ROYAL NEWS: DECEMBER 1998

Last updated: January 11th, 1999

December 3rd
Samuel Chatto is going to have a baby brother or baby sister this springtime. His parents Lady Sarah (Armstrong-Jones), and Daniel Chatto are also looking forward to it.

December 8th
Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands has struck the first Dutch Euro-coin. The Euro will be the official European coin after 2000, but each country strikes its own Euro-coins.

Princess Marie-Esmeralda of Belgium (42) gave birth to a little daughter some weeks ago. The baby's name is Alexandra Leopoldine. Marie-Esmeralda married Salvador Moncada last April.

December 10th
Yesterday Prince Claus of the Netherlands, husband of Queen Beatrix, gave money from his own foundation to people who stimulate working together with and integration of world cultures. About $200.000 went to some African designers to consolidate their own identity. In the presence of Queen Beatrix he then excommunicated the tie. After that no men in the Palace on the Dam in Amsterdam wore a tie anymore. Must have been a funny view.

Felipe Prince of Asturia will go to work for the European Community in Brussels, Belgium, for at least five weeks.

December 11th
The court of justice of Hanover, Germany, has condemned Ernst August, Prince of Hanover, to pay smart-money (about $8000) to Karsten Thürnau. On January 10th of this year the Prince attacked the photographer with an umbrella. Afterwards Thürnau was taken to hospital with several injuries. Thürnau wanted to make a photo of the Prince and Princess Caroline of Monaco when they came home after a benefit-gala.

December 16th
Members of the royal family of the Netherlands and members of the Dutch cabinet got a surprise yesterday. In the mailbox they found a Christmas card from the Willem Alexander and Emily Society (yes that exists) of Johan Vlemmix. On it Crown Prince Willem-Alexander and Emily Bremers as bride and groom, and the wish: Merry Christmas and a Good and Happy New Year. It's the society's last attempt to bring the two together again. If this fails the society will be liquidated.

December 17th
The Point de Vue announced the royal November baby boy boom. In Buenos Aires, Argentina, on November 3th Prince Charles-Louis d'Orléans and his wife Ileana got a son called Philippe. On November 6th his cousin Bruno Count de Limburg Stirum (son of Hélène Princess of France) and his wife Christine got a son called Felix (they already had a son: Melchior). Finally Johannes, son of Simeon Archduke of Habsburg and his wife Maria, got a brother on November 16th: his name is Ludwig.

December 19th
The court of justice in Germany rejected the claim of Prince Friedrich Wilhelm of Prussia, who wanted recognition of his rights of succession. His father, Louis Ferdinand, who died in 1994, didn't appoint him as his successor, as he didn't marry according to the rules of the royal family of Prussia. The judge argued that the concerning clause in the family's agreement didn't contradict the freedom to marry the person one prefers.

Catharina Archduchess of Habsburg will marry Maximilian Count Seeco di Aragona on January 9th 1999 in Antwerp, Belgium.

December 27th
On a loft in Scotland there are found love letters from Queen Victoria of Great Britain to her gamekeeper John Brown. A Canadian descendant of John Brown drew the attention of a film crew to the existence of the letters. The film crew was shooting the film "Mrs. Brown" (1997). Unfortunately they will not publish the letters.

December 29th
I must say the series on ARD on German noble houses was a little bit disappointed for me. The five deliveries they showed around Christmas were on the families of Prussia (I didn't watch), Schaumburg-Lippe, Saxony, Bismarck and Hohenzollern (didn't watch this one either). There were some historical parts (too long) and interviews (not too much depth), and what they showed on family life was interesting, but a little bit more family history and some more family members (they only showed the chiefs with family) would have been nice.
It was interesting to see so much of the social life of the Bismarcks, but do they do more than partying and celebrating holidays all the time? I must say it was interesting to find out some more on the succession in the royal house of Saxony and to see some of the normal life of Alexander and Lilly of Schaumburg-Lippe (I have never known that his father is not able to reign his house anymore most of the time), but the image of this series looked a little untidied.

December 30th
King Sihanouk of Cambodge doesn't give amnesty to the arrested Red Khmer leaders Khieu Sampan and Nuon Chea. He wants a process for an international court of justice.

December 31st
An inquiry of the Historical Newspaper names Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands (1880-1962) as the most important woman of the 20th century in the Netherlands. A British inquiry of The Times gives the honour of the most remarkable woman of the 20th century to Mother Teresa, in second place Princess Diana, on the seventh and the eight place Queen Elizabeth II and Queen-Mum Elizabeth of Great Britain.


Royal News: October/November 1998. Last updated: December 10th, 1998.