Last updated: July 2nd, 2001.
June 1st
Princess Madeleine of Sweden graduated from high school at the Enskilda Gymnasiet in Stockholm. When she came out of the school her parents, Crown Princess Victoria and Princess Lilian were waiting for her.
June 2nd
At about 22:40 local time yesterday evening 29-year-old Crown Prince Dipendra has shot dead at least 8 members of his family with two automatic rifles in a sitting room at the Palace Narayan Hity in the capital Kathmandu after a dinner and afterwards committed suicide in the temple by shooting a bullet through his head. At the hospital, the Crown Prince had a feeble pulse, but the 9 mm bullet had gone right through his head. Surgeons operated on him. According to the Nepali Times Crown Prince Dipendra was left brain-dead from a self-inflicted gunshot wound in hospital early this morning and is only kept alive with a life support machine. Shocked palace staff rushed the dead and wounded to the Royal Nepal Army Hospital in Chauni, where most were declared dead on arrival. The deaths are King Birendra (55) and Queen Aishawarya (51), their son Prince Nirajan (22), their daughter Princess Shruti (24, died in the hospital), King Birendra's sisters Princesses Sharada and Shanti (60, died in hospital), the King's cousin Jayanti and his brother-in-law Kumar Khadga Bikram Shah. Other members of the royal family, Prince Dhirendra and Princess Sruti’s husband Gorakh, were critically wounded. According to reports the royal family had gathered Friday night for a large family meeting to discuss the Crown Prince's marriage and said the crown prince wished to marry the daughter of a former government minister but the queen had objected. The number of death has not yet been confirmed. King Birendra reigned Nepal since 1972. Prince Gyanendra (53), King Birendra’s middle brother, was in Pokhara and tried to fly back, but the Super Puma helicopter sent to fetch him at midnight Friday had to turn back due to bad weather. He finally flew in from Gajuri at six in the morning and landed at Chhauni where the 11-member Royal Privy Council was about to meet. The Raj Parishad is expected to deliberate on the succession and announce the new king later Saturday. Meanwhile, in the city Kathmandu residents gathered in small groups at street corners. Near the Royal palace, by mid-morning a quiet mass of about 10,000 grim-faced people had come together to find out what had happened to their king and queen.
In the afternoon Crown Prince Dipendra was declared the new King of Nepal by the Raj Parishad, the privy council of Nepal. A five-day period of national mourning was declared.
The bodies of King Birendra, his daughter Shruti and son Nirajan, on simple bamboo poles, and Queen Aishawarya on a bronze palanquin, were carried eight miles on the shoulders of Brahmin priests clad in white vests and loin cloths through Kathmandu to the Pashupatinath Temple at the side of the Bagmati River, while armed troops lined the streets and tens of thousands of Nepalis followed the funeral procession. "Long live our king. Our king and our nation are dearer to us than our lives," shouted people that followed the funeral procession, led by Prince Gyanendra, dressed in military white. As darkness fell Hindu priests prepared the bodied for cremation inside tents and wrapped them in red cloth. They were laid on stone pyres decked with garlands of marigolds and sandalwood. One by one, the pyres were lit with torches (the king at 21:46 local time) as dignitaries looked on and a military honor guard saluted. Their ashes are to be scattered along the holy river.
Public prosecutors in Germany have charged Prince Ernst August of Hannover with insulting and attacki photographer Sabine Breuer at an arts festival in Austria last summer. He is accused of insulting her before kicking her in the thigh. He could be fined $ 400,000. He has disputed the charges and his lawyers have filed an objection to the prosecution. The prince will now attend a verbal negotiation before the court case which will be held in the town of Springe near Hannover.
June 3rd
Prince Claus of the Netherlands has left the hospital Barmbek in Hamburg, Germany. He is back home at Palace Huis ten Bosch.
The woman King Dipendra of Nepal wanted to marry has been named as Devyani Rana. Her father, Pashupati Rana, is a former minister, and her mother, Usharaje, was a daughter of the last Maharaja of Gwalior, India. The Rana family ruled Nepal until 1951. At the time of the royal massacre Devyani Rana seems to have been in India to attend the cremation of a family member. Masses of Nepalese people are having their heads shaved as a mark of respect to their murdered royal family. Having your head shaved is a traditional Hindu way of showing the state of personal mourning. The people of Nepal can't believe King Dipendra killed his family members. They think of a plot from his uncle Gyanendra, whose son is the only member of the family at the palace who survived unwounded. This son, Paras, is widely described as a violent and dangerous man, who has shot several people dead in brawls. Prince Gyanendra issued a statement on Sunday that only served to confuse matters by saying the royal killings were the result of "accidental" automatic weapons fire at the palace. He said the victims were seriously injured and later died in hospital. The three injured family members - Gorakh Bikram, Princess Shruti's husband; Komal Shah, Prince Gyanendra's wife; and Prince Dhirendra, the king's youngest brother - remain at the military hospital, where they are in stable condition. Meanwhile, the body of Bodh Kumari Shah, mother of Kumar Khadga Bikram Shah, husband of Princess Sharada, both of whom were killed on Friday in the palace, was cremated today at the Aryaghat in Pashupatinath Temple. She had suffered a massive heart attack after learning the news of her son and daughter-in-law’s death, said family sources. The last rites of Kumar Khadga Bikram Shah and Princesses Sharada and Shanti were also performed early today at the Aryaghat with due honours and rituals.
June 4th
King Dipendra of Nepal died at 3:45 local time in the military hospital in Chhauni, and his uncle Dhirendra, the youngest brother of King Birendra, also died in hospital at 5:57pm. At 10:30 local time, Gyanendra, the younger brother of King Birendra, who had already been named regent for Dipendra, was declared King of Nepal. At 11:00 he appeared at a palace enthronement ceremony in Nasal Chowk in Hanuman Dhoka palace, the former royal palace in the old quarters of Kathmandu, his head shaven in a traditional show of respect for the dead, before he put on the crown topped with a large cream-color plume. It was the second time in history that he was crowned. In November 1950, the then Rana prime minister had made him king at the age of four after King Tribhuvan and King Mahendra secretly left Kathmandu for India to return in February 1951 to restore the House of the Shahs in Nepal. Not counting Gyanendra's brief kingship then, he is the 12th Shah king of Nepal in a dynasty that stretches back to Prithvi Narayan Shah, the unifier of modern Nepal. He rode a horse-drawn carriage to Narayanhiti Royal Palace past cheering crowds as cannons boomed in the air, although thousands of protesters were chanting slogans against the succession of King Gyanendra in different parts of the city. The Nepali people, who worship their King as Lord Vishnu, don't consider Gyanendra a Lord Vishnu at the moment. They suspect Gyanendra of seeking a return to absolute monarchic rule. Later today the Nepalese government has declared a curfew in Kathmandu, covering the funeral of King Dipendra, as thousands of angry mourners demand an explanation to the royal massacre. Police fired on protesters, killing at least two persons and wounded tens of people. The newly crowned King Gyanendra addressed the nation in a short speech at 21:00 local time over state-owned Nepal Television. In the speech, he announced that a three member committee has been formed to investigate the Friday night carnage in the Royal Palace and bring the facts to the public. The committee is to be chaired by Chief Justice Keshav Prasad Upadhyaya. The other two memebers of the committee are to be Tara Nath Ranabhat, the Speaker of the House of Representative (Nepalese Lower House) and Madhav Nepal, the leader of the main opposition. In the speech, he also officially declared his wife, Komal, as the new queen. Dipendra's body was taken through the streets of Kathmandu in an open vehicle to the Pashupati cremation grounds, and at 19:30 local time, a brahmin Achyut Prasad Acharya lit the pyre of the late king. Meanwhile, several injured royal family members have been moved out of intensive care to a VVIP unit at the army hospital in Chhauni, Nepal Television announced Monday morning. King Gyanendra's wife Princess Komal, King Birendra's sister Princess Shoba, late Princess Shruti's husband Kumar Gorakh Rana, and King Birendra's cousin Keytaki Singh have been moved out following improvements to their conditions. Royal Families from all over the world have expressed their sympathy to the surviving members of the Royal Family. They are all very shocked. Several royal families were friends of the murdered King and Queen of Nepal. Photos.
Princess Madeleine had a graduation party near Stockholm for about 160 friends.
June 5th
Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands and Willem-Alexander Prince of Oranje started a four-day-visit to Russia. After arriving in Moscow they were received by President Putin at the Cremlin. Queen Beatrix said to hope that the state visit will contribute to the continuance of the good relations between Russia and The Netherlands. Putin also showed his guests around in the Cremlin. In the afternoon Queen Beatrix laid a wreath at the monument for the unknown soldier. In the evening a state banquet was held. Moscow got 10.000 tulip-bulbs as a present from the Netherlands.
The doors of the Royal Palace in Kathmandu have opened to allow an investigation into the fatal shooting of 10 members of the royal family. The third member Madhav Kumar Nepal, leader of the main opposition Communist Party of Nepal, who had agreed to be on the panel, later withdrew after objections from within his party on a procedural issue.
June 6th
Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands visited the Duma where she talked with the chairman and some members of the Russian parliament. She wasn't allowed to have a look in the parliament itself as there was a session going on. Meanwhile Willem-Alexander Prince of Orange opened a photo exhibition about AIDS at the Sacharov Institute. He also met Derk Sauer, a Dutch journalist who set up a press centre in Moscow about ten years ago. In the afternoon Queen and Prince met the Dutch community at the Puschkin Museum.
A Dutch teacher has lodged a complaint against the naturalization of Máxima Zorreguieta. He thinks it is not fair that she didn't have to pass all procedures to get the Dutch nationality, while his own fiancée still is waiting for permission to come to the Netherlands.
A witness claims Nepal's Prince Dipendra served drinks to his family moments before shooting them with a machine gun. The witness, reported to be a member of the Nepal royal family, claims Dipendra mixed one of his cousins a drink, and the assembled relatives chatted as they waited for dinner. At about 9 p.m., Dipendra slipped out of the gathering and then appeared minutes later in combat gear, carrying an Uzi submachine gun and an M16 assault rifle. He is said to have walked into a room where his father, the king, was sitting and shot him with one of the automatic weapons. The witness "could see the king's face with utter astonishment on it". The relative is then quoted as saying that after killing his father, Dipendra sprayed machine-gun and rifle fire through the sitting rooms for 15 minutes. "He said nothing at all throughout the whole episode, and there was no expression whatever on his face," the relative was quoted saying. "He just fired indiscriminately." At one point Dipendra's mother, Queen Aishwarya, and his younger brother, Prince Nirajan, followed him into the garden. "That's when they got shot," the relative said. He said that when Dipendra moved back inside his uncle, Prince Dhirendra, pleaded: "'Put the gun down; you've done enough damage" which is when he was shot. As he lay bleeding, the relative said, Dhirendra urged one of the women who tried to help him to reach into his pocket for a mobile phone to call for outside help, but she was unable to do so because she had been shot in the arm and shoulder. Another woman was shot also. Finally, Dipendra went out to the garden again, and more shots were heard. "That must have been the time he was shooting himself," the relative said. Once the prince stopped firing and the rooms had fallen silent, the relative said, "people got together and there was somebody saying, 'This one's dead, that one's alive.'" The witness's account, given by the relative in a joint interview with The Washington Post and the Times of London, shed no light on what Dipendra was thinking or feeling as he prepared to kill. The witness said that there was no discussion of the prince's wedding plans or romantic life at the Friday night gathering, no arguments overheard between Dipendra and his parents that evening, and no sign before the shootings that anything was wrong. "Why he did it, we may never know, but this is actually what happened," the relative said. "It was a routine Friday night, and it all went wrong." According to the relative of the eyewitness, Paras Shah, the 28-year-old son of the new King Gyanendra, played an important and even heroic role in the evening's events, moving quickly to hide some teenagers behind a sofa as the shootings started and arranging to have army trucks take the wounded survivors to a military hospital because no ambulance was available. However some palace sources told that the crown prince and his mother had sharp words that night over the young woman that Dipendra wanted to marry - Devyani Rana, the daughter of a prominent Nepali businessman and the granddaughter of an Indian maharaja. Witnesses said the king and queen told Dipendra he could marry Devyani Rana but if he did so Nirajan would take his place as crown prince, according to a member of the State Council, who spoke on condition of anonymity.
A commission of four historians who research the murder of the Congolese president Lumumba in 1961 by order of the present Belgian parliament, say the Belgian government Eyskens was involved in the fall of the President in 1960. At the end of 1960 King Baudouin has been told about the agreement between Prime Minister Tschombe of the Congolese Province of Katanga and General Mobutu to have Lumumba killed. Belgium should have paid $ 1.000.000 to get rid of Lumumba, who was anti-Belgium. After the fall of Lumumba they kept on urging to have him arrested and there have been several plans to kill him.
June 7th
In the morning Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands and Willem-Alexander Prince of Oranje left Moscow. They first visited Nizhny Novgorod at the Wolga river where they were offered bread and salt, the traditional welcome present. After laying a wreath at the monument for the victims of World War II they visited an training-institute for journalists that is supported by The Netherlands. Afterwards they left for St Petersburg and there they visited the Hermitage museum. There Queen Beatrix re-opened the Marquee Hall by lightening the lights. The Netherlands gave money for the restoration of the hall.
Prince Achileas Andreas of Greece, the youngest son of Crown Prince Pavlos of Greece and his wife Maria, was christened at the Orthodox St Sophia Cathedral in London. His godparents were Prince Guillaume of Luxembourg, Prince Kardam of Bulgaria, Prince Alexander of Fürstenberg, Infanta Elena of Spain, Princess Rosario of Bulgaria and Veronica Touts. Next to the immediate family the christening was also attended by Queen Sofia of Spain, Prince Ernst August and Princess Caroline of Hannover, Prince Kirill of Bulgaria and model Elle MacPherson.
Dr Rajiv Raj Shahi, the son-in-law of the late Prince Dhirendra and a military doctor, says he watched in horror as Crown Prince Dipendra opened fire. Dr Shahi said that the killings were carried out within a span of 90 seconds, as Dipendra darted in and out of the Billiards Room where the gathering of about two dozen members of the royal family and wealthy friends was being held, killing a few relatives each time. Dr Shahi's account is the first on-the-record witness version of the events since the massacre last Friday night. The doctor escaped bullets by jumping out of the way. He said Dipendra started to appear that he was intoxicated, really drunk. He started to stammer and quarrel. It was a family gathering, so we decided to escort him away. Me, Prince Nirajan and the new king's son, Paras Shah, escorted him to his bedroom. About 9 pm I heard a burst of gunfire. I thought it was somebody playing a prank. There was shouting and I heard someone say, 'His Majesty has been shot'. Being a doctor, I ran toward His Majesty. I took off my coat and pressed it against his neck where he was bleeding. (The king) said: 'I have been shot in the stomach also'. My father-in-law (Prince Dhirendra) tried to stop the then-Crown Prince. He was shot at point-blank range on his chest. Dipendra came in a second time with an assault rifle. He shot three more people, went out again and came back in. By this time, Princess Shruti had moved to near her father. He then shot at Princess Shobha, Princess Shruti and His Majesty again. From what I gathered, Queen Aiswarya went to confront the crown prince with what he had done," Shahi said. Prince Dipendra killed his mother. Prince Nirajan came in the centre to save his mother. He was shot in the back," Shahi said. He said others told him that Crown Prince Dipendra then stood on a footbridge some distance away from where the queen and Nirajan lay dead. This was where the prince shot himself in the head with a pistol.
Without further comments the wedding of Prince Jean of France Duke of Vendôme and Duchess Tatjana of Oldenburg was postponed. The wedding was supposed to take place on September 29 in Chartres, France, and it is said it will now take place in Spring 2002.
Heiligenstedt Castle in the German federal state of Schleswig-Holstein, wasn't auctioned as there was nobody who wanted to buy the castle.
French photographer Jacques Langevin has been placed under judicial investigation for invasion of privacy. He photographed the wreckage of the car in which Diana Princess of Wales was killed in August 1997. The photos were impounded by police soon after the crash.
June 8th
The now 2-member committee has finally begun its inquiry into the Nepalese royal massacre. It is expected the findings from the probe will be submitted on Sunday.
An archive of 260 personal letters from the future King Edward VIII of Great Britain to Freda Dudley-Ward, his first and long-time love, have fetched £34,500 at auction. The collection was bought by Barry Davies for his wife Christine, who co-produced the television programme Edward on Edward. The Prince of Wales, who later chose to abdicate, rather than do without Wallis Simpson, later Duchess of Windsor, met "Fredie" early in 1918. In the letters, he swears never to marry anyone except her, says he wants to die young and declares the monarchy is "out of date".
Nepal's monarchy today disavowed the account of royal witness Army Capt. Rajiv Shahi to the murder of Nepal's king June 1 and said it was launching an investigation into his actions, a move that perplexed and alarmed many Nepalis who have waited anxiously for an explanation of the palace massacre. Shahi who is married to a Nepali princess and was at the royal palace when King Birendra and eight members of his family were gunned down, told journalists Thursday that the king's son, Crown Prince Dipendra, had committed the murders and then killed himself. But today, angry palace officials said they had not known about or approved his statement, and there were unconfirmed reports that Shahi had been detained and may face a court-martial. Although Shahi's public presentation was reported today in the independent Nepali media and by foreign news agencies, the government ordered state-run TV, radio and newspapers not to report it and they obeyed, according to officials at state news outlets. Sources close to several survivors confirmed today that Shahi had acted without palace approval, and they said his account squared with what they had witnessed. The palace's abrupt disavowal of Shahi's statement and the possibility that he may be punished for it have raised concern that the new monarch, King Gyanendra, is trying to quash dissent and assert power over Nepal's elected government. The disavowal also raised concern about a possible split between the army, which was loyal to the late king, and the new monarch. Shahi, an army doctor, could not have addressed the media at the military hospital without approval from his superiors, analysts said. But today, the army published full-page ads in all major newspapers congratulating Gyanendra, the late king's brother, and pledging to serve him loyally. The ads warned that "misleading" information had come out about the murders, and it said the army remained "alert and disciplined" in the face of any threats to national security.
June 9th
On the final day of her Russian state visit Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands visited the Vaganova Ballet Academy and the Pavlovsk Palace in St Petersburg. At the palace, where her ancestor Anna Pavlovna Grand Duchess of Russia, wife of King Willem I of the Netherlands, spent most of her youth, she received a copy of a youth portrait of Grand Duchess Anna Pavlovna. Willem-Alexander Prince of Oranje visited the Medical Military Academy and the juridicial institute Prokuratura. In the afternoon they returned to The Netherlands.
Prince Albert of Monaco, Prince Philippe and Princess Mathilde of Belgium attended the women's Grand Slam tennis final at Roland Garros, Paris, France, in which American Jennifer Capriati beat Belgian Kim Clijsters.
Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands no longer is the patroness of the Dutch Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. The Society finds it improper that hunting as a sport is still allowed at the royal estates and that members of the royal family take part in the hunting themselves.
June 10th
The Duke of Edinburgh celebrated his 80th birthday at Windsor Castle. He attended a thanksgiving service at St George's Chapel, Windsor. During the service the Dean of Windsor praised the Duke's "loyalty, encouragement, inspiration and sheer stickability". The service was followed by a private reception and family lunch at Windsor Castle. Around 500 guests attended the service and reception, including former King Constantinos II of Greece. Fifty royals, including 17 from Germany, attended the lunch at Windsor Castle. Queen Elizabeth II said in her speech she wished her husband a happy birthday and told him that she can't believe he is 80.
20-year-old Filippa Princess zu Sayn-Wittgenstein-Sayn married 35-year-old Italian Vittorio Mazzetti d'Albertis. On Friday the civil wedding took place at the neogothic Sayn Castle. On Saturday the bridal soiree took place there also for which some 200 family members and friends were invited, among them many nobles. The religious wedding took place at the Abbey Church St. Marien in Sayn today. In the afternoon a reception was held in the Castle gardens. The dress of the bride was made in Florence, Italy, and the veil comes from a Russian ancestor of the bride.
A powerful probe commission investigating the massacre at the Royal Palace began its third day of investigations Sunday morning. The two members of the commission have already inspected the site of the shoot-out at the Narayanhiti Royal Palace and interviewed royal survivors and doctors at a hospital where they are undergoing treatment and gathered forensic and other evidence. Today the high-level commission has asked for four more days to finish up its work. Sources said collating testimonies, testing forensic evidence, cross-checking facts, analysing them will take till Thursday, 14 June. The report is then expected to be formally presented to the Royal Palace and then released over the weekend. The Commission members are aided by two supreme court judges and have been working out of the heavily-guarded Parliament Secretariat inside Singha Durbar. Since government offices are closed, no visitors are allowed to enter even the main gate of Singha Durbar.
June 11th
Reza Pahlavi II, Shah in exile of Iran, announced with pain and deep sorrow the tragic passing away of his sister, Princess Leila Pahlavi, after a lenghty illness. Princess Leila was born on March 27th, 1970, as the youngest child of Shah Mohammed Reza and his wife Empress Farah, and died in London, England.
Prince Jean of France, Duke of Vendôme, announced his marriage to Duchess Tatjana von Oldenburg, which was supposed to take place on September 29th in Chartres, France, has been cancelled for personal reasons. Jean and Tatjana have decided to end their engagement. It is rumoured Prince Jean came under pressure from his relatives to avoid marrying a protestant. Prince Jean is known as a very strict Catholic, and Duchess Tatjana is a strict protestant. Although it seems that they agreed to bring their children up in the Catholic faith, there might have been more problems that had to do with religion. The Count of Paris, Jean's father, is quoted by The Times as saying that a marriage is an indissoluble undertaking and a union that will last for a lifetime.
June 12th
Yesterday a police officer guarding Queen Elizabeth II of Great Britain accidentally discharged his weapon at Buckingham Palace as it was being checked in at the end of a shift, Scotland Yard said. No-one was hurt and the officer involved will continue to work at the palace, but has been temporarily withdrawn from firearms duty.
The Government Information Service says that Pieter van Vollenhoven, husband of Princess Margriet of the Netherlands, has skin cancer. He will be operated at the Antoni van Leeuwenhoek Hospital on June 21st. Mr. van Vollenhoven has cancelled all his engagements.
June 13th
Princess Leila Pahlavi died at the Leonard Hotel, West End, London. Her body was discovered by staff of the hotel on Sunday evening. Former Empress Farah Pahlavi, Leila's mother, issued a statement in Paris on Monday evening saying the princess died in her sleep and that she had been very depressed for the past few years. Time hadn't healed her wounds, that were caused by the flight from Iran and the death of her father, Shah Mohammed Reza, shortly afterwards. Scotland Yard said a post-mortem examination failed to reveal the cause of death, but there were no suspicious circumstances. Police is now awaiting the results of toxicology reports. They also searched Leila's personal belongings to establish wether she had left a note. Newspapers say she died of a fatal overdose of sleeping tablets. The funeral is expected to take place in Paris.
June 14th
Two weeks after the mass murder of Nepal’s royal family, a high-level official inquiry has concluded that Crown Prince Dipendra killed his father, mother, brother, sister, uncle, and three aunts in cold blood before shooting himself. Six other members of the royal family are still in hospital. The two-member commission led by the Chief Justice Keshab Prasad Upadhaya and the House Speaker Taranath Ranabhat presented the findings to King Gyanendra on Thursday evening. An hour later, Ranabhat presented a summary of the findings live on television and radio at a raucous press conference at the parliament secretariat. Rifles, magazines, cartridges and clothes were on display. Most details confirm early media reports about a drugged and drunk prince going berserk with automatic weapons, mowing down family members.The 200-page report was the outcome of the commission’s extensive interviews with royal survivors in hospital and other eyewitnesses, examination of hospital records, lab analyses, ballistic and forensic evidence. There were more than 60 specialists who helped in the seven-day investigation headquartered in the heavily guarded parliament secretariat. See for a summary of the report at Synopsis of the High Level Committee Report on the Royal Palace Incident.
This afternoon Willem-Alexander Prince of Oranje and his fiancée Máxima Zorreguieta have paid a short visit to Amsterdam. Together with mayor Job Cohen they visited the townhall and the Wester Church. It is possible this will be the locations for their wedding that will take place on February 2nd, 2002.
June 16th
Two days ago the coffin with the late Princess Leila Pahlavi was transferred to Paris where former Empress Farah of Iran, her son Shah-in-exile Reza II Cyrus and his wife Yasmine said goodbye to her, as did her brother Ali Reza and sister Farahnaz. Today Princess Leila was buried at the cemetary of Passy, Paris, next to her maternal grandmother Farideh Diba, who died last December. Among the 3000 mourners who attended the funeral were also royals: Princess Ashraf Pahlavi, former Queen Anne Marie of Greece, Prince Nikolaos of Greece, Vittorio Emanuele of Savoy Prince of Naples and his wife Marina, Emanuele Filiberto of Savoy Prince of Venice, Princess Ira of Fürstenberg, the Duke and Duchess of Orléans and the Count of Evreux.
Queen Elizabeth II of Great Britain had to hide under an umbrella when she rode in her carriage to the annual Trooping the Colour parade to celebrate her official birthday. The carriage was followed by the Prince of Wales, Duke of Edinburgh, Duke of Kent and the Princess Royal, who all rode on horses. Another carriage rode the Queen Mother, Earl and Countess of Wessex to the parade. The 2nd Battalion Grenadier Guards marched through inches of rainwater in front of Queen Elizabeth II and about 8000 spectators at the Horse Guards Parade ground. The Queen Mother and several other members of the royal family watched the parade from the shelter of the Duke of Wellington's office overlooking the Horse Guards. The King's Troop Royal Horse Artillery soldiered on with a 41-gun royal salute from nearby Green Park. Unfortunately the weather forced the Royal Air Force to cancel a flypast over Buckingham Palace. After the parade the Queen and other members of the family appeared briefly n the palace balcony.
The Nepalese government has said it will not make any further investigations into Crown Prince Dipendra's motive for killing his family.
June 17th
Prince Carl Philip of Sweden returned home after having spent two months at the marineship HMS Carlskrona. He came on board at Muscat, Oman, on April 28th. His parents and sisters welcomed him. Carl Philip said he was very happy to be at home again, although he loved the time he spent on board.
According to a poll by the Dutch royal tv-program "Van Koninklijke Huize" Máxima Zorreguieta 26% mention her the most popular member of the Royal House of the Netherlands (although according to me she will not be a member until her weddingday). Queen Beatrix finished in second place with 24%, while Princess Margriet got 18% of the votes. With 37% Prince Claus still leads the popular male royals list, followed by Willem-Alexander Prince of Oranje with 30%.
June 18th
The only two-month-old National Movement for Simeon II has won the Bulgarian elections on Sunday with an overwhelming majority. The party won 43,05% of the votes and thus 120 of the 240 seats in the Bulgarian parliament, which was just one seat short of sealing an absolute majority in parliament. The party who has former King Simeon II of Bulgaria, who ruled the county as a boy king between 1943 and 1946, as one of its leaders - although he officially didn't run for parliament - promised to transform Bulgaria in 800 days with a radical liberal reform program to attract foreign investment, slash taxes and root out corruption. The party now will begin negotiations on a coalition government. King Simeon has said that he supports a broad coalition government with those who share his priorities. It is said it is likely that King Simeon remains behind the scene and will choose to remain without an official position. Under Bulgarian law, however, he could become prime minister if he wants.
In Sweden the celebration of the 25th wedding anniversary of King Carl XVI Gustaf and Queen Silvia started this afternoon with a boat trip at the Mälär lake to the Vikingtown of Birka. The boat trip ended in Mariefred and the guests were walking or driven to their hotels nearby. In the evening a huge ball with the theme renaissance/Middle Ages was held at Gripsholm Castle. The about 120 invited guests wore historical inspired costumes. Among the guests were the Norwegian Royal Family, Queen Margrethe II and Prince Henrik of Denmark (who had arrived with the royal ship the Dannebrog earlier today), Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands, Willem-Alexander Prince of Oranje with his fiancée Máxima Zorreguieta, Prince Constantijn and Princess Laurentien of the Netherlands, Grand Duke Henri and Grand Duchess Maria Teresa of Luxembourg, Felipe Prince of Asturias, Prince Albert of Monaco, Archduke Lorenz of Austria, Princess Benedikte of Denmark with her husband Prince Richard zu Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg, former King Constantine and Queen Anne Marie of Greece. Prince Carl Philip of Sweden was there also, but was hiding for the photographers.
Two photographers cleared of contributing to Princess Diana's death have been placed under investigation on charges of invading the privacy of Dodi Fayed. The case stems from a complaint by Mohamed Al Fayed, Dodi's father, said a lawyer for the photographers. Al Fayed contends the two men invaded his son's privacy when they photographed him on August 31, 1997, the night of the fatal crash. The two photographers, Serge Benhamou and Laszlo Veres, were among nine photographers and one motorcyclist cleared in September 1999 - and on appeal last October - of causing the three deaths. Judge Herve Stephan ruled that alcohol, drugs and excessive speed - all on the part of the driver - had caused the crash, and said that the photographers' behaviour, while severely criticised by witnesses, did not constitute a crime under French law. But Judge Stephan never explored the charge of invading privacy, and the appeals court ruled that the charge should be investigated. The case involves only pictures of Dodi Fayed because of all the victims, his family is the only one that has made the claim.
June 19th
King Carl XVI Gustaf and Queen Silvia of Sweden visited Trosa. Their guests took the boat from Östra Ågatan and visited the Askö marine laboratory. The visit was a little bit overshadowed by the accident of Máxima Zorreguieta, the fiancée of Willem-Alexander Prince of Oranje. She slipped at the wet rocks and was taken to hospital in Stockholm. She turned out to have broken her leg just above her right ankle. In the evening she, Willem-Alexander and Queen Beatrix returned to the Netherlands by plane, missing the last events of that day. In the late afternoon King Carl XVI Gustaf and Queen Silvia received a tribute outside the Palace. In the evening a huge final concert took place in the garden of the Drottningholm Palace, for which also the people could buy tickets. About 300 guests were invited. Also King Juan Carlos and Queen Sofia of Spain were attending the gala concert in which Swedish top artists and Spice Girl Mel C. performed.
June 21st
In a moving ceremony at the once notorious Villa Pauly yesterday afternoon, Grand Duke Henri presented his father Grand Duke Jean with the Croix de la Résistance. The order of merit of the Conseil national de la Résistance CNR is normally only given posthumously, but for members of the grandducal family there sometimes was made an exception. Also Grand Duchess Charlotte and her husband Prince Felix once received this order of merit. Grand Duke Jean said that it was a great honour to receive the medal.
June 22nd
This afternoon Willem-Alexander Prince of Oranje and his fiancée Máxima Zorreguieta visited the cabinet council and met the members of the Dutch Cabinet. Prime Minister Wim Kok and Vice-Prime Ministers Els Borst and Annemarie Jorritsma explained to the couple how the cabinet council works. On July 3rd the couple will visit the Senate and the Second Chamber, who on that day meet in the Ridderzaal in The Hague to discuss the Act of Consent for the wedding. Yesterday it was made known that mayor Job Cohen will solemnize the civil wedding of Willem-Alexander and Máxima.
Pieter van Vollenhoven left the Antoni van Leeuwenhoek Hospital in Amsterdam after doctors removed some skin tissue yesterday. The skin tissue will be examined further. Lately it was found out the husband of Princess Margriet of the Netherlands has a kind of skin cancer.
Queen Elizabeth II of Great Britain will mark her Golden Jubilee next summer with a three-month-tour of the United Kingdom. There will be visits to all the countries and regions of the United Kingdom between May 1st and August 5th. The focal point of the celebrations will be a four-day holiday weekend from June 1st to June 4th, as was already announced earlier.
June 23rd
Prince Bernhard of Baden married Stephanie Kaul in a religious ceremony at Salem Castle. Yesterday the civil marriage also took place at Salem Castle. One of the witnesses was Marie Louise, Bernhard's elder sister. Among the about 200 guests were Queen Sofia of Spain, King Constantinos of Greece, Grand Duke Jean and Grand Duchess Joséphine-Charlotte of Luxemburg, Prince Guillaume and Princess Sibilla of Luxemburg, Prince Ernst August and Princess Caroline of Hannover, Duke Max Emanuel in Bavaria, Duke Carl of Württemberg and Landgrave Moritz of Hessen. After the wedding the couple left for a short honeymoon. The destination remained a secret till the end, even to the bride.
Already yesterday afternoon Grand Duke Henri and Grand Duchess Maria Teresa of Luxemburg visited the town of Esch where they were received by many enthusiastic people. Back in Luxemburg City the festal changing of the guards in front of the grand-ducal palace took place. There was lots of music in the streets the whole evening. At 22:00 a torch-light procession to the Place Guillaume and thereafter also a military parade took place, the last also passed the stand with the grand-ducal family. The evening ended with the traditional huge fireworks above the city. This morning a military parade in presence of Grand Duke Henri was held and the new banner of the Luxemburg army with the monogram of Grand Duke Henri was shown. Afterwards the Grand Duke, Grand Duchess and their children Alexandra and Sébastien attended the "Te Deum" at the cathedral of Our Lady. Concerts and animation went on in the streets until the evening.
Máxima Zorreguieta had surgery on her right ankle this morning at the Haagse Rode Kruis Hospital after an examination showed the ankle was broken on two places. A metal plate was attached to her ankle with screws. Most likely the plaster around the ankle can be removed in eight weeks. In the afternoon she returned to Palace Huis ten Bosch, where she lives at the moment.
June 25th
The King of Swaziland has declared a state of emergency that allows him to jail people who make fun of him. It also eliminates bail for many crimes and prevents newspapers from challenging publishing bans. The government of King Mswati III issued the decree without giving an explanation for the move. King Mswati III has come under increasing criticism over the past year for his authoritarian rule and muzzling of the press.
June 26th
300 Years after the start of the building of the New Palace in Schleissheim near München, Germany, the palace can be seen in its full glory again. After restoration the splendid residence of Elector Max Emanuel of Bavaria can be visited again.
Knud Count Holstein-Ledreborg, husband of Princess Marie Gabrielle of Luxembourg (a sister of Grand Duke Jean), died yesterday evening after a period of illness at the age of 81. The burial service is scheduled for June 30th at the chapel of the Ledreborg Castle. Until 1990, when he handed over the family estate to his daughter Silvia, he was the owner of one of Denmark’s most beautiful and famous castles, Ledreborg.
Some of the most splendid pieces of art from the princely collections of Liechtenstein will return to Vienna, Austria, after 58 years. They will be shown at a private museum at the baroque Liechtenstein Garden Palace in Vienna from Easter 2003. At the beginning of 1945 the collection was transferred to Vaduz Castle Liechtenstein because of the danger at the end of World War II. Since they were only shown at two exhibitions.
Willem-Alexander Prince of Oranje has been interviewed about the Srebrenica-drama by the Dutch Institute for War Documentation. It is said he was interviewed because he visited the Dutch troops (Dutchbat) in Zagreb, Croatia, just before and after the drama that took place in 1995 and has been talking to soldiers at that time. The Institute researches the fall of Srebrenica in which thousands of Muslims were killed by the Serbians when they occupied the town. The Dutchbat, working for the United Nations, were in Srebrenica to protect the town for the Serbs.
The Prince of Wales and Camilla Parker Bowles kissed eachother in public for the very first time. Camilla Parker Bowles officially received the Prince as he arrived at a charity reception at London's Somerset House. The Prince kissed her on both cheeks.
June 27th
About 2100 veteran military men and former members of the Dutch resistance paid a tribute to Prince Bernhard of the Netherlands in the garden of Soestdijk Palace, on the occasion of his 90th birthday on June 29th. From a jeep the Prince inspected them. Also Willem-Alexander Prince of Oranje was present. Prince Bernhard told he said five years ago that he hoped to make it to this year's tribute and is happy he really made it. He has told his doctors he wants to go on another five years and that he thinks they want to help him with that.
June 28th
The Government Information Service says in the skin tissue from Pieter van Vollenhoven that was removed one week ago no spread of cancer cells was found. The doctors call the prognosis hopeful.
Queen Elizabeth II of Great Britain spent £ 3m less of taxpayers's money in 2000/01 than in the previous year, the Royal Family's first-ever annual spending review shows. The Queen spent £ 35m of tax income during the period. The large reduction mainly reflected a cut in travel expenditure from £ 8,6m to £ 5,4m since the 1999-2000 period.
Queen Modjadji V of the Bolobedu, born in the forests of Ga-Modjadji, South Africa, died in hospital in Pietersburg today, aged 64. She succeeded her mother as the Rain Queen in 1982. She belonged to a dynasty of female rulers (modjadji) who were entrusted with the knowledge of the secret rituals of rainmaking. The matriarchal dynasty commanded respect among even its more martial neighbours, the Zulus and the Swazis. Queen Modjadji V had two daughters, but none of them survived their mother.
June 29th
Her personal secretary announced that Princess Margarita de Bourbon de Parma, eldest daughter of the Duke of Parma and Princess Irene of the Netherlands, and her boyfriend Edwin de Roy van Zuydewijn got married in a civil ceremony in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, on June 19th. The wedding was attended by members of their families and some friends. The religious wedding will take place later this year, but a date hasn't been revealed yet.
In a television interview on the occasion of his 90th birthday Prince Bernhard of the Netherlands says he hopes to live another five year. He has still so much to do and he wants to finish things. He has an enormous desire to survive. He admits he is probably the only Dutch who likes to go to hospital, because he knows they treat him well and he gets a few days rest. He still likes to work and thinks he would become crazy if he couldn't work anymore. However he says he is not afraid of the death. About his wife Princess Juliana, he said that there is taken care of her 24 hours a day by two women. The doctor visits her regularly. She watches television a lot and sometimes goes out. The last time she was doing allright was during the journey to Africa with children and grandchildren on their 60th wedding anniversary. After she broke her hip, it all went worse quickly. Her memory is 'zero' and sometimes she doesn't recognise people anymore. He further talked about the Lockheed affair and says he has a clean conscience. He did something with the best intentions and did something very stupid, which was quite naief.
A £ 3m fountain in memory of Diana Princess of Wales is to be built in Hyde Park, the British government has announced. The fountain is due to be completed by the summer of 2003, after a design competition open to water engineers, architects, artists and ecologists. It will not include a statue or any figurative representation of the late Princess. The fountain will be paid for by public funds, partly met by the sale of official commemorative coins. The site has been chosen after advice from a committee headed by Princess Diana's close friend Rosa Monckton. The group included landscape designers, architects and art experts.
June 30th
Today Princess Arriana zu Hohenlohe-Langenburg (at the photo with her father) married Dixon Boardman, 30 years her senior, at the Roman Catholic Church de la Encarnación in Marbella, Spain. Her dress was designed by Emmanuel Ungaro. Several royals and nobles attended the wedding. Arriana is the daughter of Prince Alfonso and his second wife, actress Jackie Lane.
Royal News: May 2001. Last updated: May 31st, 2001.