The only daughter of Queen Elizabeth II celebrates her 60th birthday Sunday, and she made it clear she has no intention of slowing down.
Daily Mail
“Will I slow down? Look around at my family. It is unlikely,” Princess Anne said in a recent interview with the BBC.
“Look around at the members of my family who are considerably older than me and tell me whether you think they have set an example which suggests that I might. Some of it is in the genes.”
Princess Anne is known for being the hardest working of the Queen’s children by being patron to about 200 of charities and doing hundreds of engagements each year. In 2009, she carried out 600 appearances.
Although she is officially known as the Princess Royal, Anne is famous for her no-nonsense personality. Rather than looking glamorous at her official events, the Princess is known for being down-to-earth in appearance. She also gave her children, Peter, 33, and Zara, 29, as normal of an upbringing as possible in which they do not have royal titles. They are simply known as Peter and Zara Philips.
“Her advice generally about life has been invaluable. Whenever we may have got slightly above our station she’d be the first one to bring us back down to earth fairly hard,” Peter told the BBC.
Zara added: “I would like to be as good a mother as she has been to us.”
Princess Anne is also a keen equestrian, having competed in the 1976 Olympics and is a member of the International Olympic Committee. Her daughter is following in her horse riding footsteps by aiming for the 2012 Olympics in London.
Anne married Lieutenant Mark Philips in 1973 but divorced in him 19 years later. She is now married to naval captain now Vice-Admiral Tim Laurence.
There will be no fanfare for the Princess’ milestone birthday. Instead, she is expected to celebrate it with Laurence at home.
But in December, Princess Anne has something to look forward to: she will become a grandmother when son Peter’s wife, Autumn, gives birth to their first child.
Tuesday was Norway’s Crown Prince Haakon’s 37th birthday. As every year, he celebrates his big day quietly with his family. But like every year, he invites the press to photograph and film his family, especially since it gives the media an opportunity to see his two children.
Princess Ingrid Alexandra, 6, and Prince Sverre Magnus, 4, posed with their dog, which they made sure did not run off. Although Ingrid Alexandra posed happily for the press, her brother was still uneasy and spent most of the photoshoot being held by his father.
Half-brother Marius Borg Høiby, 13, was not present for the photoshoot as he is vacationing with his own father, Morten Borg. Marius is Crown Princess Mette-Marit’s son from a previous relationship.
The press call took place at Vogt’s Villa at Little Island, where the crown princely family is currently on their summer vacation.
On Thursday, Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah Mu’izzaddien Waddaulah of Brunei Darussalam marked his 64th birthday. As it happens each year, a parade take place to honor the Sultan, in which citizens and the military participate in.
Early in the morning, young students lined-up along the roads, waving their country’s flag to welcome the Sultan to his own parade.
Once he arrived, Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah was greeted with the royal salute which was accompanied by the national anthem and a twenty-one gun salute. He was accompanied by Crown Prince Haji Al-Muhtadee Billah, Prince Mohamed Bolkiah, Prince Haji Sufri Bolkiah and Prince Haji Jefri Bolkiah.
Hassanal Bolkiah then inspected the honor guard before sitting at the royal dais to watch the parade. The parade ended with a salute by the Royal Brunei Air Force’s planes which sent trails of white, blue, yellow and red smoke in the sky.
The Sultan is the 29th monarch of Brunei Darussalam. He ascended to the throne in 1967.
July 14th is the day Sweden’s future Queen turns 33 years old. But since the newly married Crown Princess Victoria is on her honeymoon with husband, Prince Daniel, she won’t be celebrating her big day along with the Swedish people.
Michael Fritzon / Scanpix
Traditionally, at Solliden Castle on Öland island, Victoria meets with hundreds of well wishers who turn out to sing songs and give the Crown Princess flowers and some gifts. But this time around, it was only her parents who the people saw.
King Carl XVI Gustaf and Queen Silvia met with the 400 people outside their summer estate to tell them they would convey the happy birthdays to Victoria when she and Daniel return from their honeymoon later in the summer.
The King also said he was surprised to see so many people come to Solliden. He told them he thought everyone would be at beach.
Not long after tying the knot on June 19th, tabloid photographers hunted down Victoria and Daniel in Tahiti, in the South Pacific. Rumor has it that the couple is now in the south of France. It is believed the honeymoon would end sometime in August.
Saturday saw one of the biggest royal events in Britain this year – Trooping the Colour, the day when the entire British royal family gathers on the balcony of Buckingham Palace to mark Queen Elizabeth II’s 84th birthday.
AP Photo/Sang Tan
Although the Queen’s real birthday is on April 21st, she officially celebrates her big day in June.
Dressed in either military uniform or in lovely hats, the House of Windsor watched 1,400 soldiers parade in front of the Palace. The troops taking part in the parade included members of 1st Battalion Grenadier Guards, who returned from Afghanistan six weeks ago.
After the parade came the fly over – when the military planes fly above Buckingham Palace.
The term Trooping the Colour comes from when a regiment’s flag is paraded past the troops and the monarch.
Prince Harry was not at this year’s event, as he is vacationing in Africa.
Time flies! It was a year ago today that Denmark’s Princess Marie gave birth to a bouncing baby boy, whom she and husband Prince Joachim named after their son’s grandfather, Prince Henrik, consort to Queen Margrethe II.
Kongehuset/Steen Brogaard
Now the little prince is a year old. To mark this occasion, Joachim and Marie invited photographer Steen Brogaard to take pictures of their son in late April. The photographs also include little Henrik interacting with big brothers Princes Nikolai and Felix, Joachim’s sons from a previous marriage.
When he was three and a half years old, Oyo Nyimba Kabamba Iguru Rukidi IV became King of Toro, a western Ugandan Kingdom that has been around for 180 years. He ascended to the throne after the death of his father, and therefore became the world’s youngest monarch.
REUTERS/James Akena
On April 16th 2010, King Oyo turned 18 and officially took control of his Kingdom which had been ruled by regents in his place.
James Murungi, his minister for protocol, said, “In Toro, it means a lot. The King was enthroned at three and half years which has never happened in the history of Toro. We have seen him grow up to this age of 18. To us this is historical.”
As part of becoming an adult, Oyo was initiated in an elaborate ceremony that lasted four days and ended on Sunday. African royals and Ugandan officials turned up for the rituals at the King’s palace in Fort Portal.
Such practices included sounding royal drums, or Empango Hakaswa, done by the King himself. “Empango is a ceremony that dates back to more than 100 years. Since the inception of the Kingdom, we believe that for the King to be in existence there should be a drum sounded to alert people that the King is a live and sound,” said Murungi.
King Oyo was also given a spear by his people, which represents him being their protector.
As a birthday gift, his mother, Queen Best Kemigisa, gave him a Mercedes Benz.
The Toro Kingdom, which has two million people, is largely impoverished and uneducated. Many are looking to the young King for guidance. He does not have much political power, but he can wield influence much like the European monarchs. During a church service, King Oyo said during a speech that he would focus on education.
“I hope he keeps his promise because education is the only way we can move forward,” said Rodgers Barozi, 20, a receptionist in Fort Portal.
Although he is a King, Oyo is said to be like any other 18 year-old. He likes movies and hanging out with friends, who do not treat him any differently. He also enjoys sports, with English football team Arsenal being his favorite to watch.
Now that he is finally an adult, Oyo has a lot to look forward to, plus a lot of responsibilities.
“For quite long, I have been under tight supervision, I hope this will reduce and I will be a free man,” he told New Vision newspaper recently.
He also called turning 18 to be “huge responsibility.”
“But I have a lot of support from my mother, my sister and others, so I know I can do it.”
After weeks of building up the big event, Denmark’s Queen Margrethe II officially celebrated her 70th year Friday, and she did it with the love of her people, her family and other royals from across Europe.
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Unfortunately, a lot of royals were unable to make to the festivities because of the volcanic ash shutting down airports in northern Europe. But that didn’t stop everyone from having a good time.
Friday began with 27 cannon rumblings from a nearby naval base. Within hours, the royal family of Denmark stepped out onto the balcony of Amalienborg Palace to greet the thousands of well-wishers who waved their country’s flag and cheered for their Queen. Along with the family, the crowd also sang “Happy Birthday” to the monarch affectionately known as Daisy.
During this time, police had to block a small group of anti-monarchists from protesting at the Palace. They were kept back at over 300 feet.
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Meanwhile, Margrethe and her husband, Prince Henrik, then rode a carriage through the streets of Copenhagen as they traveled to a reception at City Hall. There, European royals had a birthday lunch which seemed to be a prologue to the gala dinner in the evening.
Not all of Europe’s royalty were there for the celebrations. With air flights canceled due to ash from an Icelandic volcano, some were not able to come to Copenhagen at all. Britain’s Prince Philip, the Crown Princely couple of Belgium, and the King and Queen of Spain were those not in attendance. Others, such as Dutch Queen Beatrix, Crown Prince Willem-Alexander and Crown Princess Maxima made it in via train just for Friday and had missed out on the performance gala Thursday night.
But luckily, they did not miss out on the dinner at Fredensborg Palace. Dressed to the nines, the royals gathered once again for the final part of Queen Margrethe’s birthday festivities. This time, her husband and eldest son, Crown Prince Frederik delivered moving speeches.
The Prince Consort went first. After welcoming the guests, he said in Danish, “Dear Daisy, 70 years is a milestone. The years that have elapsed, has filled you with a life experience that is influenced by your life’s work and your duty to follow it. But they also have filled you with joy and happiness – even if no people are living a perfect life. For aspects of life are manifold. But if you have lived as you can safely say that you have lived a rich life.
AP PHOTO/POLFOTO, Jens Dige
“You have contributed to your own life and greatly to mine, Frederik, Joachim, our grandchildren and our entire extended family. Yes, you have contributed more than that. You have too many lived a life that has inspired loving care, life energy, cheerfulness and artistic talent.
“Although you may begin to feel the age pass you from these sources of inspiration properties that blooms and evolves as never before.
“Your pleasant and amiable mind, combined with your life’s work, gives you an intuition and a compassion that touches people in your vicinity. For all those who live around you, every day enriched with joy and feeling of joy, happiness and admiration.”
With that, Prince Henrik gave a toast calling the Queen the light of his life.
REUTERS/Jens Norgaard Larsen/Scanpix Denmark
Next came Crown Prince Frederik, whom many thought Margrethe was going to abdicate the throne on this day for. Whether he was disappointed or relieved did not show on the Prince. Instead, he gave a sweet speech to his mother, and got a kiss from wife Crown Princess Mary as a result!
Even Prime Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen spoke to the head of state in words the Queen described as “kind and beautiful.”
Finally, the birthday girl got her chance to speak. She gave a short and simple speech in which she thanked each of the speakers and gave them a few personal words. As for the rest of the guests, she said:
“What is 70 years? Many before you reach this far, but when the day comes, they are suddenly gone so quickly. Day has gone to day, year to year, many were the challenges, joys far more and far larger. Gratitude for everything that was me and part of everything I have experienced the greatest.”
With that, a toast was made and the night’s dinner began.
The past two days have seen one of the great gathering of royals of 2010. The next time this many royals would be at one place in such a glamorous environment with gowns, tuxedos and tiaras will be Sweden’s Crown Princess Victoria’s wedding on June 19th – that is almost two months away!
Dozens of European royalty arrived at the Royal Danish Theatre for a performance gala to mark Queen Margrethe II’s 70th birthday.
REUTERS/Bob Strong
Although flights in northern Europe are experiencing delays and even cancellations because of an Icelandic volcanic eruption, many of the region’s royals made it to the celebration, and boy, were they a sight to see! Glamorous gowns, stunning tiaras, men in tuxedos – it all added up to the quintessential royal event.
First, the Danish royals: Crown Princess Mary wore a white Grecian style gown and her beautiful ruby tiara, while sister-in-law Princess Marie looked quite sexy in her tight red dress. Both were on the arms of their husbands, Frederik and Joachim.
Also on the arm of Crown Prince Frederik was fellow royal and good friend Crown Princess Mette-Marit of Norway. She looked quite stately in her gown that had a simple white top and a silvery floral skirt.
Representing Sweden were Crown Princess Victoria, her fiance Daniel Westling, and brother Prince Carl Philip. Victoria recycled a dress she wore to a dinner following the 2008 Nobel Prize ceremony. She also wore what seems to be her favorite tiara, the four button.
Grand Duke Henri and Grand Duchess Maria Teresa of Luxembourg were among the guests as well. The Grand Duchess wore her emerald tiara that went nicely with a sparkly gown.
Polfoto
Queen Margrethe’s sisters, Princess Benedikte and ex-Queen Anne-Marie of Greece were also on the guest list, as was her niece, Princess Nathalie, who’s pregnant belly was noticeable, and her fiance, Alexander Johannsmann.
In addition to the royals at this event was the President of Iceland. While his country is experiencing a major natural disaster, Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson arrived on time to pay his respects to the Danish Queen. Iceland was once a territory of Denmark.
The performance for the evening was an opera, a play and a ballet. The evening began with the overture from “The Elf Mound.” It was followed by two excerpts from Wagner operas, Bizet’s “Carmen” and samples of the ballets “Swan Lake” and “Romeo and Juliet.”
On the drama side was an excerpt of one of this season’s most notable performances, Holberg’s “Ulysses of Ithaca.”
Tomorrow will be the big day for Queen Margrethe, as she will finally turn 70 years old. More royals are expected such as the Dutch, who were unable to make it in time for tonight’s gala.
Friday marks Queen Margrethe II’s 70 birthday, and Denmark is going to great lengths celebrating this milestone. Since the beginning of the year, there have been televised documentaries, books and exhibits honoring the Danish monarch. But Tuesday began the real festivities.
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The members of the royal family put on their best attire for a gala dinner at Christiansborg Palace, with 375 guests including members of parliament.
Queen Margrethe gave a speech at the start of the dinner, where she spoke humbly about the affectionate relationship she has had with her people.
“Tonight I have the opportunity to bring a greeting and a thank you to the entire country for everything I through many years has received the kindness and warm attention from all sides,” said the Queen.
“It means a lot to me that even the Faroe Islands and Greenland are represented here tonight. Well, there may be far from Torshavn or Nuuk, but for me the distance never seemed exemplary or the many miles incalculable,” she said, mentioning Denmark’s territories.
“It is my hope that this evening alternating spots and surprises may be for the benefit of all those who have the opportunity to follow in the event.”
The Queen then concluded with a toast of champagne.
Performances by Danish singers and some foreign acts, such as Cliff Richard took place. There was even a magic trick show by comedian Rune Klan.
Celebrations for Queen Margrethe will last until Friday. I will keep you updated on the days’ events!
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