ROYAL NEWS: AUGUST 2007

Last updated: September 5th, 2007.

August 2nd
Nepal has chosen a new national anthem. The lyrics and music were approved yesterday morning in a cabinet meeting. The anthem was selected from 1272 songs and no longer mentions King Gyanendra. The previous national anthem praised and wished the king's success.

August 3rd
The yearly summer photosession of the Danish royal family at Graasten Castle took place today.

Photos by Madeleine Glindorf

Mexican archaeologists believe they have found the tomb of Aztec Emperor Ahuizotl at Mexico City. They have located an entryway into what they believe are underground chambers that could contain the remains of the Emperor. No tomb of an Aztec ruler has ever been found.

August 4th
Peter Phillips, son of the Princess Royal, might have to give up his place in the line of succession to the British throne unless his fiancee renounces her faith. It has emerged that his fiancee Autum Kelly was baptised as a Roman Catholic at the St John Fisher parish church in Pointe-Claire, Montreal, on 18 June 1978. Today one of the key advisors of Prime Minister Gordon Brown, Lord Lester, called for the law to be changed. He says that the 306-year-old ban on Roman Catholics marrying into the royal family is "certainly an injustice to a very small group of people and it's an anomaly that ought to be removed at the appropriate time."

August 5th
Newly released documents show that Prime Minister Sir Winston Churchill advised the Duke of Windsor not to attend the coronation ceremony of his niece Queen Elizabeth II of Great Britain in 1953. He was told to tell the press that he couldn't attend the coronation being a former monarch of Great Britain.

August 6th
According to a poll for the Daily Mail 54% of the 1001 people (61% of the women) questioned think the Duchess of Cornwall shouldn't attend the memorial service for the late Diana Princess of Wales on 31 August. Also 59% thinks she shouldn't become the queen if the Prince of Wales becomes the king. 53% thinks the throne should go directly to Prince William of Wales.

August 7th
Philipp von Lattorff and his wife née Princess Tatjana of Liechtenstein had their fifth child. Anna Pia Theresia Maria was born on 3 August 2007 at Goldgeben/Hausleiten, Austria.

Count Alram zu Ortenburg, head of the house, died at Coburg yesterday at the age of 82. He is survived by his wife Agathe and their four children with partners as well as several grandchildren.

During the yearly photosession of Queen Margrethe II and Prince Henrik of Denmark, Queen Margrethe told that Marie Cavallier, the girlfriend of her youngest son Prince Joachim, is really nice. Prince Henrik said that it is up to Joachim to decide about an engagement or wedding with Marie. The couple didn't want to answer any further questions about the relationship.

August 9th
Earl Spencer, the brother of the late Diana Princess of Wales told the BBC today that he has considered writing a biography about his sister on the occasion of the 10th anniversary of her death. He said although many books about his sister were "very inaccurate", he will not have a biography by him about her life published during his lifetime.

Pieter van Vollenhoven, husband of Princess Margriet of the Netherlands, was diagnosed with skin cancer for the fifth time in six years. The malignant tissue was removed today at the Antoni van Leeuwenhoek hospital in Amsterdam. He could leave hospital afterwards. Regular check-ups will be continued.

August 13th
Princess Haya bint Al Hussein of Jordan and her husband Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum of Dubai expect their first child together at the end of 2007 or early 2008. The princess says she doesn't want to know beforehand if the baby is a boy or a girl.

August 17th
Princess Beatrice of York has achieved A-level results of an A in drama and a B in history and film studies. She is now going to take a gap year before going to university. She plans to spend time in America and Africa. Next year she'd like to undertake a creative degree at a Scottish university or at Goldsmiths in London. Her younger sister Princess Eugenie of York achieved three As in art, politics and history of art, as well as a B in English. She will continue with her A-level qualification.

August 18th
Olav Bjørshol and Marianne Solberg Behn remarried at Østre Fredrikstad Church in Fredrikstad, Norway. The parents of Ari Behn, husband of Princess Märtha Louise of Norway, first married in 1973 and divorced ten years later. They restarted their relationship around the time of the marriage of Ari and Märtha Louise in 2002. Granddaughters Maud Angelica and Leah Isadora Behn were flower girls. Among the about 100 guests was also Queen Sonja of Norway.

Thanks to a Swedish tourist a fire in a large garage behind the Kancellihuset at Fredensborg where the crown princely family of Denmark lives could be stopped soon. The tourist saw the fire yesterday afternoon and quickly raised the alarm. The fire was caused by a short circuit in an electric golf cart in the garage.

August 19th
Emir Sheikh Sabah Al Ahmad Al Sabah of Kuwait underwent a successfull urinary tract surgery in the USA.

August 21st
The coronation of King Tiheitia of the Maoris was completed at Turangawaewae Marae in Ngaruawahia with a waka royal salte and a rousing haka. The king held his first public speech in front of 4000 guests. He spoke about the importance of children's education and lifelong learning. Last week was filled with ceremonies and sports events held to commemorate the first anniversary of his coronation. The ceremonies among others were attended by King George Tupou V of Tonga, the head of state of Samoa Tamasese Efi, and royalty from Hawaii, Tahiti and the Cook Islands. The celebrations also formed the end of a year of mourning for the King's mother, Maori Queen Dame Te Atairangikahu.

August 23rd
The Nepalese government has decided to nationalise part of the inherited property of King Gyanendra of Nepal including Narayanhiti Royal Palace in Kathmandu and six other palaces in the country. The king is allowed to keep the property he already owned when he became the king. Also the bank accounts of King Gyanendra, Queen Komal and Crown Prince Paras were freezed to stop the transfer of money from the late King Birendra and the late Queen Aishwarya to their accounts.

Archeologists believe they might have found the missing remains of Grand Duke Alexei and his sister Grand Duchess Maria of Russia at Yekaterinburg. The excavations took place in the past two months in an area indicated in a document with a detailed account of the execution. The remains of Tsar Nikolai II, Tsarina Alexandra and three of their daughters were exhumed in 1991 and reburied at St. Petersburg in 1998.

August 24th
King Gyanendra of Nepal and his family moved today from Narayanhiti Palace to the summer residence Nagarjun Palace, one day after the government nationalised seven royal palaces. A palace source claims however that the move is only part of their already existing vacation plans and has nothing to do with the nationalisation.

19-year-old Edith Delgado was sentenced to two years in jail today for causing a crash that killed two members of the royal family of Tonga and their driver. She was also ordered to pay restitution of an undetermined amount to the families of the victims. She already spent the past year in jail and will likely be out of jail in four to six months.

August 25th
Emma Francisca Catharina van Vollenhoven, daughter of Prince Pieter-Christiaan and Princess Anita van Oranje-Nassau, van Vollenhoven, was christened in private by the Rev. E.C. Roos at the chapel of Palace Het Loo in Apeldoorn. Her godparents were Prince Bernhard van Oranje-Nassau, van Vollenhoven, Caroline van der Toorn-van Eijk, Evert-Jan Wamsteker and Countess Alexandra de Witt-Cavard.

The restoration of Kongsgården at Bygdøy near Oslo has been completed. It took six years to renovate the summer residence of the Norwegian royal family. The house was re-opened yesterday. King Harald said: "Now we will make it our own, and look forward to many wonderful days out here over the next years." Queen Sonja told: "It will be nice to be able to live in a house where we may walk directly out into the garden."

Hereditary Prince Leopold Fugger von Babenhausen married Annina Kammer somewhere in the Hessen area in Germany.

August 26th
Clarence House said today that the Duchess of Cornwall has decided not to attend the memorial service for the 10th anniversary of the death of Diana Princess of Wales on 31 August 2007. She had accepted the invitation of her stepsons but now has cancelled after discussions with her husband and stepsons. In a statement she says: "I accepted and wanted to support them. However, on reflection I believe my attendance could divert attention from the purpose of the occasion which is to focus on the life and service of Diana. I'm grateful to my husband, William and Harry for supporting my decision." The memorial service will be held in the Guard's Chapel at Wellington Barracks in London.

In the Svenska Dagbladet of today the engagement was announced between Justin Rosenørn-Lanng and Désirée Kogevinas. They became engaged at Corfu in this month. Désirée Kogevinas was born in 1977 as the daughter of Nicos Kogevinas and Countess Madeleine Bernadotte. The groom is a son of Oliver Charles Rosenørn-Lanng and Evelyn Margarita Astrid Kolbe Kamps. He descends in female line from the Danish noble family Rosenørn.

August 28th
Edith Delgado, who was sentenced to two years in jail on August 24 for causing a crash that killed two members of the Tongan royal family, is to appeal her sentence her lawyers said today. On Friday a judge will hear her request to remain free on bail pending the appeal.

August 29th
Via the RVD Princess Mabel and Prince Friso van Oranje-Nassau have confirmed they have changed an entry at the online encyclopedia Wikipedia early 2006. They changed the information given at the entry about Princess Mabel. The sentence saying that Princess Mabel had given 'incomplete and false information' to the government about her relationship with drugs baron Klaas Bruinsma was changed into she gave 'incomplete information'. The entry was re-edited by another Wikipedia user very quickly. The IP address connected to the change could be tracked to Palace Huis ten Bosch.

August 30th
Forbes has published its yearly list of the world's richest royals. Again the list is topped by the Sultan of Brunei Darussalam who is worth 22 Billion Dollars. They also provide a list of the world's most eligible royals topped by Fürst Albert von Thurn und Taxis.

The World's Richest Royals

August 31st
A memorial service was held at Guard's Chapel in London to commemorate the 10th anniversary of the death of Diana Princess of Wales. The service was led by the Reverend Patrick Irwin, Chaplain to the Household Division. The address was given by Richard Chartres, Bishop of London. He said it was now time to "let Diana rest in peace". He said that her memory shouldn't longer be used. In his reading Prince Harry of Wales said about his mother that she was "the best mother in the world. She made us and so many other people happy". He also said: "We both think of her every day. We speak about her and laugh together at all the memories." There were other readings by Prince William of Wales - who read from St Paul's letter to the Ephesians - and Lady Sarah McCorquodale. The music played included the Princess's favourite classical music and hymns. The prayers were written by Rowan Williams, Archbishop of Canterbury. More than 30 members of the British royal family attended the service including Queen Elizabeth II of Great Britain, the Duke of Edinburgh and the Prince of Wales. Among the guests were also members of the Spencer family, former members of the staff of the late princess, her bridesmaids and page boys as well as representatives of charities and organisations she was associated with. Thousands of people gathered outside the chapel.


Royal News: July 2007. Last updated: August 3rd, 2007.