ROYAL NEWS: AUGUST 2010

Last updated: August 31st, 2010.

August 1st
28-year-old Princess Elisabeth von Thurn und Taxis underwent surgery at hospital in Regensburg, Germany, last Friday. Hours before she wrote in her column in the newspaper "Bild am Sonntag" that doctors had found "something in the bones in the sinus", that had to be removed. The operation went well and she is recovering now. The Princess had a tumor removed a few years ago.

August 2nd
Yesterday the Princely Palace of Monaco announced that the dates of the wedding of Reigning Prince Albert II of Monaco and Charlene Wittstock have changed. The civil wedding will take place in Monaco on Saturday 2 July 2011. The religious wedding will take place in Monaco on Sunday 3 July 2011. Reason for this change is a meeting of the International Olympic Committee, which is to be held from 5 to 9 July 2011 in Durban, South Africa. The couple wants the presence of the Olympic family at their wedding. Prince Albert also wants his wife's first trip abroad to be to South Africa, which is her homeland.

Crown Princess Victoria and Prince Daniel of Sweden arrived back home yesterday evening after a six-week honeymoon. The private jet they were travelling with left from Bedford, Boston, USA. They first spent some time n the South Pacific, before heading for the the USA. They among others visited New York.

August 3rd
Newspapers report that 22-year-old Inkosikati LaDube, 12th wife of King Mswati III of Swaziland, has been placed under house arrest at her mother-in-law's home. She was allegedly caught by the police at the Royal Villas Hotel near Swaziland's capital, Mbabane, with her married lover Ndumiso Mamba, minister of justice of Swaziland and a good friend of King Mswati III. The minister was jailed on the king's orders. The King and his 12th wife have a three children together. LaDube denies the allegiations and says she is at her own palace and isn't under house arrest. The king will return to Swaziland on Wednesday.

August 4th
The Spanish royal family have arrived at Mallorca last week for the annual Summer holidays. The Prince of Asturias and King Harald V of Norway are competing in the Copa del Rey yachting competition. Yesterday the Princess of Asturias was photographed together with her daughters Leonor and Sofía. Today they posed for the press together with the Prince of Asturias.

Royal Portraits: 3 August

Royal Portraits: 4 August

August 5th
On Monday three intruders broke into the grounds of Royal Lodge in Windsor Great Park, the home of the Duke of York, the police said today. A 43-year-old man was arrested. He is suspected of conspiracy to commit theft. The Duke, who inherited the lodge from his grandmother The Queen Mother, and his family were in Scotland at the time. Nothing was stolen.

The Duke of Parma has been admitted to hospital in Barcelona, Spain, on 2 August. He was threated there for prostate cancer in 2008. In a statement issued on the same day the Duke says that his fate is now in the hands of God, and that he is surrounded by his family and confidants. He explicitely mentions his eldest son Carlos as the future head of the family.

August 6th
The Danish Royal Court announced today that Crown Prince Frederik and Crown Princess Mary of Denmark expect twins. They are expected to be born at the Rigshospitalet in Copenhagen in January 2011. The couple already has two children: Christian and Isabella

The funeral service of Countess Ruth af Rosenborg took place today at Skovshoved Church. Among the mourners were Queen Margrethe II Denmark, Queen Sonja of Norway, Crown Prince Haakon and Princess Märtha Louise of Norway.

PPE Pictures

Thieves have broke into the Chinese Pavilion in the gardens of the Drottningholm Palace on Thursday night. A police spokesman says it was a full-scale break in and an aggravated theft that took place just after security guards had made their rounds. They think it was a contract job. Guards arrived at the scene six minutes after the alarm went off, but the thieves had already left. Police arrived 14 minutes after the alarm went off. An unknown number of "old, beautiful Chinese objects" have been stolen, and according to the police it might not even be possible to put a value on these objects. Police is investigating an abandoned motor bike found in the nearby waterfront. The thieves might have left via the water in a boat.

Ndumiso Mamba, minister of justice of Swaziland, has resigned following allegiations that he is having an affair with Inkosikati LaDube, 12th wife of King Mswati III of Swaziland. He has agreed to step down so the allegiations could be investigated, prime minister Sibusiso Dlamini said in a statement.

August 7th
Princess Nathalie zu Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg and her husband Alexander Johannsmann proudly presented their son at Berleburg Castle. The boy, who will be christened Konstantin Gustav Heinrich Richard zu Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg-Johannsmann, will have the German and Danish nationality.

Billed-Bladet: family pictures

August 8th
The Sunday Telegraph reported that the debts of the Duchess of York have risen to almost £5 million. According to the newspaper at least one financial advisor to Buckingham Palace has recommended the Duchess a voluntary bankruptcy. The debts are both personal and business ones in Great Britain and the USA. A spokesman of the Duchess today said that the situation is being managed. All her personal debts are said to have been paid off. Some of the business debts are disputed, the spokesman said. Everything is being done to avoid bankruptcy.

August 9th
Prosecutors at the National Anti-Corrupt Unit in Sweden have received three complaints about the wedding gift of Bertil Hult to Crown Princess Victoria and Prince Daniel of Sweden. He lent the couple his private jet, yacht and house in Colorado for their honeymoon. One of the complaints say that the gift could be considered bribery as Crown Princess Victoria has officially attended several events hosted by Hults companies and charities. A spokesperson of the Royal Palace said the honeymoon was a private trip, and said that it was a present from an old friend of the family.

According to the Danish Palace and Properties Agency the newly-renovated Frederik VIII's Palace at Amalienborg, Copenhagen, attracted 479.624 visitors since its opening in February. The palace closed its doors on 8 August. Crown Prince Frederik and Crown Princess Mary of Denmark are scheduled to move into the palace next month. But before they can move in, the agency said, some craftsmen have to do some work to the palace again. Some floors and walls have suffered from the many visitors.

August 11th
In a radio address on the occasion of her 78th birthday Queen Sirikit of Thailand said that the health of her husband, King Bhumibol Adulyadej, has "substantially improved". The King has been in hospital in Bangkok since 19 September 2009. The Queen said: "Now his health has substantially improved but doctors still ask him to continue doing physical therapy so that he can move around with strength first before leaving the hospital."

Count Christian Bernadotte and his wife Christine had their first child . Maximilian Benedikt was born on 10 August at 11.44am in Konstanz, Germany. He is 44 cm tall and weighed 2260 gramms.

Sharjah, one of the seven emirates of the UAE, mourns the death of Sheikha Maryam bint Ghanem bin Salim Al Shamsi, who passed away this afternoon aged 95. She was the mother of Sheikh Sultan bin Mohammed Al Qasimi, Ruler of Sharjah. The Sheikha was laid to rest at Al Jubail cemetery after prayers at the Ahmed ibn Hanbal mosque. A seven-day state of official mourning was declared.

August 13th
Hereditary Prince Maximilian and Hereditary Marissa zu Bentheim-Tecklenburg had their fourt child, Carl-Emil Maximilian Moritz-Casimir Arnold on 10 August at the Evangelisches Krankenhaus (hospital) in Lippstadt, Germany. He was 53 cm tall and weighed 3395 gramms. Mother and son left hospital today and Carl-Emil was presented to the press at the castle in Rheda-Wiedenbrück. His siblings Moritz, Louise and Amalia are very happy with their new brother.

August 14th
Princess Mako of Japan is flying back to Japan today after having attended a six-week summer programme at the Applied Language Centre at the University College of Dublin, Ireland. The princess attended workshops in English language, 20th-century Irish literature, drama and Irish history. She and her classmates also visited Glendalough, Newgrange, Dingle, Killarney and Belfast.

August 15th
The Princess Royal celebrated her 60th birthday today. On the occasion of the birthday two new official photographs were issued. They were taken by John Swannell. BBC made a documentary about her life and times, which was broadcasted both on 12 and 15 August.

BBC: The Princess Royal at 60

A rainy Staatsfeiertag (national day) was celebrated today in Vaduz, Liechtenstein. After the traditional mass near the castle of Vaduz, there was a reception in the garden. Reigning Prince Hans Adam and his wife Marie, Hereditary Prince Alois and his wife Sophie and their three sons - their daughter seems to be absent - attended the celebrations. Hereditary Prince Alois held the traditional speech.

Volksblatt Pictures

Vaterland Pictures (choose 15.08.2010)

Two years after his terrible car accident his mother, former Queen Margarita, announced Crown Prince Kardam of Bulgaria will be transferred from Galicia to his home in Madrid on 1 September. She however said his condition remains very serious and that he is still unable to communicate with his relatives. The house in Madrid has been adapted to his situation.

August 16th
In a statement the Saudi Royal Court on Monday announced that Prince Salman bin Abdul Aziz of Saudi Arabia underwent a successfull spine surgery in the USA. The Prince, a brother of King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia, says he is enjoying good health. After recuperating he will return to Saudi Arabia. He has been the governor of the Riyadh region since 1962.

August 17th
Prime Minister Julia Gillard of Australia said today that Australia should become a republic after the death or abdication of Queen Elizabeth II of Great Britain. She however added that Australia has a deep affection for Queen Elizabeth.

Crown Princess Mary of Denmark has arrived in Hobart, Tasmania, today at 11am. She is expected to stay with her sister Jane Stephens in Hobart. On Saturday it is thought she will attend the 40th birthday party of her good friend Amber Petty in Adelaide. Media have been warned they face fines or jail according to new Tasmanian laws if they don't respect the crown princess's privacy.

Preparations for the wedding of Prince Nikolaos of Greece and Tatiana Blatnik on 25 August are in full swing. Confirmed guests are Queen Margrethe II, Crown Princess Mary, Prince Joachim and Princess Marie of Denmark. Also coming are Crown Princess Victoria, Prince Daniel, Prince Carl Philip and Princess Madeleine of Sweden.

Prince Carlos de Bourbon de Parme and Annemarie Gualthérie van Weezel have postponed their religious wedding, which was to take place in Brussels, Belgium, on 28 August. Reason is the very bad health of the groom's father, the Duke of Parma. The Duke is in hospital in Barcelona since 2 August and his situation is said to be "very critical". A new date isn't known yet, but it is the wish of the Duke the marriage will take place in 2010. The couple married civilly on 12 June.

August 18th
According to a new book by author Tom Buk-Swientys, to be released later this month, King Christian IX of Denmark was prepared to offer Denmark to King Wilhelm I of Prussia in July 1864 to be able to keep the south Jutland regions of Schleswig and Holstein within Denmark. The author was allowed to research the private archives of the king with permission of Queen Margrethe II of Denmark.

The Duke of Parma and Piacenza, Prince Carlos Hugo de Bourbon de Parme, died at 8.00am in a hospital at Barcelona, Spain, aged 80. He died of cancer. His remains will be transfered to the "Koepel van Fagel" near Noordeinde Palace in The Hague, The Netherlands, on Friday. Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands will pay for the costs of the flight by Dutch government airplane. Afterwards he will be taken to Parma, Italy, where he will be buried in the family vault at the Basilica Magistrale Constantiniana della Steccata. A memorial service will take place later on in Madrid, Spain. A register for condolences will be placed later on at the family website. The Duke was born in Paris on 8 April 1930 as son of Prince Xavier de Bourbon de Parme, Duke of Parma and Piacenza and his wife Marie-Madeleine de Bourbon-Busset. In 1964 he married Princess Irene of the Netherlands, whom he divorced in 1981. The couple had four children: Carlos (* 1970), Margarita and Jaime (* 1972) and Carolina (* 1974). He furthermore had one granddaughter, Julia (* 2008), as well as an unrecognised grandson, Hugo (* 1997). King Juan Carlos of Spain and the Prince of Asturias sent telegramms to the family.

Death announcement

The Princes' Foundation for the Advancement of Religious and National Consensus has gone to court to claim the ancestral lands of the Russian Rurik dynasty back, especially the Kremlin in Moscow. The foundation was founded in May 2009 by Valery Kubarev, who is a descendant of the Rurik dynasty. The Arbitrarion Court in Moscow said on Monday the case will be heard on 18 October.

August 19th
In the early afternoon Princess Ingrid Alexandra of Norway started her first school day at Jansløkka School in Asker. She was accompanied by her parents Crown Prince Haakon and Crown Princess Mette-Marit, her grandfather King Harald V of Norway and her grandmother Marit Tjessem. Ingrid Alexandra's teacher will be Margrethe Setså Jensen. There are 21 other children in her class.

Kongehuset: video and pictures

Royal Portraits Pictures

The Swedish royal court has published a list of the items stolen at the Kina Slott (Chinese pavilion) at Drottningholm on 6 August. Pictures are included.

Stolen items from the China Palace

Prince Tomohito of Mikasa has been admitted to an hospital in Tokyo for treatment of his irregular heartbeat. The prince is a cousin of Emperor Akihito of Japan.

Countess Diana Bernadotte af Wisborg had her second child, a son, on 17 August at 3.13pm. The boy is called Eric Hagen Lennart, was 49 cm tall and weighed 3100 gramms. The name of the father remains unknown. By her former husband Bernd Grawe Countess Diana had a daughter, Paulina Marie, who is now six years old.

A requiem was held at the Tantario de Sant Gervasi in Barcelona on the occasion of the death of the Duke of Parma this evening. The coffin of the Duke was covered with the Spanish flag and the red Carlist beret of Prince Xavier, father of the deceased. The service was attended by the four children of the deceased, his daughter-in-law Princess Annemarie, and his three unmarried sisters, and almost 300 guests. After the service the new Duke of Parma, Prince Carlos, said that his father will be buried in a Benedictine habit and with the beret of his father in his hands. Memorial services will be held in September in Madrid and Tarragona, and in Barcelona in October.

August 20th
Anti-corruption prosecutors in Sweden have decided that Crown Princess Victoria and Prince Daniel of Sweden weren't wrong in accepting free use during their honeymoon of the private jet, yacht and house of Swedish businessman Bertil Hult. In a written statement Chief Prosecutor Gunnar Stetler said today: "The Crown Princess has inherited her position and it would therefore not seem relevant to compare her duties to those of someone who had been elected or appointed to carry them out. There is no reason to believe that a crime subject to public prosecution has been committed. An investigation will therefore not be commenced." There will be no investigation either into the conduct of Bertil Hult.

Prince Salman bin Abdelaziz of Saudi Arabia was discharged from a hospital in the USA, where he underwent spine surgery.

Former minister of justice of Swaziland, Ndumiso Mamba, is reported to have been rearrested to prevent him leaving Swaziland after he had transfering his money to a foreign bank. He is said to have been caught in bed with the 12th wife of King Mswati III of Swaziland. The news has been denied by the Swazi authorities.

The remains of the Duke of Parma were transferred from Spain to the Netherlands today. The coffin arrived at Palace Noordeinde on Friday afternoon. At the Koepel van Fagel in the garden of the palace family and friends can say goodbye to the Duke. The children and children-in-law of the Duke were accompanied by their aunt Princess Marie-Thérèse de Bourbon de Parme, Princess Irene of the Netherlands, Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands with her three sons and daughters-in-law, Princess Margriet of the Netherlands and Pieter van Vollenhoven with their sons Maurits, Bernhard and Floris and their wifes, as well as by Princess Christina of the Netherlands. Around the coffin in the Koepel van Fagel were wreaths of his ex-wife and children with families, Queen Beatrix and her family, King Juan Carlos and Queen Sofia of Spain and Princess Margriet of the Netherlands and her family. On the coffin is a cushion with the Order of the Golden Fleece. In front of the coffin are the Grand Cross of the House Order of Orange, and the own order of the Dukes of Parma. On Monday the remains of the Duke will be transfered to Piacenza, where people can say goodbye on Tuesday at the S.Maria di Campagna church. On Thursday people can say goodbye in Parma.

ANP Pictures

August 21st
The Swedish royal family celebrated the 200th anniversary of the Bernadotte Dynasty in Örebro. King Carl XVI Gustaf and Queen Silvia, Crown Princess Victoria, Prince Daniel, Prince Carl Philip and Princess Madeleine arrived for lunch at Stjernsunds Slott in Askersund. They also attended a service in the Nicolai Church and visited two exhibitions about the Bernadottes at the Örebro läns museum. It was the first official engagement of Crown Princess Victoria and Prince Daniel since their wedding on 19 June. French Marshal Jean-Baptiste was chosen the Swedish heir to the throne on 21 August 2010 and took the name Karl Johan. He reigned Sweden from 1818 to 1844 as King Karl XIV Johan.

PPE Pictures

Royal Portraits Pictures

August 22nd
The Dutch royal family was present at Sail Amsterdam in the past days. As patron of the event the Prince of Orange sailed in the SAIL-IN on the Clipper Stad Amsterdam on 19 August. Yesterday he took his wife Princess Máxima and the three daughters Amalia, Alexia and Ariane with him on the royal yacht De Groene Draeck. Today the Prince took off the parade of the fleet, accompanied by Queen Beatrix and Princess Máxima.

AT5 Saturday: Dancing Princesses during SAIL

AT5 Sunday: Fleet Parade

Christmas present from Queen Victoria to her personal servant John Brown sold for £23.400 at auction at Bonhams in Edinburgh on Thursday. A silver mounted claret jug engraved with "To J.B/Victoria 1872" sold for £14.300. An engraved teapot, a Christmas gift from 1876, was sold for £9.000. Also on sale were two personal tributes to John Brown, produced after his death in 1883, and some other items.

August 23rd
Pauline Ducruet, the eldest daughter of Princess Stephanie of Monaco, competeted at the Youth Olympic Games in Singapore yesterday. She reached a tenth place in the preliminary rounds of the diving competition, and made it to the finals. She was cheered by her parents, her halfsister Camille, and her uncle reigning Prince Albert II of Monaco.

August 24th
On the occasion of tomorrow's wedding of Prince Nikolaos of Greece and Tatiana Blatnik a cocktail reception was held today at the Poseidonion Grace Hotel at Spetses Island, Greece.

Getty Images: wedding rehearsal

Getty Images: reception

August 25th
Prince Nikolaos of Greece married Tatiana Blatnik on the island of Spetses, Greece, this evening. Tatiana Blatnik arrived at the church of Aghios Nikolaos in a horse-drawn carriage together with her stepfather Attilio Brillembourg. She wore a dress in white lace designed by Angel Sánchez, a designer from Venezuela, with a long veil, held a tiara she lent from her mother-in-law Queen Anne-Marie. The groom arrived by boat from a nearby island. The Greek Orthodox service was led by Efraim, bishop of Hydra, Spetses, Aigina, Ermionida and Trizinia. The bride recently converted. The groom was attended by Crown Prince Pavlos of Greece, Boris Blatnik and Naso Thanopoulos. After the wedding ceremony a reception was held above Garifalo beach. The wedding was attended by the parents of the groom, his siblings Crown Prince Pavlos with his wife Marie-Chantal and children, Princess Alexia with her husband and children, Princess Theodora and Prince Philippos. The mother, stepfather and siblings of the bride also attended. Among the about 350 wedding guests were Queen Sofia of Spain, the Prince and Princess of Asturias, Infanta Elena of Spain, Infanta Cristina of Spain and Iñaki Urdangarín, Queen Margrethe II of Denmark, Crown Princess Mary of Denmark, Prince Joachim and Princess Marie of Denmark, Crown Princess Victoria and Prince Daniel of Sweden, Prince Carl Philip of Sweden, Princess Madeleine of Sweden, Crown Prince Haakon of Norway, the Prince of Orange and Princess Máxima of the Netherlands, Prince and Princess Michael of Kent, Lady Gabriella Windsor, Princess Irene of Greece, Empress Farah Pahlavi, Crown Prince Alexander and Prince Peter of Serbia.

Pictures Royal Portraits

Video

Dinner speech King Constantine

August 26th
The Basmanny Court in Moscow, Russia, has ordered prosecutors to reopen the investigation into the murder of Tsar Nikolai II of Russia and his family. The main investigative unit of the prosecutor general had said earlier this year that they had closed the investigation because too much time had elapsed since the murder and because everybody who was involved had surely died. The Basmanny Court however says that a ruling by the Supreme Court in which the state was blamed for the killings, made the death of the killers irrelevant.

August 27th
Ana Batis, mother of Crown Princess Katherine of Serbia, passed away in Athens, Greece, last night. She had been seriously ill for over two months. The private funeral will be held in Athens. She is survived by her husband Robert Batis, her daughters Crown Princess Katherine of Serbia and Betty Roumeliotis, as well as by her grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

August 28th
Prince Nikolai of Denmark today celebrated his 11th birthday. Several nice pictures were issued by the Danish royal court.

PPE Pictures

The Duke of Parma was buried in the family crypt at the Basilica Magistrale Santa Maria della Steccata in Parma today. The mass was celebrated by the bishops of Parma, Piacenza and Fidenza and the former bishop of Rotterdam, Monseigneur Philippe Bär. The Dutch royal family was represented by the Prince of Orange, Princess Máxima, Prince Friso and Princess Mabel, Prince Constantijn and Princess Laurentien, Princess Margriet and Pieter van Vollenhoven, Prince Maurits, Prince Bernhard, Prince Pieter-Christiaan and Princess Anita, Prince Floris and Princess Aimée. Also Princess Irene of the Netherlands, former wife of the deceased, attended. Among the other guests were Grand Duke Henri of Luxemburg, the Grand Duke of Tuscany, Archduchess Monika of Austria, Archduke Martin of Austria-Este, Fürst Löwenstein and Fürst Isenburg. After the mass the eldest son of the deceased, Prince Carlos, was installed as the new Grand Master of the Constantinian Order of Saint George and as Duke of Parma.

Pictures Royal Portraits

Royal Blog video

NOS video

August 29th
King Albert II of the Belgians this weekend commemorated the death of his mother Queen Astrid for 75 years in a car-accident at Küssnacht, Switzerland. On Saturday he attended a mass in the Queen Astrid Chapel in Briquemont, Belgium. On Sunday he headed for Küssnacht, where he laid a wreath on the place where the accident happened. He also attended a mass at the Astrid Chapel there.

August 31st
Prince Tomohito of Mikasa left hospital today. He was admitted to the hospital in Tokyo earlier this month. He underwent treatment for an irregular heartbeat.


Royal News: July 2010. Last updated: August 1st, 2010.