ROYAL NEWS: OCTOBER 2001

Last updated: November 8th, 2001.

October 1st
21-year-old Princess Filippa zu Sayn-Wittgenstein-Sayn died when the Winnebago camper van she was travelling in with four other people collided with a maintenance lorry at the M5 near Clevedon, Somerset, Great Britain, on Sunday morning. She died instantly at the scene after sustaining horrific head injuries. Photographer Roberto Sisini died later on in hospital. The driver of the van was taken to hospital with serious leg injuries. Two women were treated for cuts, bruises and shock in hospital. They were later released. The party was believed to have been travelling back from a photo-shoot in Cornwall at the time of the accident. Filippa had just started working for the Italian advertising photographer Roberto Sisini a couple of weeks ago and this was her first trip abroad for him. Filippa was a fashion photographer and model and only last June she had married to Italian Count Vittorio Mazzeti d'Albertis. They lived in Florence. The Princess's husband was not travelling with his wife at the time of the crash. Filippa's mother, Countess Gabriela, told a German newspaper: "Not everyone is as lucky as to have had an angel on earth for 21 years. God lent her to us, now he has taken her back. She was taken from us at the height of her happiness." Prince Alexander zu Sayn-Wittgenstein-Sayn, father of Filippa, travelled to England to formally identify his daughter and to take her body home. The private funeral will take place in Montegemoli, Province of Pisa, Italy on Saturday. On October 12th there will be a mass in the Abbey Church of Bendorf-Sayn, the same place where she married last June.

From the first of next year King Harald will no longer be exempt from value added tax and import duties, and will pay surcharges on gasoline, cars and alcohol just like the citizenry of Norway. King Harald himself pushed for an end to the special arrangement exempting the royal house from duties, signaling the end of, among other things, the duty-free royal gas pumps at the palace and the Skaugum estate. The palace will be compensated for the offer to pay duties, with an additional $ 338,000 per year allocated for their new expenses, the daily Dagbladet reports. The duty free status has applied to the king, queen, family of the crown prince, and Princess Märtha Louise, Princess Ragnhild, and Princess Astrid, though not their children.

Crown Princess Mette-Marit carried out her first official duty as a member of the royal family, opening the Vormstad open-air childcare center in Trøndelag this morning. Children had the starring roles in the preparations for the royal visit. The local mayor and commissioner had to take a back seat as five-year-olds Susann Johansen and Fredrik Damli presented Mette-Marit with a floral bouquet and walked with the crown princess from her limousine. The children presented Mette-Marit with a gift for her son Marius, and said that they had hoped he too could have made the trip. The couple also made a small boat trip.

The grandson of Mohammed Zahir Shah says the former king of Afghanistan doesn't intend to return to Afghanistan to rule the country himself in the event the Taliban regime is toppled, but would agree to serve as unifying figurehead. The former king has reached an agreement with the Northern Alliance group aimed at replacing the Taliban rulers. They have called for a traditional grand council of Afghan leaders.

October 2nd
Prince Bernhard of the Netherlands was admitted to hospital in Nairobi, Kenia, on Monday evening. He was on his way to South Africa by plane when he got breathing problems. The plane made a intermediate landing. Doctors treat him with antibiotica. He suffers from an infection of the of the bronchial tubes and will have to stay in hospital for a couple of days.

"Overijssel, surprisingly versatile" was the theme of the visit of the Prince of Orange and his fiancée Máxima Zorreguieta to the province of Overijssel. The visit started in Diepenheim where the couple was told about the development of the country-side. During the walk through the small town they saw art and met some artists. In Zwolle Willem-Alexander and Máxima visited the Isala clinics with special attention for the Sophia Hospital, where Máxima was permitted to hold the 4-week-old premature born Suzanne. Further the couple visited the Scania factory. In Deventer the couple finished their visit. In the historical centre they visited the Deventer gingerbread shop and made a tour to the Berg Church in a landauer carriage. There they talked to victims of the firework disaster of Enschede in 2000 and of the foot-and-mouth disease crisis last year.

The Folketing, the Danish Parliament, was opened in presence of Queen Margrethe II, Prince Henrik, Crown Prince Frederik, Prince Joachim and Princess Alexandra.

October 3rd
Amsterdam announced that there will be a huge party for 50.000 people on the evening before the wedding of the Prince of Orange and Máxima Zorreguieta that will be hosted by the National Orange Committee. Further the city is still looking for ideas for the festive programme and the decorations in Amsterdam. After the wedding the couple will make a ride with the Golden Carriage via Nieuwezijds Voorburgwal, Spui, Singelgracht, Muntplein, Rokin and the Dam square. At the balcony of the Palace at the Dam square the balcony scene will take place. The party afterwards is private.

October 8th
Today's visit of the Prince of Orange and Máxima Zorreguieta went to the province of Zuid-Holland. After being received in Dordrecht, they travelled to Kinderdijk where they made a boat tour along the famous row of windmills. Then the bus took them to Schoonhoven where they visited the only school in The Netherlands where you can learn to be a goldsmith, jeweller or clock-maker. The tour was finished in Gouda, where they were led through the Sint Jans Church with its wonderful historical stained glass windows on which a lot of Dutch history can be seen. Meanwhile it was made known that the postponed visits to Groningen and Drenthe will take place on November 7th and 15th.

October 10th
The Prince of Orange and his fiancée Máxima Zorreguieta visited the Province of Friesland. They arrived by airplane at the airport of the capital Leeuwarden. With the royal bus they then were taken to the Provincial House where they were greeted by the provincial governor and the mayor of Leeuwarden. Outside children from the first Máxima School in the Netherlands cheered the couple and gave Máxima flowers. At the Van Hall institute the couple helped making orange icecreams. The next stop was the 11-towns-race bridge at Gytsjerk. On the tiles of the bridge are the photos of thousands of speed skaters who once skated the 200-kilometers-long 11-towns-race, included the photo of the Prince of Orange who skated the race in 1986. Máxima was presented with a pair of Frisian wooden speed skates. In Aldtsjerk the couple looked at a demonstration of typical Frisian sports: kaatsen, skûtsjesilen (sailing) and fierljeppen (pole-jump). The rules of the games were explained by sportsmen. Afterwards a short visit to the mound of Hegebeintum was made. Back in Leeuwarden they visited a homeless centre. Finally they made a boat trip on the States Yacht through the canals of Leeuwarden to the Harmonie (cultural centre) where they were received with the song 'De Bugel fan Looft den Heer' sung by Rients Gratama and Maaike Schuurmans. At the reception the couple got an old photo of Queen Wilhelmina in her youth that will go to the Royal House Archive. The Prince of Orange closed with a speech to thank Friesland for the warm welcome in which he also said: "With our thoughts we are with the events in Afghanistan. Actually we all got hurt on September 11th. It is a very difficult time."

October 11th
Prince Bernhard of the Netherlands is back home at the Soestdijk Palace after having spent a week in hospital due to an infection of his bronchial tubes.

Mayor Giuliani of New York has returned a gift of $ 10.000.000 to a Saudi Arabian prince. The money was donated to help the relatives of the victims of the US-attacks on September 11th. Giuliani didn't like it that the prince had said to dislike the policy of the USA with relation to the problems in the Middle East.

October 12th
It was officially announced that King Mohammed VI of Morocco got engaged to 24-year-old Salma Bent El Haj Abdelhamid Bennani today at the Royal Palace in Rabat. The marriage will take place in the beginning of 2002. It is the first time that a Moroccan sovereign issues an official communiqué about his marriage and the identity of his wife. Salma Bennani is originally from Fès and works for the Omnium Nord-Africain, the main private company in Morocco - the royal family of Morocco is one of the shareholders. She is informatica engineer.

Crown Prince Frederik of Denmark attended a memorial service for the victims of last week's crash of a SAS-airplane at the airport of Milan, Italy, in which 118 people died. The airplane was on its way to Copenhagen. Next to Italian and Danish victims, there were also some Norwegian and Swedish victims. King Harald V of Norway attended a memorial service at the Cathedral in Oslo, while Crown Princess Victoria and Princess Lilian attended a service at the Cathedral in Stockholm.

October 13th
The marriage of Princess Ines of Bourbon-Two Sicilies to Nobile Michele Carrelli Palombi was celebrated today at the Santa Leocadia Church in Toledo, Spain. The bride was given away be her father and wore the wedding dress that had been worn by her mother, Princess Anne of France, at her own wedding in 1965 with a 17th century coral tiara that had been presented to her by the family of the groom. The reception was held afterwards at the Cigarral de Santa María, one of the biggest restaurants outside the city of Toledo, on a terrace overlooking the city followed by a dinner. 350 members of the family and friends were invited, including Infanta Alicia of Bourbon-Two Sicilies and Countess of Paris (grandmothers of the bride), the King and Queen of Spain and their children with partners and the Duke and Duchess of Bragança.

October 14th
Princess Gloria von Thurn und Taxis got the 'Prize of the Offended Spectator 2001', which is presented by Augustus Hofmann Publishing. She got it for her "Extraordinary impudence" on television in the ARD-talkshow Friedman. In the talkshow she said about the AIDS-problematics: "Africa doesn't have those problems because the contraceptive. The blacks just like it a lot to have sex."

October 15th
The Prince of Orange and his fiancée Máxima Zorreguieta visited the city of Rotterdam. The day started in a suburb where they heard the programme for the day. Thereafter they saw an exhibition about Rotterdam between 1918 and 1940 and had a conversation with young people from Rotterdam. They had lunch on a boat on the Maas River and saw a fleet show. When they arrived at the harbour of Delfshaven a shanty choir sung for them. They walked through the harbour before taking the historical horse-tram to the centre of Rotterdam passing music and dance demonstrations. Finally they arrived at the Coolsingel where they met a delegation of the summer carnival. Then they entered the town hall and unexpectedly appeared on the balcony as a last greeting to the city.

Some New Zealand media organizations carried out reports today that the 82-year-old King of Tonga, Taufa'ahau Tupou IV, had passed away. The Tonga Broadcasting Commission said that this is incorrect information, which was confirmed by the Prime Minister's Office that said that the King currently resides at 'Atalanga, the Royal Resident in Auckland, New Zealand. One month ago the King travelled to Australia to officiate at various activities of the Tongan communities there and from there he went to New Zealand for his routine medical check. The King and Queen Halaevalu Mata'aho will remain in Auckland until they return to Nuku'alofa on October 25.

October 17th
Today the Prince of Orange and Máxima Zorreguieta visited the newest and 12th province of The Netherlands, Flevoland. They arrived in Almere where at the central railwaystation a model was shown of the plans for the new centre of the city. After waving to the public the couple took the train to Lelystad, meanwhile passing the natural area the Oostvaardersplassen where they saw some wildlife. In Lelystad they first had a look in the Nieuwe Land Poldermuseum about the history of Flevoland with findings of the soil and the fight against the water. From the museum they walked to the Batavia-wharf, where they admired the building of a replica of "De 7 Provinciën" ship. Thereafter they visited the already finished "Batavia" ship. Before they had lunch inside the cabin of the captain together with representatives of the trade and industry they were welcomed with salutes. The ships are build with the help of old techniques. The couple also visited the ID-Lelystad, an agricultural examination institute that at the moment also examines packages and envelopes with white powder received in the Netherlands (happily without finding anthrax), but also deals with the mad-cow disease and the foot-and-mouth disease. Finally they went to Schokland, a former island and got a small tour.

The two-day auction "Of Royal and Noble Descent " conducted in six sessions today and yesterday at Sotheby's in Amsterdam raised a total of about $ 445.000, much more than was thought before. Over 1300 lots were auctioned comprising furniture, paintings, ceramics and silver. The items came from 31 royal and noble families from Germany, Austria and Russia, among others Saxony, Hohenzollern, Thurn und Taxis, Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg, Hohenlohe-Schillingsfürst and Radziwill. The highest price of the first day was paid for a French Louis XV salon suite from about 1740 ($ 130.000). There was also much demand for a series of life-size portraits of various members of the Quadt zu Wykradt family. The four auctioneers were led by Duke Philipp von Württemberg, managing director of Sotheby's Germany. He said: "This sale captured the imagination of thousands of people".

October 19th
The Duke and Duchess of Gloucester announced the engagement of their son Alexander, the Earl of Ulster, with Dr. Claire Booth, the 23-year-old daughter of Mr and Mrs Robert Booth. She is a medical practitioner. The Earl of Ulster is a captain in the King's Royal Hussars.

Máxima Zorreguieta, fiancée of the Prince of Orange, has caused a car accident yesterday evening on a forbidden road. She had just left Palace Huis ten Bosch in the direction of the centre of The Hague, when another car came from the side she was turning to. Both cars were badly damaged and the other driver was taken to hospital with a broken leg. Máxima was unhurt, but quite shocked. As Máxima seems to have used the road as a quick drive out from the Palace, the other driver most likely used the road as a quick alternative for another permanently overloaded road nearby. The almost forgotten road through the Haagse Bos (wood) is used quite a lot as a royal route although it is officially forbidden, also for them, to use the road. For the moment it is the question who had right of the way, which seems not to have been Máxima. The only witnesses were in the security car that followed Máxima, who was in her car alone. The police let Máxima blow to check if she had drunk something, but that was not the case.

October 22nd
Today's destination of the Prince of Orange and Máxima Zorreguieta was the most southern province of Limburg. In Roermond they were received at the town hall by governor Baron van Voorst tot Voorst and the mayor. Explained were the net-works in the neighbourhood. From Roermond the couple went by bus to Hulsberg to watch an old carre-farm where they got an explanation about the boundary-crossing health care in the area. In Maastricht the couple visited the Natuurhistorisch Museum with its recently unearthed skull of a mosasaurus. Further they followed a vocal class at the Maastricht School of Music. Finally they made a short walk on the Vrijthof in Maastricht and drove to the market square in an old car in front of thousands of enthusiastic people. The pair was told about the history of the city and the province. The visit ended in the town hall.

According to a press scenario of the royal palace in Brussels, Belgium, the first photo of the baby of Prince Philippe and Princess Mathilde, will not be issued until three days after the birth. Princess Mathilde is due to give birth to her first child in November.

The Earl of Wessex is to stop making TV programmes about the Royal Family, the chairman of his production company Ardent says.

October 23rd
King Juan Carlos and Queen Sofia of Spain have started their second state visit to the Netherlands. The first one took place in March 1980 to then Queen Juliana. In the afternoon they laid a wreath at the national monument on the Dam Square together with Queen Beatrix and the Prince of Orange. Later on at the Palace at the Dam Square also Prince Claus, Prince Bernhard, Máxima Zorreguieta and Prince Carlos of Bourbon of Parme were present. In the evening a banquet was held. Preceding the banquet both King Juan Carlos and Queen Beatrix sharply spoke out against terrorism. They plead for an international tackling of terrorism.

October 24th
Prince Albert of Monaco gave New York's mayor Rudolph Giuliani a check for $ 710.000 to be contributed to the relatives of the victims of the World Trade Center disaster.

King Juan Carlos of Spain visited the Internation Court of Justice in The Hague. He said: "Peace should be a way of living, and not something to long for." In the evening he and Queen Sofia opened a Picasso exhibition at the Haags Gemeentemuseum in The Hague. Also Queen Beatrix, Prince Claus, the Prince of Orange and Máxima Zorreguieta were present.

Graham Burrell, brother of Paul Burrell former butler of Diana Princess of Wales, has been questioned over the alleged theft of antique from the home of the princess. He is suspected of handling stolen goods. He was released on bail until late November.

October 25th
The Prince of Orange and Máxima Zorreguieta paid a visit to the province of Zeeland. The couple was welcomed in Yerseke in the building of the research institute NIOO/CEMO and was told about the research of life in salt and brackish water. Thereafter they got an explanation of two fishermen on a fishing boat. The tour went on to Zierikzee, a look at the Oosterschelde with an explanation about and a visit to the Delta Works. In Kamperland they visited a vacationpark for young kidney-patients. At the end of the day the capital Middelburg was visited. After a walk they talked to some business women from the province at the town hall.

Today Soraya, former wife of the late Shah Mohammed Reza Pahlavi of Iran, died at her home in Paris (8th arrondissement). Her body was found this morning by the charwoman. Soraya was born in Ispahan on June 22, 1932, as the daughter of Khalil Esfandiary-Bakhtiari and German Eva Karl. On February 12th, 1951 she married Shah Mohammed Reza, but they divorced in 1958. They didn't have any children together. After her divorce Soraya mainly lived in Europe.

In the Dom Church in Utrecht King Juan Carlos of Spain received an honorary degree in jurisprudence of the University of Utrecht, because of the role he played in Spain's transition from a dictatorship to a democracy. The King said to share the prize with the people of Spain.

October 26th
Yesterday evening at 21:58 Princess Mathilde of Belgium gave birth to a daughter, who will receive the names Elisabeth Thérèse Marie Hélène. The baby is named Elisabeth after Prince Philippe's great-grandmother who was a queen with lots of character and did a lot for the country. Godmother will be Countess Hélène d'Udekem d'Acoz and godfather will be Amadeo Prince of Belgium Archduke of Austria-Este. Mother and baby are doing superb according to a doctor. The baby, who will be second in line of succession after her father, weighs 2.930 kg and is 49,5 cm tall. She was born at the Erasmus Hospital in Anderlecht with caesarian section, as she laid in the wrong position and also the ombilical cord was twisted around her neck twice. At the press conference at 1:30 this morning Prince Philippe told that he was present at birth himself - his wife phoned him at 18:30 when he was in a meeting and told him to come home immediately - and gave his daughter her first bath. He says she has a few blond hairs, has a round face and is very lovely. He hopes of course that the baby looks like him, but also said that it is maybe better for her that she looks like her mother. They knew since June that they would become the parents of a daughter. King Albert II of Belgium was the first visitor last night and visited again later today with Queen Paola, who was in Italy at the moment her granddaughter was born. Also the parents of Princess Mathilde came to the hospital. At noon 101 salutes were fired at the Warandepark in Brussels to celebrate the birth of the little princess. At 18:00 22 representatives of the Belgian government, parliament and court have officially noticed the birth of the princess and signed the 'official report of the delivery of Her Royal Highness Princess Mathilde', which is an old tradition. Princess Mathilde will have to stay in hospital for at least five days. By the way Princess Elisabeth has already got her own official website.

Crown Princess Masako of Japan has celebrated the beginning of the ninth month of her pregnancy with a ceremony that will assure a delivery without problems.

King Gyanendra of Nepal appointed his son Prince Paras Shah as hereditary prince of Nepal today.

Paul Burrell, former butler of Diana Princess of Wales, has appeared in court today charged with the theft of 342 items allegedly stolen from Kensington Palace. He faces three counts of theft. He himself maintains that the items were given to him by the princess. Paul Burrell must return to Bow Street magistrates court next month after the case was adjourned.

October 28th
Today at 18:00 the first photos and a short video of Princess Elisabeth of Belgium were released. Also have a look here.

October 29th
At 15:00 Prince Philippe of Belgium officially gave notice of the birth of his daughter Elisabeth at the town hall of Anderlecht. It was also announced that Cardinal Danneels will baptise the little princess.

Earl Spencer, the brother of Diana Princess of Wales, is to marry again on December 15th in a quiet family ceremony at Althorp. He will marry his long-time girlfriend Caroline Hutton, who was previously married to Matthew Freud, whom she divorced last year and with whom she has two sons. They first met when they were students at Oxford. Earl Spencer has three daughters and a son from his previous marriage to Victoria Lockwood, whom he divorced in 1997.

Princess Margaret of Great Britain has been admitted to King Edward VII's Hospital in London for tests. She is expected to stay in hospital for a few days but there is no cause for concern.

October 30th
Máxima Zorreguieta, the fiancee of the Prince of Orange, was the first foreign 'royal' to pay a visit to the newborn Belgian princess Elisabeth and her mother at the Erasmus Hospital in Anderlecht.

October 31st
The Prince of Orange and Máxima Zorreguieta stayed close to home this time, visiting their residence The Hague. They were received at the museum in Scheveningen where was told about the culture and identity of The Hague and her inhabitants. The couple also met representants of the Indian community. After a short walk the royal bus took them to the Hofstadcollege, a secondary school. During the lunch, prepared by students, the couple talked with teachers and students. The tour was continued with a walk from the Emma-monument to the Theatre Zwembad De Regentes, where a cultural program full of music, poetry and plays was shown.


Royal News: September 2001. Last updated: September 21st, 2003.