Last updated: March 7th, 2009.
February 1st
Prince Zebulon Zulu was shot and seriously injured when he left an ANC election rally in Nongoma today. Unknown assailants shot at him and two passengers in the car. Also the passengers were seriously injured.
February 3rd
The health situation of Queen Fabiola of Belgium again has slightly improved, the Belgian royal palace said today. However she remains at the intensive care.
The Duke of Edinburgh missed his third royal engagement in eight days today. The Duke pulled a back muscle while carriage driving at Sandringham last month, and doctors have told him to take it easy until he has recovered. A spokeswoman of Buckingham Palace said: "A lot of engagements involve standing for quite a long time and they can often last anything up to an hour. He’s making a decision on a day-to-day basis about whether he’s going to attend engagements. His advice has been to rest his back for a period of time and he’s doing that each day. He’s been advised to rest as long as possible and avoid standing for too long."
Sultan Azlan Shah of Perak celebrated his 25th reigning anniversary today. He ascended the throne, after the demise of his uncle Sultan Idris Almutawakkil Alallahi Shah II, as the 34th sultan of Perak on 3 February 1984.
February 5th
Countess Feodora af Rosenborg and her husband Morten Rønnow had a daughter, Caroline-Mathilde Margrethe. She was born by Caesarian section at the Rigshospitalet in Copenhagen on 1 February. The baby was named after Feodora's grandmother Princess Caroline-Mathilde of Denmark.
At a press conference on the occasion of his trip to Vietnam next week Crown Prince Naruhito of Japan today defended his wife. He said: "Masako is making efforts to perform as many official duties as possible. Please watch her with warmth and take the long-term view. Masako is still under treatment for her illness. It is necessary to make a cautious decision looking at travel distances, the period of stay and the events to attend."
The government of Thailand has set up a special website. The website urges people to inform on anyone who criticises the Thai monarchy. Also an internet security centre has been set up to coordinate the blocking of websites who offend the monarchy. On its first day the centre banned almost 5000 websites.
February 6th
Queen Elizabeth II of Great Britain and the Duke of Edinburgh have cancelled a state visit to an unknown location in March because of "other commitments", Buckingham Palace said. They state age or health are not the reasons for the cancellation. According to several newspapers the destination of the five-day state visit was Dubai and Abu Dhabi.
February 8th
Prince David Bagrationi-Mukhraneli married Princess Anna Bagrationi-Gruzinsky today at the Cathedral of St. Trinity in Tbilisi, Georgia. The wedding will hopefully unite the two branches of the Georgian royal family, that both claim to be the rightful heirs to the throne. 3000 guests were invited for the ceremony, including Mikhail Saakashvili, president of Georgia.
February 9th
Today the Prince of Orange and Princess Maxima of the Netherlands will return to Chile after spending three days at Rothera Station, the base of the British Antarctic Survey. The princely couple arrived on Friday, after having stayed two days in Chile, where they visited the famous Tyndall glacier at the national parc Torres del Paine. Tomorrow they will fly back to the Netherlands, where they are expected to arrive on Wednesday. The couple visited Antarctica on invitation of the Dutch Organisation for Scientific Research. On a special part of the Dutch royal website the prince kept a weblog. There is also a photo gallery, as press had to stay home.
Queen Fabiola of Belgium has left the intensive care unit at the St Jan Clinic in Brussels today. She has to remain in hospital for further treatment.
Princess Lilian of Sweden has been taken to hospital today after a fall at her home in Stockholm. She injured a leg. A spokeswoman for the Royal Court said: "She is doing well under the circumstances."
A Thai professor from Chulalongkorn University in Bangkok, Ji Ungpakorn, has fled to Great Britain. He said today not to believe that he would receive a fair trial in Thailand. He was charged last month over a book about the military coup in Thailand in 2006, and is facing 3 to 15 years in prison for allegedly insulting the Thai monarchy. In the book he indirectly questioned the role of the palace in politics during the military coup. The professor holds dual citizenship, Thai and British.
The 37-year-old Baron Karl-Theodor von und zu Guttenberg has been appointed the new Minister of Economic Affairs of Germany today. His predecessor Mr Glos resigned last weekend. The new minister is a son of Baron Enoch von und zu Guttenberg and Countess Christiane von und zu Eltz. His paternal grandparents were Baron Karl Theodor von und zu Guttenberg and Princess and Duchess Rose-Sophie von Arenberg. Karl-Theodor is married to Countess Stephanie von Bismarck-Schönhausen and has two daughter, Anna and Mathilda.
February 10th
Buckingham Palace announced today that Queen Elizabeth II of Great Britain will donate an unspecified sum of money to the Victorian Bushfire Fund, that has been launched by the Australian Red Cross , the state Premier of Victoria and the federal government. The money will be used to help victims of the worst wildfires in the history of Australia.
A court in Benesov, Czechia, today rejected a request by Princess Sophie von Hohenberg to return the contents of the castle of Konopiste to her family. The court ruled that her grandfather Maximilian wasn't the owner of the contents at the time of his death. In 1921 the Czech Republic took possession of the castle. The court said: "The constitutional court has ruled several times that it is impossible to widen the interpretation of the law of restitution that applies to property seized when Communist rule began in February 1948." Jaroslav Broz, lawyer of the Princess, said she will appeal to the decision.
February 12th
Queen Elizabeth II of Great Britain has relaunched the website of the British monarchy today. The website will showcase the latest new media features like Google maps integrated with the Royal Diary, the royal Channel at YouTube, a password protected media centre and a new search function. It is more user-friendy and has an accessible design. It also contains rarely seen videos and documents from the Royal Archives, as well as expanded information on the Commonwealth Realms and a section on royal animals.
British media report that Prince Harry of Wales has to attend an army equality and diversity course after having been reprimanded for using racist comments against colleagues. The Ministry of Defense said investigations into the afffair are now over, and that the prince has been formally disciplined and the offence added to his military record.
Grand Duke Henri of Luxemburg has cancelled all his activities due to bronchopneumonia, including a state visit to Vietnam which was set to take place next week. According to the grand ducal court he is recovering now, and will start working again as soon as possible.
February 13th
The Dutch public buildings service announced today that the Dutch government has decided that Soestdijk Palace will also be open for the public in 2010. It is not known yet, what will happen to the former residence of Queen Juliana and Prince Bernhard of the Netherlands afterwards. The palace has been temporarily open since December 2006.
The only survivor of a plane crash on Thursday afternoon was named today as Alexander Kahane, one of the richest people of Austria and former husband of Countess Catharina von Meran. His two pilots died in the crash at Engadin airport near Samedan, Switzerland. The Falcon 10 airplane, that came from Vienna, Austria, slipped during the landing at 4.14pm and crashed into a wall of snow. The front of the airplane was completely destroyed. Mr Kahane broke some ribs and suffers from injuries on his hands and legs. His family hopes that he can start working again within a few weeks.
February 14th
Tonight a royal banquet took place to celebrate the silver jubilee of Sultan Azlan Shah of Perak. The banquet among others was attended by the King and Queen of Malaysia, as well as by the Sultan of Brunei Darussalam, and most other Malaysian rulers.
February 15th
From Kensington Palace in London, Great Britain, it was announced that: "It is with very great pleasure that Prince and Princess Michael of Kent and Mr and Mrs Barry Winkleman announce the engagement of Lord Frederick Windsor to Miss Sophie Winkleman." Lord Frederick Windsor proposed to his girlfriend of two years on 14 February, Valentine's day. A wedding date hasn't been set yet, but the wedding will take place later this year. Lord Frederick Windsor works as a banker at JP Morgan. Sophie Winkleman was born at London on 5 August 1980 as daughter of Barry Winkleman and Cindy Black, a children's author. From the previous marriage of her father to Evelyn Pollard she has a half-sister, TV-presentator Claudia Winkleman. Sophie is an actress.
February 16th
The Dutch royals arrived in Lech, Austria, for their yearly wintersport vacation this weekend. Today they took the time to pose for the press. Queen Beatrix was accompanied by the Prince of Orange and Princess Maxima and their three daughters Amalia, Alexia and Ariane, as well as by Prince Constantijn and Princess Laurentien with their children Eloise, Claus-Casimir and Leonore.
February 17th
The newly released website of the British royal family is already facing lots of criticism. Problematic is for example the royal diary section, where official engagements are being listed one day after they are actually happening. The website is also only viewable by Windows users, and also doesn't have adequate search engine optimization. Criticizers also say that the website is hard to navigate.
February 18th
The Information Commissioner has ruled that private letters between the late Diana Princess of Wales and the British government are to be kept secret. A request from October 2006 to make the letters public was rejected because they were "of a personal nature", and were unrelated to government business.
The Egyptian Minister of Culture, Faruq Hosni, said today that the Egyptian crown jewels will be displayed to the public at the Royal Family Museum of Jewellery at Alexandria somewhere in the future. The museum itself is restored at this moment, and it is not known when the exhibition will actually open. The jewels have been in the vaults of the Central Bank since the fall of the monarchy in 1952.
February 19th
Crown Princess Mary of Denmark completed an additional training at the officer school of the Home Guard. She was awarded afterwards the rank of lieutenant in the Danish Home Guard and will be attached to the Total Defence Region Copenhagen. The Home Guard is the voluntary military unit concerned with domestic defence. The crown princess was trained in the art of command, security and surveillance.
February 20th
Queen Fabiola of Belgium has left the Sint-Jans Clinic in Brussels this afternoon. She was admitted to hospital on 16 January with bronchial pneumonia, and was in the intensive care unit until 9 February. Queen Fabiola has returned to Stuyvenberg Castle where she will recover further.
The tax authorities in Germany have asked Prince Maximilian von und zu Liechtenstein, second son of Prince Hans Adam II, to pay taxes on the investment gains of a family foundation that was set up in 1993 and was closed in 2003, the LGT Group said in a statement. The prince lived in Germany in 1999 and again since September 2001. According to the statement he didn't get any payments from the foundation when living in Germany. He received a credit from the foundation in September 2001, over which he had no liability to taxation. The Prince's lawyers dispute the tax authorities' view as the money of the foundation wasn't the prince's own money, but from the family, and are working with them on a solution. In the statement Prince Maximilian said: "I have always fulfilled my tax duties in Germany to the best of my knowledge. If, contrary to my conviction, it turns out that I owe taxes to the German state, I will meet my obligations promptly."
Crown Prince Sultan bin Abdul-Aziz of Saudi Arabia has left for the USA again for follow-up medical checks. He had just spent six weeks recuperating in Morocco after having had medical tests in the USA from 23 November 2008 to 9 January 2009.
February 21st
The Australian author Harry Nicolaides was freed from prison in Thailand after a royal pardon. Some weeks ago he was jailed for three years for insulting the crown prince in a novel. Mr Nicolaides said that he was asked to kneel before a portrait of King Bhumibol Adulyadej when he was informed about his release.
The government of Swaziland released a report on Friday which says that about 42% of the pregnant women in Swaziland are HIV positive. The country has the highest AIDS rate in the world. AIDS activists are blaming King Mswati II for hardly doing anything to spread prevention messages and promote the use of condoms and testing on HIV. They also say that he is giving a bad example with having 13 wives.
February 23rd
In a 49th birthday press conference on Friday Crown Prince Naruhito of Japan said to be pleased that his wife Crown Princess Masako is now able to carry out more public duties. He said: "Masako and I are both pleased that she is becoming able to carry out public duties that she could not before. She has a tendency to overwork when she is in relatively good physical condition. Her doctor has told me that she needs to take careful steps so that her condition does not regress by pushing herself too hard." However he expressed his concerns for the health of his father Emperor Akihito. Several birthday pictures and a video were released.
Princess Lalla Amina of Morocco, a sister of the late King Mohammed V, died this morning at Meknès. The funeral will take place tomorrow at the Moulay El Hassan Mausoleum at Rabat.
February 24th
Just before 2pm the Swedish royal court officially announced the engagement of Crown Princess Victoria and Daniel Westling. The wedding will take place in the early Summer of 2010. Upon the wedding Daniel Westling will invested as Prince Daniel, Duke of Västergötland. It has not yet been decided where the couple will make their home. A press conference will take place this afternoon at 5pm. At 1pm a meeting with Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt and the Cabinet was held at the Royal Palace in Stockholm in presence of King Carl XVI Gustaf, Queen Silvia and Crown Princess Victoria. Olof Daniel Westling was born at Örebro, Sweden, on 15 September 1973, as son of Olle and Eva Westling. He has one elder sister, Anna Westling Blom. Daniel grew up at Ockelbo. After secondary school he studied sports and health at Lillsved, Stockholm. After his military service he worked in the field of social care for elder people and children with special needs. Since 2000 he has operated several fitness centers in Stockholm. His interests are athletics, ice-hockey, football, golf and other outdoor activities.
In a video (see link above) King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden announced the engagement of his daughter Crown Princess Victoria: "Dear Swedes, at home and abroad. Yes, this is how I tend to begin my speeches on radio and TV when there is something I wish to convey. And, as you may have guessed, there is something very special I would like to convey: namely, the public announcement today of the engagement of Crown Princess Victoria and Mr Daniel Westling. In the past years we have of course got to know Daniel and have understood that he is a young man who works hard and takes life seriously. That is why it is especially gratifying to extend you a welcome. It was with pleasure that I gave my consent and, in line with the constitution, accepted the consent of the government. It is of course a special day for us but it is also a special day for Sweden." In the video he was sitting around a table with Queen Silvia, Crown Princess Victoria and Daniel Westling. Also Queen Silvia praised Daniel Westling: "We welcome Daniel into our family with open arms. I view him as a man who is humble yet decisive, as well as judicious and wise. You are full of energy, considerate and will make a wonderful husband for Victoria. We have full confidence in you and your choice, Victoria, and I will do everything to support you. A new chapter is now being written and I am very pleased." Crown Princess Victoria said: "With Daniel by my side I feel secure. You have probaby noticed in recent years that I have seemed stronger and happier. And now the time has come to begin preparations for starting something of our own and creating a family." Daniel Westling said in his turn: "I will do everything I can to live up to the expectations. The Crown Princess and I have found each other and our love has grown strong over the years. I want to thank the King and I want to thank the Queen. It is my task to act as a support for the Crown Princess and the important work she does for Sweden."
At the press conference in the late afternoon in the blue salon at the newly renovated apartment of Victoria's grandmother Princess Sibylla at the Royal Palace Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden revealed that Daniel Westling proposed to her on a beautiful winter day out at Drottningholm, in the outdoors. Daniel Westling said he kneeled to ask her, and was a bit nervous as he was hoping for a "yes", but wasn't 100% sure. But Victoria, of course, said yes. Victoria told the reporters: "It was a friendship that grew and became love." She said it never said "click" as it did with her parents when they met. Their long relationship has given them the chance to really get to know each other and they both needed time. Daniel has gotten used to the idea of how life will be in the future. Daniel said he will remain owner of his Stockholm-based gym business, but will no longer be involved in the day-to-day running of it. He said to feel strong and secure with Victoria on his side. About Victoria Daniel said: "She has an enourmously big heart. And we have a personal chemistry between us which is working perfectly." He has felt the support and warmth of Victorias parents from the very beginning and has also become close to Prince Carl Philip and Princess Madeleine. Victoria said to feel very secure with Daniel. They have lots of fun together and she is always happy when visiting her parents-in-law at Ockelbo.
Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden and Daniel Westling celebrated their engagement with a dinner at the Royal Palace in Stockholm with their parents, after they had visited Princess Lilian, who is still at the Sophiahemmet in Stockholm. At the dinner also Princess Madeleine and her boyfriend Jonas were present.
The Danish Parliament has voted in favour of a new law on the succession to the Danish throne. Apart from the republican Enhedslisten, who gave in a blank vote, all parties voted in favour of the proposal to change the law on the succession to the throne. On 7 June the Danish people will vote in a referendum.
Queen Elizabeth II of Great Britain has unveiled a national monument dedicated to the late Queen Mother in central London today. A bronze statue of the Queen Mother forms the centrepiece of the monument and incorporates the existing statue of her husband King George VI on The Mall. The ceremony was also attended by the Duke of Edinburgh, the Duchess of Cornwall, Prince William and Prince Harry of Wales, the Duke of York, Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie of York, the Princess Royal and the Earl and Countess of Wessex. Also members of the Bowes-Lyon family were present. In a personal tribute the Prince of Wales praised his darling grandmother's vitality, unbounded courage and determination, as well as her irrestistible and irrepressible sense of mischievous humour. He also said: "At long last my grandparents are reunited in this joint symbol, which in particular reminds us of all they stood for and meant to so many during the darkest days this country has ever faced. Today we remember them both with joy mingled with sadness, but also intense gratitude for the role they performed with such consummate grace and inspiration."
Crown Prince Sultan bin Abdul Aziz of Saudi Arabia underwent a successful operation in New York yesterday. It wasn't revealed what kind of operation it was. The operation continues the medical tests and treatment for the crown prince.
February 25th
This morning an airplane of Turkish Airlines flying from Istanbul to Amsterdam, with 127 passengers and 7 crew members on board, crashed just before the landing at Schiphol Airport near Amsterdam, the Netherlands. There are at least nine deaths and many wounded. Pieter van Vollenhoven, husband of Princess Margriet of the Netherlands, arrived in the early afternoon. He is president of the Research Council for Safety, which will investigate the crash. Queen Beatrix sympathizes intensely with the victims and their families. She keeps herself informed about the situation all the time.
In a new poll by Novus Opinion for TV4 it shows that 83% of the Swedes supports the engagement of Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden to Daniel Westling. Only 6% thinks Daniel isn't the right choice.
February 27th
In a poll by Sifo for the Swedish newspaper Aftonbladet among 1000 Swedes, one third of the respondents said that King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden should abdicate in favour of his daughter Crown Princess Victoria when he reaches the retirement age. Among women of 30-49 the call for abdication was even 44%. Despite of this result the king has the full support of most respondents. 45% wants that the king remains head of state of Sweden. Crown Princess Victoria is much more popular than her siblings. Two third of the respondents thinks she is the best. Prince Carl Philip only got 2%. 70% of the respondents doesn't care if the future heir is male or female.
The Narayanhiti palace at Kathmandu, Nepal, has opened to the public today almost eight years after part of the royal family, including King Birendra, was shot down there. The grand main hall can be visited, as well as the king's bedroom, banquet halls and guest rooms. Among the main attactions is the gold-crafted ceremony throne. A Mercedes Benz former King Gyanendra's grandfather received as a gift from Adolf Hitler will go on display later on. Although the building where the royal family was killed was demolished, bullet holes are still visible in the walls of buildings nearby. The opening ceremony was held yesterday. Prime Minister Prachanda said: "The opening of the palace as a museum symbolizes the victory of the people in their long struggle against feudalism." He also said to hope that his government would start a fresh inquiry into the palace massacre. Today people queued for hours to visit the palace.
February 28th
The handbag of Zara Phillips, daughter of the Princess Royal, was stolen from her car yesterday evening in North Kensington, London. A spokeswoman of the Metropolitan Police said: "Property from the vehicle was found in the street and handed in to police." Some jewellery was missing, but Zara's passport was recovered. The handbag was found in a hedge near the crime scene.
The Moroccan royal court released two picture on the occasion of the second birthday of Princess Lalla Khadija, daughter of King Mohammed VI and Princess Lalla Salma of Morocco.
Narayan Kaji Shrestha Prakash, deputy leader of the Maoist party, told the media today that five ruling parties in Nepal have hold a meeting to approve a pledge by Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal Prachanda earlier this week. The Prime Minister pleaded for a new investigation into the palace massacre which took place at the Narayanhiti Palace in Kathmandu, Nepal, on 1 June 2001. King Birendra of Nepal and nine family members were killed in the shooting. The parties have agreed today to immediately form an advisory committee which would guide the government into instituting an inquiry commission.
Royal News: January 2009. Last updated: February 3rd, 2009.