On an island three hours from Athens, the former King of Greece’s second son, Prince Nikolaos, married his longtime girlfriend, Tatiana Blatnik. The nuptials took place at Ayios Nikolaos monastery on Spetses Island. Close friends and family – many of them royalty themselves – saw the happy couple tie the knot.
Photo by Chris Jackson/Getty Images Europe
Before the wedding, King Constantine and Queen Anne-Marie were seen at Ayios Nikolaos, checking in on last minute preparation.
Constantine told AP Television: “As you know, in all of these situations, even the last minute you are preparing.”
By sunset, the wedding guests began to arrive. Crowds and media gathered outside, though they were kept at distance by security.
As the guests arrived, they stopped to pose for the photographers before heading inside the white monastery.
Prince Nikolaos, age 40, came to his wedding by boat. Tatiana Blatnik meanwhile, came in a horse drawn carriage. Dressed in a simple gown of lace and Grecian style thrown in, the bride was given away by her father, Atilio Brillembourg.
What went on during the ceremony remains unknown, as this was a private wedding for a deposed royal family. Greek voters abolished the monarchy in the 1970s, and the family has been living in exile since the late 60s. Currently, most of them are based in London.
After the wedding, Prince Nikolaos and the now Princess Nikolaos of Greece and Denmark emerged from Ayios Nikolaos, arm in arm and very happy. They waved to the crowds as they got into a carriage that sent them to their reception.
Tatiana, age 29 and an events planner for fashion house Diane von Furstenberg, is known as Princess Nikolaos because she is not a princess in her own right; she earned it by being a prince’s wife.
Amsterdam recently finished up its Sail Amsterdam 2010 festival, in which ships of all kinds are put on display for the public to see, free of charge. The nautical event has been held since 1975 and whenever it takes place, Sail Amsterdam is one of the city’s biggest attractions.
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Among the many participants in Sail 2010 were Holland’s Crown Princely family. Prince Willem-Alexander and Princess Maxima brought their three young daughters on board one of the ships Saturday. The little princesses – Catharina-Amalia, 6 1/2 years old, Alexia age 5, and 3 year old Ariane – put on life jackets as they went on the Green Draeck ship.
Willem-Alexander got behind the wheel of the Green Draeck and sailed into the Amsterdam harbor.
That night, Willem-Alexander, Maxima, and Her Majesty Queen Beatrix boarded the Green Draeck to participate in the “New Amsterdam Sea Shanty” competition, in which 200 musicians and bands participated.
The Queen and the Crown Princely couple have been taking part in the festival since it began on Thursday, August 19th.
Sail Amsterdam originally started in 1975 to mark the Dutch capital’s 700th anniversary. Since it was such a big hit, it is held every five years.
Sources: Sail2010.nl, Radio Nederland Wereldomroep
The Spanish royal family have a lot to celebrate now.
Their countrymen brought home Spain’s first ever FIFA World Cup win, when they beat the Netherlands 1-0.
Watching the historic sporting event was Queen Sofia, her son Crown Prince Felipe and his wife, Letizia. The three wore Spain’s national colors on their scarves around their necks.
During the match, they snapped their cameras away and cheered when the first and only goal of the game was scored.
Afterward, Cesc Fabregas went into the stands to receive a hug and kiss from the Queen.
AP Photo/Martin Meissner
Also watching the final game were the Dutch royals – Crown Prince Willem Alexander and Princess Maxima. Though their respective countries were playing against each other, the Spanish and the Dutch royalty sat side by side together in the stadium with no hard feelings.
AP Photo/Bernat Armangue
Now, when the winning team returns to Spain, they will likely meet with the royal family again and probably this time around, King Juan Carlos would be on hand to congratulate them. He was not in South Africa due to watch the World Cup due to his recovery from lung surgery in May.
Dutch RTL News is reporting that Crown Prince Willem-Alexander and his wife, Maxima, are using the villa they had built in Mozambique as a vacation spot this summer.
If this is true, it goes against that Willem-Alexander said he would sell the villa after he created controversy over having such a place being built in a poor country.
In 2009, a firestorm was ignited after reports said the resort was to be a sort of island for rich people while poor locals surrounded the area. It reminded many of colonialism, since the rich involved Europeans. There were also issues with the cost of security, paid by Dutch taxpayers.
Willem-Alexander and Maxima are currently in South Africa, watching their country play against Spain in the finals of the FIFA World Cup.
It’s summer – so that means its time for the yearly photosessions for the Netherlands’ Crown Prince Willem-Alexander and Crown Princess Maxima and their three daughters: Catharina-Amalia, Alexia and Ariane.
This year the photosession took place at the Eikenhorst at the Horsten gardens in Wassenaar.
Dressed in matching pink dresses, the little princesses showed for the media their enthusiasm for the World Cup. Catharina-Amalia, age 6 1/2, blew an orange vuvuzela while her sisters kicked footballs around.
REUTERS/Robin van Lonkhuijsen/United Photos
The family displayed for the media their fondness for each other and how relaxed they are together. Even Crown Princess Maxima made silly poses for the press.
It was a night of celebration as Sweden and royals from all over the world marked Saturday’s wedding between Crown Princess Victoria and Daniel Westling. Just like her parents had 34 years ago, Victoria and her fiancè were a given a special concert at the Royal Concert Hall in Stockholm. Pop acts and classical artists played through the night as if it were a final hurrah before tomorrow’s big event.
First arriving at the Hall was the House of Bernadotte. When she got out of the car, Crown Princess Victoria wowed the crowd waiting for her. Beaming and radiating of joy, the Crown Princess waved as the people gave her and Daniel a four-fold cheer.
They walked up the red carpet behind her parents, King Carl XVI Gustaf and Queen Silvia. Bringing up the rear were her two younger siblings, Prince Carl Philip and Princess Madeleine.
After the Swedish royal family came the friends and relatives of the royal couple, and the Swedish government leaders. Then came the royals from all over Europe, plus Japan and Jordan. The royal guest list even included those who are from deposed monarchies, such as Romania and Serbia.
All in all, 1,600 guests.
Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images Europe
Once inside, everyone dined amongst each other before the big concert. Those who haven’t seen each other in a while were able to say hello, such as Denmark’s Crown Princess Mary and Spain’s Crown Princess Letizia.
King Carl XVI Gustaf gave a small speech during the dinner, thanking the Prime Minister for allowing the wedding to take place – after all, the wedding of an heir to the throne needs government approval.
“We can all see how happy and engaged the engaged couple looks,” the King went on to say. “They really… You can feel the joy and youth and optimism in their eyes. We can all feel the warmth and happiness also in this hall and during this day.”
At about a quarter to nine local time, all those in attendance were in the Hall. Everyone stood and sang when the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra played the Swedish national anthem. Even Denmark’s Queen Margrethe II, who’s mother was a Swedish Princess, sang along.
Right after that, the orchestra began to play “Party Song” and right in the middle of the stage, lights went on, illuminating two
REUTERS/Anders Wiklund/Scanpix
figures holding hands. Crown Princess Victoria and Daniel Westling had made their appearance. They received a standing ovation as they made their way to two seats in the front row especially made for them. With that, the concert began.
It was clearly a joyous occasion for everyone in the Hall. Ballet was performed, the opera classic “Nessun Dorma” was sung – even pop and jazz acts played. The host of the event also poked playful fun at the royals in attendance. At one point, the group Jazz Divas of Scandinavia were about the perform and the host gave a nod to the Scandinavian Crown Princesses – Victoria, Mette-Marit and Mary. The women had a good laugh about it.
But the biggest act to perform that night was probably the 80s Swedish pop duo, Roxette, said to be one of Victoria’s favorite bands. As the band played “The Look,” everyone in the hall clapped along and a few – such as Norway’s Princess Martha Louise – moved their heads to the song. Once done, there was a standing ovation for Roxette.
SVT.se
The concert came to a close when all the singers returned to the stage and together sang Elvis Presley’s classic, “Can’t Help Falling In Love.” As they did with the Roxette song, many of the royals sang along.
Overall, it was an emotional event for everyone. Queen Silvia was seen wiping away some tears and it looked as if King Carl Gustaf was getting teary-eyed. Even Princess Madeleine looked red in the eyes – as did Queen Margrethe and Dutch Queen Beatrix.
With that, the pre-wedding events were over. Tomorrow comes the wedding of the year as Crown Princess Victoria marries her love – and a former gym owner from a small village in central Sweden becomes Prince Daniel.
The Dutch Crown Princely couple are in Shanghai, China to pay a visit to the Netherlands’ pavilion at World Expo 2010. Tuesday marked Dutch Day at the Expo, who else to celebrate national pride than the country’s future King and Queen?
Located in downtown Shanghai, the Dutch Cultural Center featured exhibits and performances by Dutch artists.
During her stay in China, Maxima turned 39 years old. Although she mainly celebrated with her husband, one of the Dutch Expo participants, architect John Körmeling gave her a birthday present – blue pajamas! The pajamas had the logo of “Happy Street,” which is the Dutch pavilion at the Expo designed by Körmeling. The Princess had a good laugh about her unusual gift.
Crown Prince Willem-Alexander commented on the design of “Happy Street” which has a series of Dutch houses lined up. He spoke of a “totally different concept than the other national pavilions” on the Expo grounds. Willem-Alexander hoped it would show to the world of his country’s technology.
At one house, Maxima caught a glimpse of something very special -the tiara she wore to her 2002 wedding! She also had fun with some sheep sculptures on a lawn by sitting on them.
It was supposed to be a moment to remember those who had died serving their country. But instead, the Netherlands’ Memorial Day ceremony turned into a moment of panic.
Thousands turned out in Dam Square in Amsterdam to see Queen Beatrix, Crown Prince Willem-Alexander and Crown Princess Maxima lay floral wreaths at the national monument. There was then a two minute of silence in remembrance of the troops who died during and after World War II.
During those two minutes, there was a sudden scream in the crowds and chaos insued.
The people began to run in opposite directions, with several dozen getting injured in the process. There were people being carried out of the crowds for safety.
As for the Dutch royals, they were rushed away from the scene by security guards. Crown Princess Maxima was practically shoved by her plainclothes officer. A few minutes later, Queen Beatrix returned to the monument to continue on with the service. She looked very shaken, but was encouraged to go on by Willem-Alexander. The remaining crowd applauded, and did the same after the playing of the national anthem.
Afterward, the Queen, the Crown Princely couple and Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende visited the wounded in hospitals.
According to a press conference, police said a 39 year-old man with suspected psychological problems was arrested. The man, who’s name is not yet being released, supposedly has a history of drug abuse.
Video of the incident shows few people reacting to the scream, but then a police fence fell over making a gun shot-like sound. Panic increased when another man dropped his suitcase, making those around him assume he had a bomb.
This incident comes one year after the tragedy at Queen’s Day when a man crashed his speeding car into a crowd, narrowly missing the bus carrying the royal family. Several people, including the driver, died.
Friday saw the Netherlands awash in orange as the Dutch celebrated Queen’s Day, or Konininginnedag as they call it. It is the day where the people honor their monarch, Queen Beatrix and enjoy national pride. But sadly, this year’s festivities had a dark shadow over them.
REUTERS/Michael Kooren
2009′s Queen’s Day was a tragic one, as a car driver plowed into a crowd watching the royal procession on a bus in the central city of Apeldoorn. Eight people, including the driver, died and there was some calls to end the holiday.
But despite what happened last year, the Dutch were willing to enjoy themselves. Even the royals were just as festive as they went to the town of Wemeldinge, located in the southern province of Zeeland to meet with the people and have fun.
Although it rained most of the day, no one held back in celebrating. Crown Princess Maxima herself took part in a beer shuffleboarding contest while husband Crown Prince Willem-Alexander kicked a ball around for some schoolchildren.
The Queen herself seemed pleased with all the activity. In her speech at Middelburg Queen Beatrix thanked everybody for being so enthusiastic. “You gave us back Queen’s Day,” she told the crowds.
ROBIN UTRECHT/AFP/Getty Images
Her Majesty had a lot to be happy about. With the troubles in the government, many in Holland are looking to her for unity and observers are saying she is doing just that.
Despite the enthusiasm, there were still a few things to complain about. Security was understandably extra tight this year, with 1,400 police securing Wemeldinge. In addition, only invited guests and citizens that had passed security checks were allowed near the royal procession. The police even frisked a woman sitting in a wheelchair, something the Mayor of Wemeldinge condemned.
Also, train cars and stations were jam-packed with people moving around the country. Many Dutch had to wait a long time for their train to arrive. At one point, all trains to and from Amsterdam were canceled to deal with the crowds.
Furthermore, the Dutch sanitation workers are on strike, so the streets are filled with garbage and reek of beer.
Friday marks Queen’s Day, when the Netherlands honor Queen Beatrix. It will also be a day of remembrance, since last year’s national holiday was one of tragedy. A unemployed man plowed his car into a crowd watching a bus carrying the House of Orange in Apeldoorn. Seven people were killed, and the driver later died of his injuries.
On Thursday, the royal family, including Queen Beatrix, Crown Prince Willem-Alexander and Crown Princess Maxima honored those who died during a somber memorial at The Hague. The monarch unveiled a small monument that had balloons are decoration, symbolizing vulnerability and celebration.
Several of the royals, such as Maxima, got emotional as they laid white roses at the monument.
Also in attendance were the victims’ families, many of whom the royal family are still in touch with.
Because of last year’s attack – the driver of the car was aiming for the royals on the bus – security will be tight for tomorrow’s less festive Queen’s Day. Already, two men have been arrested for suspicions of threatening to corrupt the events.
REUTERS/ANP/Robin Utrecht/Pool
Friday will also mark Queen Beatrix’s 30th year on the throne. Despite that, not too many are hoping she would abdicate in favor of Crown Prince Willem-Alexander, who’s popularity has dropped due to his wanting to build a resort in Mozambique last year.
“A vast majority of Dutch want Beatrix to stay on as Queen,” said the poll conducted by agency TNS Nipo.
“Half are of the opinion that 2013, the year the Queen turns 75, is a good year for succession.”
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