Last updated: July 8th, 2010.
June 1st
Two pre-wedding receptions (Lysnings) for Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden and Daniel Westling were held today at the Royal Palace in Stockholm. The couple received several organisations, who presented them with a variety of gifts.
Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands arrived in Oslo for her three-day state visit to Norway. She officially arrived with the Dutch marine frigate Hr. Ms. Tromp in the harbour of Oslo, where she was welcomed with 126 salutes. Crown Prince Haakon of Norway picked her up by royal sloop. On the quay she was greeted by King Harald V, Queen Sonja and Crown Princess Mette-Marit of Norway, and by Norwegian and Dutch schoolchildren. After a lunch at the royal palace Queen Beatrix laid a wreath at the national monument and visited the chairman of the Norwegian parliament. In the evening a state banquet was being held at the royal palace.
Former King Constantine II of Greece celebrated his 70th birthday with a huge party at the house of his son Crown Prince Pavlos in London, Great Britain. Among the guests were members of the Greek royal family, as well as Queen Elizabeth II of Great Britain, Queen Sofia of Spain, the Prince of Asturias, Queen Margrethe II and Prince Henrik of Denmark, the Princess Royal, the Duke of Gloucester, Prince and Princess Michael of Kent, Princess Alexandra of Kent, Princess Benedikte of Denmark and Prince Richard zu Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg.
Prince Radu of Romania, husband of Crown Princess Margarita, celebrated his 50th birthday with two days of celebrations on 26 and 27 May. On 26 May there was a performance at the National Opera Theater in Bucharest, and a dinner with 500 guests at the Elisabeta Palace. On 27 May there was a karate demonstration at the British School in Bucharest, followed by a visit to the Monastery Comana. The celebrations were closed with a jubilee evening at the Elisabeta Palace.
The island of Mainau confirmed Countess Diana Bernadotte is expecting her second child in August. In 2004 the countess had a daughter, Paulina Marie, with her husband Bernd Grawe, whom she separated in 2007. The name of the father of the new baby wasn't revealed.
June 3rd
The last of the three pre-wedding (lysning) reception of Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden and her fiancé Daniel Westling was held at the Royal Palace in Stockholm. In the morning the couple received several organisations and societies. In the afternoon they met diplomats.
Marshall of the Court Elisabeth Palmstierna has confirmed that Princess Lilian of Sweden is suffering of Alzheimer's disease. She added that the Princess "doesn't feel particularly well. Lilian is very tired. She is old and frail". The widow of Prince Bertil of Sweden will not attend the wedding of Crown Princess Victoria and Daniel Westling. Princess Lilian is being cared for at her home in Djurgården, Stockholm.
The Swedish television channel TV4 today broadcasted the last part of the series "Familjen Bernadotte", about the royal family of Sweden.
Al Qaida has threatened to kidnap members of the royal family of Saudi Arabia after Haylah al-Qassir, a female operative of Al Qaida, was arrested by the Saudi army.
Grand Duchess Leonida of Russia was buried next to her husband at the St Peter and St Paul Fortress in St Petersburg today. The funeral service was among others attended by Grand Duchess Maria of Russia and Grand Duke Georgi of Russia. Her body arrived in Russia yesterday. After the service the coffin, covered with the flag of the Russian Federation and with the state standard of Imperial Russia, was carried into the family's mausoleum.
June 4th
The Dutch NOS-television tonight broadcasted a summary of the state visit of Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands to Norway from 1 to 3 June.
The Imperial Household Agency has asked the publisher Shinchosha to apologise. The weekly magazine "Shukan Shincho", published by the company, wrote that the agency had suggested to the school of Princess Aiko of Japan to add medication to the school meals to calm down unruly boys. The agency says the story is "baseless and malicious". Archduke Rudolph of Austria was buried today in the family vault at the Loreto Chapel in Muri, Switzerland.
June 5th
Prince Johann-Georg zu Ysenburg und Büdingen married Stefanie Bittner at Glücksburg Castle today. The civil wedding took place yesterday. The couple's daughter Anna Carolina, was born in January, and was christened today. The couple and their guests enjoyed the sunny weather. After the ceremony the couple made a carriage ride.
June 6th
For the first time Daniel Westling, soon husband of Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden, attended the national day celebrations. However Princess Madeleine was absent this year. The royal family celebrated at Skansen in Stockholm, and went there by carriage. Afterwards a reception was held at the Royal Palace. The day ended with a tattoo at Logården. The Royal Palace as usually held an open house today. This year's theme was the 200th anniversary of Jean Baptiste Bernadotte as heir to the Swedish throne. In his traditional speech King Carl XVI Gustaf said: "This summer there will be a very important event in the history of our family – our eldest daughter marries. The queen and I feel an enormous amount of happiness at this time."
June 7th
The Prince of Wales will take three days off at the beginning of next week on doctor's advice. A spokesman for Clarence House said: "The Prince has been suffering from a persistent chest infection for over a month and doctors have advised him to find a number of consecutive days in which to have a complete rest." The Prince decided not to take a break this week, because of the many important engagements. The Prince is scheduled to return to work on 17 June.
The Swedish royal court is not very happy with a feed on Twitter called "Kungliga Hovstaterna", where official messages are mixed with other comments on the Swedish royal family. Spokeswoman Nina Eldh said: "We do not have a Twitter feed, we are looking at alternatives to close unwanted Twitter pages."
The reconstruction of the royal palace in Berlin will be delayed by three yers. The German government unveiled a huge budget cut today. Hermann Parzinger, the president of the Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation said in a statement: "I regret very much that today’s Cabinet decision will lead to a considerable delay in the realization of the most significant cultural project in Germany." The government was to bay a 440 million euros share in the project. The building of the palace might now only start in 2014 instead of in 2011.
June 8th
The Duke of Edinburgh underwent a minor operation on his left hand in an unknown hospital, where he was a day patient, on Monday. He had surgery for carpal tunnel syndrome. Buckingham Palace stated: "The Duke of Edinburgh has reduced his engagements to help the recovery of his hand."
The Museo de la Moda in Chile has bought a black taffeta dress of the late Diana Princess of Wales at auction in London for £192.000. The princess wore the dress for her first official engagement with her then fiancé the Prince of Wales in 1981. The dress designed by Elizabeth and David Emanuel had been kept in a plastic bag in their garage since 1981.
The written English translation of the wedding interview of Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden and Daniel Westling can be found online.
June 9th
About 70% of the Swedes think Daniel Westling will do a good job as prince of Sweden. Only 3% thinks that he will do a poor job. Furthermore a new book by genealogist Björn Engström is released today, showing that Daniel is descending from both Swedish and Finnish aristocracy - he is a descendant of the Svinhufvud family. According to Engström there were four members of parliament among his ancestors in the 16th and 17th century.
June 12th
Queen Elizabeth II of Great Britain marked her 84th official birthday at the Trooping the Colour parade on Horse Guards Parade in London. Dressed in lilac she was joined by the Duke of Edinburg, the Prince of Wales and other members of the family she watched more than 1400 soldiers parading. After the Queen took the salute, the family went back to Buckingham Palace. There they watched a 30-aircraft strong RAF flypast from the balcony.
The Swedish royal court announced that Princess Madeleine will return to Sweden, and is very happy to attend the wedding of her sister Crown Princess Victoria and Daniel Westling on 19 June. She thanks for all the support and kindness she has recieved after her break up with her fiancé Jonas Bergström. Princess Madeleine will go back abroad after the Summer and take part in a project at the office of the World Childhood Foundation.
Crown Prince Haakon and Crown Princess Mette-Marit of Norway visited Germany on invitation of federal chancellor Angela Merkel. The couple visited Stralsund today and were greeted by a children's choir. They also visited the St. Nikolai Church. Afterwards they travelled to Binz where they had lunch and made a walk. In Sassnitz they made a short trip by boat.
The civil wedding of Prince Carlos de Bourbon de Parme and Annemarie Gualthérie van Weezel took place in private today at the town hall of Wijk bij Duurstede, the Netherlands. They were wed by mayor Guus Swillens. Only the closest family attended.
June 14th
Prince Harry of Wales arrived in Botswana for a six-day joint tour together with his brother Prince William of Wales, who will arrive tomorrow. The brothers will visit Botswana, Lesotho and South Africa. At the end of their tour they will visit the World Cup match between England and Algeria.
During a ceremony at the Elisabeta Palace in Bukarest, Romania, King Michael of Romania officially attributed the title of Prince of Romania and the predicate His Royal Highness to his grandson Nicholas (Nicolae). He also received the royal order Nihil Sine Deo.
June 15th
The coat of arms and monogram of Daniel Westling after his marriage to Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden on Saturday have been unveiled. The coat of arms and monogram were drawn by the National Archives' heraldic artist Vladimir A Sagerlund and were designed by State Herald Henrik Klackenberg, working closely with Daniel Westling.
Princess Mako of Japan is to study English at the University College in Dublin, Ireland, between 4 July and 15 August, the Imperial Household Agency announced. The princess is a freshman at the International Christian University in Tokyo. The course is a part of the English education programm of her university.
The cabinet of Thailand has approved the creation of the Bureau of Prevention and Eradication of Computer Crime today. The main task of the bureau is to protect the monarchy.
June 16th
The Sultan of Brunei Darussalam announced today that he has divorced his second wife Azrinaz Mazhar Hakim after a marriage of five years. The couple has a son and a daughter together. The Sultan has revoked all her royal titles.
According to sources close to the royal family a succession war is taking place in Ras al-Khaimah, one of the seven emirates of the United Arab Emirates. The state has been led by 92-year-old Sheikh Saqr bin Mohammed al-Qassimi since 1948. His health condition however is critical. Sheikh Saud bin Saqr al-Qassimi is the present crown prince, but is challenged by his halfbrother Sheikh Khaled bin Saqr al-Qassimi, who was the crown prince until 2003.
June 19th
The wedding of Daniel Westling and Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden took place at the Storkyrkan in Stockholm. News agencies AFP, AP and Reuters declined today to cover the wedding, due to restrictions by Swedish public television SVT on images of the marriage. They say SVT asked far too much money for their photos and videos of the wedding. SVT however argues their prices were standard.
Sheikh Basel Salem al-Sabah of Kuwait died on Thursday night at his palace, aged 52. He was a grandson of Emir Sheikh Sabah Salem al-Sahab of Kuwait. It is reported he was shot several times by his uncle Sheikh Faisal Abdullah al-Sabah, who was arrested by the police. Sheikh Basel was buried today at the cemetery in Sulaibekhat. Security agencies have started an investigation into the incident.
June 22nd
The Royal Trustees on Civil List expenditure and funding released a report today about the official expenses of the household of Queen Elizabeth II of Great Britain. Chancellor George Osborne said today that the amount of money the Queen gets to run her household will be frozen at £7.9m for the coming year. The Queen has agreed.
Princess Eugenie of York has started a six-week internship at the auction house Christie's today. She studies art history at Newcastle University. She is said to have undertaken the internship to experience the art world first-hand.
June 23rd
Prince Albert II of Monaco announced his engagement to Charlene Wittstock today. A wedding date wasn't announced yet. Charlene Lynette Wittstock was born at Bulawayo, Zimbabwe, on 25 January 1978. She has the South African nationality. Before moving to Monaco some years ago, she was a youth worker. She was also a swimmer, and was part of the South African team for the Olympic Summer Games in 2000.
Luxemburg celebrated its national day today with a Te Deum at the cathedral and a military parade. A reception was being held at the Grand-Ducal Palace in the evening. Yesterday evening Grand Duke Henri and Grand Duchess Maria Teresa visited the town of Diekirch, while Hereditary Grand Duke Guillaume visited Esch-sur-Alzette. The whole family, except for Prince Felix, attended the traditional fireworks in Luxemburg City in the late evening.
Prince William of Wales was made an Honorary Fellow of the Royal Society today during a service which marked the 350th anniversary of the Royal Society. The service was attended by Queen Elizabeth II of Great Britain, the Duke Of Edinburgh and other members of the royal family.
Tui Atua Tupua Tamasese Efi, head of state of Samoa, was taken to New Zealand on Monday night for medical treatment. A source says it is because of his heart condition.
June 24th
In an interview at the newspaper Nice Matin Prince Albert II of Monaco said today that he will marry Charlene Wittstock in the Summer of 2011. He said in the interview to hope that the people of Monaco will welcome his bride with kindness. In the newspaper The Star Charlene's father Michael Wittstock said he spoke to Prince Albert on Tuesday afternoon: "He phoned me so I could give him the blessing to put the ring on her finger." Mr Wittstock says the prince is a "nice chap", and said the family was excited about the engagement.
For the first time since 1977 Queen Elizabeth II of Great Britain attended the All England Tennis Championships at Wimbledon. She saw the match between Andy Murray and Jarkko Nieminen. The Queen was accompanied by the Duke of Kent.
In an interview given during the joint tour of Africa of Prince William and Prince Harry of Wales, Prince Harry says he still thinks of his mother the late Diana Princess of Wales every day. He said: "Every day, I know I do and I’m sure William does as well, whatever we do, wherever we are and whoever we’re with, I particularly always wonder what she’d think, what she’d be doing if she was with us now. That’s what keeps us going every day – that thought of what would she be like if she was around today." Prince William said: "We'd like to think she's proud of us."
Danish archaeologists say they have unearthed remains of the 10th century wooden residence of King Harald Bluetooth of Denmark near Jelling, Denmark. So far four buildings from his time have been discovered at the site.
Prince Mikasa, uncle of Emperor Akihito of Japan, left the St. Luke's International Hospital in Tokyo today. He had underwent a cataract surgery for his right eye on Wednesday.
German scientists at the Bernhard Nocht Institute for Tropical Medicine in Hamburg say that Pharaoh Tutankhamen of Egypt didn't die of malaria. Closer study of the foot bones of his mummy showed the genetic blood disorder sickle cell disease, the institute announced on Wednesday.
June 25th
Crown Princess Victoria and Prince Daniel of Sweden are spending their honeymoon in French Polynesia, the Swedish newspaper Expressen revealed. The couple arrived in a private jet owned by family friend Bertil Hult. They left the wedding party early on Sunday morning. In an interview in the newspaper the couple says their wedding was "unbelievable". They said to have been impressed by the huge support of the public. Prince Daniel thought it was unbelievable that half a million of people came out into the streets of Stockholm to celebrate their wedding.
June 27th
A preliminary hearing was held at Rome, in front of Judge Marina Finiti, over charges of participating in a conspiracy to get permissions for gambling machines from the state agency by using bribery and forgery. Among the six man charged is Prince Vittorio Emanuele of Savoy. The additional charges were dropped earlier this year. The judge will decide on 14 July whether the prosecutor's case is strong enough to start a trial.
June 28th
Queen Elizabeth II of Great Britain and the Duke of Edinburgh have arrived in Canada today for a visit to celebrate the centenary of the Canadian Navy and to mark Canada day. The couple will visit Halifax, Ottawa, Winnipeg and Toronto. On 6 July they will travel to New York, where the Queen will visit the United Nations.
June 29th
Clarence House accounts show that the private income of the Prince of Wales has increased by more than 4% in the last financial year. However his taxpayer funding was almost halved, because the prince spent less money on overseas travel. Less money was spent on the costs of receptions andalso the travel costs of the staff were cut. The Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall undertook 755 engagements in the United Kingdom and abroad. The Prince's expenditure also includes the budgets of Prince William and Prince Harry of Wales.
Memorabilian of Emperor Napoleon I of France have fetched 140.000 New Zealand dollars at auction by Art+Object auction house in Wellington it was said on Wednesday. The items were sold by descendants of Denzil Ibbetson, who was the commissionary officer on St. Helena during Napoleon's exile on the island. His son emigrated to New Zealand in 1864. A lithograph and watercolor sketch of Napoleon on his death bed was sold for NZ$ 21.000. A lock of hair Ibbetson cut from the Emperor's head after his death fetched NZ$ 19.000. Among the items sold was also Ibbetson's diary.
June 30th
King Albert II and Queen Paola of the Belgians arrived in Congo on Monday to take part in the celebrations for the 50th anniversary of independence from Belgium. The royal couple was received by President Joseph Kabila of Congo. On Tuesday they visited several companies connected with Belgium. In the evening they attended a state banquet with several other foreign guests including the King and Queen of Swaziland. Today the independency was officially celebrated with a military parade. The visit was controversial because of the human rights record of Congo.
Dr Zahi Hawass, Secretary General of the Supreme Counsil of Antiquities announced today that his archaeological team have found a tunnel in the tomb of Pharaoh Seti I in the Valley of the Kings. The 174 metres long tunnel has been completely excavated now. The work started in November 2007. They uncovered a staircase and found another staircase after the first descending passage. There the tunnel ends. Hawass said to believe that they started building the tomb during the lifetime of Pharaoh Seti I, and that it was tried to construct a secret tomb inside the tomb. However work might have stopped when the pharaoh died.
Royal News: May 2010. Last updated: June 2nd, 2010.