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Friday night saw Prince Harry begin his Caribbean tour as part of marking his grandmother, Queen Elizabeth II’s Diamond Jubilee. The 27 year old Prince is visiting some parts of the Caribbean that are part of the Commonwealth, beginning with Belize. This tour marks his first official overseas visit.
 Click here for pics at Zimbio Upon touchdown in Belmopan, His Royal Highness was greeted by Governor General Sir Coleville Young and Prime Minister, Dean Barrow. He then gave a speech saying he was sorry that the Queen was not there, and “you’re stuck with me”.
Harry then helped rename a street the HM Queen Elizabeth II Boulevard. Crowds cheered for him as he did so.
After all the formalities, it was time for some partying at a local street party. Prince Harry has a reputation of being into partying, so this seemed to fit right in with his image.
Changing into a a traditional Belize shirt, the Prince drank tropical rum drinks, ate the local cuisine, and took in a performance of a traditional Creole dance called a Brukdong Bram. One of the dancers even invited him to dance with them, though at first, Harry was hesitant.
“He’s a wonderful dancer, a real ten out of ten,” said bachelor girl Denese Enriquez, who is part of the country’s national dance company. “The other girls will be very star-struck that I got to dance with him.”
The next day had the Prince go to an art school along the Belize-Guatemalan border, which is run by the Organization of American States. He also visited a project aimed a building a bridge between the two countries, which until recently had some cold relations. Guatemala only recognized Belize as an independent country in 1994, thirteen years after it got its independence from the United Kingdom.
 Click here for more pics at Daylife Harry even paid a visit to one of Belize’s major tourist attractions: Xunantunich, the Mayan temple ruin in Benque Viejo del Carmen. During this, he watched some traditional deer dancers and even received a Mayan passport marking his visit during the final year of the Mayan calendar.
Finally, Harry met with some British soldiers stationed in Belize and also laid a wreath at a monument to British soldiers killed while in service in Belize.
With that, he is now off to the next stop of his week long Jubilee tour on behalf of the Queen: the Bahamas. That would be followed by Jamaica on Monday before heading off to Brazil for business relations instead of Commonwealth reasons.
During his tour of Belize, Harry was welcomed with open arms and cheering crowds. But some Belizeans were a little confused on how to address him. The Mayor of Belmopan, Simeon Lopez, called him “The Prince of Wales” and addressed him as “Your Majesty”.
Even so, the monarchy is popular in Belize and there is no call to remove Queen Elizabeth II as head of state.
Sources: Telegraph, USA Today
 Click here for more photos at Daylife.com The eldest daughter of the Prince Andrew, the Duke of York, is determined to be employed like any other Briton and not live a life of only royal duties.
That according to the newspaper, Daily Express. It says Princess Beatrice, age 23, is actively looking for a job – six months after graduating from Goldsmith College in London. This makes her no different from many other young Brits, in which 25 percent of them are unemployed.
“I know Beatrice is actively looking for employment and actively looking for work experience. She is genuinely making some headway,” a source close to her said yesterday.
“Her family are fully supportive of her. She’s determined to do it her way, on her own, and at her own pace.”
However, Beatrice, who is fifth in line to the British throne, has been doing low-key work experience positions which allows her to test the waters in certain fields. There has been speculation that the Princess will work in fashion or the fine arts.
Source: Daily Express
For the first time, Queen Elizabeth II was joined by her daughter-in-law and granddaughter-in-law for a simple engagement Thursday, where the trio visited her grocer which has its restaurant renamed in honor of Her Majesty’s 60 years on the throne.
 Click here for more photos of today's event At the high-end department store, Fortnum & Mason, the three generations of royals spent an hour inspecting its restaurant, now named The Diamond Jubilee Tea Station. They also received their own hampers, each filled with luxurious items, including truffles, soaps, macadamias, and “hearty treats for happy hounds”.
Meaning, each royal woman got treats for their pet dogs, including the Duchess of Cambridge, who famously has a cocker spaniel named Lupo.
Fortnum’s managing director Beverley Aspinall said: “Of course they all have dogs and we do want to think about what our customers like.”
As they toured the shop, Catherine admitted her love of chocolate. “I think all girls like chocolate,” she giggled.
Camilla, the Duchess of Cornwall, appeared to share her enthusiasm. “What I really would like to try is one of those,” she said, pointing to the violet creams. “But we aren’t allowed to. Maybe I could pop back later and get you to make me up a box. They really are very addictive.”
Catherine also told the staff she would send her younger brother, James, to the store because of its tea selection. “I will definitely send him down here,” she said. “I will tell my brother to come down. He really does love his tea. This is so interesting. I would really like to learn to make the perfect cup of tea as when I last made a pot of tea with dried tea leaves I got it very wrong.”
The Queen met members of the Weston family, owners of the 300-year-old London retailer, before meeting with the store’s past and present employees.
Ahead of today’s visit, a source said: “The invitation would have come from the Queen to the other two woman to join her, and I’m sure we will see lots more joint engagements like this in the future.
“Kate has a lot to learn from the more experienced royals and what better way to see how it’s done than to watch the expert, the Queen, at work up close.
“Kate is already very close to Camilla, who has really taken her under her wing, and I’m sure we will see the trio looking very relaxed together and enjoying some interesting and memorable moments.”
Sources: Press Association, Daily Mirror
Catherine, the Duchess of Cambridge, was in Liverpool Tuesday for her second solo public engagement. There, she paid a visit to a children’s hospital, the Ronald McDonald House, and Action on Addiction, a charity she is patron of.
 Click here for more photos at Daylife.com Her Royal Highness first went to Action on Addiction, where she visited its an alcohol-free bar, The Brink, on Parr Street. She was shown how alcoholic-free beer is made, particularly one called The Duchess, which is made from milk, honey, banana, cream and almonds.
Catherine, the real Duchess, tested the beer and said, “Amazing, well done.”
She then heard from recovering alcoholics who have benefited from the charity and listened to the bar’s choir, the Raucous Caucus Recovery Chorus.
Jacquie Johnston-Lynch, of Action on Addiction in Liverpool, thanked Catherine for her visit.
“Thank you so much, your Royal Highness, for being here today,” she said. “This is just such an incredible honor. Anything that can put recovery on the map is 100% amazing.”
During her visit, Catherine did a walkabout to the crowds gathered, her first without Prince William by her side. The Prince is currently in the Falklands for a six week tour.
The crowds were delighted to see the Duchess. One little boy, Jaqson Johnston-Lynch, gave her a Valentine’s Day card and a bouquet of roses, telling her, “Happy Valentine’s Day, your Royal Highness. I’m sorry Prince William can’t be here.”
Catherin told Jaqson that her husband sent her a card for the loving day.
 Click here to view gallery Later on, the Duchess headed for the Ronald McDonald House (RMHC), which gives housing for parents of critically ill children. She called the place “fantastic”.
One of the patients, 10-year-old Ethan Harris, presented her with a Valentine’s Day card where he wrote a little poem: “You’re smiley like the sun, you’re bright like a star, you’re light when it’s dark and I love your spark.”
Catherine then unveiled a plaque commemorating her visit and did another walkabout.
Finally, she visited the Alder Hey Children’s Hospital, where she made a private visit for young people being treated for cancer and burn injuries.
Sources: BBC, AP
Prince Harry has a lot to be excited about. On Wednesday, he officially completed his 18-month training in flying Apache helicopters and won the prize for best co-gunner pilot.
 Click here for military photos of Prince Harry At the same time, there is a strong possibility he may return to the front lines of Afghanistan. The Prince served in Helmand province for 10 weeks, from late 2007 to early 2008.
If he serves again in the war-torn country, he will be in more danger than before. The Taliban have shot down British aircraft at times, and who’s to say the global media would agree on a blackout during his deployment, as they initially did the first time around?
Last April, His Royal Highness said in an interview that he wouldn’t learn to fly helicopters if he couldn’t serve in the RAF.
“I’d just be taking up a spare place for somebody else if they didn’t have me going out on the job, ” he said.
During a celebratory dinner at RAF Wattisham, Apache Force Commander Col Neale Moss congratulated the new pilots – Prince Harry being one of 20 – describing the training as “extremely challenging”.
“They are assessed continually to ensure that they are up to the challenge of operating one of the most sophisticated attack helicopters in the world,” he said of the graduates.
“This requires composure, dedication and hard work.”
If the Prince does go back to Afghanistan, it won’t be until later this year.
Sources: BBC, Sky News
While her husband is away in the Falklands, Catherine, the Duchess of Cambridge, made her first public solo engagement by touring the Lucian Freud preview at the National Portrait Gallery. Her Royal Highness, who has a degree in History of Art, became patron of the gallery last month.
 Check out more photos of Catherine's solo engagement here! Catherine saw the artwork set to be put on display and met with the art world’s famed including Freud’s daughters Bella and Esther and the Culture Secretary Jeremy Hunt.
She also met Sue Tilly, who posed naked for four Freud portraits. When asked how she would feel having the Duchess see paintings of her in the nude, Tilly, age 54, laughed it off.
“I’m not embarrassed about her seeing me naked – I’m a human being,” she said before the event. “It’s art, you know. Poor woman, I’m sure she’s seen things before.”
The Duchess got rave reviews for her first solo engagement by the gallery’s director.
“The Duchess was extremely attentive and I think really interested in not just the chance to see the full range of Lucian Freud’s work but very interested to see the differences in technique,” said Sandy Nairne.
Catherine’s visit to the National Portrait Gallery comes as St. James Palace confirms that she will sit for her own official portrait soon.
A Palace spokesman said: “The Duchess is happy to do it some time in the future. There haven’t been any decisions about who the artist will be, this is being discussed.”
Sources: Telegraph, Sky News
February 6th marks the day, in 1952, that the then Princess Elizabeth of York receives news of her father, King George VI’s death while touring Kenya. With that, the 25 year old became Queen Elizabeth II and has been the head of state for the United Kingdom ever since.
 Click here to learn about the British monarchy As Britain and the Commonwealth marked Her Majesty’s 60th anniversary on the throne, many reflected on how the Queen has always put duty first and has earned the respect of not just many in her realm, but all over the world.
Earlier on Monday, she renewed her vow to serve the country and told her subjects she was deeply moved” by the support for the Diamond Jubilee.
“I hope we will all be reminded of the power of togetherness and the convening strength of family, friendship and good neighbourliness, examples of which I have been fortunate to see throughout my reign and which my family and I look forward to seeing in many forms as we travel throughout the United Kingdom and the wider Commonwealth,” Her Majesty said.
However, Monday was any other ordinary day for the Queen and her husband, Prince Philip. They went to Norfolk to visit the King’s Lynn Town Hall before going to Dersingham Infant and Nursery School. The main celebrations of her ascension will be between June 2nd and 5th.
In London, there was a41-gun salute was held in Hyde Park, followed by a 62-gun salute at the Tower. There also was a 21-gun Royal Salute at Edinburgh Castle.
Laura Skrzynski, who had come to Norfolk from London was eager to get a glimpse of the Queen.
“I love that the monarchy is above politics and feel that the Queen represents that best of all. She stands for integrity and respect and I am inspired by her faith. She has been a constant through all our lives,” she said.
Queen Elizabeth II, age 85, has seen 11 prime ministers come and go – with David Cameron being her twelfth. She’s also seen six Archbishops of Canterbury. She has traveled on state visits to places no British monarch has ever toured – such as Eastern European nations, the Middle East, China, and last year’s historic visit to the Republic of Ireland. She has also seen numerous advances in technology and society.
As Her Majesty appears to surpass Queen Victoria as the longest reigning British monarch ever – she’s got four years to go – one could only imagine what else would happen.
Sources: BBC, Telegraph
His Royal Highness the Duke of Cambridge has begun a six week deployment to the Falkland Islands’ military base off the coast of Argentina. This has sparked diplomatic tensions between the South American county and the United Kingdom as they both went to war over these chains of islands in 1982. The Argentinians are calling Prince William a “conquistador”.
 Click here for Prince William military pics The Prince, who is a search and rescue pilot with the RAF, “will arrive on our soil in the uniform of a conquistador, and not with the wisdom of a statesman who works for peace and dialogue between nations,” the country’s foreign ministry said.
Since the announcement that William will be deployed on the Islands, both countries have been trading a war of words. Argentina accuses Britain of trying to divert attention away from its economic troubles.
“The governments should avoid the temptation of inciting debates that transform patriotism into bullying with the aim of distracting public attention from political decisions to reduce spending in the context of structural crisis and high unemployment,” the foreign ministry’s statement said.
It added, “Britain insists on ignoring U.N. resolutions, weakening diplomatic efforts and increasing the risk of more wars.”
At the same time, the U.K. is accusing Argentina of colonialism since the country also claims the Falklands.
“The key point is we support the Falkland Islanders’ right to self-determination, and what the Argentinians have been saying recently, I would argue is actually far more like colonialism because these people want to remain British and the Argentinians want them to do something else,” he said.
In response, Argentine President Cristina Kirchner accused Mr Cameron of “mediocrity bordering on stupidity”.
Prince William is of course, not expected to do any diplomatic tasks while stationed on the Falklands. He will be leaving the Islands sometime in March, right before the 30th anniversary of the war that killed more than 600 Argentine soldiers killed and 200 Britons.
His uncle, Prince Andrew, served in the war.
Sources: AP, Telegraph
The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge were at the London premiere of the Steven Spielberg directed film, “War Horse”. The movie is about an English horse sent to the French battlefields of World War I. Their Royal Highnesses went to the premiere to in aid of the Foundation of Prince William and Prince Harry.
 Click here to see more photos of the premiere It was raining during the event, so while walking up the red carpet at the Leicester Square cinema, Prince William held an umbrella for wife, Catherine, who wore a black lacy dress by Alice Temperley.
The couple met with the actors of the film, which is based on a novel and a play. They even chatted with Spielberg, who has met William during previous events.
“This is my first royal premiere for the Duke and Duchess, having done them before for the Queen and the Queen Mother. This is a wonderful occasion tonight. This is so exciting. I get a buzz.”
The Oscar-winning director praised the two for bringing 600 British soldiers to the premiere.
“It’s a great honor that they’ve given up their time and also given up their charity and it’s wonderful because it was their idea to bring the veterans here, so they could share this evening,” he said.
Some of the troops, both former and serving, come from the Duke’s regiments, such as the RAF Search and Rescue, Irish Guards, Royal Air Force Coningsby, Scotland Royal Naval Command and Submarines Royal Naval Command.
Sources: AFP, BBC
It was announced shortly after midnight in the United Kingdom that Catherine, the Duchess of Cambridge, is now the patron of four charities. The organizations range from the arts to addiction.
 Click here to see more pics of the Duchess The first charity Her Royal Highness will be involved in is The Art Room, which gives art lessons to children with emotional and social problems, such as low self esteem and autism. Catherine has a degree in History of Art, so this choice seems natural for her.
Founder and director Juli Beattie said, “We’re absolutely delighted, we’re overwhelmed and thrilled. This is just fantastic, it will raise the profile of the charity and get people to see the work we are doing.”
Another natural choice for her patronage is the National Portrait Gallery in London.
In addition, the Duchess will be involved in Action in Addiction, which Nick Barton said, “It’s not an easy subject for some people but I think this sort of patronage will change that.”
Also to be a place close to her heart is the East Anglia’s Children’s Hospices. In November, she visited the latter in a low profile manner in order to see if the being patron of the Hospice – known as EACH – was up her alley.
A couple, named Grant and Charlotte Clemence, were supported by EACH when their newborn daughter died of a rare heart condition last May. Mrs. Clemence had this to say about Catherine: “The Duchess showed genuine interest to all the families and staff she met and it really will be a great boost for EACH.”
Finally, she will be a scout volunteer in Anglesey, where she lives with Prince William, who works as a search and rescue pilot. Having been a Girl Scout as a child, Catherine will help out with the local chapter. This is because she and William want to give back to the tiny Welsh island they call home.
“The Duchess has an incredibly busy life, which makes it all the more inspiring that she has chosen to volunteer alongside us,” said UK chief scout Bear Grylls. “I think what’s lovely is that she’s going to feel exactly the way young scouts feel when they first join: a little bit nervous, but that’s what scouting’s all about. You’re part of a big family.”
The Duchess took her time to carefully choose her patronages and reportedly wanted to compliment her husband’s patronages.
Sources: BBC, ITN
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