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On Monday, Luxembourg’s Grand Duke Henri and Grand Duchess Maria Teresa began a state visit to Norway. The trip is to last for two days, and it is no different from any other state visit. Meaning, this one is meant to strengthen bilateral ties between the two nations.
 Click here to see more the state visit Their Royal Highnesses arrived in Oslo in the morning and were greeted by King Harald V and Queen Sonja at Palace Square. Crown Prince Haakon and Crown Princess Mette-Marit were also present for the welcoming ceremony, which included national anthems and inspection of the honor guard. Grand Duchess Maria Teresa also took time to greet schoolchildren who were watching the event.
Next came the laying of the wreath at Akershus Fortress, which commemorates the fallen during World War II.
Afterward, Grand Duke Henri met with the Prime Minister and Parliament President Dag Terje Andersen.
During that time, Queen Sonja took the Grand Duchess to the newly restored cabin on Sæter Bygdøy at Oscarhall Palace. They were also given a tour of Seter cottage, and children from Dissimilis entertained the royal women.
In the evening came the state banquet. Princess Martha Louise and Princess Astrid were attendance.
The rest of the itinerary has the King and the Grand Duke meeting with business leaders while the Queen and the Grand Duchess will tour museums and art galleries. Also, the Luxembourg royals will go to Trondheim to see Statoil’s Research Centre.
But there is a question if Maria Teresa will continue with the state visit after today. Her brother, 58 year old Antonio Mestre, is in a coma at a Florida hospital after suffering a heart attack. Supposedly, the Grand Duchess will leave Norway early to go be at her brother’s side.
Source: Kongehuset, Wort.lu
The Queen of Belgium met with 300 children for the International Day of Missing Children in Brussels on Wednesday. Organized by Child Focus, the event aimed to educate young people on the dangers of exploitation by adults.
 Click to see more pics of the event “Do you chat online?” the Queen asked the children in attendance.
When they told her yes, Her Majesty said simply, “Beware! Pay attention!” She was surprised to learn that many 10 and 11 year olds chat online, often to complete strangers.
There were discussions on what to do when an adult acts inappropriate towards kids, especially in person.
“An adult can not stop tickling me, I find it very unpleasant but I daren’t say or talk to someone. Is it a good or a bad secret?” asked a teacher who was conducting the panel.
“Bad secret!” replied the children.
Queen Paola is an advocate for childrens’ rights and mainly focuses on the exploited.
Source: RTL.be
Saudi Prince Alwaleed bin Talal said that he wants to see oil prices be lowered so the United States and Europe won’t stop turning to his country for oil supply. Speaking on CNN’s “Fareed Zakaria GPS”, the Prince – ranked as the 26th richest man in the world – said he doesn’t want to see the West turn to alternative energy.
 Click here for Prince Alwaleed photos “We don’t want the West to go and find alternatives, because, clearly, the higher the price of oil goes, the more they have incentives to go and find alternatives,” Alwaleed said.
He blamed the Arab Spring, or the anti-government protests happening across the Mideast, for the rise of oil prices.
“You’re not 100% sure what is going to happen, because you hear once in a while Iran coming and jumping and antagonizing and intimidating the Gulf region,” the Prince said. “So, there’s a worry.”
Alwaleed told Fareed Zakaria that he wants to see prices go down to $70 or $80, rather than the current over $100 a barrel.
He also said the reason why Saudi Arabia has not have the upheaval that Egypt, Bahrain, Yemen and so many other Arab nations have or are seeing is because the Saudi people love the monarchy.
However, Prince Alwaleed did say that his country has to “enact some new laws whereby the participation of the people has to be done, one way or another.”
Source: CNN
This weekend, the princely family of Monaco took part of one of the tiny principality’s traditions – the 69th Formula 1 Grand Prix. Starting on Thursday and ending this Sunday, race car drivers sped around Monaco’s winding roads, hoping to win first place. This year, Red Bull Formula 1 driver Sebastian Vettel of Germany won the race.
 Click here to see Charlene Wittstock at the Grand Prix Monaco sovereign Prince Albert II, his soon-to-be wife Charlene Wittstock, and the Casiraghi trio – Andrea, Charlotte and Pierre – attended the event. Charlene congratulated the top three winners by giving them kisses on their cheeks.
This evening, there will be a celebratory dinner and Vettel will dine with the princely family.
Recently, Prince Albert gave an interview to CNN and spoke about Monaco’s car racing tradition.
“It’s hard to say what lies ahead for us for the future, but we have a great relationship with the FIA and the entities running Formula One,” he said.
“I don’t see anything changing in the near future, at least for the next 10 or 11 years, because that’s the cycle. Beyond that, if there is still Formula One racing — because it will evolve like every sport does — I think Monaco will be a part of it.
“Monaco is such a part of the history of motor racing and the history of Formula One, I think it would be difficult to imagine a Formula One season without the Monaco Grand Prix, but of course I’m biased.”
The country held its first car racing event in 1929. During the glamorous days of Albert’s parents, Prince Rainier III and Princess Grace, they would personally meet with the drivers away from the race for a more personal connection.
“History and the links between Monaco and motor racing make it a very special place,” said Albert.
“And the fact that there are so many events around the grand prix, that it’s a great place for the different teams and sponsors and they love coming here, also the fact it’s on the waterfront, I think all of this creates a special atmosphere.”
Source: CNN
Although her 40th birthday was on May 17th, the Netherlands’ Princess Maxima marked her milestone this weekend, starting with a concert on Friday. She continued to celebrate this weekend.
 Click here for more pics Royals from Belgium, Denmark, Luxembourg and Norway turned up at the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, where an orchestra and several classical musicians performed. Even Maxima’s parents, José and Maria Zorreguieta, flew in from Argentina to congratulate their daughter. Even Prime Minister Mark Rutte and former Prime Ministers Wim Cook and Jan Peter Balkenende were there. All in all, there were 700 people at Concertgebouw to celebrate with the Princess.
After the performance, Maxima spoke glowingly to her adopted country. As well as marking her 40th birthday, this year she also marked 10 years since she became engaged to Crown Prince Willem Alexander, thus spending a full decade in the Netherlands.
“Literally and figuratively. From policy to implementation, nothing was forgotten,” she said about her journey in the past ten years.
To her parents, she said “I hope we will be just as good parents as you had for me” and added that her three daughters with Willem Alexander – Catharina Amalia, Alexia and Ariane – were “our greatest treasures”.
On Saturday, Maxima had another day of festivities when she made a boat trip on the Kagerplassen. She was with her husband, in-laws, and parents on one boat while guests – including the invited royals from Europe – were spread out onto twelve boats.
The other royals at these festivities were: Crown Prince Frederik and Crown Princess Mary of Denmark, Hereditary Grand Duke Guillaume of Luxembourg, Prince Philippe and Princess Mathilde of Belgium, and Princess Martha Louise and Ari Behn of Norway.
Sources: De Telegraaf, NOS.nl
The United States’ President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama began their state visit to the U.K., which is still glowing from its royal wedding nearly a month ago. The House of Windsor was ready to welcome the couple with the grandeur the royals are so well known for.
 Click here for more pics! The Obamas arrived last night due to the Icelandic volcanic ash causing air traffic problems. This morning, Prince Charles and Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, greeted them at the home of the American ambassador. From there, Mr. and Mrs. Obama went to Buckingham Palace where they were welcomed by Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip.
This was the second time the Obamas met the royal couple. The first time was in April 2009, during a G20 meeting in London. That was when Michelle Obama famously put her arm around the Queen.
The highlight for the Obamas had to be meeting the newlywed couple, Prince William and Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge. The two had just returned from their 10 day honeymoon in Seychelles, and this was their first official engagement after their historic wedding last month.
 Click here for more photos Catherine chatted with Michelle while William spoke to the President. The four discussed the wedding and the Cambridges’ visit to California in July. Catherine handled her first royal engagement with perfect ease, as though she was born to be a royal.
Later in the evening, Queen Elizabeth II hosted a state dinner, in which about 170 guests attended. They included other members of the House of Windsor, such as Princess Anne, and ambassadors, business leaders, leading academics, prominent nobility and even celebrities from both sides of the Atlantic.
Tom Hanks and wife Rita Wilson were present, as was Tim Burton, Kevin Spacey and Helena Bonham-Carter – who won rave reviewed for portraying the Queen’s mother in the Oscar winning film “The King’s Speech” this year.
As for the Queen’s speech (  ), she said, “We are here to celebrate the tried, tested and – yes – special relationship between our two countries.”
There was a mishap when President Obama gave his speech. He was quoting Shakespeare when the band began to play “God Save the Queen”. Other than that, this first day of their British state visit was memorable for Barack and Michelle Obama.
Sources: AP, Hello!, Telegraph
A new poll says more than half of the Swedish people want King Carl XVI Gustaf to step down in the next ten years as more stories about his extramarital affairs and shady connections continue to circulate.
 Click here for recent photos of the King The poll, conducted by Demoskop and published in the Expressen tabloid, shows 59 percent of the people want the monarch to abdicate in favor of 33 year old Crown Princess Victoria. Only 29 percent want the King to reign till his death.
At the same time, the poll says while 73 percent have strong confidence in Victoria, only 39 percent was said about her father.
The survey was done after the television station TV4 claimed to have photos of the King at a strip club. It is reported that some of his friends tried to contact a mafia boss to negotiate with the club owner to prevent the photos becoming public.
While TV4 has yet to show the photos, the Swedish royal court is demanding that they do.
“TV4 must show what it is they are talking about. Where’s the substance? For now, as far as I can tell, there is no substance to this,” court information chief Bertil Ternert said, adding the report had put him in the “impossible situation … of being asked to react to something we have not seen.”
“There needs to be some form of justice here. You cannot just attack the royal court and the king without disclosing what the substance is,” he insisted.
The King’s popularity has plummeted since last fall when an unauthorized biography was published. In it, the book went into detail if Carl Gustaf’s womanizing and hard partying.
On April 30th, King Carl Gustaf turned 65, the age of retirement in Sweden. He has said he has no intentions of stepping down for his daughter.
Source: AFP
 Click here for more photos of the Bhutanese King There’s another royal wedding in the works for 2011, and this time its in the Himalayan kingdom of Bhutan. But this one would be low-key according to King Jigme Khesar Wangchuk, as he told parliament Friday of his intentions to marry commoner Jetsun Pema in October.
“The wedding will be in accordance with age-old tradition, to seek the blessings of our guardian deities,” the King said. “I ask the government not to make any plans for a grand celebration. The happiness of my beloved father and the blessings of our people will give me the greatest joy and happiness.”
21 year old Jetsun Pema is described by King Jigme as “warm and kind in heart and character”. She has been educated in India and in the U.K. Reports say Jetsun enjoys basketball, painting and the fine arts.
31 year-old King Jigme Khesar was crowned in 2008 after his father abdicated to usher in a new era in Bhutan where democracy is still something new. Same goes for electricity, television and the Internet in this isolated country, bordering Nepal, China and India.
Because his father had four wives, it is a wonder if King Jigme Khesar will polygamous as well. Or in keeping with the new era in Bhutan, will he keep only one wife?
Sources: The Hindu, Reuters India
Spain has been abuzz over the health of its monarch, King Juan Carlos in recent weeks. He has been noticeably looking older, tired, pale and sickly during past engagements. He missed attending Easter mass and also used a walking stick at a literary awards ceremony two weeks ago. What is going on?
 Click here for more King Juan Carlos photos Nothing, says the Spanish court. The 73 year old King’s walking difficulties come from hip and knee injuries sustained in the 1980s that are still bothering him. As for him missing the Easter mass, the King wanted to prepare himself for the state visit from the Emir of Qatar.
But the Spanish people are not buying it, especially when last year, Juan Carlos had a benign tumor removed from one of his lungs.
Even the Spanish media has medical experts saying the King “must have something”. But nothing is being revealed.
King Juan Carlos is enormously popular in Spain and many are wondering if he’ll abdicate in favor of son, Prince Felipe, age 43.
But Queen Sofia brushed off any notion of the King stepping aside in an interview recently.
“To abdicate? Never! The king will never abdicate … Only death can make a king retire,” Sofia said.
Source: Monsters & Critics
This week saw royal watchers, historians and the Irish diaspora closely watch the first state visit by a British monarch to the Republic of Ireland. Queen Elizabeth II arrived in Dublin on Tuesday to mark warming relations between Great Britain and Ireland after centuries of animosity. For years, there was talk of the Queen making such a visit and it finally materialized.
 See more pics from May 17th 2011 here But not everyone was celebrating. Protests and even a bomb threat occurred throughout the visit as plenty of Irish voiced their disdain over a British head of state setting foot in their country. Security in Dublin was unprecedentedly high and there were dozens of arrests. All this showcased that despite closer ties, Ireland and the UK still have healing to do.
Even so, Queen Elizabeth was welcomed by those who didn’t mind having the British monarch on Irish soil. One of the first things she did was lay a wreath at the Garden of Remembrance with Irish President Mary McAleese, who is credited with making this state visit possible.
“I think it is an extraordinary moment in Irish history, a phenomenal sign and signal of the success of the peace process and absolutely the right moment for us to welcome (the queen) onto Irish soil,” McAleese told RTE television.
The Garden of Remembrance commemorates those who fought for Irish freedom and having the Queen laying a wreath there was a sensitive moment.
She said nothing and didn’t show any emotion when a band played the British and Irish national anthems at the Garden.
Later on, she and husband Prince Philip visited Trinity College, where they met with several students taking a break from finals. The couple also received a tour of the College and saw the Book of Kells, a 9th century Biblical manuscript.
 See more pics from May 18th 2011 here Wednesday saw more visits to sensitive but poignant spots. The Queen was shown around Croke Park Stadium, where in 1920, British forces shot dead 14 people.
Later in the evening, during the state dinner, Queen Elizabeth II addressed the pain many Irish feel about British treatment over the decades. Dressed in a white gown with shamrocks sewn on and a golden harp sewn on her left shoulder, she opened her speech in Irish Gaelic: “A hUachtarain agus a chairde” – which means President and friends.
“Together we have much to celebrate: the ties between our people, the shared values, and the economic, business and cultural links that make us so much more than just neighbours, that make us firm friends and equal partners.
“Madam President, speaking here in Dublin Castle it is impossible to ignore the weight of history, as it was yesterday when you and I laid wreaths at the Garden of Remembrance.
“Indeed, so much of this visit reminds us of the complexity of our history, its many layers and traditions, but also the importance of forbearance and conciliation. Of being able to bow to the past, but not be bound by it.”
The Queen went on to mention Northern Ireland and the peace relations since 1998.
“What were once only hopes for the future have now come to pass; it is almost exactly 13 years since the overwhelming majority of people in Ireland and Northern Ireland voted in favour of the agreement signed on Good Friday 1998, paving the way for Northern Ireland to become the exciting and inspirational place that it is today.
“I applaud the work of all those involved in the peace process, and of all those who support and nurture peace, including members of the police, the gardai, and the other emergency services, and those who work in the communities, the churches and charitable bodies like Co-operation Ireland.”
She then talked about the close ties between the two countries, more than the political links as she closed her speech.
“There are other stories written daily across these islands which do not find their voice in solemn pages of history books, or newspaper headlines, but which are at the heart of our shared narrative. Many British families have members who live in this country, as many Irish families have close relatives in the United Kingdom.
“These families share the two islands; they have visited each other and have come home to each other over the years. They are the ordinary people who yearned for the peace and understanding we now have between our two nations and between the communities within those two nations; a living testament to how much in common we have.”
“These ties of family, friendship and affection are our most precious resource. They are the lifeblood of the partnership across these islands, a golden thread that runs through all our joint successes so far, and all we will go on to achieve.
“They are a reminder that we have much to do together to build a future for all our grandchildren: the kind of future our grandparents could only dream of.
“So we celebrate together the widespread spirit of goodwill and deep mutual understanding that has served to make the relationship more harmonious, close as good neighbours should always be.”
During the speech, President McAleese mouthed the word, “wow” several times. The Queen’s speech was praised by many prominent Irish, such as Peter Sheridan, chief executive of the peace-building charity Co-Operation Ireland. “Somehow when you focus on the future that the Queen and the President pointed to, the dark, horrible past takes on a new perspective.”
 See more pics from May 19th 2011 here Sinn Fein leader Gerry Adams, who runs the most vocal party in Northern Ireland for independence from Britain, had this to say.
“Queen Elizabeth’s acknowledgment that the relationship between Britain and Ireland has not been entirely benign is a gross understatement. This will be forgiven if the future policy of her government is about building an entirely new future based on genuine equality, and mutual respect.”
The next day, the Queen’s final day of her state visit, saw her in Tully where she visited Ireland’s Horse Valley. There, the Queen and Prince Philip saw up close the best of Irish horses.
In the evening, Her Majesty relaxed a little at the Dublin Convention Center for some music, fashion and theatre. She saw a fashion show, traditional Irish dancing, and some performers by Westlife, the Chieftains and Mary Bryne. When the Queen walked out on stage, she received a standing ovation by the 2,000 guests in the audience.
With her Irish visit done, many could say this was one of the 85 year old monarch’s most poignant engagements ever – and she pulled it off. By speaking Irish, showing sensitivity to the past and hope for the future, Queen Elizabeth II likely built a bridge between Ireland and Great Britain. Hopefully, nothing will destroy what she did this week.
Sources: AFP, Irish Times, Telegraph, RTE
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