Royalty in the News » National Holidays

Monegasque Royals’ Pre-National Day Activities

Megan M — Thu, 17 Nov 2011 17:49:17 +0000

This week an important one for the Principality of Monaco as its citizens get ready for National Day Saturday. Since Tuesday, the people and its princely family have been preparing and taking part in events leading up to its major holiday.

Click here for more photos from Thursday

On Tuesday, Prince Albert II presented medals and distinctions at the royal palace, followed by a reception.

The next day, there were more medals given out, this time for the Princess Grace hospital and those in public service.

For Thursday, Prince Albert and his wife, Princess Charlene, and younger sister, Princess Stephanie, took part in the annual gift giving to the country’s elderly at the Red Cross in Monte Carlo. This is always a great time for senior citizens to see their royals close up and have a chat with them.

Later, His Serene Highness gave out the Medals for Physical Education and Medals of the Ministry of Sport. Towards the evening, in the Throne Room, there was the Presentation of the Orders of St Charles and Grimaldi.

For Friday, Prince Albert will give out more medals, plus give two recipients the La Légion d’Honneur. That will be followed by a diplomatic corps reception and a diplomatic dinner at the Hermitage Hotel.

Also at nightfall, there will be a fireworks display and a bonfire on the Avenue de la Porte Neuve and on the Ramparts.

Then comes the big celebration on Saturday!

Source: City Out Monaco

Spanish National Day 2011

Megan M — Wed, 12 Oct 2011 20:31:34 +0000

October 12th marks Spain’s National Day, and Wednesday saw the Spanish royal family take part in the celebrations.

Click here to check out more photos.

At 10am local time, the royals gathered for the traditional military parade. They included King Juan Carlos, Queen Sofia, Prince Felipe, Princess Letizia, Infanta Elena, and Infanta Cristina along with her husband Iñaki Urdangarin. Not with his mother, but off to the side, was Infanta Elena’s son Felipe Frolian.

During the parade, a chair was placed near King Juan Carlos, who is still recovering from surgery on his Achilles tendon. Although he did not sit down, the King did lean on a cane.

In keeping with austerity, both Queen Sofia and Infanta Elena wore suits they had worn previously.

After the parade, a reception was held at Zarzuela Palace starting at 1pm. In the throne room, the representatives from various government fields came and had their hands shook one by one by the Spanish royals. The number of representatives? One thousand.

Once again, the King leaned on his cane during the entire reception.

Source: Diez Minutos, ABC.es

Liechtenstein Royals Mark National Day Amidst Social Changes

Megan M — Tue, 16 Aug 2011 00:40:03 +0000

The princely family of the tiny country of Liechtenstein celebrated National Day along with its 36,000 subjects. The day was marked with festivities, including the parade of most of the royals at the Castle Meadow in Vaduz.

Click here for the image gallery

The reigning couple, Prince Hans Adam II and Princess Marie, and the hereditary couple, Prince Alois and Princess Sophie walked by the dozens of people lined up to catch a view of their princely family.

There were other events, but one of the most important – the traditional mass – was not held. This was because of the Bishop of Vaduz refused to perform the ceremony out of protest for Liechtenstein legalizing same sex marriage, which is scheduled to begin next month.

There were other issues that arose from today. Prince Alois gave a speech where he discussed abortion, and how he would not allow the procedure for the first trimester if a referendum allows it next month. While abortion is not condemned in Liechtenstein, it is legally banned.

“The crown prince has said his opinion, which is not surprising. Rather, it is consistent, since he has been represented this opinion in the past on several occasions,” said Prime Minister Klaus Tschütscher.

One part of the abortion issue the Prince does not support is the procedure directed at those that would be born with disabilities.

“Until now we were proud of how we support people with disabilities in our country,” said Alois.

The Hereditary Prince also talked about how the Bishop refused to hold mass. “The cancellation point out that it was time to regulate the relationship between church and state again,” said Alois.

Source: Volksblatt Online, Die Presse

Belgian Royals Mark National Day – Without a Government

Megan M — Thu, 21 Jul 2011 19:38:28 +0000

National Day is often meant to be a time to celebrate patriotism, but for Belgians, this year saw it be more somber since the day also marked 400 days without a government.

Click here for more images

Belgium’s monarch, King Albert II, has been demanding recently for the feuding politicians to do something to form a government in order to save the country from splitting into two. His speech on Wednesday night covered that issue.

“On this national day, I would have liked to enjoy with you the swearing in of a new government. Alas, we are not there yet, and I deplore this,” His Majesty lamented.

“Our current situation is a cause for concern among our partners and could damage our position in Europe, and even the momentum towards European integration which has already been undermined by populism and Euroscepticism.

“The actual crisis is showing the population’s ignorance of politics but doesn’t resolve the current problems. The risk is that we are going to have a kind of [populism] which would throw democracy into question,” said the 77-year old King.

King Albert’s efforts as a mediator between the warring political groups have made him popular with the people who want Belgium to remain.

“The King is right to give his point of view and I hope that he will be heard,” said one who was among a crowd waiting to greet him.

“I say thank you to the King as he is the cement for our country. We are proud to be Belgian, its our National Day and I hope the King will live for many more,” opined another.

Despite the dark cloud of politics hanging over Belgium, many people celebrated their country’s National Day along with their royal family.

The day saw the King and Queen Paola attended a Te Deum mass at St. Michael and Gudula Cathedral in Brussels before doing a walkabout with Belgians outside. That was followed by a military parade watched by the King and Queen, Crown Prince Philippe, Princess Mathilde and Queen Fabiola.

One royal noticeably absent from this year’s National Day festivities was Prince Laurent. Having been suspended until further notice for his behavior earlier this year from royal duties, Laurent and his wife and children instead celebrated Belgium’s big day at one of the country’s street parties the previous night.

Sources: Euronews, Telegraph.co.uk, De Standaard

Swedish Royals Mark National Day

Megan M — Tue, 07 Jun 2011 11:36:22 +0000

On Monday, the whole royal family of Sweden gathered to mark the country’s National Day. June 6th is the day Sweden adopted a constitution, and although the vast majority of Swedes do not celebrate National Day is any sort, the House of Bernadotte was all smiles for those that do mark the day.

Click here to see more photos of National Day

At 10am, Crown Princess Victoria and Prince Daniel ceremoniously opened the royal palace at the South Gate, Slottsbacken. That is when the public can get a tour of the palace.

Later at around 11am, King Carl XVI Gustaf and Queen Silvia visited the town of Eslöv.

At 2pm, Victoria and Daniel handed out prizes at a citizenship ceremony at Stockholm City Hall.

At close to 6pm, the entire family – including Princess Madeleine who had just flown in from the United States – got into carriages and rode through Stockholm towards Skansen for more celebrations. The royal women dressed in traditional Swedish attire while the men wore their suits and ties.

In Skansen, a star-studded entertainment at Solliden stage included performances by Charlotte Perrelli, Magnus Carlsson, Erik Hassle, Gunilla Backman and Peter Jöback and group Timoteij and tenor Markus Pettersson. The house band was the Svante Persson orchestra.

In the evening, the royals held the reception at the royal palace.

Sources: Royal News Examiner, The Royal Forums

Charlene Joins Monaco’s Royals for National Day

Megan M — Fri, 19 Nov 2010 16:27:23 +0000

The fiancée of Monaco’s Prince Albert II made her National Day debut this Friday. Although Charlene Wittstock has been present for many of the principality’s major social events over the past years, this was her first time taking part in its most important holiday.

REUTERS/Valery Hache/Pool

Wearing a large hat and a beige suit, Charlene looked regal as she attended mass in the morning at Notre Dame Immaculee. She sat with the Monegasque royals – Princess Caroline, Albert and Princess Stephanie – although not next her fiancé. Likely next year she will, when she is officially Princess Charlene.

After the service, the royal family, including Princess Caroline’s four children, gathered in front of the palace for the Award Ceremony for badges of rank and medals for employees.

Afterward, came the balcony scene where everyone waved to the Monegasque citizens as a military parade went by.

Monaco’s National Day celebrations takes place over the course of three days. On Wednesday, Prince Albert and Princess Stephanie did their annual duty of giving presents and food to their country’s senior citizens at the Red Cross Headquarters.

Judging from today’s photos, Charlene seems very much accepted by the House of Grimaldi.

In an interview published by Le Figaro, Prince Albert spoke of his future bride’s plans for humanitarian work.

“Charlene has a very strong personality and I have no doubt of her desire to get involved in things alongside me,” he said.

“She is already committed to humanitarian causes such as the Born Free Foundation, the Special Olympics and the Nelson Mandela Foundation and wants to intensify her involvement in lots of other areas,” he said.

The couple will marry in early July 2011.

Their wedding was billed as the royal event of next year until Prince William and Catherine Middleton announced their plans to marry also in 2011.

To see more pictures of the National Day events, click here.

Source: AFP

Belgian King’s Day 2010

Megan M — Tue, 16 Nov 2010 01:58:05 +0000

The royal family of Belgium took part in King’s Day on Monday to pay homage to King Albert II. Since 1886, November 15th has been the day where the country honors its monarch. But as tradition holds, the King is not present during the events nor is the Queen, in this case Queen Paola.

Mark Renders/Getty Images

In the morning, most of the Belgian royals attended Te Deum mass at Saint Michael and Saint Gudula Cathedral in Brussels. Present were Crown Prince Philippe, Princess Mathilde, Princess Astrid, Archduke Lorenz, Prince Laurent and Princess Claire. Also there was Queen Fabiola, the sister-in-law to the King.

The Archbishop presiding over the mass prayed for national unity during a time of much linguistic and cultural division.

“We pray that our country prospers and may know the legitimate diversity of regions, communities, languages and cultures. And also as a necessary national unity.”

After Te Deum, there was a meeting at Parliament, which the royals attended. Also there were 300 children, between the ages of nine and eleven, some of whom come from either Haitian or Pakistani background. This was done to show solidarity with their home countries, which were ravaged by national disasters this year.

At 1:35 in the afternoon, King Albert II accepted a military salute from the balcony of the palace, which represents the military pledging loyalty to him.

Source: The Royal Forums, Knack.be

Cambodian King Joins Nation’s Independence Day Celebrations

Megan M — Wed, 10 Nov 2010 02:17:42 +0000

November 9th marks Cambodia’s 57 years since receiving independence from France. On that day, the entire country celebrated with their King, Norodom Sihamoni, joining them for a three day festivity.

AP Photo/Heng Sinith

In the capital of Phnom Penh, tens of thousands of Cambodians turned out for the celebrations.

In the morning, King Sihamoni laid a wreath and lit the torch inside the Independence Monument to symbolize the country’s independence from colonial rule. That fire will last until Thursday.

The King inspected the military at the Monument and even greeted crowds of students eager to shake hands with their monarch.

Independence Day is celebrated with pride throughout Cambodia. It was under French rule for 90 years until 1953.

Source: Xinhua

Belgian Royals Celebrate Kingdom’s 180th Anniversary

Megan M — Wed, 21 Jul 2010 20:12:22 +0000

REUTERS/Yves Herman

On Wednesday, the Belgian royal family marked with the rest of their country Belgium’ 180th anniversary. Although the country has been seeing threats of splitting up in recent months, all that seemed to be forgotten that day.

In the morning, most of the Belgian royals attended the Te Deum mass at St. Michel et Gudule in Brussels. Present were King Albert II, Queen Paola, Queen Fabiola, Crown Prince Philippe and Crown Princess Mathilde. Absent were Princess Astrid, who was in Hasselt, and her brother Prince Laurent and his wife, Princess Claire who were at a Te Deum mass at St-Martin d’Arlon.

What makes the Te Deum masses unique is that five beliefs – Catholicism, Protestantism, Islam, Judaism and secularism – are represented. Before Te Deum began, the King and Queen met with the leaders of those groups.

AP Photo/Thierry Charlier

After the mass, the royals did their walk about among the Belgian people.

At 4pm local time, the military parade took place. Since its Belgium’s turn to hold the European Union presidency for this half of the year, EU forces were included in the parade. 1500 soldiers and 83 vehicles from the 27 EU countries paraded along the route, including the Lamborghini Italian police.

All of Belgium’s royals were attendance for this, including Astrid, who was in military uniform, and Prince Laurent with his wife, Princess Claire. The latter two held hands during the parade.

Alongside King Albert II for the parade was Belgian Minister of Defense, Pieter de Crem.

Also visible during National Day was dowager Queen Fabiola. As it happened last year, there were bizarre but very real threats against the Queen’s life. In 2009, she mocked her would-be assassin by waving a green apple around since the death threats said she would be killed by a crossbow. But this year, she did not joke around as she was encouraged not to by police.

Source: RTL, le Vif, News Summary Royalblog

Luxembourg’s Grand Ducal Family Celebrate National Day

Megan M — Thu, 24 Jun 2010 20:26:52 +0000

The Grand Ducal Family of Luxembourg gathered to celebrate their tiny country’s national day on Wednesday. Even though festivities began the night before, June 23rd is the actual day of the holiday.

Mark Renders/Getty Images - 6/23/10

Celebrations took place in the towns of Diekirch, Esch-sur-Alzette and the capital city, also called Luxembourg. The latter saw Grand Duke Henri lay wreath at the war memorial on Tuesday, with the rest of his family present. That was followed by a changing of the guard at the Palace.

Later that same day, Henri and his wife, Grand Duchess Maria Teresa, went to Diekirch, which is celebrating its 750th anniversary this year. The couple were welcomed by Mayor Jacques Dahme, and went for a stroll through the village’s old district with Dahme. Henri and Maria Teresa stopped at one point to lay flowers at a memorial.

Meanewhile, in Esch-sur-Alzette, Hereditary Grand Duke Guillaume and his sister, Princess Alexandra, were paying a visit. They were welcomed by Lydia Mutsch, the mayor of the town, and they also laid a wreath at a war memorial. The brother and sister then went to the balcony of the Hotel de Ville, where they waved to the people below. After that, Guillaume went to the Escher Volleksfest, where he lit the traditional campfire scouts.

Mark Renders/Getty Images - 6/23/10

In the evening, the Grand Ducal family reunited back in Luxembourg City, where they attended more festivities which included an elaborate fireworks display.

The next day, the family attended the Te Deum Mass at Our Lady of Luxembourg. That was followed by a 101 gun salute from Fetschenhaff.

The family then gathered to watch a military parade, along with Prime Minister Claude Juncker.

The one royal family member missing from the celebrations was Prince Felix, who was believed to be busy with his job at a Swiss firm.

At the same time, Prince Sebastien displayed his Ordre du Lion d’Or de la Maison de Nassau in public for the first time. He received the knighthood on his 18th birthday back in April, and got a chance to wear his medal for National Day, even though it was small one.

Source: Gouvernement.lu, Lux-arazzi