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 Click here for more pics It was a celebratory Sunday for Cambodians as they marked 20 years since their beloved former King returned from exile 20 years ago.
Norodom Sihanouk, who turned 89 Monday, spoke to tens of thousands of Cambodians from the palace in Phnom Penh, vowing to stay in the country despite his failing health.
“I have the great honor to inform our lovely compatriots that from now on, despite still having health problems and needing routine checkups by my Chinese medical team, I and my wife, the queen, have decided to stay forever with our compatriots inside our country,” he said.
The 20th anniversary of his return from exile is really on November 14th, but Cambodia wanted to coincide the celebrations with Sihanouk’s birthday.
Sihanouk originally was placed on the throne at age 18 by French colonialist officials. He stepped down for his father in 1953. Seven years later, Sihanouk became King again.
In 1970, he was removed from the throne in a US-backed coup by one of his generals, Lon Nol. He then sided with a communist guerrilla group, the future Khmer Rouge, which eventually turned against him and placed Sihanouk under house arrest once it came to power.
After the Khmer regime fell, the King fled for China, only to return in 1991. He abdicated in 2004 in favor of his son, the current King Norodom Sihamoni, due to health issues. Sihanouk has dealt with cancer, hypertension and diabetes, and was treated until this past Thursday in China.
Sources: AFP, AP
 Check out more photos at MSN Starlounge! This past Wednesday saw Princess Marie of Denmark hand out the Prix Littéraire des Ambassadeurs at the French Embassy in Copenhagen. The award focuses on the country’s writers who also write in French.
This year’s recipient was Danish writer Klaus Rifbjerg, who has written over 170 books, novels and essays.
Marie has been patron of the prize since 2009, after taking over from her father in law, Henrik the Prince Consort. Sounds fitting, since the Princess is French born just like Prince Henrik.
Source: Billed Bladet, Wikipedia
The Dutch Caribbean will be getting the royal treatment for ten days. Queen Beatrix, Crown Prince Willem Alexander and Princess Maxima are on tour of the islands that are constituent countries of the Netherlands. They include Aruba, Curaçao, St. Maarten and the former Dutch Antilles. The royal trio began their visit Thursday in Aruba.
 See more photos here at Daylife.com Arriving in Oranjestad, the Dutch royals were greeted by Prime Minister Mike Eman. There was a private dinner hosted by Governor Fredis Refunjol before the Queen, her son and her daughter-in-law began their agenda.
That included taking part in the Fiesta Popular held at Linear Park, which showcases the island’s diverse cultures. The royals marched in the parade along with beauty queens and dancers wearing fabulous headgear.
For the rest of their Aruba visit, the Queen, Willem Alexander and Maxima will be shown Arikok National Park, see the“Bo Bario” beautification project in the Juwana Morto section of San Nicolas. The Queen and Maxima then will visit a foundation for battered women while Willem Alexander will meet with the Aruba Green Energy Conference. After that, the royals will head to Bonaire, formerly part of the Dutch Antilles, now a Dutch municipality.
There has been some unhappy sentiment in the former Antilles over its breakup. It is expected there will be protests and flashes of anger towards Queen Beatrix as she tours those islands, which are Bonaire, St Eustatius and Saba.
“The Queen is above politics,” says an organizer of a protest. “She can say and do everything, and change the laws.”
Another place where the royals won’t be seeing many joyousness over their visit is Curaçao, where there has been an increase in anti-Dutch sentiment. Some parliamentarians back in the Netherlands suggested the Queen not go to that island, but ever true to their royal roles, Beatrix, Willem-Alexander and Maxima will go to Curaçao.
Sources: Aruba.com, Radio Netherlands
Grand Duchess Maria Teresa of Luxembourg opened a photo exhibit Friday, along with representatives from a charity in Burundi, a country located in eastern Africa. This exhibition is not just about art; it is about the plight of Burundi’s children who are imprisoned for years over minor acts.
 Click here for original Wort.lu article “Often children end up 12 or 13 years behind bars because they have stolen a goat or a flat iron,” Maria Teresa told reporters.
Once released, those children are left to fend for themselves in a poor country.
The Grand Duchess learned firsthand about this issue during her visit to Burundi in June 2009 as part of her role as a UNICEF ambassador. So affected, she turned the organization called Shalom House which aims mainly to help war orphans. Together with the Fondation du Grand-Duc et de la Grande-Duchesse, Shalom House began to find ways to help the delinquents find hope.
“They learn trades they can use later: auto mechanics, masons, carpenters,” said Grand Duchess Maria Teresa.
So far, 108 young people have benefited from this program. At the same time, good lawyers have successfully helped sentences in 157 cases be reduced.
This project relies on donations, though, and little is done in Burundi about juvenile delinquents. However, the Grand Duchess expressed how please she was with the people of Luxembourg responding positively to this cause.
Source: Wort
During Friday’s Commonwealth of Nations summit in Perth, Australia, it was unanimously agreed to give girls equal rights to the British throne. This changes centuries where boys were given preference over their sisters.
 Click here for original photo This ruling means that when William and Catherine have a first born daughter, she’ll be the next heir to the monarchy, even if she has a younger brother.
At the same time, monarchs can marry those of the Roman Catholic faith, though they must remain members of the Church of England.
The succession changes are only for Prince Charles’ descendants, however. That means if his nieces, Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie marry Catholics, they’ll lose their chance for the throne.
Prime Minister David Cameron hailed this historic move.
“The idea that a younger son should become monarch instead of an elder daughter simply because he is a man, or that a future monarch can marry someone of any faith except a Catholic — this way of thinking is at odds with the modern countries that we have become,” he said.
With this agreement, the procedure to pass this law shall begin. In addition, the United Kingdom becomes the latest European monarchy to allow equal primogeniture. Earlier this year, Luxembourg joined the list. The other countries are Sweden, Norway, the Netherlands, Belgium and Denmark.
The countries that still have male preference are Spain, Monaco and Liechtenstein.
Source: CNN
 See more photos of Sihanouk at Daylife.com The former King of Cambodia returned to his country Thursday after receiving medical treatment in Beijing for the past three months.
Norodom Sihanouk struggled down the stairs from the plane in Phnom Penh. Behind him was his wife, Monineath Sihanouk, and their son, Cambodia’s current King Norodom Sihamoni.
Sihanouk was greeted by Prime Minister Hun Sen and other Cambodian officials once he reached the bottom of the stairs. He held his hands up, which were pressed together, to all those gathered to welcome him home before entering a waiting car. That car took him to the royal palace.
Sihanouk’s personal secretary Prince Sisowath Thomico told the AFP that the former King intends to stay in Cambodia for “many months”.
He will certainly be present for the massive celebrations this weekend in the country. This Saturday will mark the coronation of King Norodom Sihamoni. Sunday will see Cambodians celebrate the 20th anniversary Sihanouk return from 20 years of exile following civil war, and Monday will mark his 89th birthday.
Although he stepped down from the throne in 2004 due to illness and old age, Sihanouk remains hugely popular in Cambodia. Tens of thousands are expecting to turn out this weekend.
Sihanouk has been suffering from numerous ailments such as cancer and diabetes.
Source: AFP
 Click here to see more images The Saudi royal court announced Thursday that its interior minister, Prince Nayef, was named as the heir to the monarchy.
Nayef was appointed by King Abdullah bin Abdulziz al Saud after the monarch met with the Allegiance Council, which was set up in 2006 to make succession issues less complicated.
This news comes as no surprise since it was widely believed Nayef would become first in line after the death of Crown Prince Sultan last Saturday.
However, some progressives in the oil rich Kingdom might be disappointed since the new Crown Prince often sides with the ultra-conservative Wahhabi clerics in Saudi Arabia. Nayef has made no secret that he does not support King Abdullah’s reforms, such as giving women the right to vote.
Its likely that if Crown Prince Nayef succeeds the aging Abdullah in becoming King, he would reverse the reforms.
Source: Reuters
On Wednesday night, the Duchess of Cambridge did her first solo engagement at a charity reception at Clarence House. Catherine was stepping in for her father-in-law, Prince Charles, who had to fly to Saudi Arabia to offer his condolences over the death of Crown Prince Sultan.
 See more photos of the Duchess here Dressed in a pale blue gown, Catherine mingled with the 30 members of the Kind Direct charity during the dinner. The charity was set up by the Prince of Wales in 1996 and it redistributes surplus goods from manufacturers and retailers to charities.
The Chief Executive of Kind Direct said this about the new royal: “We were delighted that the Duchess was able to step in at such short notice after our founder was unexpectedly called away.
“The Duchess hosted a very special evening with absolute professionalism and charm.”
According to St. James Palace, Catherine “was so pleased that her first solo engagement was for the Prince of Wales, who has shown her so much support over the years.”
Before last night, it was widely reported that the Duchess would not perform any solo duties until 2012. That way, she could ease into royal life following her April wedding to Prince William.
But the couple will be making more appearances in the coming days. Next week, they’ll be in Copenhagen for a UNICEF event with Denmark’s Crown Princely couple.
Sources: Hello!, BBC
 Click here for more images of the couple It was announced today by the former King of Greece that his son, Prince Nikolaos and his daughter in law, Tatiana, are expecting their first child together.
The couple married on a Greek island in 2010. It is believed that Tatiana will deliver the child in the springtime.
There seems to be a baby boom in the world of royalty these days. With Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden, Denmark’s Princess Marie and Autumn Phillips, the granddaughter-in-law to Queen Elizabeth II all due next year, there will be lots of royal babies to look forward to in 2012!
Congratulations to Nikolaos and Tatiana!
Source: Billed Bladet
Tuesday was an historic day for Romania, as its former King gave a speech at its Parliament for the first time since 1947 as part of the celebrations of his 90th birthday.
 Click here for more images King Mihai, the last surviving World War II leader, was forced to abdicate by a Soviet backed regime and lived in exile for most of the 20th century. He returned to the country several times in the 1990s and now lives in Bucharest.
Frail, but dignified, the ex-King encouraged Romanians to have faith in democracy.
“All united, we have to pursue our efforts in order to become once more respected and dignified,” he said.
“The time has come after 20 years to … break for good with the bad habits of the past,” said Mihai. He added in 2011 “demagogy, selfishness and attempts to cling to power” should not have their place in Romania, which was a zing against the country’s much criticized leaders.
He also spoke of his “long life, full of happy and unhappy events” and praised the role of monarchy in the country.
“My wife and I will continue to back Romania’s fundamental interests,” Mihai said.
His speech was greeted with a standing ovation and several “Long live the King” by several Parliament members.
 Click here to see more pics But not everyone is willing to celebrate. Romania’s president Traian Basescu has accused Mihai as being “Russia’s servant” and called his abdication “betrayal”. He also said the former King should be accountable for the deaths of Romania’s Jews and Gypsies by the Nazis.
But a member of the ruling Liberal Democrats (PDL), Radu F. Alexandru, said he was happy that parliament “paid homage to this historic moment.”
“It was a constructive and useful speech,” former president Ion Iliescu said.
In the evening came a glittering birthday celebration at the National Opera with members of reigning and non-reigning royals attending. They included the King of Sweden, Queen Sofia of Spain, Grand Duke Henri of Luxembourg, and Grand Duchess Maria and her son Giorgi of the House of Romanov, as well as Bulgaria’s former King Simeon.
Although King Mihai is very popular in Romania, few want the monarchy to be re-established.
Source: AFP, Telegraph
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