ROYAL NEWS: JANUARY 2000

Last updated: February 2nd, 2000

January 1st
The Kingdom of Tonga was the first Kingdom in the world to enter the new millennium.

The Princess Royal, as usual, was the busiest member of the royal family of Great Britain in 1999. She undertook 1138 official engagements, 228 while on official overseas tours. The Prince of Wales appeared at 1018 engagements, 461 of the in the UK. The Queen attended 981 engagements, and the Queen Mother managed 114.

Also the Norwegian Royal Family has an official homepage now.

January 2nd
Doña María de las Mercedes de Borbón y Orléans Countess of Barcelona (mother of King Juan Carlos of Spain) died in the Residencia de La Mareta in Lanzarote, Canary Islands, at 15:00 local time, of a heart stagnation, surrounded by her family. She was born in Madrid on December 23rd, 1910, and thus just had celebrated her 89th birthday. Since 1993 she was the widow of Don Juan de Borbon, Count of Barcelona, a son of King Alfonso XIII of Spain. In the evening her body has been brought to Madrid where people can say goodbye to her in the chapel of the Royal Palace.

During the opening of the Millennium Dome in London even Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip Duke of Edinburgh joined the singing of Auld Lang Syne standing and holding hands. Earlier the Queen surprised everybody by kissing the Duke on the sheek for the first time ever since their marriage more than 50 years ago in public.

Emperor Akihito of Japan, Empress Michiko and Crown Prince Naruhito greeted the crowds in front of the imperial palace in Tokyo. The Emperor said he prays for happiness in Japan for 2000.

January 3rd
Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands will celebrate Queen's Day 2000 on April 29th, as April 30th is on a Sunday, in Katwijk and Leiden.

During a walk in Cardiff, Wales, Prince William made jokes with the girls along the road about a millennium hangover. Further he shook hands and wished many people a happy new year.

In Spain there will be seven days of mourning for the mother of King Juan Carlos. Flags will hang half-mast on public buildings.

January 4th
Doña María de las Mercedes de Borbón y Orléans Countess of Barcelona was buried today at the Panteon de Reyes del Monasterio de San Lorenzo de El Escorial. She was buried next to her husband with all honours of a Queen, although she has never been.

The King of Tonga appointed Prince 'Ulukalala Lavaka Ata as Prime Minister.

January 5th
The Dutch newspaper NRC Handelsblad says Máxima Zorreguieta joined the Dutch royal family at their millennium trip to India. It was not confirmed.

January 6th
The Prinzenhaus (Prince's House) in Plön, Germany, once belonging to the Schleswig-Holstein family, will be handed over to the German Foundation Historical Buildings today. Also the garden goes for free to the foundation, which will be obliged to upkeep the complete building, which was built between 1744 and 1751.

January 7th
Queen Elizabeth II of Great Britain and the Duke of Edinburgh will pay a 2-week visit to Australia at the end of March, Buckingham Palace has announced.

January 10th
A 5 pounds coin to celebrate the Queen Mother's centenary is available to the public. The cupro-nickel coin depicts the Queen Mother with her signature, the dates 1900 and 2000, and flag-waving crowds. It is available for 9,95 pounds. Gold and silver limited editions follow in May.

January 11th
Crown Prince Frederik of Denmark is to begin his 3500 km dogsled expedition to Greenland today that is expected to last at least 4 months. He held a press conference in Copenhagen before leaving. The official department from Qaanaaq will be on February 10th.

January 12th
The annual list of the worst dressed women by fashion guru Mr. Blackwell rates Queen Elizabeth II as number 3, behind singers Cher and Celine Dion. Mr. Blackwell singles the Queen out as a particular fashion frump, asking if HM is the Palace's Christmas tree or just a royal clown.

January 13th
A memorial service was held to commemorate the death of Doña María de las Mercedes, mother of King Juan Carlos of Spain. Many royals attended the service, which marked the end of a period of mourning. Under the guests were Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands, King Konstantinos and Queen Anne Marie of Greece, Queen Fabiola of Belgium, Queen Noor of Jordan, the Prince of Wales, Crown Prince Hamzah of Jordan, Prince Albert of Monaco, Crown Prince Haakon of Norway, King Simeon of Bulgaria, King Michael of Romania and the Countess of Paris.

Harrods has lost a Royal Warrant it held for more than 40 years. Buckingham Palace says the warrant, awarded by the Duke of Edinburgh, would not be renewed when it expired at the end of the year. The move was because of declining trade between the Duke's household and the store.

In an interview Princess Stéphanie of Monaco has said she feels shadowed by certain press, which makes life hard. She said she has once thought about giving up her title and live anonymous.

In July a road race expected to attract 20.000 runners is being launched in aid of the Diana, Princess of Wales Memorial Fund. Organisers want to turn the 10 km. Memorial Road Race, expected to take place in London, into an annual event.

According to the Dutch newspaper NRC the Dutch royal court is making preparations for the wedding of Crown Prince Willem Alexander with Máxima Zorreguieta, which news seems to be circulating at the royal court. A date for an engagement shouldn't be set yet. It is said she is going to learn Dutch and about the Netherlands. The report also says that Máxima joined the family in India after Christmas. The Government Information Service denies all reports, telling they are absolutely not true.

January 14th
The Prime Minister of the Netherlands denied that there are concrete engagement plans between Crown Prince Willem-Alexander and Máxima Zorreguieta. He again said that they are very good friends. He admitted that there are preparations going on for a longer stay of Máxima in the Netherlands, and said Máxima was with the Dutch royal family in India. A rumour I heard is that Crown Prince Willem-Alexander travels to New York every two weeks.

January 15th
Yesterday Prince Ernst August of Hannover did it again! According to Kenian authorities the "Prügelprinz" has beaten up a German disco-owner at the island of Manda, so badly that the man was brought to the intensive care of a hospital. The Prince, who has a villa at the nearby island of Lamu, should have been angry about the noise the disco produced.

January 16th
Prince Ernst August of Hannover has admitted fighting with the German in Kenia. He left Kenia for London today.

January 17th
King Abdullah II of Jordan has brought an incognito visit to a hospital in the town of Zarka for three whole hours. He heard the complaints of the patients about long waiting times, etc.

January 18th
Inquiries will be held to find out what happened exactly between Prince Ernst August of Hannover and the German disco-owner in Kenia. Meanwhile some tabloids have become worried about Princess Caroline. Some family member should have said that he beats her too.

A fountain is to be built in Central London in memory of Diana, Princess of Wales, the Diana Memorial Committee has confirmed after a meeting. The location and design of the memorial have yet to be decided.

Prince Philippe of Belgium and Princess Mathilde continued their Happy Entrance by visiting the province of Liège. They first visited a revalidation centre in Fraiture, and after that visited Liège, Verviers and Sankt-Vith.

January 19th
Simoneta, daughter of Infanta Pilar of Spain, gave birth to her third child, María, in Madrid on January 17th. She already had two sons. The baby was called after Simoneta's grandmother, the Countess of Barcelona, who died earlier this month.

The Government Information Service has confirmed that Máxima Zorreguieta gets lessons about the Netherlands.

The police of Antwerpen, Belgium, received some threatening letters in connection with the Happy Entrance of Prince Philippe and Princess Mathilde on Monday in the province of Antwerpen. The threats are regarded serious and special safety-measures will be taken.

January 21st
Dom Diniz de Bragança will be baptised in the Sé of Oporto, Portugal, on February 19th at 12:00 noon. His godparents will be his uncle Sebastião de Herédia and his fathers niece Princess Anna Cecilia de Bourbon. Afterwards there will be a reception in the Pálacio da Bolsa in Oporto.

January 22nd
Wilhelm, son of Prince Stephan Leopold and Princess Maria zur Lippe, was baptised today in the chapel of Detmold Castle.

Prince Rainier III of Monaco, his daughters Caroline and Stéphanie, Prince Ernst August von Hannover, and Princess Caroline's children Andrea, Charlotte and Pierre, were present at the Circus-festival of Monte Carlo.

January 24th
The Belgian butcher Hubert Schoenmakers is making a musical about Queen Astrid of Belgium (1905-1935). He receives all help from the Belgian royal court, and has been able to search the archives. The musical will open with the wedding of Queen Astrid with King Leopold III.

Prince Philippe and Princess Mathilde of Belgium were in Antwerpen for their second Happy Entrance of 2000. They were received in the province house and made a walk through the centre of Antwerpen. In the afternoon they visited Herentals and Lier. Everywhere were thousands of people.

January 25th
In several Kenian newspapers big advertisements were placed by Prince Ernst August of Hannover in which he stated not having injured the German disco-owner, and that he must have received the injuries from someone else.

In his New Year's speech for the prominents of Belgium, King Albert II asked to work towards a better image of Belgium in other countries by modernizing of institutions and by depoliticising. More than once the King explicitly mentioned the role of Prince Philippe in this process.

January 26th
The Dutch newspaper Algemeen Dagblad published the first sharp photo of Prince Willem-Alexander and his girlfriend Máxima, taken in New York last week when they left a restaurant. It is said Prince Willem-Alexander visits Máxima almost every week.

A photographer took photos of a topless Zara Phillips, but there is not a magazine that wants to publish the photos. Princess Anne's daughter was pictured in Australia where she stays at friends of her mother and where she works for a sport-firm right now. Zara Phillips will return to Great Britain soon.

January 27th
King Albert II of the Belgians will undergo neuro-surgery at his spinal column on Saturday in the Hospital of Our Lady in Aalst, Belgium. He will continue work.

On December14th Prince Heinrich of Hannover and his wife Thyra became the proud parents of a son, who was born in Göttingen, Germany. He was named Albert Thilo Ludwig Arndt.

On January 18th Arch Duchess Gloria of Austria was baptised in Mrozg, Austria. Godmother was Princess Gloria von Thurn und Taxis.

January 28th
Buckingham Palace has denied press-rumours about a bad health of the Queen Mother.

January 29th
Prince Maximilian von und zu Liechtenstein and Angela Brown married today in New York.

37 % of the people in the Netherlands think there is a big chance Crown Prince Willem-Alexander will marry Máxima Zorreguieta soon. The same poll tells us that Prince Claus is the most popular member of the Dutch royal family, followed by Princess Juliana, Crown Prince Willem-Alexander and Queen Beatrix.

The one-hour-long spinal column surgery on King Albert II of the Belgians was successful. The King will be recovering in hospital for some days, before going home.

January 30th
Princess Stéphanie of Monaco and her three children had to leave their chalet in Auron, French Alps, where they live some months a year. Last night a fire broke out in the cellar of the house because of a short-circuit. Happily the damage was not very big. The Princess and her children slept in a nearby hotel for the rest of the night.


Royal News: December 1999. Last updated: January 1st, 2000.