ROYAL NEWS: JULY 2000

Last updated: August 3rd, 2000.

July 1st
Queen Margrethe II of Denmark and King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden opened the tunnel and the bridge over the Øresund. Also Prince Henrik and Queen Silvia were present. For the first time in history Denmark and Sweden have a direct road-connection, before you had to take the boat. Foot-passengers were already able to make use of the road since Whitsun. After today also the train and cars can make use of the connection. An 8-kilometres-long tunnel starting from Copenhagen-Kaastrup airport ends on an artificial island in the middle of the Øresund, and from there an 8-kilometres long cable-span bridge connects the artificial island with Malmö in Sweden.

Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands opened the event Simmer 2000 (Summer 2000) in Friesland, a province in the north of the Netherlands that has its own language (Frisian) and culture. 12.000 people attended the huge opening show in the capital Leeuwarden. In the next few weeks lots of small events have been organised. Some ten thousands of emigrants from all over the world are expected to return to their homeland for a few weeks.

Princess Mathilde of Belgium passed the second license of her psychology studies at the catholic university of Louvain in Louvain-la-Neuve with distinction.

For the first time in the history of the British monarchy female guards protect the monarch. The four female soldiers that will do their duty in front of Buckingham Palace until July 20th, are from the Australian contingent that guards Buckingham Palace in Australian Week.

The Duchess of Gloucester, honorary president of the Lawn Tennis Association, presented 65 of past and present Wimbledon tennis champions a specially created crystal plate. The Champion’s Parade on the Centre Court featured amongst others John McEnroe, Pete Sampras and 1931 winner Sidney Ward.

Next round in the 'Piddle-affair'. Bild magazine placed a counter-advertisement in the Frankfurter Allgemeinen Zeitung and said the photo they published was unmistakable. Prince Ernst August of Hannover afterwards placed another big advertisement in the European edition of the Turkish newspaper Hürriyet, in which he admitted having piddled against the Turkish pavilion, but without the intention to harm the Turks. He said to be very sorry. Meanwhile the city of Hannover issued they will find out if they can charge the Prince for the piddling.

July 2nd
Tennis greats Bjorn Borg and John McEnroe faced each other in the gardens of Buckingham Palace in a charity event hosted by the Duke of York in aid of an NSPCC’s campaign to stop child abuse. The event also showed a mixed doubles match featuring Russian star Anna Kournikova. John McEnroe won the single match. The Duchess of York watched as the Duke of York and their daughters Beatrice and Eugenie presented trophies to both players.

A poll for the Mail on Sunday claims the British Royal Family is more popular with the British people than at any other time in the past decade. It says 71% of the people are happy with the Queen’s performance as monarch and 75% said Buckingham Palace should remain the family’s official residence. But 55% thought the Royals are out of touch with life in Great Britain today and 64% said they should receive less cash. Meanwhile another newspaper claims that the Prince of Wales told his friends he hates Buckingham Palace and that the palace will never be the official royal residence when he is the King.

The Princess Royal has inspected the burnt out hostel in Childers, Australia, where 15 backpackers, among them Australians, Britons and Dutchmen, died some more than a week ago. She laid a bouquet of white flowers at the memorial to those who died in the fire. Survivors said they felt very privileged the Princess had taken the time to come to the scene of the fire and meet them.

Queen Elizabeth II of Great Britain fired six servants who are under investigation for allegedly stealing 72 bottles of champagne meant for the Royal birthday party on June 21.

July 4th
Prince Bernhard of the Netherlands will not attend the official parts of the civil nor of the religious wedding of his grandson and namesake Prince Bernhard and his fiancée Annette Sekrève. He is still recovering from the complications he suffered after his operation.

Queen Elizabeth II of Great Britain is to get a pay freeze for the next 10 years. The Civil List, paid by taxpayers for the upkeep of the British Royal Family, will remain at £7,9m a year until 2010.

July 5th
The wedding of Prince Bernhard van Oranje-Nassau, Van Vollenhoven and Annette Sekrève can be watched live both days on the site of the Dutch television

On July 8th Groningen, the town where Prince Bernhard van Oranje-Nassau, Van Vollenhoven and Annette Sekrève met each other during their studies, comes up with special 'congratulations' to the pair. After paying you can climb the 251 steps of the tower of the cities pride, the St Martin’s Church, with a glass in the hand. On the top the glass will be filled with orange liqueur.

July 6th
The civil wedding of Prince Bernhard van Oranje-Nassau, Van Vollenhoven and Annette Sekrève took place at Paushuize in Utrecht.

The Dutch television showed parts of video shots made of Willem-Alexander Prince of Oranje, Máxima Zorreguieta and her parents last weekend in Prague, Czechia, by reporters of a Dutch gossip magazine. On one of the, mostly very vague shots, Willem-Alexander and Máxima were even hugging each other. One of the reporters even managed to talk with Máxima pretending to be a Dutch tourist who didn’t know the way. She told Máxima spoke the Dutch language very well. The Dutch magazine pretends to know the couple and her parents talked about the contract of marriage.

July 8th
The religious wedding of Prince Bernhard van Oranje-Nassau, Van Vollenhoven and Annette Sekrève took place in the Dom church in Utrecht.

Another royal wedding took place in Ellingen, Germany. Princess Désirée of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach married Count Florian von und zu Hoensbroech in the local St. Georg Church. The bride wore a beautiful silk dress with a 4 metres long train. The veil was a very old (from 1804) heirloom brought into the family by grand duchess Marija Pavlovna of Russia. Her father, Prince Wilhelm Ernst, gave Desirée away to the groom. After the 2-hours long service, attended by 450 guests, the bride, groom, pages and bridesmaids left in a carriage with two horses in front of it, to the Ellinger Sommerkeller, where the reception was held. Among the guests were Archduchess Regina of Austria, Prince Rasso of Bavaria and the Prince zu Fugger Babenhausen. Already on Friday evening there had been a soiree for which 220 guests were invited.

Even the Queen Mother will receive a birthday card from her daughter for her 100th birthday, like all other Britons who reach that age. It is said the Queen Mother is already looking forward to receive it.

Prince Albert of Monaco took part in the European Championships bobsleigh starting on the big market square in Groningen, the Netherlands. He even posed for a photo session. Why does he always come to Groningen when I am not home!

July 9th
Mohamed al-Fayed has written to the British royal family to say they are welcome to shop at his London store Harrods, but without the Duke of Edinburgh. Earlier this year the Duke announced his intention to withdraw his Royal Warrant, because of a decline in his trading relationship with the store.

July 10th
Euro Business Magazine published a list of the 200 richest women in the world, according to them. Among them Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands, who should have about £ 2,1 billion, and Queen Elizabeth II of Great Britain, who seems to have about £ 1,9 billion.

July 11th
The British royal family, out in force, joined Queen Mother Elizabeth - who was dressed in pink - at St Paul’s Cathedral in London for a thanksgiving service in celebration of her 100th birthday. The Queen Mother will be 100 on August 4th. Among the 2500 people present were centenaries from all over Great Britain who share her 100th birthday year. Also royalty from a number of other European Countries honoured the Queen Mother. Among them were King Harald V and Queen Sonja of Norway, King Albert II and Queen Paola of Belgium, Grand Duke Jean and Grand Duchess Joséphine-Charlotte of Luxembourg, Felipe Prince of Asturias, King Konstantinos II and Queen Anne Marie of Greece, King Michael and Queen Anne of Roumania and Carlos Hugo Duke of Parma.

Six months after the attack on a German disco owner at the Kenian island of Lamu the Public Prosecutor in Hannover demands a fine of about $ 500.000 from Prince Ernst August of Hannover for bodily harm, insulting and threat.

A Saudi Princess is appointed to a top job in the Education Ministry. She is just the second woman to hold a high government post.

July 12th
Prince Tomislav of Yugoslavia died aged 72 in Oplenac, Serbia - where he lived the past few years - after a long and serious illness. He had been divorced from Princess Margarita of Baden and was married to Linda Bonney. From his first marriage he has a son and a daughter, both married and each parent of a daughter. From his second marriage he has two sons. Tomislav was the second son of King Aleksandar I of Yougoslavia. His brother Petar II was the last Yougoslavian king. The funeral will take place in Oplenac, in the Mausoleum of the Royal Family Karadjordjevic, on July 16th in presence of many members of the family.

Sibylla Ambler, daughter of Princess Margaretha of Sweden, and her husband Cornelius Baron von Dincklage, are expecting their second child at the end of August or the beginning of September. They already have a daughter, Madeleine, who was born in March 1999.

July 16th
Prince Tomislav of Yugoslavia was buried in the family's mausoleum in Oplenac, Serbia, in presence of many members of the family. The head of the family Crown Prince Alexander and his family came by private airplane from London.

July 17th
Queen Sofia of Spain was lightly wounded during a visit to Brazil. A monkey on the stairs of the hotel where she was staying attacked her.

The Emperor Haile Selassie I Foundation says it plans to hold the official funeral of the late Emperor Haile Selassie I of Ethiopia in November, 25 years after his death. The foundation says it needs up to £1m to organise the ceremony and is calling for donations for a reburial. The Emperor was murdered in 1975 after being deposed in 1974. His remains were put in a makeshift grave and exhumed in 1992, when they were placed in a tomb.

July 18th
The British TV-channel ITV plans to make a film about the life of Queen Mother Elizabeth of Great Britain.

Queen Elizabeth II of Great Britain, accompanied by the Duke of Edinburgh, opened the new British Embassy in Berlin, Germany, being the first reigning British monarch to perform such a ceremony. The new embassy was built on the site of the former embassy that was destroyed towards the end of World War II by air raids. Afterwards the Queen had lunch at Bellevue Castle with the German Chancellor of the Federation and visited the Reichstag where the government resides since one year.

The Times says the Press Complaints Commission has received a letter from the private secretary of the Prince of Wales saying he does not intend to marry Camilla Parker Bowles and that they feel uncomfortable about all speculations. The letter follows a newspaper claim that the Prince is in talk with the Church of Scotland about remarrying in Scotland.

The Bahraini princess Meriam al Khalifa (19) who used forged documents and a marine uniform to flee her country and marry US Marine Jason Johnson two weeks later (November 1999) in Las Vegas, must face charges of illegally entering the USA.

July 19th
Today the pageant to mark the 100th birthday of Queen Mother Elizabeth of Great Britain took place at London’s Horse Guards. The Queen Mother - dressed in light pink - arrived in an open carriage with the Prince of Wales at her side. Among the 12.500 people who attended the event were also Princess Margaret and Princess Anne. 7000 people took part in the 90-minute spectacular, among them many children. The event included military bands, a fly-past and a parade of the century to reflect the Queen Mother’s life. At the end of the pageant the Queen Mother made a short speech thanking all people who were present. In the evening there was a reception at Clarence House.

July 21st
On the Belgian national feastday King Albert II, Queen Paola, Queen Fabola, Prince Philippe and Princess Mathilde assisted at the traditional Te Deum in the Saint Michel and Sainte Gudule Cathedral in Brussels. Princess Astrid and her husband Lorenz were present at the Te Deum in Genk, and Prince Laurent went to Arlon. In the afternoon the whole family was present on the palace square for the military parade.

July 24th
The cd with 21 songs, which was issued because of the Belgian musical 'Astrid' about the life of Queen Astrid (1905-1935), was presented. The musical shall be performed from 24 August 2000 in the CC in Hasselt, Belgium. A small exhibition called 'De Parels van Astrid' (The pearls of Astrid) can be seen at the CC in Hasselt from 1 to 4 September, 2000.

New speculations about a pregnancy of crown princess Masako of Japan followed a cancelled engagement. The Imperial court denied the rumours and said the princess just has problems with the summer-heat.

July 25th
In Jordan an airplane with 14 parachutists on board crashed. Some tens of others had already jumped from the plane. It was shortly rumoured that Crown Prince Hamzah of Jordan had been on board and had already jumped out of the plane, but that news was later corrected.

Thousands of people said goodbye to Empress Dowager Nagako of Japan, who died a couple of weeks ago.

Count Ingolf of Rosenborg represented the Danish royal family during the first joint commemoration of the battle of Istedt, Germany, 150 years ago. About 1000 Danes and people from Schleswig-Holstein were present at the wreath laying on the graves of the soldiers who died during the battle and the monument in Istedt. In 1850 64000 soldiers from Denmark and Schleswig-Holstein fought a bloody fight against each other.

July 27th
Felipe Prince of Asturias opened the huge theme park Terra Mitica (Mythical Land) in Benidorm, Spain. In the theme park visitors can go back to the Antiquity.

July 29th
On July 4th the descendants of Carl Naundorff have presented a request to the municipality of Delft to get permission to open his grave in the Kalverbos in Delft, the Netherlands. The family want the mortal remains to be researched to prove that he was really Louis XVII, the son of King Louis XVI of France and his wife Marie Antoinette. They continue saying that Louis XVII escaped to Germany and took the name of Carl Naundorff, although some months ago a DNA-test on a heart proved Louis XVII has died in the Bastille in Paris aged 10. Carl Naundorff died in Delft in 1845. The grave has been opened already once before in 1950. A bone out of the grave was later examined and a DNA-test on it showed that Carl Naundorff wasn’t Louis XVII. Naundorff’s descendants name their selves De Bourbon and live near Paris, where the present pretender Charles Louis Edmond, great-grandson of Naundorff leads the Institut Louis XVII. They don’t want to believe their ancestor lied.

July 30th
A portrait by John Wonnacutt spanning four generations of the Royal Family of Great Britain is to be unveiled on August 4th, the 100th birthday of Queen Mother Elizabeth. The painting depicts the Queen Mother, Queen Elizabeth II, the Duke of Edinburgh, the Prince of Wales and the Princes William and Harry. The portrait was commissioned by the National Portrait Gallery and painted in five sections. The work involved each of the Royals sitting on seven occasions.

July 31st
Prince Ernst August of Hanover entered an official protest against the DM 1,2m fine at the district court in Springe, Germany. Waiting for him is an action that accuses him of bodily harming, insulting and threatening a German hotelier and disco-owner on the Kenyan island of Lamu in January 1999.


Royal News: June 2000. Last updated: July 2nd, 2000.