Crown Princess Mary spent Sunday in the town of Kalundborg, where she named the newest vessel of the Danish navy.
The vessel is called the Holger Danske, after both Denmark’s national hero and the resistance group during the Nazi occupation. A few surviving members of the group were guests of today’s event.
As part of the naming ceremony, there was a military parade and a naval band performing a few songs. Crown Princess Mary inspected the honor guard during the ceremony. She trained with the Danish Home Guard, from 2008 to 2009.
After she officially named the vessel, the Crown Princess joined its crew for a short sailing around Kalundborg’s harbor. When that was over, Mary took part in a reception at Restaurant Fjorden.
On a rainy Monday in Copenhagen, many of the adult members of the Danish royal family turned up at the Citadel for the unveiling of a monument dedicated to Danes who died while serving abroad for international efforts. 100,000 of Denmark’s soldiers have participated in peacekeeping and fighting efforts since 1949. Some returned home, others didn’t.
Click here for more photos at SN.dk
Queen Margrethe II gave a speech during the inauguration of the monument: “The monument stands in its simplicity as a symbol of the efforts of Danish men and women for many years has made around the world. Here are the names of the many who paid the highest prince who gave their lives. Here we will remember them and remember that Denmark’s efforts have costs that are not made up in dollars and cents,” she said.
Afterward, the Queen laid a wreath underneath the inscription that read: “A Time, A Place, A Human Being”.
The rest of the royals in attendance – Prince Henrik, Crown Prince Frederik, Crown Princess Mary, Prince Joachim and Princess Marie – followed Her Majesty in a tour around the octagon shaped memorial. It is divided into three parts: an outer section to be used for future ceremonies, an inner part that lists the places where Danish forces were placed, and a more inner part has the list of the 107 soldiers who died while serving Denmark since 1949.
There is also an eternal flame in honor of those who fell.
This monument was unveiled on Denmark’s Flag Day.
Sadly, another name will be added to the 107 names already listed. A 22 year old soldier was killed by an explosive device in Afghanistan over the weekend.
Sources: Billed Bladet, The Royal Forums, Billed Serie
The second son of Belgium’s Princess Astrid and Archduke Lorenz was promoted to the rank of officer in the Belgian navy Friday.
Click here for more at Zimbio.com
Prince Joachim, age 19, celebrated with his family during a ceremony aboard the ship, Godetia.
“He may now as an officer on duty be at the bridge for all ships of the Belgian Navy,” said Peter Degraer, commander of the nautical school. “Prince Joachim was an excellent student. His language is very good. If the prince wants, he can possibly offer in the civilian shipping, because there are valid certificates.”
Born in December 9th 1991, Joachim is the third child of Astrid and Lorenz. His siblings include Prince Amedeo (who is a reserve officer in the Belgian army), Princess Maria Laura, and two younger sisters: Princesses Luisa Maria and Laetitia. He is styled as HRH and HIH – because his father is a member of the Austria-Este royal household. Joachim’s titles include: Archduke of Austria-Este, Prince Imperial of Austria, Prince Royal of Hungary and Bohemia, Prince of Modena.
Fresh off their historic wedding last Friday, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge have settled into a quiet, military life on the Welsh island of Anglesey. They will go on their honeymoon in their near future, but for now, Prince William has to work for the RAF Search and Rescue, while new wife Catherine intends to be a housewife.
Click here for more pics of the wedding
According to the Daily Mail, the Duke and Duchess want to enjoy the early years of their married life and ease into public life. This decision may have been inspired by William’s grandparents Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip. During the first years of their marriage, the then Princess Elizabeth lived on Malta while Philip worked on a British military base. The Queen has said those years were her most happiest.
But William and Catherine are not going to disappear from the public altogether. They have a tour of Canada in July, which would have them spend two weeks in the Great White North. The couple will also make appearances for Prince Philip’s 90th birthday this June, plus participate in next year’s Summer Olympics in London and the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee.
“Catherine wants to enjoy her time with William as an RAF wife,” a source told the Mail. “It’s so rare that someone in her position gets the chance to live as a normal wife and she intends to make the most of it.”
However, there are rumors that the Duke will be stationed in the Falkland Islands off Argentina next year. That means William and Catherine will be separated for 10 weeks. This is because those weeks are considered to be rather short according to military deployment, and there’s no need to bring a wife along.
Since this deployment has been up in the air for a while, it is believed William and Catherine knew this separation would happen and are prepared for it.
Britain’s Prince Harry is moving up in the world. On Saturday, it was announced he was promoted to captain in the Army in recognition for his five years of service. In the military, the Prince will be known as Captain Harry Wales.
St. James Palace released a statement saying Harry in an eight month training course in weaponry. The course will take him to Wattisham Airfield, Suffolk, and bases in the United States.
“He will now progress to the Apache ‘conversion to role’ course where he will learn to operate the aircraft and its weapons systems in a variety of challenging operational scenarios,” a spokesman for St. James said.
This promotion means Harry could be eligible to return to Afghanistan in 2012.
He fought there from late 2007 into early 2008 until a media revelation led to him being forced to return to the U.K.
The King of Sweden was in Gothenburg Friday where he met with the 321National Home Guard for an update on their activities.
King Carl XVI Gustaf dressed in fatigues as he was briefed on the Home Guard and witnessed demonstrations on their military and medical exercises.
Formed in May 1940, the Swedish Home Guard originally had volunteers. But over the years, it began to have both men and women, with 120,000 members at its peak in the 1980s.
These days, there are 5,000 members of both genders.
The Home Guard’s motto is “monitor, protect, and support civil society”.
Britain’s Prince Harry is on top of the world – and not because his brother is getting married in one month.
Click here for more Prince Harry in the Arctic pics
He is trekking across the North Pole with wounded soldiers, all in the name of charity for his country’s veteran organizations. The journey will go 200 miles and will last for four weeks.
However, the Prince will only be with the soldiers for the first five days. This way, he would be back in time for brother William’s April 29th wedding. Harry arrived in Norway’s Svalbard archipelago after throwing William’s bachelor party over the weekend.
That meant the Prince didn’t have much time for this trek.
“I haven’t had as much time to train,” he told the Press Association news agency in Longyearbyen, Norway, where he and the soldiers will train for three days. “But today, to their huge amusement, they’re going to see me on a pair of, whatever they’re called, skis, this afternoon. So it should be entertaining for all of us.”
As patron of the Walking With The Wounded charity, Prince Harry – who once spent 10 weeks fighting in Afghanistan – aims to raise £2 million for the organization.
Joining the Prince will are Walking With The Wounded co-founders, Simon Dalglish and Ed Parke, plus four servicemen wounded in Afghanistan: Capt. Martin Hewitt, 30, whose right arm was paralyzed after being shot; Capt. Guy Disney, 29, whose right leg was amputated below the knee after he was hit by a rocket-propelled grenade; Pvt. Jaco Van Gass, 24, from South Africa, whose left arm was amputated and Sgt. Stephen Young, 28, whose back was broken when his vehicle was blown up by a makeshift bomb.
The group will be lead by Norwegian polar guide Inge Solheim.
Yesterday, it was revealed that the Queen of Denmark had made a surprise trip to Afghanistan on Wednesday. Queen Margrethe II went to Helmand province to the Danish troops in a carefully conducted visit, due to security reasons.
Together with Defense Minister Gitte Lillelund Bech, Her Majesty went to Patrol Base Line Camp Price and Camp Bastion.
“Over the past year I kept up with our soldiers in Afghanistan. It is in this context I had been delighted that their efforts have been praised and appreciated by both national and international,” said the Queen on the defense ministry’s website.
“Now, I myself had the opportunity to see and experience the Danish soldiers in Afghanistan. I am both impressed and proud of the work they do. Their drive, their determination and their good humor have made a big impression on me.”
“It’s a great experience coming here,” Margrethe said in an interview. “I’ve heard so much about it and read about it. I feel that now I have not just been here, but now I can put my own pictures to what I hear and read about.”
Currently, there are 750 Danish soldiers in Afghanistan.
In the past, Crown Prince Frederik made two trips to Afghanistan – 2008 and in 2010 – and in December 2009, his wife Crown Princess Mary made a similar visit.
Sources: Billed Bladet, MSNDK Starlounge
Below is a Danish video of Queen Margrethe II’s Afghan trip:
The King of the Belgians spent Tuesday at the military barracks of Beverlo in Leopoldsburg. King Albert II was there to see the new training techniques of the Belgian armed forces. This visit was planned for some time and is not connected to Belgium’s current activity in Libya.
During the visit, the King saw a demonstration of medical intervention under enemy fire. He was also briefed on reforms implemented by the army and reviewed the new armored brigade median.
Albert was accompanied by Defence Minister Pieter De Crem and Chief of Staff Charles-Henri Delcour, as well as local mayor Wouter Beke, the current negotiator between Belgium’s feuding political groups.
The visit including some discussion on the coalition forces in Libya. Belgium sent eight F-16 jets for the campaign to cripple Moammar Gadhafi’s regime.
On Thursday, the royals of Spain gathered for the annual Pascua Militar, when the Spanish military is celebrated. King Juan Carlos, Queen Sofia, Prince Felipe and Princess Letizia met with the country’s defense leaders at Zarzuela Palace. The King gave a speech both praising the military and calling for budget cuts to not affect defense.
Eduardo Parra/Getty Images
Even the Minister of Defense, Carme Chacon, echoed the King during her speech. She said “the defense of Spain should be above any economic climate.”
King Juan Carlos also urged the troops to be prepared to help to protect common security with Spain’s NATO partners “wherever they are required.”
The King praised Spanish soldiers for their service in Lebanon, Uganda, the Indian Ocean and Afghanistan, as well as Bosnia & Herzegovina. The latter Spanish troops ended their peacekeeping service in 2010.
Also discussed at Pascua Militar was talk of ending Spain’s involvement with Afghanistan this year.
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