ROYAL NEWS: AUGUST 2002

Last updated: September 1st, 2002.

August 2nd
Prince Hans Adam II and Hereditary Prince Alois of Liechtenstein have announced a popular initiative for a vote about the changing of the constitution. Most likely the parliamentary process will be stopped. The Prince and the Hereditary Prince say that after a talk yesterday with the constitutional commission they were not sure that the 19 votes in the Diet (Landtag) that are necessary to change the constitution, could be expected. The only thing they could do was announce the initiative. The Prince also said that it is about time that after many years of discussion a decision will be made. As text for the initiative serves the draft of the constitution that was made by the Princely House and the Landtag commission on June 24th and that also was revealed yesterday. It can be read at the website of the Princely House. Prince Hans Adam II said that he will win the 1500 signatures necessary for a possible plebiscite personally. He is sure he will reach it and is also sure he will get a majority of votes. The Prince again said that in case he will loose the Princely House will move out from Liechtenstein and will reign the country from Austria, as was done before 1938. Lots of people critizised the step the Prince and Hereditary Prince have taken today.

Jean and Gisele Paul, the parents of Henri Paul, the chauffeur who was blamed for the car crash which killed Princess Diana of Wales are going to take legal action in a bid to clear his name. They say say they believe the blood sample taken at the time of the accident was not their son's, but may have come from one of dozens of other bodies held at the Paris morgue on the night of the crash in 1997. They will try to force the French authorities to release the blood for an independent DNA test. Mr Paul's parents said they would accept the result of an independent DNA test, if it proved that the sample came from their son. Within hours of the announcements of Henri Paul's parents Mohamed El Fayed said he had instructed his lawyers to launch "a parallel legal action on the same issue". He said he had always believed the samples were deliberately switched to cover up a "horrific murder".

August 4th
Zahir Shah, former King of Afghanistan, has moved back into his former palace in the capital, Kabul, nearly 30 years after being deposed. He was welcomed back to his quarters in what is now the presidential palace by current the Afghan leader, Hamid Karzai, at a tea party. Mr Karzai told the other guests that it was a pleasure for the whole of Afghanistan that the king was back in the place where he was born. Zahir Shah's return to the palace was part of an agreement reached at the loya jirga, or grand assembly, in June. "It is like the birds coming back to their nests," Zahir Shah said as he was given a tour of the historic complex by President Karzai. "It gives me great pleasure to come back, great pleasure." Since his return in April, Zahir Shah has lived in a house a few blocks from the royal palace. He and 12 family members will move into what was once the royal harem. President Karzai has his quarters on the other side of the grounds.

The condition of Prince Claus of the Netherlands is slowly improving and the doctors are satisfied, but he still is in a 'vulnerable position'.

August 5th
The new baby son of Prince Joachim and Princess Alexandra of Denmark will be christened at Møgeltønder Church on Friday, October 4th. That will also be the day his name will be known.

August 7th
Queen Elizabeth II of Great Britian brought her summer of Golden Jubilee celebrations to an end with the first-ever garden party at Balmoral Castle for which 3000 people were invited. The Queen was joined by the Duke of Edinburgh and the Prince of Wales. During the 14 weeks since May 1, the Queen and Prince Philip have visited 70 cities and towns in 50 counties throughout England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

As most 3-year-old Danish children Prince Nikolai of Denmark will attend the local kindergarten starting at September 1st. He will be the first member of the Danish royal family to go to kindergarten. No special arrangements will be made for him.

August 8th
Graham Burrell, brother of Princess Diana of Wales's former butler Paul Burrell, will not face charges over items allegedly stolen from the Princess. He told the Daily Mirror: "It is one hell of a relief. This whole thing has been a nightmare. I could never understand why I was arrested in the first place. Also arrested was his brother-in-law Andrew Hawksworth, 31, and he too has been released from police bail. Neither man was charged with any offence.

August 9th
This morning Prince Claus of the Netherlands got a pacemaker during an operation at the Academic Medical Centre in Amsterdam, because he suffered of an irregular heartbeat. He will have to stay at the coronary care unit for a while, although the doctors are satisfied about his condition.

The name of the son of Crown Prince Paras Shah and Crown Princess Himani of Nepal was announced today in a special 'nwaran' ceremony at the Narayanhiti Royal Palace, while his title had been announced already a few days ago. The prince who is titled Naba Yuvaraj received the name Hridayendra. His full name will be Naba Yubaraj Hridayendra Bir Bikram Shah Dev. King Gyanendra and Queen Komal, the proud grandparents, held a reception at the Palace to mark the occasion. People have been queuing in front of the Royal Palace over the past days to offer their congratulations to the crown prince and crown princess.

After 11 months of tough training at the Royal Military Academy of Sandhurst Hereditary Grand Duke Guillaume of Luxembourg finished his education as an army officer. The traditional Sovereign's Parade that closed the year was attended by Grand Duke Henri, Grand Duchess Maria Teresa, Grand Duke Jean, Grand Duchess Joséphine-Charlotte, Prince Félix, Prince Louis, Princess Alexandra, Prince Sébastien and their cousin Archduke Imre of Austria. Also Grand Duke Jean and Grand Duke Henri were educated at Sandhurst.

The Prince of Wales, wearing a Hunting Stewart tartan with a Highland Brigade tie, has unveiled a memorial bench of Caithness stone to the Queen Mother on the site of one of her favourite beauty spots. The bench is inscribed: "This bench has been placed here in memory of her Majesty Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother by Her Majesty's friends, trustees and employees at Mey. Queen Elizabeth loved this castle, which she saved from ruin in 1952, spending many happy holidays here between October 1955 and October 2001." The Queen Mother often spent summer evenings enjoying the view over the Pentland Firth while staying at the Castle of Mey in Caithness. The ceremony took place in the grounds of the Castle of Mey. The Prince of Wales said his grandmother had particularly loved the spectacular Scottish sunsets as she holidayed at Mey each year for almost 50 years. The event was attended by around 30 trustees of the Castle, former employees and various friends. Camilla Parker Bowles attended the ceremony after spending a day in the far north of Scotland, and later chatted to guests.

August 12th
The Prince of Wales plans to lend his name to a new range of goods to expand on the success of his Duchy Originals brand of organic food. It is speculated the ideas include a 'country casual' fashion collection and a range of finely-crafted furniture. A Buckingham Palace spokeswoman has confirmed that Duchy Originals is considering diversifying into "high-quality non-food products". She says the Prince's aim is to help farmers while increasing his company's donations to charity as he is "deeply concerned" about the difficulties facing farmers and the agriculture industry.

August 13th
Princess Lilly zu Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg, who divorced Hereditary Prince Alexander zu Schaumburg-Lippe in February of this year, has become engaged to 35-year-old fashion designer Lambros Milona in Saint Tropez four weeks ago. Her manager Lars Meier confirmed the news after a report by the German magazine Bunte. Lambros Milona was born and raised in New York. His grandfather, who had a fur business, moved from Salonica, Greece, to New York in 1915. Lambros Milona attended New York's Fashion Institute of Technology. After an apprenticeship with illustrator Joe Eula, he worked with Adolfo and then on the licensed collections for Lanvin and Balenciaga in New York. Since 1994 he works in Italy and started in 1996 with his own collection called Lambros Milona Spazio in Milan. In an interview in 1997 he said: "My woman has a mind of her own. She refuses to be dictated to," says Milona. "She's a woman who's constantly changing and evolving. And my woman likes to have fun. Regardless of her age, she's a party girl." In an interview for an Italian fashion magazine in 2001 he told: "Some designers like to do wedding dresses. I like to do the dress you get divorced in."

For the first time Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden has spoken publicly about having dyslexia during an address on Monday at a conference on bullying in schools in Örebro. She said both she and her younger brother Prince Carl Philip have struggled to overcome difficulties in reading and writing. "I used to think I was dumb and slow. It wasn't always fun to sit those extra hours and practice words. But today I realize that I've been lucky. I have received a lot of help and support with my dyslexia. Therefore, I don't have a problem talking openly about it." She added that "For me school was a very fun time, but also very demanding. If you have difficulties reading and writing, it can be very tough." Although it was known King Carl VI Gustaf, as well as his children Victoria and Carl Philip have dyslexia, the royal court never speaks about it.

August 14th
Following the baby rumours Crown Princess Mette-Marit of Norway admits that she and Crown Prince Haakon would like to have children, but there was no hint that an heir is on the way. Yesterday they started a cvisit to the Hordaland region and she made some comments after questions of the press. She also said: "We will answer when the time is righ."

The Countess of Wessex is to describe how she nearly backed out of marrying into the Royal Family. She will make the revelation in a new 11-part series 'Royalty A-Z' made by her husband's TV company and that will be shown on US television, channel E!, on August 21. Also the Count of Wessex, according to publicity material "opens up about his public and private life and the scandals that rocked his marriage". The programmes, which start this Sunday, promise to take viewers "into the lives" of other Royals including the Queen, the Prince and Princess of Wales, Prince William and the late Queen Mother.

The Queen Mother's beloved 16th century Castle of Mey is now open to the public. She spent summer holidays there for over 50 years. Public entry to the castle will be free over the next few weeks, but from the beginning of September an entry charge is expected. Guests are allowed to enter the library room, the equerry's rooms, dining room and butler's pantry.

August 15th
Prince Claus of the Netherlands was transferred to the intensive care unit again because of mucous secretion in his bronchial tubes. Since last Sunday he from time to time received articifial respiration. There is however no change in his condition which last Monday was described as 'frail and vulnerable. Meanwhile the Prince of Orange and Princess Máxima of the Netherlands have restarted their visit to the Dutch Antilles, which they broke off in May of this year after the assassination of politician Pim Fortuyn.

August 19th
Archduchess Ildiko of Austria, who was born on June 6th was christened at the Cathedral of Szekesfehervar, Hungary, today. Besides members of the family also the ambassadors of Israel and Austria in Hungary were present.

August 22nd
Tashala Hayman, a 22-year-old woman from Vaughn, Montana, USA, has been arrested accused of plotting to poison Prince William of Wales. Police raided her trailer park home on August 8th after she was arrested for buying a handgun with a stolen debit card number and found a package containing a soft drink bottle laced with sodium cyanide. The parcel was to be sent to prince William at an address in Scotland. Officers also found the addresses of Senators Hillary Clinton and Ted Kennedy, to whom Hayman is accused of posting two poisoned drinks with a note that read: "Have a Coke and a smile." She faces up to 20 years in jail and £7,000 in fines if convicted. She has been remanded in custody pending a bail hearing. Magistrate Carolyn Ostby ruled after a one-hour hearing that Hayman should be held in custody because there was a risk that she would abscond.

August 23rd
The death of Diana, Princess of Wales, is seen as one of the most significant dates in British history, according to a new survey by the History Channel among 1000 Britons. The September 11 terrorist attacks topped the poll of most significant dates in world history in the last 100 years, gaining 41% of votes. Recent events tended to have a greater historical significance for people. Almost a quarter of the 1,000 people surveyed voted for the date Princess Diana died.

August 24th
Former King Simeon of Bulgaria, now Prime Minister, announced that the wedding of his daughter Kalina with Kitín Muñoz will take place on October 26th in Sofia. The church service will be a catholic one.

August 27th
Crown Prince Haakon and Crown Princess Mette-Marit of Norway, as well as son Marius, left for London this morning where they will study in the coming year. Crown Prince Haakon will work towards a Master's Degree at the London School of Economics, while the crown princess will study development issues at the School of Oriental and African Studies. Marius will go to an English school. The crown princely couple will be excused from most all official royal representation during the year, but intend to return to Norway next summer and resume royal duties. Yesterday they gave a press conference. They told that they had spent their first wedding anniversary on Sunday celebrating at home with family and friends. Also a special church service was held in the chapel at the Royal Palace conducted by Bishop Gunnar Stålsett. "It was a lovely day," said Crown Princess Mette-Marit. "It was very important for us to celebrate with family and friends, and not let it be an anniversary just for us two." Crown Princess Mette-Marit revealed that she passed an exam in ethics at the University of Oslo last month. She also told: "I stopped smoking while I was in the hospital with pneumonia last Spring. I haven't had a cigarette since." She said she feels fine now. Both she and Crown Prince Haakon said they merely laugh off the near-constant barrage of media coverage and speculation about them, especially in the German press. "We've developed a sort of gallows humor about it," she said, referring to several reports that she's pregnant.

August 29th
The location of the London home of Crown Prince Haakon and Crown Princess Mette-Marit of Norway's was already revealed on just the second day of their stay. On Wednesday the crown princely couple and Marius had to slip past waiting photographers when they left their new home in Bramham Gardens, Earl’s Court. Their appartment is located on the top floor.

August 31st
Mourners gathered in London and Paris to mark the fifth anniversary of the death of Diana, Princess of Wales. In Paris they remembered Princess Diana at the Flame of Liberty, near the scene of the fatal 1997 crash. At Kensington Palace, Diana's former home, hundreds of fans left bouquets and pinned pinned pictures of the late princess to the railings along with balloons and Union flag bunting. Several people had camped overnight outside Kensington Palace. Flowers were also left at her family house in Althorp where she is buried. The princess's mother, Frances Shand Kydd, used the anniversary to rebuke former friends and associates who she says betrayed the princess's trust by selling lurid stories about her private life and also bemoaned the commercialisation of her death and appealed to the people to show more sensitivity to the feelings of Diana's son and other family members. There were no official ceremonies to mark the anniversary. The Royal Family were at Balmoral Castle and a spokeswoman said Diana would be "mentioned in prayers" during a church service on Sunday which the Royals will attend."

Prince Zeid bin Shaker of Jordan died yesterday morning of a sudden heart attack just a few days before his 68th birthday. He was a man who held several significant posts through his military career after he joined the armed forces in 1953. He also was a prominent member of the Jordanian politics. He acted as Prime Minister and Court Chief several times during the reign of the late King Hussein. Today, after the noon prayer, he was laid to rest at the royal graveyard. The funeral was among others attended by King Abdullah II, Crown Prince Hamzah and Prince Hassan bin Talal. The deceased prince was a far family member of King Abdullah II. His father, Emir Shaker bin Zeid acted as a regent of Transjordan in 1934.


Royal News: July 2002. Last updated: August 1st, 2002.