ROYAL NEWS: JANUARY 2002

Last updated: January 31st, 2002.

January 1st
Crown Prince Haakon and Crown Princess Mette-Marit together with son Marius and King Harald and Queen Sonja visited Asker church for the New Year mass today. The mass was led by Bishop Stålsett of Oslo. There were two reasons for the visit: Asker got their first dean today and the estate of Skaugum was formally handed over from King Harald to Crown Prince Haakon. It is said that the Crown Princely couple will live in Oslo another two years, but from today they are formally established at Skaugum. The inhabitants of Asker welcomed them.

A survey published by The Times newspaper shows the Princess Royal again is the hardest working British royal, with 500 engagements in Great Britain and 155 abroad. The Prince of Wales carried out 455 official engagements in Great Britain and 98 abroad. Queen Elizabeth II reduced her official engagements in Great Britain from 418 in 2000 to 392 in 2001. She undertook only 15 overseas engagements compared with 113 in 2000. The Duke of Edinburgh caried out 69 official duties overseas, 137 fewer than in 2000. However the Queen Mother has worked harder in 2001 than in 2000. She carried out 51 official engagements, which is 6 more than in 2000. The survey is based on the visits and engagements carried in the Court Circular.

January 4th
On Monday British Guyana issues poststamps on the occasion of the upcoming wedding of the Prince of Orange and Máxima Zorreguieta. About 25.000 stamps will be printed in a souvenir sheet. The six stamps with photos of the couple will be surrounded by the wedding locations the Beurs van Berlage and the Nieuwe Kerk. The wedding poststamps in The Netherlands will be on sale on Wednesday, two days after the poststamps of British Guyana.

January 7th
Today Princess Juliana and Prince Bernhard of the Netherlands celebrated their 65th wedding anniversary. Their marriage is the longest in the history of the Dutch royal family. They celebrated privately at home.

In 2001 the Mecklenburg castles and gardens in Schwerin, Ludwigslust and Güstrow attracted many visitors. The biggest attraction was Schwerin Castle with 184.000 visitors, while Ludwigslust Castle had 65.000 and Güstrow Castle 40.000 visitors.

The 90-year-old widow of Prince Takamatsu, an uncle of Emperor Akihito, has spoken out in favour of female succession to the Japanese throne.

January 8th
The Prince of Orange officially presented the Dutch team for the Olympic Winter Games of Salt Lake City to the chef de mission Leo Visser, a former Olympic speed skater, by handing over a symbolic torch. The team includes speed skaters, a shorttrack skater, bobsleigh teams and a snowboarder. If the Prince, an IOC member himself, will visit the Olympic Winter Games is not known. He will be on honeymoon and as he said today even his fiancée Máxima Zorreguieta doesn't know yet where they are going, and he wants it to stay a surprise for her. He said that in his thoughts he will certainly be with the Olympic team.

January 9th
The Prince of Orange and Máxima Zorreguieta had the banns published today in The Hague. Further they received the first wedding poststamps and Máxima received a crown called 'breakers and daybreak' especially designed for her by artist Jos van den Elzen. He won the contest "smiths for Máxima and Willem-Alexander' by the Goldsmith and Silversmith Society, that was organised to make a wedding present.

The Swedish royal court announced that Princess Madeleine will not go back to continue her studies in London after the Christmas holidays, because of incessant attention from the paparazzi. She moved to Chelsea three months ago, but has enough of the constant attention of the cameras. Her decision was made after it became apparent that her plea for privacy was being ignored. She had shared the London home of a family friend and hoped to live like a normal irl while improving her English. In an attempt to curb press interest, the Princess agreed to meet journalists at the Swedish Embassy in London three weeks after arriving in the British capital.

January 10th
On January 18th a one-hour-interview with the Prince of Orange and Máxima Zorreguieta will be broadcasted on the Dutch television. Recently they were interviewed by Maartje van Weegen and Paul Witteman at Drakensteyn Castle.

This evening Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands, Prince Claus, the Prince of Orange, Máxima Zorreguieta, Prince Johan Friso, Prince Constantijn, Princess Laurentien, Princess Margriet, Pieter van Vollenhoven, Prince Bernhard, Princess Annette and Prince Jaime de Bourbon de Parme attended a ballet performance by the Dutch Dance Theatre. During the evening the Prince of Orange asked the people to sing 'Long may they live' for Princess Margriet and Pieter van Vollenhoven who celebrated their 35th wedding anniversary today.

Jime de Marichalar Duke of Lugo left hospital today at 20:55 accompanied by his wife Infanta Elena of Spain, and returned to their appartment in Madrid. He will continue treatment at home.

Paul Burrell, the former butler to Diana Princess of Wales, is to face trial at the Old Bailey on October 14, being accused of stealing items from her estate, from Prince William and from the Prince of Wales. Burrell has denied through his lawyers and is on unconditional bail.

January 11th
The Dutch Cabinet has decided to donate about $ 500.000 to the Oranje Fund that will be the people's wedding present for the Prince of Orange and Máxima Zorreguieta. Next to the fund the couple will also receive a statue for their garden made by artist André Volten. The fund will be handed over to the couple on February 1st during a huge party for 50.000 people at the Amsterdam Arena. The programme includes classical as well as pop music, ballet and show dancing. The theme of the evening is 'More Together Together More', which is also the theme of the Oranje Fonds. Various members of the Dutch Royal House and foreign Royal Houses will be present at the party. Afterwards they'll return to the Amstel Hotel where a private party will be held. The party at the Arena will be broadcasted live on Dutch television.

On 27th January the Dutch Jeugdjournaal (news for children) will broadcast an interview with the Prince of Orange and Máxima Zorreguieta. They recently were interviewed by Hans Smit and Brechtje van Hulten at Drakensteyn Castle.

The Norwegian royal court has confirmed King Harald V, Queen Sonja, Crown Prince Haakon, Crown Princess Mette-Marit, Princess Märtha Louise and Ari Behn will attend the wedding of the Prince of Orange and Máxima Zorreguieta. From Japan it was announced Crown Prince Naruhito will go to the Dutch wedding, but will not be accompanied by his wife Masako who gave birth to daughter Aiko last December. The Danish newspaper BT Online said that also Queen Margrethe II, Prince Henrik and Crown Prince Frederik of Denmark will attend the wedding. Other speculations about guests include the Swedish royal family, King Juan Carlos and Queen Sofia of Spain, the Prince of Asturias, the Prince of Wales (with Camilla Parker Bowles?), Prince Philippe and Princess Mathilde of Belgium, Prince Albert of Monaco and Prince Hassan of Jordan. Also president Johannes Rau of Germany and president Jacques Chirac of France are said to come. Still valid is the invitation for former president Fernando de la Rúa of Argentina.

King Harald V of Norway issued a statement in response to a series of controversial comments made by Princess Martha Louise’s fiancé Ari Behn. The king clarified Ari Behn’s future role, reportedly hoping to distance the politically neutral royal family from the author’s criticism of US policy which featured in a documentary on Afghan culture he made recently. Many felt that his comments, in which he suggested that many Norwegians didn’t agree with US President George Bush’s policies, threatened Norway’s neutrality. Ari Behn will apparently not speak for the royal family on such matters. He will only seldom accompany princess Märtha Louise at official functions. She who will continue to represent the royal family on her own. Ari Behn was reportedly satisfied with the official statement. Ari Behn has previously expressed his intentions to keep writing and adding to the public debate. However, most agree his new role requires a bit of care and temperance. Meanwhile Princess Märtha Louise and Ari Behn are preparing for their wedding. It was announced the wedding reception will take place at the royal residence of Stiftsgården in Trondheim.

January 12th
On January 22nd the Prince of Orange and Máxima Zorreguieta will chat with 100 people on the website of the royal house. Already now people can leave their question on the website and from all those people 100 will be choosen to chat with the couple. Other people can follow the chat-session on the website, but are not able to chat with them theirselves.

The man who was involved in an accident with Máxima Zorreguieta near Palace Huis ten Bosch last October wants her to pay for the damage to his car as well as his medical bills. He broke his leg and says he is still not able to work. A judge has already said Máxima is not to blame, but the man says the accident was not his fault but hers.

Peter Phillips, son of the Princess Royal, has been made director of Tailormade Hospitality, a new company which invites people to live like royalty. They organise trips and among others offer a weekend at a country house hotel with an optional tour of Windsor Castle. The company's brochure says this weekend, called the English Experience, epitomises all that people associate with English high society and allows them to live like royalty. They also offer packages for popular sports events. Tailormade Hospitality says Peter Phillips has no role apart from being a director.

January 13th
St James's Palace has confirmed Prince Harry of Great Britain admitted smoking cannabis at Highgrove private parties and drinking heavily at a Wiltshire pub last summer. Harry has experimented on several occasions with the drug over a two-month period. The Prince of Wales had made his son visit Featherstone Lodge Rehabilitation Centre in south London to see the effects of drug abuse. He came for a couple of hours on a day in late summer and talked to several people in recovery - heroin and cocaine addicts mostly. A spokesman said: "This is a serious matter which was resolved within the family, and is now in the past and closed.".

About 300 Turks burned pictures of King Fahd of Saudi Arabia yesterday to protest against the destruction of the Ottoman-era fortress Adschayat in the holy city of Mecca last December.

January 14th
In the Russian Chapel at Wolfsgarten Castle about 60 people have attended a memorial service for Princess Sophia of Hannover, who died on November 24, 2001, in Schliersee. Among them were her brother the Duke of Edinburgh, the Princess Royal, the Earl and Countess of Wessex, Queen Sofia of Spain, former King Constantinos and Queen Anne Marie of Greece, Prince Ernst August and Princess Caroline of Hannover and Landgrave Moritz von Hessen.

Wiltshire Police says they will consider taking action against Prince Harry after reports that he smoked cannabis and drank alcohol while under the legal age. They say he would be treated the same way as other youths and that the licenseer of the pub where he drank may also face action. The headmaster of Eton College added "Any boy possessing, using and selling drugs at school during the term can expect to forfeit his place." Buckingham Palace has said that Queen Elizabeth II supports the way the Prince of Wales handled Harry's cannabis smoking and underage drinking. Many people think the Prince of Wales set a good example by his sensitive handling of Harry's cannabis experimentation.

On December 16th, 2001, Prince Constantijn of the Netherlands had to hand in his driving license to the police because he drove 165 km an hour on the motorway around Amsterdam, where only 100 km an hour was allowed. After handing in his license he changed seats with his wife Laurentien, who was sitting next to him and who drove the car further. The next day the prince got his license back, as it was his first offense. He was fined for $400.

January 15th
Sheik Jaber Al Ahmed Al Sabah Emir of Kuwait has returned home after almost four months of medical treatment and recuperation in London. His return has sparked nationwide celebrations that are expected to continue for several days. The next two days have been declared public holidays. The Emir was rushed to London's Cromwell hospital on September 21, 2001, after receiving initial treatment for a brain haemorrhage. He recuperated at the Dorchester hotel.

January 16th
The Royal Train may be scrapped in 2003 in a bid to reduce the burden of Royal travel on taxpayers, Queen Elizabeth II of Great Britain's treasurer, Keeper of the Privy Purse Sir Michael Peat, has indicated. The train is regarded as an invaluable asset as the Queen will use it to visit all corners of the UK during the Golden Jubilee year. But as use returns to its usual low level after the Jubilee, a "serious study" will be carried out in 2003 on whether to keep it.

A press conference took place at the Royal Palace in Oslo in connection with the wedding of Princess Märtha Louise and Ari Behn in Trondheim on 24 May 2002. As expected Princess Märtha Louise's maid-of-honour will be her second cousin Marianne Ulrichsen. Ari Behn's best man will be Kåre Conradi, an actor. It was also told the bridal gown will be designed by Wenche Lyche, the princess's favourite designer. Among the guests are royals, official representatives from Norwegian, family and friends. They will stay at Stiftsgården (Trondheim's royal property), on board of the Royal Yacht 'Norge' and in hotels. The royal family and the first wedding guests will arrive two days before the wedding, while most of the guests arrive one day later. The same day the government will host a reception for the couple connected with a show at Olav's Hall to which the municipality of Trondheim invites the royal family and their guests. On Friday, May 24th, the wedding will take place at the Nidaros Cathedral at 16:00. The dinner and ball will be held afterwards at Stiftsgården. About 800 to 1000 seats will be available for ordinary people, requests should be directed to the Fylkesmann of Sør-Trøndelag.

January 17th
6000 Policemen will work in Amsterdam on February 2nd during the Dutch royal wedding. 2150 of them are coming from outside Amsterdam. The organisation wedding will cost the city about $ 2.800.000, while security costs will cost another $ 5.000.000.

January 18th
In an interview with the Norwegian newspaper Aftenposten yesterday Princess Märtha Louise of Norway told that from February 1st she will have the title Märtha Louise, Princess of Norway. She will not longer be Her Royal Highness, won't get her annual royal allowance anymore and will join other Norwegians in paying taxes. From February 1st she will also start her own art and culture firm called "Märtha Louises Kulturformidling" and will earn her own money. She said that she is very satisfied with the decision. Today in a statement King Harald V officially confirmed what his daughter had said: "Her Royal Highness the Princess wants to work with greater freedom in relation to the royal house." He said the princess' royal duties will be reduced, although she will sometimes represent the royal family.

January 19th
Some more wedding guests are confirmed. Buckingham Palace announced that the Prince of Wales will come. In the news it has been said that he'd bring a companion with him (Camilla Parker Bowles), but Buckingham Palace denies that. The Swedish royal court confirmed that King Carl XVI Gustaf, Queen Silvia, Crown Princess Victoria, Prince Carl Philip and Princess Madeleine will attend the wedding in Amsterdam. The Luxemburg Grand Ducal Court announced that Grand Duke Henri, Grand Duchess Maria Teresa, Hereditary Grand Duke Guillaume, Grand Duke Jean, Grand Duchess Joséphine-Charlotte, Prince Guillaume and Princess Sibilla will travel to Amsterdam. The princely court says Hereditary Prince Alois and Hereditary Princess Sophie will represent Liechtenstein. The South-African embassy in the Netherlands confirmed former president Nelson Mandela and his wife will attend.

January 20th
The exhibition "Ja, ik wil" (Yes I do) at the Nieuwe Kerk in Amsterdam attracted 125.000 visitors. The exhibition closed its doors today and will reopen on February 3rd at Palace Het Loo in Apeldoorn.

Democrat chairman Thom de Graaf says that the Prince of Orange was a little bit stupid again by saying that the government inquiry report after his future father-in-law Jorge Zorreguieta by Professor Baud in the beginning of 2001 is just an opinion and that other people might have another opinion about it.

January 21st
According to the German magazine 'Bild' Crown Princess Mette-Marit of Norway is more popular than Máxima Zorreguieta. The magazine compared them with each other, and Mette-Marit won with only a small majority. It is remarkable that in this case the choice of partner finally made the difference. For women the Prince of Orange seems to be less attractive that Crown Prince Haakon of Norway who has an athletic body, beautiful eyes and sometimes a beard.

Tomorrow between 18:30 and 19:30 Amsterdam time the Prince of Orange and his fiancée Máxima Zorreguieta will have a chat session with 100 people who are invited after asking a question on the Dutch royal website. Other people will be able to see and follow the chat session on the website, but are not able to take part in it. The broadcasting already starts at 18:00 with views of the visits of the couple to the Dutch provinces.

January 22nd
The chat session with the Prince of Orange and Máxima Zorreguieta already ended after five minutes because of a technical interference, the Government Information Service said. The only thing the Prince of Orange was able to tell was that he uses the Internet already for years, and also Máxima Zorreguieta told she uses it a lot. In the beginning of their relationship they have emailed a lot with each other. The network operators KPN (telephone company) blame computer hackers for sabotaging as three billion hits were recorded within a minute of the pair going online. They had expected only tens of thousands of callers to log on to the live chat. The Government Information Service says the KPN is responsible for what happened as they had guaranteed nothing could go wrong, no matter how many hits were counted. There is no chance the chat will be organised again before the wedding takes place.

According to the Dutch magazine Vrij Nederland the Argentinian priest Rafael Braun, who will read a prayer during the wedding of the Prince of Orange and Máxima Zorreguieta, has defended the Videla regime. As a columnist in the 1970s he is said to have spoken highly about the authority of Videla in the catholic monthly magazine Criterio. According to Braun Videla pleaded for the Argentinian civilization.

January 23rd
37-year-old Prince Moulay Hicham of Morocco, a cousin of King Mohammed VI and second in line of succession, left for the United States yesterday together with his wife and two daughters. They will stay in New Jersey for a necessary period of cooling down to stop the tensions within the family. The Prince says even the police troubled him recently. Because of his progressive point of views he is nicknamed 'The Red Prince'.

Last week Prince Kyrill of Bulgaria and his wife Rosario became the proud parents of a son, Tassilo, who was born in London. They already had two daughters: Mafalda and Olimpia.

The Dutch government says they have investigated whether there are any facts or circumstances that could prevent Father Braun from discharging his limited role in the Church blessing of the marriage of the Prince of Orange and Máxima Zorreguieta. None have come to light. After government questions the Government Information Service denies that the Prince of Orange wanted to relativate the value of the report of Professor Baud in last week's interview. The government calls the report independent, solid and steady and says the opinions of the Prince of Orange and Máxima Zorreguieta are beyond all doubts.

Prince Ernst August of Hannover has appealed against the 8th months conditional sentence and the fine of about $ 500.000.

January 24th
From 6 to 16th May the Prince of Orange and Máxima Zorreguieta will pay a visit to the Dutch Antilles and Aruba.

A group of eight hackers told the newspaper De Telegraaf they sabotised the chat session with the Prince of Orange and Máxima Zorreguieta to teach the KPN a lesson. According to the KPN the system (router) collapsed at 126 million visitors. They recognise that the security of the chat session could have been better, but they continue to say that the capacity was good enough. The Public Prosecutor will start an inquiry after the failure and research if there is talk of offences.

January 25th
After more than 70 years the golden coffin of Pharaoh Achnaton is shown in Cairo again. It was given back by the State Museum in München, Germany. The coffin was found in the Valley of the Kings in 1907, but disappeared in 1931. In the beginning of the 1980s a Swiss private collector gave the coffin to the museum in München for restoration.

January 26th
Máxima Zorreguieta provides new supporters of the monarchy. She appeals to groups of people who normally are not interested in the monarchy. That is the outcome of an inquiry by the Amsterdam Office Motivaction in order of the newspaper Trouw. 2000 Dutchmen were questioned. Máxima is very popular among the cosmopolites and younger people and women.

Singer Elton John says he and friend Diana Princess of Wales had a falling-out about a year before she died, but the death of Gianni Versace brought them back together, weeks before her own death. "It was one of her charity things that I'd organized, and she pulled out of it. And I wasn't too happy, and I let her know that. And then she wrote me a very terse letter," the singer said in an interview on CNN's "Larry King Live" last night. When Versace was fatally shot outside his Miami Beach home in July 1997, Elton John and Diana reached out to each other. "It's one of those things that friends sometimes do. You know, they're too proud to pick up the phone. And it was just due to a tragic event like Gianni's murder that brought us back together again," said Elton John.

January 27th
Today Queen Elizabeth II of Great Britain has told well-wishers outside the church at Sandringham that the Queen Mother is getting better all the time. The Queen Mother hasn't been seen in public since November 21st. Last week she was said by Buckingham Palace to be confined to her room at the Sandringham estate with a but. A spokeswoman then said: "She is still resting from the bug she caught at Christmas and is continuing her recovery."

January 28th
The Liechtenstein Princely Court announced that Princess Tatjana and her husband Philipp von Lattorff had their second child on Friday. Elisabeth Maria Angela Tatjana was born at the hospital in Grabs, Switzerland. Godmother will be Princess Angela of Liechtenstein, wife of Tatjana's brother Maximilian.

The Prince of Orange and Máxima Zorreguieta have lost some of their popularity according to a poll by the Intomart Office in order of RTL News television. In November Máxima Zorreguieta led the list together with Prince Claus, and immediately followed by the Prince of Orange. Now Prince Claus is in first place, with on the places 2 to 10 the following members of the royal family: Princess Juliana, Máxima Zorreguieta, Princess Margriet, Queen Beatrix, the Prince of Orange, Princess Marilène, Prince Maurits, Prince Bernhard senior and Prince Constantijn.

January 29th
A spokesman for the fashion-house Valentino Couture in Paris has confirmed that they have designed the wedding gown of Máxima Zorreguieta. It will be kept secret what the dress looks like. Máxima came to Paris some months ago to choose her dress together with Valentino. The dress is already in The Hague.

Within fifteen minutes the municipality council of Wassenaar decided yesterday evening unanimously that they agree with adjustments to the royal estate De Horsten in Wassenaar, where the Prince of Orange and Máxima Zorreguieta will live. After the wedding they will first live at the house of the prince at the Noordeinde in The Hague until their new house is finished. The prince then will use his present house as his office.

Princess Märtha Louise of Norway has moved forward with her plans to launch her own business. Her company is now registered with the state as a sole proprietorship. Papers filed with the register, located in the northern town of Brønnøysund, state that the princess' company will offer "cultural arrangements of various types" plus a special brand of physical therapy.

The Prince of Wales has won the Euronatur award for his contribution to the environment. He is being given the award for his long term support for the preservation of nature.It is being given by the European Natural Heritage Foundation and is expected to be awarded at a ceremony in Germany later this year.

January 30th
Together with her brother Martín and sister Inés Máxima Zorreguieta visited the Nieuwe Kerk and the Beurs van Berlage to have a look at the preparations for her wedding.


Royal News: December 2001. Last updated: January 5th, 2002.