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Luxembourg’s Hereditary Grand Duke Guillaume spoke on Tuesday at the 20th Alfi Global Distribution Conference, a financing event. Guillaume talked about microfinancing at the opening of the second day of the conference.
 Click here for original photo at Monarchie.lu He also discussed the rising unemployment in Europe due to the poor economy.
“Poverty might not be such a serious issue in Luxembourg and the EU,” Guillaume told delegates. “But unemployment has been rising since 2008 and young people are the first victims. Our youth is in dire need of job creation. So microfinance might be solution even within our borders.
“We must give them the opportunity. Luxembourg is well positioned to be a centre of excellence for microfinance in years to come and can encourage the seeking of both a social and financial return. The needs are especially high in a time of crisis and Luxembourg can lead by example. Responsible investment will be the key to a sustainable European economy.”
His Royal Highness was with Jeannot Krecke, the Minister for Economy and Foreign Trade for Luxembourg during the conference.
Source: Luxarazzi, Alfievents.com
Thursday had the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge open the new children’s cancer unit at the Royal Marsden Hospital in Surrey, England. The couple arrived early in the afternoon and stayed at the hospital for over two hours, after doing a walkabout outside the facility.
 View more photos at Daylife.com Catherine wore a simple off-white Amanda Wakeley dress with a tiny cross around her neck, while her husband looked blearly eyed. Turns out, Prince William had spent the previous 24 hours saving two people as a search and rescue pilot and hadn’t gotten much sleep.
But this was one engagement the Prince was not going to miss. Not because of his sense of duty, but because the Royal Marsden Hospital was the same place where his mother, the late Princess Diana, made her first solo appearance in 1982.
Inside the hospital, William and Catherine sat through a small ceremony in which the Duke gave a speech and a plaque was unveiled. In his speech, William talked about Alice Marples, who presented his wife with a bouquet. 12 year old Alice once interviewed the Prince two years ago for a television special. He called her “inspirational”
After the ceremony, the royals received a tour of the new cancer ward, and they met with it’s staff. They then met with the children who are already using the unit and their families. William took off his jacket and rolled up his sleeves as if to show he was getting down to business.
 View more photos at Daylife.com One of the patients the two met was 14 year old Digby Davidson and his parents. William and Catherine sat on his hospital bed and chatted with him.
“William and Kate were asking when I last came in and if my friends came to see me,” Digby told reporters later. His parents also said the royals came across as down to earth.
“They were just very laid back and easy to talk to, it didn’t feel strange,” said his mother.
Prince William is the president of the Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust and had said he wanted to continue his mother’s work there. Diana was the patron of the hospital.
As for Catherine, she is reportedly getting know causes so she could decide on which charities to support in the future.
Source: Telegraph, Daily Mirror
The Royal House of Georgia is celebrating the birth of an heir this week, as Princess Anna gave birth to a boy late Tuesday night.
 Click here to learn about the Royal House of Georgia The baby is named Prince Giorgi Bagration Bagrationi, and he is the first child between Anna and her husband, Prince David. The Princess has two daughters from a previous relationship.
This child is not only the heir to the defunct throne of Georgia, but also the symbol of two united families. In February 2009, David and Anna married to unite their feuding families – the Mukhraneli and Gruzinsky branches of the Bragationi dynasty.
However, their union was not a love match – it is widely believed to be an arranged marriage. It is also widely rumored that David and Anna separated within three months after their wedding and had to work on reconciliation.
Now that they seem to have agreed to stay married, the couple now have a son whom historians have pointed out will bring an end to which family should lay claim to the Georgian throne.
Source: Royal House of Georgia, Noblesse & Royautes, AFP
Yesterday, Crown Princess Victoria inaugurated this year’s General Synod in Uppsala. The Synod is a yearly meeting for the National Church of Sweden, and it discusses issues concerning the church.
 Click here to view more photos at Svensk Damtidning Arriving in a black sedan, the Crown Princess emerged dressed in black and white from head to toe. Once again, she hid her baby bump with a jacket.
Once inside the cathedral, Victoria sat in a special chair of burgundy velvet and listened as the high ranked members of the Swedish Lutheran church opened the General Synod of 2011.
This year, the topics ranged from the vow of silence by pastors and deacons, or how to adapt the energy consumption of the church. One topic that was covered was the treatment of the Sami, Sweden’s indigenous people. Some church leaders noted that the Samis feel alienated.
“I think the alienation and isolation of the Sami is well known, and they can be a useful contribution in the work of a true entity church that promotes diversity,” said Tuulikki Koivunen, a dean in Uppsala, now a bishop.
As if to demonstrate of Samis are treated in Sweden, a Sami radio reporter tried to get a word from Victoria as she left the synod, but was pushed out of the way. Then again, the police and her bodyguards may not have known the person was a Sami.
Source: UNT.se
Former television journalist now future Queen of Spain, Princess Letizia attended the sixth edition of the International Seminar on Language and Journalism on Wednesday.
 Click here to view gallery It was held at the Rioja Yuso Monastery and attracted journalists from both sides of the Atlantic. The topic for this year was reporting and politically correct language.
In her speech which opened the seminar, Letizia stressed the need to “properly and accurately tell what happens,” while respecting permits “will not exclude anyone and always have consideration for others.”
She also asked a few questions to start off the meeting. “Does the politically correct language obscures the reality by using euphemisms? Is it euphemism or linguistic sensitivity? If we change the words, do we change reality?”
From Wednesday until Friday, the seminar will touch on issues such as terrorism, drug trafficking, homosexuality, the mentally and physically ill, and immigrants.
As a journalist, Letizia was a broadcast news reader and reporter. She covered stories in person such as the 2003 Iraq War.
Source: Informativo Telecinco Sociedad
In honor of the 100th anniversary of the Belgian organization that brought equality for women farm workers, Princess Mathilde visited three farms in the West Flanders region of the country. She was invited to those farms because the women’s organization, KVLV, to show her the gender equality at those places.
 View gallery of Princess Mathilde at the farms at Zimbio.com The first farm Mathilde saw was a hop house run by the Desmyter family in Poperinge. There, she was briefed on how hops are grown and how they are dried. She also learned about hop shoots, and the difference between aromatic smell and bitter hops. Mathilde was so interested in what she was learning, she spent 20 minutes overtime.
Later, the Princess went to see a rhubarb farm owned by the Louwagie family in Alveringem.
Finally, Mathilde stopped by a dairy farm in Veurne run by the Dequeecker family. Anne-Marie Dequeecker told reporters that Her Royal Highness showed visible interest in how her farm was operated and what they produced. “The princess was very interested in the life of the women she met. I’m glad I was able to show her a lot, but I am also aware that there are many women who work in the shadow of the company and will never be seen.”
To see video of the Princess in Poperinge – and her speaking Dutch - click here.
Source: Knack.be, Landbouwleven
Monday saw the Hereditary Prince of Liechtenstein hold a meeting with the heads of German speaking nations at Vaduz Castle. The heads of Germany, Austria and Switzerland came to Liechtenstein to discuss with Prince Alois the importance of education.
 Click here for the gallery at Belga During a media conference, all the German speaking leaders agreed that education was important to combat youth unemployment. Austrian President Heinz Fischer said investments in education were important and meaningful, and should enjoy priority in the future. In agreement, Swiss Federal President Micheline Calmy-Rey mentioned education was necessary for countries with few natural resources.
Also during the meeting, Prince Alois expressed the necessity for the German speaking countries to maintain close ties.
While these leaders were meeting, their spouses were at the Hilti to be briefed on its construction company. Hilti employs 20,000 people from 120 countries.
Once both groups were done, the guests of Alois visited the National Museum and Liechtenstein’s Parliament.
Source: Volksblatt
An historic announcement came Sunday for Saudi Arabia – its female citizens will be granted the right to vote for its next elections in 2015. King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz al-Saud also is allowing women to run for local office and serve on the Shura Council, his advisory board.
 View more images at Daylife.com He made the announcement to the Shura Council, saying, “Because we refuse to marginalize women in society in all roles that comply with sharia [Islamic law], we have decided … to involve women in the Shura Council as members, starting from the next term.”
“Balanced modernization, which falls within our Islamic values, is an important demand in an era where there is no place for defeatist or hesitant people,” he said.
“Muslim women in our Islamic history have demonstrated positions that expressed correct opinions and advice.”
While many are applauding the King’s latest move to breakaway from the ultra-conservative ways of Saudi Arabia, there are some who are not pleased. Firstly, there are conservatives who disagree with this decree.
There are also women who disappointed that they cannot vote in this week’s elections, and will have to wait four years.
“Why not tomorrow?” asked prominent Saudi feminist Wajeha al-Hawaidar. “I think the King doesn’t want to shake the country, but we look around us and we think it is a shame … when we are still pondering how to meet simple women’s rights.”
Although King Abdullah has advanced women’s status in the desert kingdom since his reign began in 2005, women still cannot drive, can be flogged for adultery, and must be accompanied by a male relative when in public, often with their faces veiled.
But still, the King has built the first co-educational university in the country, and granted 120,000 scholarships for students, many of them female, to study abroad. The only problem with the latter is that the women have to have the permission of a male guardian to travel outside of Saudi Arabia.
Lubna Hussain, a Saudi writer had this to say about today’s decree: “The King is implementing the reform promises he made when he became leader. It shows he is not willing to pander to religious fundamentalists … who are quite weakened and don’t seem to have the voice they used to.”
However, those fundamentalists may not be weakened for long. King Abdullah is ailing at 87 years old, and some of those in line to the Saudi monarchy sympathize with the conservative Wahhabi clerics. Prince Nayif bin Abdulaziz, the interior minister, who is believed to be second in line behind Crown Prince Sultan, is one of them.
Overall, some Saudis see the grant for women to vote as sort of ironic.
“It’s a mixed feeling. On one hand he opens the door for her and on the other hand she is still banned from driving,” said Mohammad Fahad Qahtani, a college professor and human rights advocate. “It doesn’t save her from horrible treatment by government agencies and the courts. It’s a symbolic gesture, but it is in no way enough to improve the lives of women.”
Sources: AP, Los Angeles Times
On Thursday, Norway’s Princess Märtha Louise celebrated her 40th birthday.
 View gallery of the birthday dinner here Her parents, King Harald V and Queen Sonja, held a private dinner at the palace on Saturday to mark their only daughter’s milestone. That dinner had 225 guests and it included some royals from Europe.
Prince Constantijn and Princess Laurentien were there, as was Hereditary Grand Duke Guillaume of Luxembourg. And of course, the Princess’ brother, Crown Prince Haakon attended, but his wife, Crown Princess Mette-Marit was not. She is reportedly out of the country, but it is not known where.
Also in attendance was Märtha Louise’s husband, Ari Behn, who is a year younger than her. His parents also came.
Märtha Louise gave an interview to Norwegian television this week, but there is not yet a translation of what she talked about.
Once a translation can be found, I will update this post with it.
Source: AFP
On Wednesday afternoon, the Netherlands’ Princess Maxima took her three daughters to the premiere of the children’s musical, “Fantasia” in Amstelveen. Her Royal Highness and her little princesses walked the red carpet in front of the press before sitting down to enjoy the show.
 Click here for more images at Dutch Photo Press! And boy did they! Judging from the delighted looks on their faces, Catharina Amalia age 7, Alexia, age 6, and Ariane, age 4, had a great time during the performance.
They even displayed media savvy right before the show, particularly Catharina Amalia. When reporters tried to interview the young princess, who is second in line to the Dutch throne, she told them that she was in a hurry. Even after the show, she was photographed waving away the media.
Unfortunately, after the musical, the red carpet was rolled back and it exposed a rocky ground that was affected by the rain. Little Ariane slipped at one point while leaving the show.
“Fantasia” is based on a popular children’s book series about a journalist mouse named Geronimo Stilton, who writes for the Rodent’s Gazette and lives in New Mouse City on Mouse Island. The books originated in Italy and have been translated into 35 languages.
“Fantasia” will tour the Netherlands until late November, stopping in Amsterdam, Utrecht, Eindhoven and Breda.
Sources: Bruno.nl, The Royal Forums Blog
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