ROYAL NEWS: NOVEMBER 2002

Last updated: December 4th, 2002.

November 1st
Yesterday Marie Elisabeth Zellinger de Balkany, only daughter of Princess Marie Gabrielle of Savoy, married civilly in Chène-Bourg near Genève, Switzerland, Olivier A. Janssens. The groom is managing director of Coffee World Corporation Ltd.

Former royal butler Paul Burrell was formally found not guilty of three charges of stealing from the estate of Princess Diana, the Prince of Wales and Prince William. The trial came to a premature end because of the sudden involvement of Queen Elizabeth II of Great Britain and the Prince of Wales. It emerged that Mr Burrell told the Queen in a private conversation following the death of Diana Princess of Wales that he had been keeping items belonging to her for safe keeping. The prosecution had been brought on the basis that Mr Burrell had not told anyone that he had kept items belonging to the princess. After hearing submissions from the prosecution and defence, the judge, Mrs Justice Rafferty, instructed that Mr Burrell was not guilty on all three counts of theft. She discharged the jury in its absence in the third week of the trial and told Mr Burrell he was free to go. Mr Burrell left the courtroom surrounded by his lawyers and police without giving much comment. Mr Burrell said the "Queen has come through for me". His solicitor, Andrew Shaw, said: "He's happy and relieved to have been acquitted on all charges after the terrible ordeal of the last 21 months. He has always maintained his total innocence. The prosecution was based on numerous errors. The evidence in the trial has shown up many mistakes on the part of the police. It is a matter of regret that no proper investigation was carried out into the accuracy of the 39-page statement given to the police on 16 August 2001. In that statement, Mr Burrell referred to a private audience granted to him by the Queen. It's surprising that no inquiries were made of the Queen in relation to that meeting." The Royal Family might not have discovered police misled them over allegations against Paul Burrell, until after the trial had started.

The Nieuw-Vlaamse Alliantie thinks it is time for a new debate on the role of the royal house in Belgium. They say the support for the monarchy has dropped low and refer to a recent inquiry. They want to set up a special commission in the Chamber, that has to decide which sections of the Belgian constitution could be revised if the political role of the monarch should be abolished.

November 2nd
A newspaper bidding war has begun for the story of Paul Burrell, with one offer in the region of £1 million, according to sources close to the former Royal butler. He is believed to be considering the offers as he celebrates the collapse of his trial at a secret hideaway in the north of England. His personal manager and media representative Dave Warwick has refused to confirm details of any bids, but admits having received more than 300 emails from media organisations around the world requesting interviews with Mr Burrell. Meanwhile Buckingham Palace is under pressure to explain why the Queen took so long to intervene in the case of Paul Burrell. Labour Members of Parliament say if the disclosure had been known about earlier, it would have ensured the prosecution was never brought. Also any suggestion the Queen's intervention was linked to concerns at the Palace about what might come out in court was rejected.

November 3rd
Paul Burrell says he didn't reveal details of his conversation with the Queen because he "never realised" what he told her could clear his name. He assumed details of his meeting with Her Majesty should remain confidential. He mentioned to police in various statements that he had held a private audience with the Queen, but did not refer to what was said. He had been concerned about what was happening to documents belonging to Diana following her death. Although he has got lucrative offers to tell all about life with Diana and Charles with reports of bids up to £1 million, his sollicitor Mr Shaw said to BBC that Mr Burrell's original 39-page statement to police - which was not made public - had included references to conversations between Diana and Charles which he had wanted to keep private. "The essence of it was that Paul had been privy to a number of private conversations between the Prince and Princess," his sollicitor said. "He knew what the terms of the conversation were and he was never going to tell anybody about it. So that even though those matters might have been of some significance to him he wasn't going to tell anybody what they were." He indicated that if Mr Burrell had been called to the witness box to testify, he would not have wanted to harm the Royals, but that evidence could have come out that would have been damaging. He says Mr Burrell will now decide whether to pursue legal action against the police and the Crown Prosecution Service. Mr Burrell is expected to make an attempt to recover some of the hundreds of items taken from his house in Cheshire by police. Buckingham Palace remains under pressure to explain why the Queen took so long to reveal that Mr Burrell had told her he was safeguarding some of Diana's belongings.

November 4th
The royal family of the Netherlands thanked the people in a letter. The letter says: "As family we sincerely thank all those who showed their sympathy with the death of Prince Claus. / In very different ways you expressed your feelings of sympathy, in flowers, in words, in a quiet goodbye or by expressing your sympathy in the books of condolence on many places in the country. The appreciation and affection for Prince Claus which came forward in those, deeply touched us, his wife and children. / All tokens of sympathy are a great support to us and we are intensely grateful to you for this." The letter was signed by Queen Beatrix, the Prince of Orange, Princess Máxima, Prince Johan Friso, Prince Constantijn and Princess Laurentien.

Former royal butler Paul Burrell has sold his story to the Daily Mirror newspaper for about £300,000. The paper announced it had acquired "exclusive world rights" to the story by fighting off bids from more than 400 media organisations worldwide. Mirror editor Piers Morgan told the BBC members of the Royal Family and the Spencer family could be embarrassed by the revelations. He said: "He will be incredibly frank, I think it will be pretty searing stuff. He will protect the memory of Princess Diana and will honour his pledge to always protect the Queen. But I think there will be many others in the Royal Family and those close to the Royal Family who will be quaking in their boots tonight." Earlier today Mr Burrell spoke on LBC Radio and thanked the British public for their support since his trial collapsed. "I want to come out and tell you what's happened to me. I do have a great story to tell," he said. He said he had been offered more than £1m for his story, "but I am not interested in just making the most amount of money that I can. I believe that the Daily Mirror will let me tell the true story as it is." The Daily Mirror will start publishing Mr Burrell's revelations on Wednesday. Meanwhile hundreds of exhibits from the trial have been removed from court and first taken back to the police station where the investigation started as in every case, but it is still unclear who will lay claim to the property.

November 5th
Prince Harry of Wales was named 2002's most dateable "stud" by Tatler magazine. It was said that "Harry has suddenly emerged as the young royal who has just come of age and is naughty but nice. By a huge majority, he was voted the most desirable new guy on the block. He's got a sense of mischief. There's a certain energy and irreverence, wit and fun about him. He is clearly good-looking and a young man who people are going to watch and girls have got their eye on.". His elder brother Prince William, who was number one in the list two years ago, failed to make it to the top 10. On the women's list Lady Gabriella Windsor ended up in second position.

The Spencer family is understood to be very angry about Paul Burrell's decision to sell his story. A source stated: "What possible good for her children and her family can come out of selling her story to the (Daily) Mirror?" It was "absolutely untrue" that Lady Sarah McCorquodale, the late Princess's older sister, had been the driving force behind the failed prosecution. There was no vendetta against Paul Burrell. "The family gave him £50,000 as a thank you for all that he had done for their sister. They all wish that the whole thing had never come to court," the source added. The Spencers were said to be "absolutely amazed" at the way that the trial had collapsed on Friday.

November 6th
In his first interview to the Daily Mirror that paid £300,000 for his own story, former royal butler Paul Burrell claimed the Queen warned him his closeness to Diana, Princess of Wales, could put his safety at risk during a three-hour meeting with her two months after Princess Diana's funeral and told him: "There are powers at work in this country about which we have no knowledge", and also said "No-one, Paul, has been as close to a member of my family as you have." He also claims that the Queen tried to build bridges with Diana before she died. Mr Burrell also gives an explanation for every single item he was accused of stealing and discloses what he told police when he was arrested. A Buckingham Palace spokeswoman would not comment on what was a "private meeting". "There were only two people in the room and it is confidential," she said. Mr Burrell said he was only speaking publicly now because he was concerned that the Queen's reputation was being eroded by speculation over her last-minute involvement in the case.

November 7th
Princess Diana of Wales's former bodyguard, Ken Wharfe, says in an article in the Evening Standard that Paul Burrell's account of his private meeting with the Queen sounds like "a work of fiction". He said that Diana also had called other people her "rock" including himself, her chef, her chauffeur and her secretary. He claims Mr Burrell had become "obsessed" with the Princess to his opinion, and said she was wrongly convinced he was the only person she could trust. Mr Wharfe didn't recognise Mr Burrell's depiction of Diana's relationship with the Spencer family and claimed she was close to her mother Frances Shand Kydd, and sister Lady Sarah McCorquodale. "When Diana was at her most troubled and really needed the most private of counsel, it was to her mother that she would always turn," he said.

November 8th
Earl Spencer has condemned former royal butler Paul Burrell for "yet more hurtful lies" about how his family treated his sister Diana, Princess of Wales and disputes Mr Burrell's version of events. In his third interview to the Daily Mirror Mr Burrell said the earl behaved "disrespectfully" at Diana's funeral and accused the earl of removing the Royal Standard from Diana's coffin in front of the Prince of Wales, Prince William and Prince Harry at Althorp House before it was buried announcing "She is a Spencer now", and replaced it with the Spencer flag and "depriving" her of her royal status. Mr Burrell told the newspaper "it was not what Diana would have wanted". In a statement Earl Spencer said: "The Queen's standard was removed as part of the ceremony by her own officer in a dignified and pre-agreed manner." In the second interview Mr Burrell had already told that the family had abandoned Diana during her life, only to claim her when she died. He singled out the princess's mother and her siblings for criticism and accused Earl Spencer of being "hypocritical" at her funeral and said: "And I, for one, would never have paraded her life before a museum and charged £10.50 a time." He also claims Diana's mother, Frances Shand Kydd, made "shocking" telephone calls to her daughter late at night. He says the Princess insisted he listen in to conversations with her mother. "It was horrible. She was using the kind of language you would never expect to hear a mother ever say to a daughter." Mr Burrell says Mrs Shand Kydd was angry with her daughter for dating "Muslim" men. He also said that Diana's sister, Lady Sarah McCorquodale, was nicknamed "Lady Sarah McCrocodile", and was "jealous" of the Princess.

While visiting a hospital in Uruguay the Duke of York told his daughter Princess Eugenie is two inches taller after her recent operation to correct curvature of her spine. "She was under the knife for seven hours and she's two inches taller now," he said: "It was quite extraordinary - she had the operation on the Monday, she was walking on Thursday and out of hospital on Sunday. We did it over half-term so she wouldn't miss much school, but because the operation has been slightly more complicated than we thought, she is not yet ready to go back to school. Eugenie wanted to go back but she can't get a knock and schools are notorious for getting knocks, so we've kept her away for about another week and she has a tutor."

November 9th
Emily Bremers, longtime former girlfriend of the Prince of Orange, married Jonkheer Rhoderick van der Wyck today in the St Jozef Church in Kapellen near Antwerp, Belgium. The civil wedding took place yesterday in the Marot Hall at Duivenvoorde Castle in Voorschoten, The Netherlands, and was attended by more than 100 guests. The groom is a descendant of Countess Renira Bentinck.

In today's Daily Mirror interview with former royal butler Paul Burrell, he said that outside interference in the marriage of the Prince and Princess of Wales meant there was never a chance of recovering. Among the people interfering in the marriage he named the then Prime Minister John Major and the former Archbishop of Canterbury Dr George Carey. The Princess of Wales however always wanted to avoid a divorce. Mr Burrell also admits he put the princess before his wife and family, because she "needed" him more than they did. Tomorrow Mr Burrell will be interviewed on television. A video diary, recorded over the past six months, will form part of the Tonight with Trevor McDonald programme on ITV1. During the broadcast, Mr Burrell will also talk about what he saw as the princess's loneliness. "I think perhaps the family was dysfunctional," he tells the programme. "It's difficult to say. From a very early age the princess had a difficult life, living in a huge stately home with parents who were busy doing other things; away at boarding school."

November 10th
King Albert II of the Belgians had a motor-accident on Friday near his country-house in Châteauneuf-de-Grasse in the South of France and broke his ankle. He will not be able to attend the firstcoming engagements. Princess Astrid will replace him tomorrow at the commemoration of the armistice.

This morning Belgian astronaut Frank de Winne returned back to earth after a mission to the international space station ISS, that he started on October 30. On the landing-space the second Belgian in space was welcomed by Prince Philippe of Belgium. During the stay in the ISS Frank de Winne had already spoken with the prince. At the welcome ceremony the astronaut, his two Russian colleagues, as well as Prince Philippe were dressed in traditional costumes of Kazakhstan. To a Belgian television channel Prince Philippe admitted that if they would ask him to take part in a space-flight he immediately would say yes.

On the diary shown on the ITV1 special of Tonight With Trevor McDonald Paul Burrell has admitted being arrested made him consider suicide, but only stopped himself for the sake of his family. He said: "I thought I had brought shame not only on my own family but on the princess too and at my lowest point I did make a decision. I will never forget as I sat in the lay-by in my car with a bottle of water and a bottle of pills thinking I can escape from this 'I can actually finish it now. I can't handle any more of this". Asked whether the Queen would have known the full extent of the items he had , he said: "She didn't ask me and I didn't tell her. That may sound rather presumptive and arrogant but it wasn't meant that way."

November 11th
Prince Bernhard of the Netherlands left hospital today, but needs to rest a few weeks more at home. He was admitted to hospital in Utrecht on November 4th and was operated on gall-stones.

Senior members of the British royal household have met about a homosexual rape case at the royal court. The alleged attacker has been named in an Italian newspaper and across the world on the Internet, although not yet in British newspapers. An aid to the Prince of Wales is accused of raping ex-valet George Smith, but has strongly denied the accusations anonymously this weekend, in a statement through his solicitors following claims made by the alleged victim, labelling Mr Smith as unreliable and an alcoholic whose story differed "substantially and significantly" from what he told police last year. Calls are growing for an independent inquiry into the way the palace handled the rape allegation, which was initially dealt with as an internal inquiry rather than being reported to the police. Mr Smith claims disclosure of the incident would damage the monarchy irreparably and was the "real reason" for the Queen's intervention which brought an end to Mr Burrell's trial. Mr Smith's claims - tape recorded by Diana, Princess of Wales - may have been aired publicly in court. Last year police investigated the alleged incident but Scotland Yard said the alleged victim chose not to pursue the claim and it was subsequently dropped. Meanwhile former butler Paul Burrell believes the tape at the centre of the alleged rape was kept by Lady Sarah McCorquodale, one of Princess Diana's sisters, as he opened a mahogany box belonging to Diana in the presence of her weeks after the Princess's death in 1997 and always believed Lady Sarah kept the tape and the other contents of the box after the discovery. He said Lady Sarah peered inside the box and asked him: "What do you think could be on the tape?" He said: "I told Lady Sarah about the tape. I knew because the Princess had told me, but I have never heard the tape and don't know what its contents are in full." The contents of the box - dubbed the Crown jewels - were said to have included letters from the Duke of Edinburgh, a signet ring from her former lover James Hewitt and the tape. Mr Burrell only saw the box back during his trial at the Old Bailey when the police showed it to the court, but the contents had been removed.

November 12th
The Prince of Wales's office has announced an internal review into the collapse of the Paul Burrell trial and its aftermath. The investigation will be conducted by the prince's own private secretary, Sir Michael Peat, joined by a lawyer, Edmund Lawson. He will examine concerns about the way the trial of former butler Paul Burrell ended. But the Queen will not herself be a "witness" in Sir Michael's review as Buckingham Palace said he already knew her side of the story. The palace inquiry, expected to publish its report for public consumption by Christmas, and will also look at allegations of a cover-up over accusations of homosexual rape by one of the Prince of Wales's key aides and the issue of royal gifts allegedly being sold on for cash. Sir Michael Peat also said that Queen Elizabeth II was unaware of the fact that her revelation would lead to the collapse of the Burrell trial and thought the information she gave was 'irrelevant'. He said she did not realise its importance until she read claims in the papers he had not been selling items belonging to Princess Diana, as the police had claimed. He also said the royal household had been surprised when the Queen's information led to the collapse of the trial two weeks ago. "The conspiracy theories are, the politest you could say, implausible."

November 13th
In an interview Queen Paola of Belgium has promised to improve her Dutch. Since her marriage, 43 years ago, she has been critizised for her ignorance of Dutch, one of the three official languages of Belgium (next to French and German). "I understand and accept the criticism about my imperfect grasp of Dutch. Nevertheless I'm determined to master this language," Queen Paola said.

November 14th
Sir Michael Peat, the Prince of Wales's private secretary, said today that Queen Elizabeth II of Great Britain and the Prince of Wales sympathise with Paul Burrell's decision to tell his story and says they both believed Mr Burrell had the right to defend himself. He added that he was sure that Prince William and Prince Harry were "delighted that an innocent man did not go to prison".

A party was held at the Ritz Carlton Hotel in London to celebrate the success of Queen Elizabeth II of Great Britain's Golden Jubilee festivities. It was organised by friends of the Queen. Also the Prince of Wales was celebrating his 54th birthday, and arrived together with his companion Camilla Parker Bowles. The guests included British and foreign royals, some of the Queen's senior staff and friends of the family. Among the royal guests were the Duke of Edinburgh, Duke of York, Earl and Countess of Wessex, Lady Sarah Chatto and Daniel Chatto, King Constantine of Greece.

November 16th
At the party congress of the liberal party of Belgium, the VLD, the political party decided that they find that the Belgian king shouldn't have political power anymore, but only a ceremonial function. They also said that the king shouldn't be allowed anymore to award noble titles.

The Prince of Wales has won a court order banning the Scotland based Sunday Mail from publishing details of a book written by former Royal housekeeper Wendy Berry. The Prince's legal team had already banned Mrs Berry from telling her story after winning a court order in England in 1995. However, her book, the Housekeeper's Story, was later published in the US.

Former butler Paul Burrell is on his way home after a one week media tour in the USA, together with his wife Maria and his two sons. A party will be thrown for him at his local pub in Cheshire. Mr Burrell's agent said: "They've got to get settled but then he's going to want to get back to the flower shop as soon as possible. He wants to get back in to the sleepy village with people who love him and villagers who have been behind him since this happened - he wants to blend back into the community, which he feels like he has disrupted. But obviously he's not going to be able to relax - there are various phone calls, offers and requests to consider. There's interest there."

November 17th
Celebrations for Archduke Otto of Austria's 90th birthday started today in München, Germany, with a two-hour mass in the St Peter Cathedral starting at 11:15. Cardinal Leo Scheffczyk said that he was impressed "not only by the long time, but also by the contents of this life." It was followed by a reception at the Industrie- und Handelskammer (IHK) in the afternoon attended by guests from economical and political circles as well as royal guests. Among the guests Duke Franz of Bavaria, Princesss Metternich, Princess Caroline of Monaco and Prince Ernst August of Hannover. Princess Glroia von Thurn und Taxis said: "I hand over the best wishes of the family. We are very proud of you and when it had been said it was 70 we had believed it too." Archduke Otto himself told "Now I can finally look into the mirror and say: How nice to be here with me." and said "It feels well to meet people who still have earth on their feet." A dinner took place in the evening at the Kaisersaal in the Royal Residence in München. Other celebrations will take place in Vienna and Budapest.

Yesterday Prince Rainier III of Monaco was admitted to the Centre Cardio-Thoracique de Monaco because of a bronchial pulmonary infection. He will have to stay in hospital for several days. He will not be able to attend national day on Tuesday, but is already doing better again. His condition was never serious, but doctors don't want to take any riscs and want to observe him for several days.

November 18th
The All-Party Parliamentary Beer Group crowned the Prince of Wales as Beer Drinker of the Year 2002 for his efforts to save rural pubs. He received the award and a glass of Greene King Abbot Ale at a ceremony at St James's Palace. The Prince said he was encouraged by the success of his Pub is the Hub campaign to stem the tide of village pubs closures which was launched last December. The group's secretary, Robert Humphries, said: "We decided to give the Prince this award because it is a fantastic project and him putting his name to it really boosted its chances of success."

November 19th
Crown Prince Mette-Marit of Norway will travel to Washington D.C., USA, and Crown Prince Haakon heads for Berlin, Germany, this weekend to perform official pre-Christmas duties. Mette-Marit will open a Norwegian design exhibition called "Norway Says" at the Union Station and will take part in a design seminar at the National Museum of Women in the Arts. On Friday night she will be one of the guests of honor at a dinner hosted by Norway's ambassador to the US, Knut Vollebaek. She will also visit Johns Hopkins University in nearby Baltimore, show up for church services with a variety of Norwegian associations at a local Lutheran church and tour the World Bank. Crown Prince Haakon will light the official Christmas tree in Berlin, which traditionally comes from the forests around Drobak near Oslo, and will also be on hand for the opening of a nine-day Nordic music festival sponsored by the five Nordic countries' composers' associations.

The Norwegian embassy in Berlin awarded The Golden Salmon-award to German TV journalist Sandra Maischberger, whose interview last summer with Crown Prince Haakon and Crown Princess Mette-Marit left them with severe sunburn. She receives the award in recognition of the enormous exposure her interview created for Norway. Ambassador Morten Wetland said: "Our task is to create positive attention about our country. We want to hit a nerve in Germany and we must do it with limited means. We can only use the ideas we get."

November 20th
The real birthday of Archduke Otto von Habsburg, son of Karl II (the last) Emperor of Austria, started with a mass in the full Stephandom in Vienna led by Cardinal Christoph Schönborn and attended by hundreds of clerical, political and royal guests. The Cardinal reminded the varied life of the Archduke, from heir to the Austrian throne to European politician and said "The monarchy has fallen. You have become one of the architects of a new Europe." Archduke Otto hadn't become the leader of a big empire, but his dedication and service would make him a big leader: "You have never left the country that has excluded you your homeland mentally. You have helped it restless in its most difficult times. You have fought for its liberation and for save it from the German separation." The mass was followed by a festive celebration at the Hofburg with 1300 guests. Archduchess Walburga greeted the guests and said to be very happy about the presence of her royal couple, the King and Queen of Sweden (the archduchess lives in Sweden since 8 years) and cousin King Simeon of Bulgaria. In a speech Austrian Chancellor Wolfgang Schüssel congratulated the Archduke on this special birthday and said that the birthday party was a "Demonstration of the solidarity of Europe". He thanked him especially for the work he had done for Austria and said that "the immovable believe in a big and free Europe had been the central driving power of the Habsburgs in all its work". President of the European Union convention Valery Giscard d'Estaing said that the Archduke was a "leading figure of the united Europe of today" and that as Emperor of an empire that doesn't exist anymore he had made a great choice by not only serve one nation, but a complete continent, Europe. In his own speech Archduke Otto said "There is a right for Europe. Europe is there for all Europeans" and added "But Europe is not ready yet. We still have very huge tasks in front of us." At 18:30 a reception at the hall of mirrors was held followed by a dinner in the orangery at Schönbrunn Palace for which 300 guests were invited. Among the many royal guests were, next to the family and close relatives, King Carl XVI Gustaf and Queen Silvia of Sweden, Princess Marie von und zu Liechtenstein, the Prince of Asturias, Princess Marie-Christine of Kent, Archduke Carl Christian and Archduchess Marie-Astrid of Austria, King Simeon and Queen Margarita of Bulgaria, the Duke of Bragança, the Margrave and Margravinne of Baden and Duchess Tatjana von Oldenburg. For pictures: Royal Press.

Prince Alexandre de Merode died in Brussels today. He was born in Etterbeek on 24 May 1934. Since 1963 he was a member of the International Olympic Committee and since 1967 he was president of the medical commission of the IOC. He also was IOC vice-president from 1986 to 1990 and from 1994 to 1998.

For the first time since the death of her husband, Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands appeared in public again. Together with the Prince of Orange she attended the departure of Bas de Gaay Fortman as Professor of the Institute of Social Studies at Palace Noordeinde.

Following the Paul Burrell affair the support for the British royal family is at a record low, according to a new opinion poll. Only 43% of people now say that Great Britain would be worse off without the Royal Family. 60% of the voters believe the damage caused by the Burrell affair will prove to be short-term while only 22% saying that the events of the past month will leave a long-term stain. Almost 30% of the people surveyed are not sure whether they would be better off without the Royal Family, whereas 31% believe we would, the poll found. The only age group which still registers support for the monarchy is the over-65s. It is the lowest level of support since the Guardian survey by ICM was launched in 1987. ICM interviewed a random sample of 1,000 adults across the country by telephone between November 15 and 17.

A Paris judge has ordered three photographers to stand trial for pictures they took of the 1997 car crash that killed Diana Princess of Wales and Dodi al-Fayed. The move follows a complaint for invasion of privacy filed by Mohamed al-Fayed, said judicial officials. The cameramen will only go on trial for the photographs they took of Dodi al-Fayed.

Prince Rainier III of Monaco returned to the princely palace in Monaco after having spent some days in hospital. He will rest some more days before taking up his duties again.

November 21st
Prince Takamado (Takamado-no-Miya Norihito Shinno) died at 10:52 this evening at the Keio University Hospital in Shinjuku Ward, Tokyo, at the age of 47 after collapsing during a private squash lesson with Canadian Ambassador to Japan Robert Wright at the Canadian Embassy around 3:50 in the afternoon. He immediately was rushed to the hospital and was put on a heart-lung machine. He already was in a state of cardiopulmonary arrest at the time of his arrival in hospital and never regained consciousness. He died of ventricular fibrillation apparently caused by strenuous exercise. His wife, Princess Hisako, and his mother, Princess Yuriko, wife of Prince Mikasa, were at his bedside. He is survived by his parents, wife and three daughters. Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko, who had planned to invite Crown Prince Naruhito, his wife, Princess Masako, and daughter, Princess Aiko, to dinner at the Imperial Palace, cancelled their plans because of the death of the prince. Prince Takamado was born on December 29, 1954 as the third and youngest son of Prince Mikasa, brother of the late Emperor Hirohito of Japan and Yuriko Takagi, and was seventh in line to the Japanese throne. He married Hisako Tottori in 1985 and they got three daughters, Tsuguko (1986), Noriko (1988) and Ayako (1990). After graduating from Gakushuin University in 1978, he studied at Queen's University in Ontario, Canada, from 1978 to 1981, receiving an honorary doctorate in 1991. He was honorary president of the Japan Football Association and attended the May 31 opening ceremony of the World Cup soccer finals in Seoul. He also held honorary posts within bodies such as the Japan Squash Association and the Japan Fencing Federation. He played squash with the Canadian Ambassador about twice a month. With Prince Takamado's death, the size of the Imperial family is reduced to 23 members.

The Princess Royal and her husband Commodore Timothy Laurence appeared at East Berkshire Magistrates Court in Slough. The case against Commodore Laurence was dropped when the princess admitted the offence. The Princess Royal was fined £500 and ordered to pay £250 in compensation after admitting her English bull terrier Dotty bit two children, aged 7 and 12, as they walked in Windsor Great Park on April 1st. She was also ordered to pay £148 in costs. District Judge Penelope Hewitt also ordered that her dog Dotty be kept on a lead in public places and undergo training. The princess is the first member of the royal family to be convicted of a criminal offence since King Charles I of Great Britain who was beheaded in 1649.

November 22nd
Infanta Doña Beatriz of Spain died this morning around 6 o'clock in Rome, Italy, at the age of 93. She had been ill for some time and her death was not unexpected. The funeral service will take place at the Spanish national church, Via Monserato, Rome, on Tuesday November 26 at 11:30. Infanta Beatriz was the last child alive of King Alfonso XIII and Queen Victoria Eugenia of Spain. She was born at the La Granja Palace in San Ildefonso on June 22, 1909. She married Don Alessandro Torlonia 5th Prince di Civitella-Cesi (1911-1986) in 1935 and had two sons and two daughters. Now there are only two great-grandchildren of Queen Victoria of Great Britain alive, Lady Katherine Brandram and Count Carl Johan Bernadotte.

Emperor Akihito, Empress Michiko and other members of the Japanese imperial family paid their respects Friday morning at the residence of Prince Takamado. Mourners were able to write messages of condolence at the residence of the late Prince Takamado in Tokyo's Minato Ward. The Emperor and Empress spent about 20 minutes offering their condolences to the prince's widow, 49-year-old Princess Hisako, and three daughters - Princesses Tsuguko, 16, Noriko, 14, and Ayako, 12 - before returning to the Imperial Palace. Also Crown Prince Naruhito and his wife, Princess Masako, as well as Princess Nori, called on the prince's family. The Imperial household entered a five-day mourning period yesterday and its members have cancelled some of their engagements. A private funeral service - part of a series of Imperial household memorial events being planned by an ad-hoc funeral committee - is scheduled for Nov. 29 at a cemetery in Tokyo's Bunkyo Ward. The body of the prince, accompanied by his family, was moved from the hospital to his residence in Minato Ward around 3 a.m. this morning. Today the squash coach of Prince Takamado, Hitoshi Ushiogi, told that his condition changed abruptly and said he saw the prince's shoulders quivering several times as he went to pick up the ball during the warmup exercises. The ambassador had the prince lie down while he rushed out to call an ambulance. Princess Hisako rushed to the scene and she and the ambassador accompanied the prince inside the ambulance. The Japanese media today characterized the prince as a down-to-earth and outspoken member of the imperial family.

November 23rd
Last night Prince Laurent of Belgium helped two wounded French people climbing out of their car after an accident on the motorway between Tournai and Brussels in which the driver died. The prince stopped when he saw the accident and informed relief service. He was accompanied by three people, among them his girlfriend Claire Coombs.

In a Sunday newspaper faith healer Simone Simmons had claimed that the late princess had shown her short letters from the Duke in which he branded her a trollop and a harlot. A statement authorised by the Duke of Edinburgh said: "Prince Philip wishes to make it clear that at no point did he ever use the insulting terms described in media reports, nor that he was curt or unfeeling in what he wrote. He regards the suggestion that he used such derogatory terms as a gross misrepresentation of his relations with his daughter-in-law and hurtful to his grandsons."

The US Justice Department is investigating whether the Saudi government funneled money to a pair of students who helped two of the Sept. 11 hijackers, the White House said Saturday. Members of a House-Senate inquiry into the Sept. 11 attacks were concerned about a Saudi link to the hijackers. Newsweek said the FBI uncovered financial records showing payments to a Saudi family family from a Washington bank account held in the name of Princess Haifa Al-Faisal, wife of the Saudi ambassador to the United States and daughter of the late King Faisal. Administration officials said they are uncertain whether the money was given to the hijackers by the holders of the bank account. The princess' office said "she will cooperate fully with the United States."

November 24th
Yesterday Saudi Arabian officials acknowledged that the wife of their ambassador to the United States, Prince Bandar bin Sultan, may have unwittingly provided money that eventually helped support two of the Sept. 11 hijackers, but they insisted that Princess Haifa al Faisal, youngest daughter of the late king Faisal, never purposely meant to assist the terrorist conspiracy. A spokesman for the Saudi embassy said that "the assertion that the princess has supported terrorism is simply untrue and irresponsible. She has provided general assistance to people in need only." Justice Department officials said that they haven't uncovered any evidence that the princess knowingly provided financial help to the Sept. 11 hijackers. However among the needy people she helped with money were two Saudis who in their turn gave financial assistance to two of the hijackers. The spokesman said the princess and prince are often flooded with requests for assistance. "It's a tradition in Saudi Arabia that the wealthy and the well-off help those who are less fortunate," he said. "It's been going on for a long time. The king does it himself."

A Shinto ceremony was held Saturday to place the body of the late Prince Takamado into a coffin at his residence in Tokyo's Moto-Akasaka district. His widow Princess Hisako and their three daughters attended the ceremony, along with the late prince's parents, Prince and Princess Mikasa.

November 25th
Also the french speaking Belgian political (green) party Ecolo wants to give the king only a protocollair function and also wants to strike out the authority of the king to confer noble titles upon people.

The Royal Court at Kathmandu, Nepal, announced that Princess Prerana, only daughter of King Gyanendra, will marry Raj Bahadur Singh, son of Usha Devi Singh and Nabaraj Bahadur Singh, on January 22nd/23rd.

November 26th
The funeral service of Infanta Doña Beatriz of Spain took place at the National Spanish Church of Santiago y Monserrat in Rome, Italy. The ceremony was officiated by Cardinal Eduardo Martinez Somalo. Next to the Infanta's children and grandchildren, among them Princess Sibilla of Luxembourg with her husband Guillaume, the funeral service was attended by royals as King Juan Carlos and Queen Sofia of Spain, the Prince of Asturias, Infanta Cristina of Spain, Infanta Margarita, Duke Amadeo of Aosta and Grand Duchess Joséphine-Charlotte of Luxembourg. The family afterwards attended the interment at the cemetery of Verano de Roma.

November 27th
Yesterday the Japanese Cabinet approved a plan of the Imperial Household Agency to spend 190 million yen on the funeral services and the construction of the tomb for Prince Takamado, who died last week. Although funeral services held by the Imperial household are religious rites, they are financed by the state treasury as members of the Imperial family hold public positions, the government said. 68 million yen will be spend on site preparations for the main funeral service and 30 million yen for ground preparations of the tomb construction. The construction of the tomb itself is expected to cost 67 million yen. The funeral will be held on Friday when also the public will be allowed to pay their respect to the late prince at Toshimagaoka Cemetery in Tokyo's Bunkyo Ward, and also on December 2nd and 3rd. The Renso-no-gi Shinto funeral service will be held at the cemetery before he is cremated and interred in a tomb there.

In an interview Prince Bandar bin Sultan and his wife Princess Haifa al-Faisal of Saudi Arabia said that they are loyal partners in US President George Bush's fight against terrorism and that they would never knowingly give money to terrorists. Princess Haifa said she felt as if a bomb had been dropped on her head last weekend when reporters began telephoning to question her about the contributions. The princess said: "My mother taught us never to judge anyone by what you hear without any proof, and it seems that people are judging us without any proof." The White House and the State Department have urged caution in judging the money trail that flowed from the couple's bank accounts.

November 28th
Today the European Court of Human Rights delivered judgement at a public hearing in the case of former King Constantine II of Greece, Princess Irene of Greece and Princess Ekaterini of Greece against the republic of Greece (full text) . The court unanimously decided to award for pecuniary damage 12.000.000 euros to the former king, 900.000 euros to princess Irene and 300.000 euros to Princess Ekaterini of Greece. The Court also awarded 500.000 euros jointly to the three applicants for costs and expenses. In its principal judgment, delivered on 23 November 2000, the Court found that the applicants owned the properties in question - the Tatoi, the Polydendri and the Mon Repos estates - as private individuals rather than in their capacity as members of the royal family. The expropriation of these properties would have been legitimate, however, had the Greek State paid the applicants compensation. The Court held, by 15 votes to two, that there had been a violation of Article 1 of Protocol No. 1 (protection of property) to the European Convention on Human Rights and, unanimously, that it was not necessary to examine the applicants’ complaint under Article 14 (prohibition of discrimination) taken together with Article 1 of Protocol No. 1. As the lack of any compensation, rather than the inherent illegality of the taking, was the basis of the violation found, the compensation did not need necessarily to reflect the full value of the properties. The Greek government says it respects the court decision to award the country's former king Constantine compensation for seized palaces and property. Prime Minister Costas Simitis praised the decision and the "huge gap" between the amount awarded and the king's "outlandish and outrageous" demands for £320 million. He says Greece will pay the compensation before a February 28 deadline set by the court, and that the former royal properties will be renovated and opened to the public. "The former king caused incalculable damage to Greece and has no right to compensation," he said. "Greece will pay the compensation. Even though we do not agree with the decision we will respect it."

A wake was held yesterday for the late Prince Takamado at the prince's residence in Tokyo's Moto-Akasaka district. In addition to the imperial family including Crown Prince Naruhito and Crown Princess Masako, friends and acquaintances from various circles attended the wake, which will also be held today. The two-day vigil preceeds tomorrow's funeral service. As is the practice, Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko paid their respects to the late prince ahead of the wake. They are also expected to pay their respects again before today's wake. Ahead of yesterday's wake Prince Takamado's widow Princess Hisako and other members of the imperial family took part in a ceremony called "Seishinikyu-no-gi." The ceremony transferred the prince's body placed in coffin from the bed chamber to the drawing room where the wake was held.

Another royal engagement in Nepal where the royal palace announced the engagement of Princess Sitiashma, daughter of Prince Dhirendra and Princess Prekshya, with Abinesh Shah, son of Arjun Jung Shah and Aasha Rajya Laxmi Shah. The marriage will take place in Jeevan Kunj (Maharajgunj) on March 5 and 6, 2003.

Queen Elizabeth II of Great Britain has been presented with the Sir Peter O'Sullevan Award in recognition of her contribution to horse racing. The trophy was presented at Buckingham Palace and Royal Studs manager Joe Grimwade was handed over a replica for the Queen to keep.

November 29th
This morning a funeral service for Prince Takamado started at Toshimagaoka Cemetery in Bunkyo Ward, central Tokyo. A hearse carrying the prince's body left his residence around 9:00 in the morning and drove to the cemetery in a motorcade, among others passing the Imperial Palace. The Shinto memorial service known as "Renso-no-gi, was attended by members of the Japanese imperial family, among them the wife and three daughters of the deceased, crown prince Naruhito and crown princess Masako. It began with the offering of fruits and other foods as well as some clothes by priests, followed by a eulogy for the prince. Imperial family members then paid their respects to the deceased. Some 800 people attended the service. The prince's body was cremated at a crematorium in Shinjuku Ward, and his ashes placed into a stone chamber at the cemetery.

King Constantine II of Greece issued a statement about the decision of the European Court of Human Rights yesterday. He said that he has never asked for money, but only to get back his home and the graves of his ancestors, and that he not only has lost my home and properties now, but also all his personal possessions that have been in my family for generations. He will study the the Court's judgment and the comments of the Greek Prime Minister and respond in a press conference to be held on December 5th 2002.

The Duchess of York rushed to her father's bedside after his condition became worse. Major Ronald Ferguson is battling prostate cancer and receives treatment in Basingstoke General Hospital after collapsing last weekend. His condition deteriorated yesterday and it is believed he suffered another heart attack. His condition is described as improving. Major Ferguson was first diagnosed with cancer six years ago. After successful treatment, the condition returned last year.

November 30th
Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko of Japan visited the grave of Prince Takamado this afternoon to pay their respects. They didn't attend the funeral yesterday conform tradition and were represented by Makoto Watanabe, grand chamberlain to the emperor, and his deputy. They viewed the proceedings on television at the Imperial Palace.


Royal News: October 2002. Last updated: November 2nd, 2002.