palace. The facility, created in 2006, aims to promote friendly relations and cooperation between Spain, Israel and Jewish communities around the world, which develops activities of all kinds, and is part of the network of institutions in which Spanish register Casa de America, Asia House, Casa Árabe, Casa Africa and Mediterranean House.
Before 1492, Jews, Christians and Muslims lived side by side in Spain until King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella drove out the Jews and Muslims. They even used the Inquisition to root out anyone who stayed behind but hid their non-Christian identity.
Sources: ABC.es, CODE.es, Wikipedia
It is being reported that while Japan’s Princess Aiko, the only child of the Crown Princely couple, is slowly returning to a normal routine at school, she still has lots to do. The Princess has yet to eat in the cafeteria of Gakushuin Primary in Tokyo with her classmates and even attend all her classes.
 REUTERS/Imperial Household Agency of Japan/Handout/FILE It all began last year when it emerged that Aiko missed several school days due to anxiety from “rowdy” boys. The then second-grader eased back to classes by having her mother, Crown Princess Masako, take her to and from school and sit with her during lessons.
When Aiko began third grade last April, she would only attend morning classes.
It took a while for her to increase her attendance to the afternoon. On a recent school trip, the Princess rode in a separate vehicle from her classmates. She regularly walks home from school.
“The school is dealing with the Imperial Family, and it cannot take the usual measures in addressing the problem of children refusing to go to school. They have been trying an unprecedented approach,” said Hosei University clinical pedagogy professor Naoki Ogi.
However, Gakushuin managing director Motomasa Higashisono said, “We have been taking the necessary measures while in consultation with the Imperial Household Agency. We will make further efforts so the Princess will soon attend classes more regularly.”
Source: Mainichi Daily
The anti-government protests sweeping through the Arab world seemed to leave Morocco out until Sunday. That was when thousands took to the streets, demanding King Mohammed VI relieve some of his powers, dismiss the government and tackle corruption.
 REUTERS/Macao “This is a peaceful protest to push for constitutional reform, restore dignity and end graft and the plundering of public funds,” said Mustapha Muchtati of the Baraka group, which helped organise the march.
“Baraka” means “enough” in Moroccan Arabic.
In the capital city of Rabat, a crowd of about 10,000 people marched through the streets chanting: “Down with autocracy” and “The people want to change the constitution,” as well as slogans against the government, corruption and state television.
While the Kingdom is a constitutional monarchy with an elected parliament – two elections have been regarded as fair – King Mohammed has plenty of power. He can dissolve the legislature, block laws from being passed and have a key say in government appointments including the prime minister.
Although the King is quite popular in Morocco, thanks to steps he has taken towards democracy and human rights, there is still discontentment.
“People don’t take part in elections in Morocco, they are meaningless. We want a monarchy, but like in Spain or England,” said Aharahi Fawzi, a 30-year-old IT specialist with a university degree. Like many, Fawzi is unemployed, one of the reasons for Moroccans taking to the streets.
But older generations don’t see eye to eye with the youths.
“This king works for the people. He has done a lot for the poor,” said a 67-year-old who said he was a landscape artist and gave his name only as Mohammed. “I don’t know what these young people want, we who are older have seen a lot.”
“Demands for constitutional reform have been around for decades,” political commentator Ali Anozla said. “But this is the first time this demand has been embraced by apolitical youths, Moroccans from leftists to Islamists and Berber militants. A barrier of fear has been overcome today.”
Sources: Gulf Daily News, Wall Street Journal
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