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Ever since she relocated to New York City a year ago, there has been controversy over what Sweden’s Princess Madeleine is doing there. For a while, it was said she was working for World Childhood Foundation, a charity set up by her mother, Queen Silvia. But that didn’t go over well, especially when the tabloids reported on Madeleine’s shopping and partying ways.
 Click here for more photos of Princess Madeleine But newspaper Svensk Damtidning recently did some research on the Princess’ life in the Big Apple. It found that she does indeed work for WCF – but without pay.
“Princess Madeleine began working for Childhood in 2007,” said Anna De Geer, who is Assistant Secretary General in Childhood. “It takes time to learn the profession of project officers and I have taught her over the years.”
“Being the administrator of a project means to be onsite and analysis, ensuring that budgets and follow up reports from the various projects. This is a big job and it takes time to get acquainted with and learn.”
According to De Geer, the Princess is working on a project for China plus New York based projects.
“She does not receive wages from us,” said De Geer.
So, who is paying for Madeleine’s lifestyle?
The royal court’s information manager Bertil Ternert says she gets her money from dotations from the state, like most royals do.
Should the Swedish people be pleased that they are funding Madeleine’s jet setting lifestyle? Is she really working on charity projects?
“She has helped to bring information about projects and disbursements of our new system. It has been time-consuming and time consuming,” said De Geer.
“Many of our projects are about helping people in distress. It is sensitive to many times with a photographer. It’s about children at risk and we cherish their privacy.”
Source: Svensk Damtidning
It was supposed to be a lovely time in New York City for Sweden’s Queen Silvia. She was to receive an award for her charity work and spend some time with youngest daughter, Princess Madeleine.
 Click here for more pics at Zimbio Instead, a run in with a photographer sent Her Majesty to the emergency room.
While shopping with Madeleine in New York on Monday, a photographer tried to get shots of the two royals. As she tried to dodge the paparazzo, the Queen fell over some garbage bags while trying to enter her car, and injured her hand and foot.
The result was wearing a leg brace and a bandage around her hand as Silvia received The Health and Human Rights Award Tuesday night. Despite her injuries, the Queen looked every bit pleased to win her award.
The intrusive photographer came from the tabloid, Aftonbladet.
“We are looking very seriously at the incident. I deeply regret the incident. We are now investigating in detail what happened. This will lead a discussion on how we monitor the royal family. Of course we have a responsibility also to how the freelance photographers we use occurs,” said Aftonbladet editor Jan Helin.
Sources: Kungehuset.se, Aftonbladet
 Stella Pictures Sweden’s Princess Madeleine spent Tuesday at the United Nations for a seminar on women’s issues called Status of Women 2011. She was with the head of the Swedish delegation for the women’s commission, Nyamko Sabuni.
The Princess listened as Sabuni talked about the problems facing young girls in the world, particularly child marriage.
“Child marriage is one of the greatest obstacles to girls attending school. In my speech, I would urge world leaders to actively work to prevent child marriages,” Sabuni told reporters before the seminar.
A large number of ministers plus more than 3500 delegates, including from NGOs from around the world, will participate in Women’s Commission’s 55th session in New York. The Equality Summit is going from February 22 to March 4.
Source: Svensk Damtidning, Utbildningsdepartementet
Sweden’s Princess Madeleine has been in the news this past week for various reasons – ranging to legal matters to fashion to even her private life which appears to be heating up.
 WireImage/All Over Press/FILE Earlier this month, the Princess was filmed with another man at a New York City bar. Video showed her lightly rubbing his arm at one point while they ordered drinks. Speculation spread like wild fire that Madeleine, who broke off her engagement to lawyer Jonas Bergström last year after he cheated on her, had found love again.
On Sunday, Swedish tabloids published photos of the Princess and her significant other entering his Manhattan apartment Thursday night and leaving it Friday morning. It is safe to say Madeleine has moved on from her broken heart.
The man she is linked to is 36 year old Chris O’Neill, who is a financial adviser and son of socialite Eva O’Neill. Since the video was shown on Swedish news websites, O’Neill has gone from a local celebrity to a worldwide one because he is dating one of the most eligible bachelorettes in the world.
Now for some legal issues. In 2009, Princess Madeleine won a libel case in Germany after she sued tabloids for reporting false information about her private life. This week, she received 3.5 million kronor, or $540,000, which will go to charity.
Also for charity, Madeleine designed two pairs of jeans for an American clothing brand, which will be available starting in February. For every 300 kronor made, they will go to World Childhood Foundation, which Madeleine’s mother, Queen Silvia, began to help vulnerable children.
The Princess has been staying in New York for quite sometime and it is unknown when she will return to Sweden. Judging by the way her life is going now, the Big Apple quite suits her.
Source: Expressen, The Local, Aftonbladet
U.S. President Barack Obama gave the King of Saudi Arabia a phone call Sunday to congratulate Abdullah bin Abdulaziz al-Saud on the progress he has made since his back surgery back in late November.
 REUTERS/Saudi Press Agency-Handout/12.22.10 During his vacation in Hawaii, President Obama called Abdullah “to wish him well, and to congratulate him on the progress that he has made toward a full recovery,”
The 86 year old King spent one month in a New York City hospital before leaving on December 22nd. Following his initial surgery on a debilitating herniated disc complicated by a hematoma that put pressure on his spine, the King received another procedure to repair some vertebrae.
King Abdullah is now at an undisclosed New York location where he is recovering from his operations. It is not known when will he return to Saudi Arabia.
In return for the President’s phone call, the King congratulated Obama for securing Senate approval of a new nuclear arms reduction treaty with Russia.
“The president thanked him and told him that he looked forward to working closely together in the coming year,” the White House statement said.
“The two leaders underscored the importance of our bilateral relationship, and agreed to continue cooperating closely on a range of issues.”
Source: AFP
 REUTERS/Ahim Rani/FILE The brother of the Sultan of Brunei, Prince Jefri Bolkiah, has to pay a law team in legal fees, a New York City jury found Wednesday.
The jury Faith Zaman Derbyshire and Thomas Derbyshire were awarded more than $10.1 million, though they gave Prince Jefri $54,000 which the Prince said the Derbyshires stole from him.
Jefri claimed the husband and wife legal team stole the money by exploiting his trust in various schemes. The Derbyshires said they did everything the Prince told them to do.
The trial provided the jury and other onlookers a glimpse of the jet-set lifestyle Prince Jefri leads as a member of one of the world’s wealthiest families.
Source: AP
 REUTERS/Saudi Press Agency/Handout According to a statement released by the palace in Saudi Arabia, King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz al-Saud’s back surgery was a success. The King was suffering from a blood clot due to a herniated disc and flew to New York City for the procedure at New York Presbyterian Hospital.
The statement read that the 86 year old King Abdullah’s “back surgery, in which the blood clot was extracted, the slipped disk was corrected, and the injured vertebrae was stabilized…The operation was accomplished successfully.”
The King is currently resting in the hospital. It is not known how soon he will return to his country.
Before leaving Saudi Arabia, King Abdullah temporarily handed over power to his half brother Crown Prince Sultan. The 85 year old heir to the throne had to fly back to Riyadh after spending several months in Morocco, where he recuperated from cancer treatment.
Source: AP
Wednesday night was the annual Princess Grace Awards held at Cipriani’s in New York City. Princess Caroline, the eldest daughter of the late Princess Grace and her late husband Prince Rainier III, was on hand to distribute the awards for those who made contributions to the arts and to charity.
 Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images The main honorees this year were actor Denzel Washington and his wife Pauletta. While Washington is well known for his accomplishments in film acting, he and Pauletta are also active in helping others. They run their own Gifted Scholars Program in Neuroscience, which gives scholarships to medical students to study under Dr. Keith Black, the chairman of Cedars-Sinai’s neurosurgery department.
“We are so blessed, and we are blessed to be a blessing to others,” she told Bloomberg News. “That’s our family mantra about giving. “The main thing is to have an appreciation for what we have, and we teach that to our children.”
Also honored last night was Tony Award winning director Anna D. Shapiro, for her contributions to the arts.
The Princess Grace Awards is a major event during the fall season in New York City. It attracts celebrities and other high society members of the city.
Source: Bloomberg, Royal News Examiner
Since Thursday, the Norwegian Crown Princely couple have been in New York, mainly to mark the 100th anniversary of the American-Scandinavian Foundation. But Haakon and Mette Marit had so much more on their agenda that there was rarely a spare moment in their two day visit.
 Photo by Slaven Vlasic/Getty Images First off, Their Royal Highnesses got busy Thursday morning by meeting with the press. When asked how do they keep their 10 year love alive, Haakon replied jokingly, “take a weekend in New York!”
After the press conference, things got started for the couple by going to the IPI Policy Forum discussing “From Crisis Development: Recovery and the Millennium Development Goals”. The Crown Princess sat in the audience as Haakon participated in a panel along with UNDP leader Helen Clark and Greg Mortenson, author of Three Cups of Tea.
The panel discussed the implementation of the Millenium Development Goals (MDGs) in the context of crises such as those seen in Haiti and Pakistan and how the global community can help ensure that goals are met in areas that face major humanitarian challenges.
After that, Haakon met with the United Nations’ Development Program while Mette Marit went to see the exhibition Why Design Now, which has five Norwegian artworks in it, at the Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum.
The couple reunited at another museum, The New Museum, to see the exhibit Free, which focuses on artwork from around the world by non-established artists. By mid-afternoon, they were watching the children’s opera Max and Moritz at the Lower Manhattan Arts Academy. They then went to the Scandinavia House for the opening of the exhibition Nordic Models + Common Grounds. The exhibit displayed the latest in Nordic art, design and architecture, and will be part of the commemoration of the Scandinavia House for its 10th anniversary.
 Henry S. Dziekan III/Getty Images Early Friday morning, Haakon and Mette Marit visited Ground Zero, the site of the 9/11 attacks. The Norwegian architect group, Snøhetta, are in charge of designing the museum pavilion, which is to be part of the memorial park.
The Crown Prince then went to the exhibition Race to the End of the Earth at the American Museum of Natural History, while his wife did her role as UNAIDS representative at the Cylar House, Housing Works. The House has a medical clinic and treatment center in addition to 36 apartments. The kitchen – the Works Catering – earn money for the project while giving users the house valuable job training. The house is named after one of Housing Works’ founders, Keith D. Cylar, who died of AIDS in 2004.
Crown Princess Mette-Marit were both visiting several of the apartments in the house and the kitchen where she received a briefing on the job training that takes place there.
For lunch, the couple were at the Norwegian-American Chamber of Commerce Gala Luncheon on the Occasion of the Norwegian-American Trade Award to Snøhetta. The Crown Princess gave a speech as she presented the award:
“One of the main characteristics of Snøhetta is the importance attached two context and landscape, and achieving harmony between two buildings and their surroundings. Close collaboration with artist has been of crucial importance in their wine of projects, and they operate with great success in the interface between art, culture and business. Snøhetta also strives to produce two designs that are eco-friendly, sustainable and of high quality.”
At night, Haakon and Mette Marit finally got around to celebrate the centenary of the American-Scandinavian Foundation.
Sources: Kongehuset.no, Dagbladet, The Royal Forums
Earlier this week in New York, Sweden’s Queen Silvia and Princess Madeleine launched a national campaign for World Childhood Foundation (WCF) with Sirius radio. The campaign is going to include many other famous Swedish faces to help WCF fight abuse and exploitation of children all over the world.
 Catarina Lundgren Åstrom/Svensk Damtidning At the launch, the Queen and her youngest daughter were joined by director Lasse Hallstrom and his wife Lena Olin, golf star Jesper Parnevik, and hockey pro Henrik Lundqvist. Also there were Frida and Bjorn Ulvaeus from ABBA, and Per Gessle and Marie Fredriksson from Roxette. All were there to lend their voices for the radio campaign.
“The work of the World Childhood Foundation could not be more important at this critical time, and I am proud to be part of their efforts to protect children,” said Scott Greenstein, President and Chief Content Officer, SIRIUS XM Radio, who was also at the launch. “With the help of the esteemed and generous individuals involved in this campaign, we can reach people across the country and around the world and make a difference.”
“We are very pleased that Her Royal Highness Princess Madeleine of Sweden is part of our SIRIUS XM Radio campaign,” said Charlotte Brandin, ED for Childhood USA. “We have many notable guests lined up to continue to bring awareness to Childhood’s mission and many projects to a new audience.”
Silvia and Madeleine took time to even speak to the media. The Queen spoke glowingly of the Princess being active in the charity she founded in 1999.
“I am both pleased and proud that my daughter helps me with Childhood. I know she takes it seriously and is active in the work,” Her Majesty said.
Madeleine also commented that the campaign was “exciting.” She was also asked about her time in New York City, where she has been living for a few months.
“There are so incredibly interesting people here as you get the chance to meet them,” the Princess said. “It really feels that it is the right place!”
Sources: Svensk Damtidning, iStockAnalyst
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