Tonga’s Prince ‘Ulukalala celebrated his engagement on January 20th in Sydney, Australia. The 27 year old Prince who is second in line to the throne to due to marry 25 year old the Hon. Sinaitakala Fakafanua.
Click here to see more photos of the celebrations
The engagement celebration follows a traditional Tongan ritual known as Faitohi in July 2011. Held at “Siatapu”, Ma’ufanga Nuku’alofa, the ritual is where a man courts and woos a woman. It basically is the Tongan way of announcing an engagement.
Prince ‘Ukukalala is the son of Crown Prince Tupouto’a Lavaka and Crown Princess Nanasipau’u Tuku’aho while Sinatakala is the only daughter of Princess ‘Ofeina-‘e he-Langi Fakafanua and the late Lord Fakafanua. The two are second cousins.
The couple will wed on May 4th 2012.
The announcement of the upcoming nuptials raises the question on how Tonga’s royals will manage to keep their blood blue as the number of eligible families shrink in the South Pacific nation. The way it used to be is that the heir to the Tongan throne of the Tu’i Kanokupolu dynasty kept its royal status by marrying members of the royal family to the descendants of the earlier dynasties, the Tu’i Tonga and the Tu’i Ha’a Takalaua.
That is no longer done and these days, there are fewer and fewer noble families to marry with. The Tongan royals now have to either marry their relatives or break with tradition and marry commoners – something most royals in the world are doing.
In a quiet ceremony in Amman Thursday, Jordan’s Prince Hamzah married pilot Basma Bani. The bride, age 26, is a Canadian who’s parents are Jordanian.
See more photos of the wedding here
For the wedding, King Abdullah II, Queen Rania and Queen Noor were in attendance, as well as the bride’s family.
A lunch banquet was held at Basman Palace after the ceremony.
This is the second marriage for the former heir to the Jordanian throne. Hamzah was previously married to a distant cousin, Princess Noor, whom he has a daughter with. The two quietly divorced a few years ago.
The Prince became the Crown Prince of Jordan upon the death of his father, the late King Hussein. But in 2004, King Abdullah II dismissed Hamzah of his position and made his son the Crown Prince.
Right before Christmas, on December 22nd, the House of Habsburg announced two engagements in Brussels, Belgium.
Archduke Christoph and Archduke Imre, the sons of Archduke Carl Christian and Archduchess Marie Astrid both announced their intention to marry their respective girlfriends – Adélaïde Drapé-Frisch and Kathleen Walker.
Christoph and Imre both gave their fiancées sapphire and diamond engagement rings. While they might appear to closely resemble the same ring that once belonged to the late Princess Diana, and Prince William gave to the Duchess of Cambridge, it should be noted that the rings were modeled after the one the two men’s father gave to their mother. It is a family tradition.
The two men are not members of the Habsburg family, which once ruled Austria, but also the nephews of Grand Duke Henri of Luxembourg, through Marie Astrid, who was born a Princess of the Grand Duchy. They are also the younger brothers of Archduchess Marie Christine, who married Count Rodolpe of Limburg-Stirum back in December 2008.
The son-in-law to King Juan Carlos of Spain has been frozen out of the royal family following his connections to a fraud scandal.
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Iñaki Urdangarin, the Duke of Palma and husband to the King’s youngest daughter, Infanta Cristina, has been named as one of the players in an embezzlement of public funds while being head of a non-profit company, Instituto Noos. The money was used to set up a tourism and sports event in 2005 and 2006.
Urdangarin’s behavior “does not seem exemplary” and he has agreed to be removed from official royal activities, Spanish media quoted Rafael Spottorno, the head of the king’s household, as saying.
His lawyer Mario Pascual Vives said the Duke “is worried, saddened and rather indignant at what is coming out in the media” but insists he is innocent.
“He is concerned. I would say sorrowful is the word and maybe also indignant. Why not?” Mario Pascual said on state television. “He will always clearly feel his conviction he is fully innocent.”
In addition, the Spanish royals will publish on their official website how they spend taxpayer’s money at the end of this year.
For 2011, the royal family had a budget of €8.43 million or $11 million, which is five percent less than in 2010.
This scandal has caused much disgruntlement in Spain, where there is 20 percent unemployment. While King Juan Carlos is widely respected for supporting democracy during the country’s transition from the death of dictator Francisco Franco, there are reports that support for the monarchy has slipped.
Royal weddings are everywhere this year – including Indonesia, a democratic country that has numerous provincial and tribal monarchies, though most of them are ceremonial. This Tuesday saw the youngest daughter of the Sultan Hamengkubuwono X of Yogyakarta get married.
Click here for original article at The Jakarta Post
Princess Gusti Kanjeng Ratu Bendara wed a civil servant from Jakarta, Indonesia’s capital, named Kanjeng Pangeran Haryo Yudanegara. Their wedding included three days of celebrations leading up to Tuesday’s event.
They married early in the morning at the palace’s Panepen Mosque, led by the Sultan himself. The ceremony was conducted in Javanese. Even the groom spoke in Javanese, though he is not an ethnic Javanese; he is from Lampung province in the Sumatera island.
In fact, the groom’s birth name is Achmad Ubaidillah, but his father-in-law changed it due to his marriage. Even his daughter’s name was changed. Her birth name was Gusti Raden Ajeng Nurastuti Wijareni, but now she’s simply known as Gusti Kanjeng Ratu Bendara, or just Bendara.
The marriage ceremony did not have Bendara and Yudanegara together. Like many Islamic weddings, the bride waits outside while her father accepts the groom as his son in law. Only after the ceremony do they meet.
After Yudanegara said his vows to the Sultan, he and Bendara reunited and then took part in another ceremony, this one steeped in ritual. The Princess and Yudanegara met at the palace’s Bangsal Kencana verandah, where they stepped on eggs, Bendara washed her new husband’s feet and was carried by him and his uncle to symbolize Yudanegara’s obligation to care and protect his wife.
The ritual was witnessed by 2,000 guests, including President Susilo Bambang Yu-dhoyono, First Lady Ani Yudhoyono, Vice President Boediono, and former vice presidents Jusuf Kalla and Hamzah Haz. Former President Megawati Soekarnoputri was there briefly; she left when Yu-dhoyono arrived.
Outside, 40,000 people celebrated in the street leading from the palace to the governor’s compound, which is on the same street. The street party included not only traditional Yogyakarta performances, but those from East Java and East Nusa Tenggara.
The Sultan’s eldest daughter, Gusti Kanjeng Ratu Pembayun said: “I also want to extend our gratitude to all Yogyakartans for their participation.”
Special thanks to Nala for alerting me about this!
On the third day of national celebrations, Bhutan’s newly-wedded King arrived in its capital with his new wife and Queen. King Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck and Queen Jetsun Pema were welcomed in Thimpu to large, cheering crowds early Friday morning following their Thursday wedding.
Click here for more images at Daylife.com
The couple traveled from the ancient Buddhist monastic fortress of Punakha, where they were married, to Thimpu, mostly by foot. They had intended to travel by car, but the crowds along the way were too ecstatic for the King and Queen, that the two stepped out of the vehicle to greet, hug, kiss and say thank you to the Bhutanese people. The return to the capital took about eleven hours, which would’ve taken three by car.
Upon arriving in Thimpu, 25,000 people cheered and rushed to the couple, offering white scarves, which symbolize respect.
The last time Bhutan saw such euphoria and large crowds was three years ago when King Jigme was crowned at Punakha and made a similar journey back to Thimpu. He also had to stop along the way to greet his subjects.
King Jigme is known for his down-to-earth personality. Instead of living in a palace, he lives in a nearby cottage where he invites common Bhutanese to have tea with him and listen to their concerns.
On Saturday, Jigme and Jetsun observed dances and singing at a stadium in Thimpu, which brought a close to the nation-wide celebrations.
The King and Queen are set to honeymoon in the Indian state of Rajasthan, though it is not precisely known when.
In an event that transfixed the Himalayan Kingdom of Bhutan, its 31 year old King Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck married his 21 year old girlfriend, Jetsun Pema, in a elaborate Buddhist ceremony Thursday morning. It was broadcast live on Bhutanese television, something that was introduced there only in 1999.
View more photos of the wedding here at Daylife.com
It began with Jetsun, dressed in gold silk wedding attire, arrived at the fortress lead by singers, relatives, Buddhist monks and a white horse at the front. Young elephants were guarding the monastery.
Inside, King Jigme Khesar and his father, the former King Jigme Singye, entered a sacred chamber holding the 17th-century remains of Bhutan’s founder, where they received holy Buddhist scarves and a chalice of ambrosia that represents eternal life.
The scarves were then given to Jetsun and she and her groom drank from the chalice. Throughout the ceremony, the King wore his raven crown while she received a crown made of silk. They also received gifts representing longevity, wisdom and other positive attributes.
Once the ceremony was over, Jigme walked about the crowds outside of the monastery, shaking hands and patting children on the head. His new Queen walked shyly behind him.
“I am happy. I have been waiting quite some time,” he told reporters after the ceremony. “She is a wonderful human being, intelligent. Her and I share one big thing in common – love and passion for art.”
When asked how it felt to be married, the King replied, “It’s great – you should try it yourself.”
After this morning’s ceremony, Bhutan will celebrate with three days of dancing and drinking. On Saturday, the couple will return to the capital of Thimpu to a small sports stadium to watch the festivities.
Bhutan is a reclusive country, known for eschewing globalization and preferring its Buddhist identity. It’s population is 700,000.
The Buddhist Kingdom of Bhutan is right now counting down to the three day royal wedding set to take place starting Thursday. The people of this isolated country have been waiting excitedly since its 31 year old King Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck announced back in May that he was getting married, and now the time has come.
Click here to see more photos!
All over Bhutan, photographs of the King with his bride-to-be, 21 year old Jetsun Pema, are decorating buildings and lamp posts. Buttons featuring the couple’s images are on sale, and the people in its capital, Thimpu, are preparing to celebrate in colorful clothes and dances for the next three days.
Meanwhile, the bride, and Queen-to-be, Jetsun Pema, traveled to the Druk Wangyal Lhakhang temple in Dochula where she offered prayers on the eve of her wedding. Once married, Jetsun will be the world’s youngest Queen, and perhaps the most beautiful.
It is said that the couple have known each other for years. In August, the King told villagers that when he was 17, he met a then 7 year old Jetsun during a family picnic in Thimpu. During that time, the future King told the young girl, “When you grow up, if I am single and not married and if you are single and not married, I would like you to be my wife, provided we still feel the same.”
And apparently they do!
King Jigme has been the monarch of this tiny Himalayan country since 2008. His father abdicated in order to bring in a more modern form of government, and this King is mostly a figurehead while his father was an absolute ruler. Despite not having much powers, Jigme is popular with his people due to his laidback, down to earth attitude.
Click here for gallery at Daylife.com
He is one of 10 children and was educated at Oxford. He is known for liking Elvis, mountain biking and playing basketball, something his wife-to-be also enjoys.
Not much is know about Bhutan’s next Queen, except she is the daughter of a pilot, educated in India and is a college student in Britain, where she studies international relations.
But the Bhutanese have noticed that the two are very much in love. During the period between their engagement announcement and their wedding, the couple went on a tour of the country’s villages. The people saw them openly hold hands.
“He really loves her,” said 16-year-old schoolgirl Jurme Choden as she waited to practise a dance routine for the public celebrations on Saturday. “Wherever he goes he holds her hand. Now young people are starting to copy.”
“I don’t know that much about her, but she’s beautiful,” said Zhung Chuck, a 23-year-old business student. “His Majesty chose the right one.”
Tomorrow morning, according to the most auspicious time by Buddhist monks, the couple will wed at a 17th-century fortress in the ancient capital Punakha. A senior Buddhist cleric will conduct the ceremony. It will be broadcast nationwide.
Don’t expect this wedding to have the same amount of guests as the recent royal weddings in Great Britain and Monaco did. No head of states have been invited, and the wives of Bhutan’s ministers have been left out due to seating issues. This wedding is intended to be purely modest.
See more photos of the preparations here.
King Jigme and the then Queen Jetsun will not emerge in public until Saturday, into a small sports stadium in Thimpu.
As Queen, Jetsun is expected to concentrate on charity work, but also to produce a much needed heir.
“If anything happened to our king, then who would take over the throne?” Tempa Gyeltshen told AFP. “What we are all hoping for is children.”
According to the new constitution, Jetsun will be Jigme’s only wife. His father had four, all sisters.
The great-great-grandson of the last Kaiser married Saturday in an event that sparked German interest in royalty. Prince Georg Friedrich Ferdinand of Prussia wed Princess Sophie of Isenburg in Potsdam, Germany, outside of Berlin at Sanssouci Palace. The couple married in a private civil ceremony on Friday, but Saturday’s religious wedding had many royals – both reigning and non-reigning – in attendance.
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It also attracted the attention of several hundred curious on-lookers who gathered outside the church to get a glimpse of the newlyweds. The ceremony was also aired live on local German television, which is fascinating considering the couple were unknowns in the country until they announced their engagement last year, and plus, Germany abolished the monarchy in 1918.
“People are longing for things they don’t get out of the republic,” says Rolf Seelmann-Eggebert, who will provide live commentary for broadcaster RBB, a public-service broadcaster based in Berlin and Potsdam. In a confusing, fast-changing world, “people are looking for little princes and princesses who are born and will be of some importance for the rest of their life,” he says.
These days, former German royals maintain their titles, even though they have no meaning and work regular jobs. Prince Georg Friedrich, age 35 and Princess Sophie, age 33, both work as consultants in Berlin.
Had the monarchy stayed in Germany, the Prince would be the Kaiser. But now, he is simply the head of the House of Hohenzollern, the family where the Kaisers came from.
Both Georg Friedrich and Sophie have not granted interviews despite the wide interest in their wedding.
The royal guests at the wedding included Princess Sybilla of Luxembourg, Prince Hassan of Jordan, and Prince Laurent of Belgium. The non-reigning royals there included Grand Duchess Maria, claimant to the Romanov throne.
Scotland saw its first royal wedding in almost 20 years when Queen Elizabeth II’s eldest granddaughter, Zara Phillips, married rugby player Mike Tindall at Canongate Kirk in Edinburgh. The House of Windsor all turned up for this low-key ceremony in which no cameras were allowed inside.
Click here for original article at the Daily Mail
But there were plenty outside along with the small but cheering crowds. Those gathered cheered for the Queen and her husband, the Duke of Edinburgh, louder than for Prince William and Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, who were married only three months earlier.
Charles and Camilla were attendance, as were Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie, whom were dressed more favorably according to critics than they were at William and Catherine’s wedding on April 29th.
And of course the mother of the bride, Princess Anne, was there, smiling broadly as her youngest child tied the knot.
Zara’s bridal gown was designed by one of her grandmother’s favorite designers, Stewart Parvin. She also wore Jimmy Choo shoes and the Greek Meander tiara.
She was escorted down the aisle by her father, Anne’s first husband, Captain Mark Phillips.
View gallery at Daylife.com
The doors were closed during the ceremony, but when it was all over, Mike and Zara emerged arm in arm and shared a kiss for the crowds.
After the nuptials, the newlyweds, their friends and family, went to Holyroodhouse – the Queen’s residence in Edinburgh – for the reception.
Zara reportedly will keep her maiden name since she is a competitive equestrian. This is breaking with royal tradition as members of the royal family have always taken the surname of their spouses.
The last royal wedding in Scotland was in 1992 when Princess Anne married her second husband, Tim Laurence.
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