ROYAL NEWS: FEBRUARY 2001

Last updated: March 1st, 2001.

February 1st
In the evening there has been a fire in the right wing of Laeken Castle, the residence of the Belgian royal family. The fire-brigade was able to put out the fire within 30 minute, but the damage is huge. About 200 m2 of the rofing-cover went up in flames. King Albert II, Queen Paola, Prince Philippe and Princess Mathilde, who were in the castle at the time of the fire came outside to watch the fire-brigade putting out the fire. The cause of the fire is not known yet, but over the past few days repair work on the roof of the wing had started.

Crown Prince Haakon of Norway, his fiancee Mette-Marit, his sister Princess Märtha Louise, Prime Minister Stoltenberg and the Bishop of Oslo took part in a huge demonstration and torchlight procession organised to show the disgust of the Norwegian people towards racism after a 15-year-old Norwegian-African boy was killed by six neo-nazi's last week. 40.000 people (nearly 1% of all Norwegians) came to the demonstration, which was the largest demonstration held in Norway since 1946.

February 2nd
Her son, her three daughters, grand- and great-grandchildren said goodbye to the last Queen of Italy, Marie-José, who was buried next to her late husband King Umberto II at the Abbey of Hautecombe, Savoy, France. Many royals were present, among others King Juan Carlos of Spain, King Albert II and Queen Paola of Belgium, Queen Fabiola of Belgium, Prince Albert of Monaco, and former Empress Farah of Iran.

February 3rd
An inquiry by a leading Dutch newspaper and a Dutch newsreel for the television says that 81% of the Dutch people don't object to an eventual marriage between Willem-Alexander Prince of Oranje and Máxima Zorreguieta (another leading newspaper says it is even 89%). 66% of the people say that Jorge Zorreguieta, the father of Máxima, should be able to attend the wedding (the other newspaper says 58%). Almost 50% of the Dutch think Máxima should take distance from the political past of her father in public.

On the Dutch television Shimon Samuels, director international affairs of the Simon Wiesenthal Centre, said that Jorge Zorreguieta should take distance of his past in public and should express his regrets to the victims of the Videla regime. Of the 30.000 people who disappeared during the regime 1/3 was of Jewish origine. He says that Jorge Zorreguieta, as Minister of Agriculture at that time, is an accomplice. "If he doesn't express his regrets unequivocally, he defiles the esteem of the Dutch royal house. That is a shame!"

February 4th
Hundreds of people have visited Queen Victoria of Great Britain's last resting place, the Royal Mausoleum at Frogmore, Windsor, 100 years after her burial. Lengthy queues were formed at the site, which is rarely open to the public.

February 5th
A decision to allow the exiled Italian royal family to return to Italy may be granted amid the discovery that the head of the family, Prince Vittorio Emmanuele, addressed the president of Italy properly. He has called President Campi "our president, the president of all Italians". The Italian government has formally asked the Council of State to rule favourably on the return of the Italian royal family on the grounds that it now no longer represents a royal house. A public opinion poll taken last week showed that 74% of the Italians surveyed were in favour of allowing the Savoy family back, although 54% fell that they should be asked to swear allegiance to the republic, something Vittorio Emanuele refuses. The family was sent into exile following a referendum on the future of the Monarchy in June 1946 and until now male descendants of the last King Umberto II are still not allowed to enter Italy.

February 7th
Prince William attended a star-studded dinner at Somerset House on the occasion of the 10th birthday of the Press Complaint's Commission together with his father, The Prince of Wales, and his girlfriend Camilla Parker Bowles. It was the first time they appeared in public together. Some 600 people were invited to the party. Also the Duke of York was present.

Prince Bernhard of the Netherlands has started a two-week journey to Zimbabwe and South Africa. The visit is a private one and he is said to be healthy enough to travel without extra medical escort.

An Internet survey by a this week's British eve magazine among 3000 women shows the Prince of Wales in the top 20 of "real men who have lived a little". James Bond star Pierce Brosnan won the survey.

February 8th
Bulgaria's Constitutional court has ruled that King Simeon II of Bulgaria cannot run in the next presidential election. There is a clause in the Bulgarian constitution that says a presidential candidate must live in the country for five years before the election and must have spent at least six months in Bulgaria in each of those five years. King Simeon has paid several visits to Bulgaria since his first return in 1996, but never more than for a few weeks. On January 23rd he returned to Sofia, the capital of Bulgaria, to live there in the old royal palace of Vrania and has said he wants to stay there for a long time.

February 9th
The earthquake that devastated western India in January brought an abrupt end to one of the country's oldest royal dynasties, wrecking three important palaces full of treasures and ruining the Jadeja family which ruled the province of Kutch for more than 900 years. The 182nd inheritor of the territories, 60-year-old Pratvirajshree Jadeja III who had just succeeded his brother three weeks ago, says he will have to retire to Bombay with his wife Pritivedi, born a princess of Tripura.

February 10th
Queen Elizabeth II of Great Britain has appointed Elizabeth Blackadder at the post of Her Majesty's Painter and Limner, a post unique to Scotland that was first created 300 years ago during the Stuart dynasty. Elizabeth Blackadder is the first female painter laureate to hold the post.

Former King Simeon of Bulgaria has denounced last week's ruling by the Constitutional Court in Bulgaria that he cannot run in the next presidential election. Opinion polls show that King Simeon of Bulgaria should have been the only serious rival for sitting president Petar Stoyanov.

Last Wednesday Queen Margrethe II of Denmark, Prince Henrik and Crown Prince Frederik arrived in Thailand for a state visit. On Thursday the Queen opened an exhibition on four centuries of relations between Thailand and Denmark. In the evening the family was received by King Bhumibol Adulyadej of Thailand. Today the family visited Chiang Mai in the north of Thailand together with Princess Sirindhorn and enjoyed a journey to an elephant conservation centre. They fed the elephants fruit by hand and later mounted elephants for a short ride. Crown Prince Frederik filmed his family from the back of the elephant. The state visit will end on Tuesday.

February 12th
Two Dutch photographers of gossip magazines were arrested last Saturday when they wanted to shoot photos of Willem-Alexander Prince of Oranje and his girlfriend Máxima Zorreguieta at the wedding of jonkheer Hugo Loudon and Marleen de Bruyn at Middachten Castle, the Netherlands, which is private property. The two were held for several hours and were released after paying a small fine.

Princess Margaret of Great Britain will not be making her annual trip to the West Indies on the advice of her doctor, Buckingham Palace has said. Princess Margaret has been advised that she needs more rest. It was also said she would not be undertaking official engagements for the near future.

Yesterday at 18pm the mother of Prince Henrik of Denmark, Renée de Laborde de Monpézat née Doursenot, died at her house "le Cayrou" in Albas, France. She was 92 years old. The father of Prince Henrik died almost three years ago. Prince Henrik will leave Thailand in the afternoon and will fly to Paris and from there travel to Albas.

The painting "Spring" by the late Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands was sold at Sotheby's for about $ 11.000 to a Dutch private person.

February 13th
King Bhumibol Adulyadej of Thailand had a busy week. Today he received Prince Philippe and Princess Mathilde of Belgium in Hua Sin near Bangkok. Prince Philippe is the head of a Belgian trade mission that is in Thailand since yesterday. On Monday the princely couple first visited the royal palace, a temple and a silk-museum in Bangkok.

Princess Caroline of Hanover (Monaco) had a skiing accident. She fell after another skier collided with her at the Hexenboden, a 1922 metres high mountain near Zürs am Arlberg, Austria. The Princess was transferred to the valley and from there she was flown by helicopter to a private clinic in Schruns. She had to be operated as her knee ligaments were torn. According to the doctors the operation went well, although it will take some time before everything is better again. After the operation she was flown back to the five-star hotel in Zürs where she stays together with her husband Prince Ernst August of Hanover and their daughter Alexandra, who stayed at the hotel at the time of the accident. Princess Caroline is expected to have to extend her stay in the area while she undergoes physiotherapy.

February 14th
On behalf of Prince Johan Friso of the Netherlands, Eef Brouwers head of the Government Information Service, has said that the prince is not a homosexual but a heterosexual. Normally the GIS doesn't speak out about the private life of the Dutch royal family. This exception has been made because Prince Johan Friso doesn't like the continuing rumours about his sexual preferences. The prince keeps his private life far from the press and it has been years ago that he has been seen with a girlfriend. That he has never been caught with one however doesn't say anything Brouwers said. He advised to pay more attention to Johan Friso and women (as if Johan Friso would like that better).

A garden and children's nature centre dedicated to Diana, Princess of Wales has been opened in Paris, the city where she died in 1997. The centre in Marais is a former school, restyled as a medieval French garden and environmental workshop.

On the Dutch television Mauricio Goyenechea, a good friend of the Zorreguieta family, has said that Máxima will not marry when her father will not be allowed to attend the wedding. He also said Jorge Zorreguieta will never apologise for participating in the Videla government. By doing that he would take up a role he has never played. He didn't know the details about what happened in Argentina.

February 15th
Today a bill concerning the granting of permission to Prince Constantijn of the Netherlands and Laurentien Brinkhorst has been sent to the Dutch Parliament. When legal permission will be granted (which is very likely) Prince Constantijn will remain a member of the Royal House and Laurentien Brinkhorst will become a member of the royal house at the moment of marriage. The government is intending to declare by Royal Decree that the surname of eventual children born from this marriage will get the name Van Oranje-Nassau van Amsberg. At the same time it will be stipulated that these children will bear the hereditary title Count(ess) van Oranje-Nassau, Jonkheer (Jonkvrouwe) van Amsberg. The civil wedding between Prince Constantijn and Laurentien Brinkhorst will take place on May 17th at the Old Town Hall in the Javastraat in The Hague. It will be conducted by Mr. Deetman, mayor of The Hague. The religious ceremony takes place on May 19th in the Great or St Jacobs Church in The Hague and will be lead by Ds. ter Linden.

An attic sale is to take place on June 19th at Althorp, the ancestral home of the late Diana Princess of Wales. Her brother Earl Spencer is to sell more than 300 items from the Althorp lofts in order to create more space. The sale of items including furniture, paintings, porcelain and books is expected to raise about £2m, which will be put back into the estate. No personal items belonging to the late Princess of Wales will be included.

Renée de Laborde de Monpézat née Doursenot, the mother of Prince Henrik of Denmark, was buried at the churchyard of St Etienne Church in Albas, France, this afternoon. Prince Henrik, Queen Margrethe II and their sons Frederik and Joachim attended the funeral. Joachim was one of the bearers of his grandmother's coffin. Princess Alexandra decided to stay in Hong Kong with son Nikolai. Prince Henrik and Crown Prince Frederik will stay in France. Queen Margrethe II and Prince Joachim will return to Denmark tomorrow. Prince Joachim will carry out his mother's engagements on Saturday. Queen Margrethe II sprained her ancle after the funeral.

February 16th
The Count of Paris announced the engagement of his son and heir Prince Jean (35) with Duchess Tatjana of Oldenburg (26), daughter of Duke Johann of Oldenburg and Countess Ilka of Ortenburg. The engagement had already taken place in family circles at the end of December 2000. The wedding most likely will be in the autumn. The couple has met in Paris seven years ago. Tatjana's older sister Eilika married Archduke Georg of Austria in 1997.

An 11-year-old boy has run away to London to ask Queen Elizabeth II of Great Britain to protect him from school bullies. Police found the boy from Nottingham outside Buckingham Palace after he vanished from school. He used his knowledge of a Monopoly Board to find the palace on what was his first visit to London.

February 18th
Princess Eugenie of York has successfully passed her common entrance examination for St George's School, Windsor. She now is at Coworth Park preparatory school in Surrey, which she will leave this summer. She is expected to be a day girl at St George's School for the next two years. Zenouska and Christian Mowatt, grandchildren of Princess Alexandra of Kent, are already pupils at the school.

An appeal is being launched to pay for a radar search for the lost grave of Katherine, daughter of King Edward IV of Great Britain, who was as was found in old documents buried at St Peter's Church, Tiverton, Devon, in 1527. It is not exactly known where in the church she was buried. It is hoped that ground penetrating radar will confirm her grave lies beneath the later tomb of a local merchant. It is possible her original tomb could have been destroyed by King Henry VIII because of his paranoia about rival branches of his family. Katherine was married to William Courtenay Earl of Devon, who spent many years in the Tower of London as a prisoner.

February 20th
From a publication of the Chinese historian Jia Yinhua, it seems the last Emperor of China, Pu Yi, was a homosexual. The news was made known in the newspaper The Straits Times. The eunuch Sun Yaoting told that Pu Yi had a relationship with a "handsome eunuch with red lips and white teeth" during his boyhood within the walls of the Forbidden City in Beijing.

February 25th
The Japanese government is very angry at the German newspaper "Süddeutsche Zeitung". On the front of yesterday's weekend magazine of the newspaper was a photo of Crown Prince Naruhito of Japan and his wife Masako. On the trousers of the Crown Prince the text "Tote Hose", which means something like impotent, was printed. The article inside was about the end of the Japanese monarchy now it seems the Crown Prince and his wife don't get children.

February 26th
Last Saturday the daughter of Carl Peter Archduke of Austria and his wife Alexandra was baptised Antonia Maria Zita Josepha Kaspara Marcus d'Aviano at the Saint Michel's Church in Luxembourg. Her godparents were Prince Carl Christian von Wrede, Hayo Willms and Arch Duchess Myriam Mrs Corcuera. Antonia was born on December 31st, 2000.

You can order a free 88-pages magazine about the accession to the throne of Grand Duke Henri of Luxembourg last October (sorry only in French: click on "version imprimée and fill in the form). At the same time you can also order a nice booklet in French, English or German about the Grand Ducal Family of Luxembourg. This booklet has good information and very nice photos.

February 27th
The citizenship of the exiled Royal Family of Yugoslavia has been restored. The Yugoslav Parliament on Tuesday voted out a 1947 bill that stripped the royal family of both its Yugoslavian citizenship and the property it owned.

The Süddeutsche Zeitung has apologised to Crown Prince Naruhito of Japan for the text on the photo of the hereditary royal couple of Japan in the paper's Saturday magazine.

February 28th
In Magdeburg, Germany the Otto the Great year with the device "In the foot-steps of Otto the Great" was opened. The year has an extensive programme with which Saxony-Anhalt wants to celebrate the importance of Otto I (912-973) for the unity of Germany and Europe. Highlights are the Emperor's Journey from May 11 to August 26, and the exhibition Otto the Great, Magdeburg and Europe in the Kulturhistorisches Museum in Magdeburg.

In Cairo, Egypt, Princess Hind Shams el-Din Al-Fasi, wife of Prince Turki bin Abdel Aziz - a brother of King Fahd of Saudi Arabia, was sentenced to was convicted of theft and sentenced to three years in prison. Two members of her staff were sentenced respectively to two and three years for helping her. Neither the princess nor her assistants were present at the court when the verdicts were handed down. They can appeal. In December 2000 the princess had ordered jewelry worth $ 1.3 million from a famous jeweller's in Cairo. The jewelry was delivered but the princess never paid for them. Last year, a Cairo court convicted and sentenced Princess Hind to one year in prison for failing to pay a $2.5 million debt to her husband's Egyptian adviser. She never served the time. The prince and princess moved into the three upper floors of the Cairo Ramses Hilton hotel in 1983 following a dispute between the prince and his brother, King Fahd.


Royal News: January 2001. Last updated: February 1st, 2001.