ROYAL NEWS: JULY 2001

Last updated: August 1st, 2001.

July 1st
In spite of her pregnancy Princess Mathilde of Belgium successfully passed her second license psychology exams at the Université Catholique de Louvain in Louvain-la-Neuve.

July 2nd
The civil wedding of Willem-Alexander Prince of Oranje and Máxima Zorreguieta will take place at the Beurs van Berlage. The religious wedding will take place afterwards at the Nieuwe Kerk also in Amsterdam. It will be the first marriage ever solemnized at the Beurs van Berlage. In the Nieuwe Kerk no marriages have been celebrated anymore since about 50 years.

The Government Information Service denies speculations that Princess Juliana of the Netherlands has the Alzheimer Disease. They say she suffers from a serious form of loss of memory, that occures more often by elder people.

July 3rd
In the Ridderzaal in The Hague the States General in a joint session of the First and Second Chamber has given consent to the marriage of Willem-Alexander Prince of Oranje and Máxima Zorreguieta. 15 of the 225 members voted against the wedding and the Socialist Party (7 members) didn't even appear at the session, as they are against the monarchy. Most of the members who didn't give their consent object to the past of Máxima's father. At the Binnenhof about 60 people demonstrated against the quick way Máxima was granted the Dutch nationality. They have tried for years to get their partner to the Netherlands. Later in the afternoon Willem-Alexander and Máxima met the members of the First and Second Chamber in the Ridderzaal. Outside about 200 people cheered the couple loudly. In a statement Prime Minister Wim Kok repeated that it will not be decided if Máxima becomes a Queen or just a princess until Willem-Alexander ascends the Dutch throne. He however expects that she will become a Queen.

The Sultan of Malaysia has bought the most expensive house ever sold in Britain for a staggering £70 million. Crown Prince Abdullah inspected his palatial 30 bedroom, 24 bathroom home, in Windlesham, Surrey, for the first time on Monday. The mansion has five swimming pools, a shooting gallery, squash courts, gym, bowling alley, cinema and floodlit tennis courts with underfloor heating. It will cost an estimated £1 million a year to maintain. The Sultan is a polo fanatic and is thought to have bought the property because his own team often competes at the nearby Queen's Guard Polo Club, in Windsor, Berkshire. He has played polo with his friend the Prince of Wales. The Sultan will use Updown Court for entertaining on trips to the UK.

Queen Komal of Nepal was discharged from hospital last week after treatment for bullet wounds she suffered at the royal massacre one month ago. Meanwhile the Royal Palace has fired the four bodyguards and two orderlies who served in the special division that protects the royal family.

July 4th
Today Jorge Zorreguieta, the father of Máxima, appeared for a thruth commission that researches the disappearance of 2000 people during the Videla regime. The mother of Lidia Amigo, the daughter of Zorreguieta's predecessor as undersecretary of agriculture, who was kidnapped and disappeared in 1976, accuses Jorge Zorreguieta that he hasn't done anything to save the life of her daughter. At the court of justice in La Plata, Argentina, Jorge Zorreguieta says he knew of the disappearance and told he remembers that he has called a military man to get information, but that man couldn't help him further. He can't remember anymore if he promised to help with the search for Lidia Amigo.

A Russian sculptor has made a statue of Diana, Princess of Wales to be erected in Moscow. Zurab Tsereteli, president of the Russian Academy of Art, sculpted the bronze statue portraying Diana standing in a ruffled evening gown and tiara. The statue is to be installed in a modern art museum in central Moscow later this month.

In Edinburg Anne The Princess Royal was installed as a Royal Lady of the Thistle in recognition of her work in flying the royal standard north of the border. Senior royals, including the Queen, the Duke of Edinburgh and the Prince of Wales - going under his Scottish title of the Duke of Rothesay - also took part in the ceremony at a packed St Giles' Cathedral on the Royal Mile. The Princess Royal and her husband Commander Tim Laurence arrived at the cathedral side by side after making the five-minute journey by car from the Palace of Holyroodhouse, where the Royal Family is staying this week. It is the first time the couple have appeared in public before the cameras since news of an alleged rift was reported. The Princess has so far refused to comment on rumours that she and her husband, who married in December 1992, were leading separate lives.

July 5th
The Chamber has decided Prince Laurent of Belgium gets a yearly donation of about $ 300.000 starting on July 1st.

July 6th
The British royal family has reached agreement among themselves on new rules for royals who run their own business, Buckingham Palace has said. Guidelines will be made public next week following an inquiry by the Lord Chamberlain, Lord Luce. The palace would not comment on alleged disagreements during the inquiry.

The Queen has given permission for the first time for tourists to visit her garden during tours of Buckingham Palace. Paying visitors will be able to take the 450 metre walk along the south side of the royal garden, described as a "walled oasis in central London". From there visitors can see the 19th century lake and the previously unseen west side of the Palace. The garden will be open as part of the annual summer opening of the Palace, which begins next month. The opening of the garden follows the decision to allow visitors to see the Palace ballroom, which is 37.5m long and 18m wide. It opened last year. The Palace opens to the public from 4 August to 30 September.

Forza Italia, the party of Silvio Berlusconi, has introduced a bill to the Italian Senate that would enable the royal family to return to Italy. They aim at the abolishing of the 1946 article in the Constitution. A similar bill failed in 1997.

July 7th
Prince Johan Friso of the Netherlands seems to have a girlfriend. Her full name is Mabel Martine Wisse Smit. After a report in the newspaper De Volkskrant, the Government Information Service said she belongs to the close circle of friends of the Prince, which as the Dutch know from other GIS statements is more or less a confirmation of the relationship. The news was confirmed by friends of Mabel Wisse Smit to De Volkskrant. Mabel Wisse Smit was born in Pijnacker, The Netherlands, on August 11, 1968. She studied political science at university in Amsterdam. Afterwards she worked for the United Nations in New York. She now is the Executive Director of the Open Society Institute in Brussels, Belgium - a representative office of the Soros Foundations Network - where she is linked to already since the foundation of the institute in 1997. Mabel Wisse Smit is also involved in the organisations War Child and Press Now. One of her specialities are donor partnerships and she also is specialised on the Balkan area (Albania, Bosnia, Yugoslavia). She speaks Dutch, English, French and Spanish. She and Prince Johan Friso know each other already for a while, but it is said the relationship started about one year ago. Mabel Wisse Smit is a good friend of Laurentien, the wife of Prince Constantijn of the Netherlands, and was one of the members of the bridal staff at their wedding last May. She lives in Amsterdam.

In an interview the Prince of Wales told the Daily Mail when he was asked about his plans "you can't be certain about anything. I don't know." His comments may be interpreted as a sign that marriage to Camilla Parker Bowles is not now inconceivable. St James's Palace said the interview didn't amount to a statement about the future plans of the couple.

Senior members of the British Royal Family have approved guidelines for royals working in private business. Queen Elizabeth II, the Duke of Edinburgh and the Prince of Wales ae anxious to ensure royal status is not exploited. Royals are to be allowed to undertake official engagements alongside - but separately from - professional work. The guidelines follow a review by a palace committee led by the head of the Royal Household, Lord Luce.

July 8th
The medieval Transylvanian city of Sighisoara has won the right to host a Dracula Land themepark. Sighisoara beat rival Romanian cities to host the project that is expected to be completed in 2003. Sighisoara is the birthplace of 15th century Prince Vlad the Impaler, said to have inspired the mythical bloodsucking vampire's tales.

July 9th
King Letsie III of Lesotho and his wife Queen Karabo, who married in February 2000, attend their first child in October.

The first official guestlist for the wedding of Crown Prince Haakon of Norway and Mette-Marit Tjessem Hoiby has been published by the Norwegian court. On the list: Queen Margrethe II of Denmark, Crown Prince Frederik of Denmark, Prince Joachim and Princess Alexandra of Denmark (only attending on Thursday and Friday), Princess Benedikte of Denmark and Prince Richard zu Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg with their children, King Carl XVI Gustaf and Queen Silvia of Sweden with their children, King Albert II and Queen Paola of Belgium, Crown Prince Philippe and Princess Mathilde of Belgium, Willem-Alexander Prince of Oranje and Máxima Zorreguieta, Prince Constantijn and Princess Laurentien of the Netherlands. It is expected a more complete guestlist will be published later.

July 10th
Maria del Carmen Cerruti Zorreguieta visited her daughter Máxima this weekend. She left the Netherlands today. She among others paid a visit to Amsterdam.

July 11th
Crown Princess Masako of Japan has carried out a shinto ritual yesterday that has to provide a painless delivery of the baby she expects in November/December.

July 12th
King Simeon II of Bulgaria has been named as the country's next prime minister. He will form Bulgaria's next government after his party won a landslide victory in last month's elections. The decision was announced by the party's floor leader in parliament, Plamen Panayotov, after a meeting with President Petar Stoyanov. "With great emotion but with my typical sense of responsibility, and having in mind the trust that the voters gave me on June 17, I accept this proposal," Simeon said after his party named him to be the next premier. Mr Stoyanov said he would hand Simeon a mandate to form a new government on Sunday, and the former monarch would have another week to come up with a new Cabinet. The chairman of parliament, Ognyan Gerdzhikov, said he would call an extraordinary session on July 24 to vote in the new Cabinet.

The Yugoslav government has allowed the royal Karadjordjevic family to move back into their ancestral palaces after decades of exile. The White Palace (Beli Dvor) and the Old Palace (Stari Dvor) in Belgrade were handed over for use to Crown Prince Aleksandar and his family. The move by Yugoslavia's new pro-democracy authorities is part of their promise to restore the rights of the royal family, which was banned from the country by the Communists when they took power after the Second World War. Crown Prince Alexander will now establish his home in the Palace and work in the best interests of all the people regardless of their ethnicity or religion.

King Michael of Romania and his wife Anne will return to Romania and spend the Summer there. They might be joined later on by some of their grandchildren.

July 13th
Tuesday in the late afternoon, on the Crown Prince's 56th birthday, a reception will be held at the Palace of the Federation in Belgrado, Yugoslavia, where a decision by the Federal Government granting the right to use the Dedinje Palace Complex will be presented to HRH Crown Prince Alexander II of Yugoslavia. The Crown Prince and his wife Katherine will arrive at Belgrado airport halfway the afternoon.

Society jeweller Jan Havlik is accused of handling a model dhow, a diamond daffodil motif and a bangle and a pair of earrings from the estate of Diana Princess of Wales. He was bailed to appear before the magistrates next Wednesday.

July 14th
Yesterday Elvire Pasté de Rochefort confirmed the end of her engagement to Hereditary Prince Gustav zu Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg to the Danish press. She said the press has it all wrong about the money issue in the wedding-contract and inferred that the situation was the other way around. Today Gustav confirmed the rupture but won't comment on the reason for breaking up. "We are still on speaking terms, but it is time to move on." A short statement from both families will be released on Monday through the law firm Osborne Clarke.

The Princess Royal is under pressure from human rights campaigners to reveal if she, as a member of the International Olympic Committee, voted for Beijing to host the 2008 Olympic Games. The Chinese capital stormed to victory in an IOC vote yesterday. The Princess Royal voted for Great Britain but is is not known who for.

On July 19th the lawsuit against Hereditary Prince Heinrich zu Fürstenberg begins at the court of justice in Villingen. In May 2000 the police undertook a raid at his house after some Italian members of the Mafia had been arrested for dealing cocaine and heroine in Germany. The Prince is said to have bought cocaine from them and partly have it handed over to other people in the 1990s.

July 16th
Willem-Alexander Prince of Orange has written a letter to the ethical commission of the International Olympic Committee about promisses candidate chairmen made about compensations of expenses, after he had heard that in some cases promisses to delegates were made about compensations of about $ 50.000 a year. He hopes the commission will have a look at this aspect of the electoral programme. On Sunday the letter was discussed in the Olympic Parliament.

July 20th
Queen Margrethe II of Denmark arrived at the harbour of Sønderborg with the royal yacht Dannebrog. She travelled further to Gråsten Castle for a 16-day stay. In the following days the whole family, except for Crown Prince Pavlos of Greece and his family, will arrive too to celebrate their vacation at Gråsten Castle. Thus the tradition of Queen Ingrid to bring the entire family together during the summer will be continued.

July 21st
On the National feastday of Belgium King Albert II, Queen Paola, Queen Fabiola and Prince Laurent attended the Te Deum at the St Michiels and Ste Gudule Cathedral in Brussels. When leaving the royals were cheered and received flowers and presents from the people outside. Crown Prince Philippe Duke of Brabant went to the Te Deum in the Église Sint-Pieter in Louvain, while Princess Astrid and her husband Lorenz attended the Te Deum in the Chapel of Saint-Sang in Bois-Seigneur-Isaac. The traditional military and civil march-past took place between the Place Royale and the Palace of Justice in Brussels. Princess Mathilde didn't take part in the celebrations. She has reduced her activities because of her pregnancy.

73 % of the Danish people think Princess Alexandra of Denmark does her job very good. With this result she beats Crown Prince Frederik for the first time as the most popular member of the Danish royal family. Only 54 % thought he was doing a great job. Also Queen Margrethe II passed her son, also getting 73 %. In fourth place came Prince Joachim with 45 %, followed by Prince Henrik of whom only 19 % thinks he does a great job.

July 22nd
Last week Crown Prince Frederik of Denmark as well as Prince Henrik of Denmark took part in the World Championships Dragon sailing in Hornbaek, Denmark. Crown Prince Frederik and his team managed to come into a sensational second place in the second race on Monday, but they were disqualified because they passed a line on the wrong side. In the final rankings Crown Prince Frederik and his team came in 24th place and Prince Henrik came in 74th place. 78 Boats competed in the World Championships. The Danes were quite impressed by the achievements of their Crown Prince at his first World Championship and also Prince Henrik told the press to be very proud of his son.

Also Felipe Prince of Asturias spent the weekend sailing. He took part in the Breitling Balearic Islands regatta at Mallorca. He and his team won the three-day event topping last year's winner, King Juan Carlos himself.

July 24th
King Simeon II of Bulgaria was officially appointed prime minister of Bulgaria by the Bulgarian parliament.

July 25th
A new official guestlist for the Norwegian wedding says also the Prince of Wales, the Earl and Countess of Wessex and Prince Albert of Monaco will come to the wedding of Crown Prince Haakon and Mette-Marit Tjessem Højby. A Luxembourg newspaper says the grand-ducal couple of Luxembourg will also attend the wedding. Taken off the official list is Crown Princess Mathilde of Belgium. Some Norwegian newspapers also mentioned the Prince of Asturias, Prince Nikolaos of Greece and King Juan Carlos of Spain as guests.

July 26th
Queen Elizabeth II of Great Britain expressed her sympathy for those affected by the foot-and-mouth crisis on a visit to a disease-hit area in Northumberland/ She met farmers, business leaders and residents and she was surprised how people had managed to cope with the effects.

July 30th
The Duke of York has ended his 22-year career with the Royal Navy with a farewell speech on the HMS Ark Royal. He addressed 600 servicemen and women in a traditional 'dining out' farewell on board the aircraft carrier. He said: "For some of us this is a sad day. This is my last day serving as one of Her Majesty's Officers". "What I have enjoyed over the last 22 years has been the remarkable change in the way that we do our business."

July 31st
The Queen Mother is suffering from "mild heat exhaustion" and has been advised to rest, Clarence House says. Queen Elizabeth II of Great Britain will stand in for her mother tomorrow laying the foundation stone of a memorial to the colonial war dead in London.

Yesterday Count Alexander von Schönburg-Glauchau and his wife Irina, born Princess of Hessen, became the parents of a little girl who got the name Maria-Letitia. She was born at the Virchow Clinic in Berlin, Germany.


Royal News: June 2001. Last updated: July 2nd, 2001.