ROYAL NEWS: JANUARY 2009

Last updated: February 3rd, 2009.

January 1st
Like every year the five waka poems by Emperor Akihito of Japan and the three waka poems by Empress Michiko of Japan on the occasion of the end of the year were published. Also the New Year pictures and a video of the Japanese royal family were released. They were taken in December 2008.
  • The Poems
  • Pictures
  • Video


    • Prince Albert II of Monaco spent the New Year at Puerto Montt in Chile. He will start a three-week trip to Antarctica on Saturday and hopes to come back on 21 January. He is scheduled to reach the South Pole on 14 January. Prince Albert will visit various research centres and observation posts. The palace said he aims to view the impact of global warming. He already visited the North Pole in 2006.

    January 2nd
    Royal security officials have started an investigation after detailed plans of the Palace of Holyroodhouse in Edinburgh, the official Scottish residence of Queen Elizabeth II of Great Britain, were found near a footpath in Roseburn, Edinburgh. They were found by someone walking her dog, who gave them to the Scottish newspaper The Daily Record. The newspaper in the meantime has handed over the plans to the palace. The drawings of the architect show the royal mews. They also include details of the services of the building. A spokeswoman for the palace said last night: "We acknowledge this has been a security breach which we are taking very seriously and are currently investigating."

    The Japanese royal family showed up for their annual public New Year's welcoming at the Imperial Palace in Tokyo today. Also Crown Princess Masako of Japan attended.

    January 3rd
    Sheikh Rashid bin Ahmed Al Mualla died at London, Great Britain, yesterday morning. He was the ruler of Umm Al Qaiwain, one of the states of the United Arab Emirates. He was interred today at the Umm Al Qaiwain cemetery. The funeral service at the Grand Mosque in Umm Al Qaiwain was among others attended by Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nayhan, President of the UAE, and Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai.

    January 6th
    Queen Elizabeth II of Great Britain agreed to create a joint household for Prince William and Prince Harry of Wales. The household has been created with the support of the Prince of Wales. The household has offices in St James's Palace and remains closely linked with the household of the Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall at Clarence House. The household is headed by Jamie Lowther-Pinkerton, private secretary of the princes since March 2005. Also Helen Asprey, personal private secretary, and Miguel Head, assistant press secretary work at the office, and are supported by a small team. Sir David Manning has been appointed as part-time advisor with the princes and the household.

    January 7th
    Emperor Akihito of Japan marked the 20th anniversary of his accession to the throne today with a visit to the grave of his father Emperor Akihito at the Musashino Imperial Mausoleum in Hachioji, Tokyo. He was accompanied by his wife Empress Michiko. Crown Prince Naruhito and Crown Princess Masako held a small private observance at the Imperial Palace.

    January 8th
    Zahi Hawass, chief archaeologist of the antiquities department of the Egyptian government said today that Egyptian archaeologists have found the remains of a mummy thought to be that of Queen Seshestet, the mother of Pharaoh Teti, the first king of the sixth dynasty.

    January 9th
    Four new pictures of the children of Prince Constantijn and Princess Laurentien of the Netherlands were released by the Government Information Service. Prince Constantijn himself took photos of his children Eloise, Claus-Casimir and Leonore in August during their vacation in Italy.
  • Pictures (see on top)


    • Crown Prince Sultan bin Abdul-Aziz of Saudi Arabia arrived in Morocco today after spending more than a month in the USA for medical tests.

    January 11th
    News of the World has published a video diary, filmed at an airport departure lounge waiting for a flight to Cyprus to go on manoeuvres, in which Prince Harry of Wales calls one of his colleagues at the Royal Military Academy of Sandhurst a 'Paki'. In the video he is also heard calling another cadet a 'raghead'. He also made a faked call to his grandmother Queen Elizabeth II of Great Britain, as the Commander in Chief of the British Army, in which he said: "Granny I've got to go, send my love to the Corgis and Grandpa. I've got to go, got to go, bye. God Save You ... yeah, that's great." In a statement from St James's Palace Prince Harry has apologised for using offensive language. The statement says: "Prince Harry fully understands how offensive this term can be, and is extremely sorry for any offence his words might cause. However, on this occasion three years ago, Prince Harry used the term without any malice and as a nickname about a highly popular member of his platoon. There is no question that Prince Harry was in any way seeking to insult his friend."

    January 12th
    Queen Fabiola of Belgium underwent planned surgery in the past days. She was admitted to the university hospital at Liège on Thursday, and was released from hospital on Sunday. The palace doesn't want to say what kind of operation the queen underwent. According to the Belgian media she had surgery on her thyriod gland, under hypnosis because of her age.

    January 13th
    Sheikh Rashid bin Saud bin Rashid Al Mualla has been named as crown prince of Umm Al Quwain by the new ruler of Umm Al Quwain Sheikh Saud bin Rashid Al Mualla. The decree issued by Sheikh Saud took effect today.

    January 14th
    Yesterday evening Prince Albert II of Monaco reached the South Pole after a cold two-day-long cross-country ski trip across Antarctica. After a brief ceremony the Prince visited the US Amundsen-Scott base near the pole. He is expected to visit 26 international bases during his trip. The trip is aimed at raising awareness about global warming. He is expected to be back in Monaco on 22 January.

    Countess Isabelle von Loë née Princess zu Salm-Salm died at Kevelaer, Germany, on 10 January. She was born at Potsdam on 13 February 1903 as daughter of Fürst Emmanuel zu Salm-Salm and Archduchess Maria Christina of Austria. In 1925 she married Count Felix von Loë who died in WW II in 1944. She is survived by six of her seven children, 23 grandchildren and 65 great-grandchildren. The funeral service will take place at the Marienbasilica at Kevelaer on 19 January. She will be buried afterwards at the catholic cemetery at Weeze.

    January 15th
    Russian investigators have closed an investigation into the massacre by the Bolsheviks of Tsar Nicholas II of Russia and his family in 1918. Itar-Tass news agency quotes investigator Vladmir Solovyov, who has conducted the inquiry for 15 years, as saying: "Today I signed an order to close this criminal case. We have no information which would suggest that those [bodies] were not the royal family. Their bodies and the cause of their death have been identified." Mr Solovyov said that the results of the investigation will be presented at a conference early March.

    January 17th
    Queen Fabiola of Belgium again was admitted to hospital yesterday evening. She was taken to the St. Jan Kliniek at Brussels with pneumonia. According to the palace there is no reason to worry. She is said to be able to leave hospital within a few days.

    January 19th
    The Belgian royal palace announced this afternoon that the health situation of Queen Fabiola is serious, but stable. They say she needs further treatment. Queen Fabiola is at the intensive care.

    The Australian writer Harry Nicolaides was sentenced to three years in prison today for insulting King Bhumibol Adulyadej of Thailand and the crown prince in his 2005 novel Verisimilitude. The offending passage in the novel is just a few sentences long and describes the turbulent marital relations of its fictional prince. The fiction book only sold seven copies. Nicolaides said to the press: "This can't be real. It feels like a bad dream." He also said: "I would like to apologize. I have unqualified respect for the king of Thailand."He also said he had not intended to insult him. He was sentenced to six years, but the term was reduced because he had entered a guilty plea, the judge said.

    The funeral service of Countess Isabelle von Loë took place at the Marienbasilica at Kevelaer today, followed by the funeral at the catholic cemetery at Weeze.
  • Pictures (by Marianne van Dam)


    • January 20th
    Emma Tallulah Behn, daughter of Ari Behn and Princess Märtha Louise of Norway, was christened at the chapel of the royal palace at Oslo this afternoon. She wore the christening gown made by Princess Ingeborg of Sweden in 1920. The service was led by the local vicar from Lomedalen parish, Gunnar Næsheim. Her godparents were Marianne Solberg Behn who carried her granddaughter to the font, Crown Princess Mette-Marit of Norway, Princess Alexia of Greece, Christian Udnæss, Carl Christian Christensen, Anbjørg Sætre Håtun and Sigvart Dagsland. There was a reception at the royal palace after the christening.
  • Pictures and information


    • Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands showed up at an appointment today with a brace around her right wrist. The Government Information Service said that she has an inflamed wrist, but that it is already getting better.

    January 21st
    The Belgian royal palace announced that the health situation of Queen Fabiola has slightly improved.

    New photos taken in June 2008 during a family vacation at Svalbard, and a video, were released on the occasion of the 5th birthday of Princess Ingrid Alexandra of Norway.
  • Photos (from the first saying På tur until the first saying HKH Prinsesse Ingrid Alexandra)
  • Video


    • January 26th
    Obviously Prince Harry of Wales and Chelsy Davey now really split up. It is claimed they decided to split because their lives were heading in separate directions. Prince Harry is said to be 'gutted' about the end of his relationship. He wants to focus on his training for helicopter pilot. Chelsy Davey will complete a postgraduate law course at Leeds University later this year, and wants to start working as a sollicitor. The couple met in March 2004.

    A group of members of parliament thinks that Buckingham Palace should open to the public more often than 63 days a year. That way they would raise much-needed funds. The Keeper of the Privy Purse however says that access has to be restricted because the palace is frequently occupied by the royal family and other dignitaries.

    January 27th
    Retired senior detective Cliff McHardy claims in a local newspaper interview that unidentified conspirators allegedly attempted to assassinate Queen Elizabeth II of Great Britain and the Duke of Edinburgh during an official tour in Australia on 29 April 1970. A wooded log was put on a railway track during a ride from Sydney to Orange. The incident happened near the town of Lithgow in the Blue Mountains. An accident was avoided because the train driver travelled unusually slowly. The log became stuck underneath the front wheels, but the train managed to come to a halt after 200 meters.

    The Belgian royal palace today announced that the health situation of Queen Fabiola remains serious, but stable. The treatment takes longer than thought. The stay at the intensive care has been extended.

    A 25 meter high purple beech tree planted for Queen Marie Antoinette of France more than 200 years ago at the palace of Versailles was felled on Friday by a fierce winter gust. The 223-year-old tree, planted in 1786, survived the French revolution and a severe storm in 1999.

    January 29th
    Today Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden was awarded with the International Prize Bonino 2009 in recognition of her commitment to dyslexia issues at Messina, Italy.

    Emperor Akihito of Japan will cut back his official duties after suffering stress-related health problems in December 2008, the Imperial Household Agency announced. He will cut down the number of speeches, reduce the audiences for foreign dignitaries and hand over responsibility for some palace rituals to officials. The changes are also to benefit Empress Michiko, who also has suffered from health problems in the past year.

    King Abdullah bin Abdul-Aziz of Saudi Arabia was given the Battle Against Hunger for 2008 Award of the World Food Programme. Minister of Commerce and Industry Abdullah Zainal Alireza received the award on behalf of the king at a dinner in Davos, Switzerland, that was attended by representatives of various government organisations and corporations.

    Prince Emanuele Filiberto of Savoy has teamed up with designerRaimondon Ciofani to create the clothing line 'Prince of Italy'. The garments bear the arms of the Italian royal family. Ciofani designed the clothes to the instructions and style of Emanuele Filiberto. Prince Emanuele Filiberto said: "I have always been very demanding about clothes and I told myself I would like to wear the clothing I created." The clothes will be available in selected shops this summer.

    At Magdeburg a coffin was presented to the press yesterday. It was discovered already in November 2008 in a royal vault at the Dom of Magdeburg. On the coffin it says: "The born rests of Queen Edith are in this sarcophagus". Archaeologists say the body might be of Queen Edith, born Princess of England, who died in 946. Her grave was moved at least four times, probably the last time in 1510. Edith was married to Otto I, Holy Roman Emperor. They will continue carrying out tests. After the discovery the coffin was brought to the university hospital in Halle and underwent computertomography.

    January 31st
    Queen Elizabeth II of Great Britain is to relaunch her website with the help of the inventor of the World Wide Web, Sir Tim Berners-Lee. The website which was launched 12 years ago, is to become more user friendly and relevant to modern-day society. On 12 February the website will be significantly improved and expanded when the Queen will link up with search engine Google. A senior royal source says: "The new website is going to look significantly different. We have completely rebuilt the site for a new media environment in the 21st century. We are putting up archive material that has never been seen before. The site has a new navigation system and there is a lot more video and more integration with YouTube. We have integrated the royal diary with Google maps. This means that if you hover on, say Birmingham, it will throw up all the past royal visits to the city – at the moment going back to 2005 – as well as future royal visits for the next two weeks. This will be called: 'Royal family in my area' and we hope it will prove very popular with the public. People will be able to enter the member of the Royal family and the date to get the information they need."

    The health situation of Queen Fabiola of Belgium has slightly improved, the Belgian royal palace announced today.

    Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands celebrated her 71st birthday today. She is now almost the eldest head of state ever of the Netherlands. Only King Willem III reigned until his death at the age of 73. Queen Juliana handed over the throne to her daughter Queen Beatrix on her 71st birthday. The Dutch still trust their queen. According to a poll by the TV-programme EénVandaag 80% of the Dutch trusts their queen, where 81% trusts the heir, the Prince of Orange. 38% of the people questioned thinks Queen Beatrix shouldn't abdicate yet, while 32% thinks the Prince of Orange should become the King within two years. Most popular member of the royal house is Princess Máxima with 32%, followed by the Prince of Orange with 15% and Queen Beatrix with 12%.


    Royal News: December 2008. Last updated: January 8th, 2009.