ROYAL NEWS: SEPTEMBER 2011

Last updated: October 6th, 2011.

September 1st
The Ministry of Defence announced today that Prince Harry of Wales will train at the Gila Bend Air Force Auxiliary Base in Arizona and the US Navy's airfield in El Centro, California later this year. The Prince will take part in a two-month training exercise with Apache helicopters. He will have environmental training, live firing and tactical exercises.

Yesterday Princess Laurentien of the Netherlands presented the Chinese version of her first children's book about Mr Finney at the 18th Beijing International Book Fair in Beijing, China.

For the children of Prince Philippe and Princess Mathilde of Belgium school started again today. For the first time also Princess Eleonore joined her siblings to the Sint-Jan-Bergmans College in Brussels.

Royal Press Europe: First schoolday in Belgium

The King of Bhutan and his fiancee Jetsun Pema will get married at Punakha, Bhutan, on 13 October 2011, the royal court announced. The next day they will head to Thimphu, where the wedding celebrations will take place at the Changlingmithang stadium on 15 October. Released were also the royal wedding symbol, two rings in gold entwined in front of a khorlo (wheel) and a scarf running through the rings on a lotus. The two rings signify the union of thap (method) and sherab (wisdom) and the knot in the dhar signifies the never ending bond between the couple. The lotus symbolises the purity of union. Also the bride became her own symbol, which included the mythical bird Ja-Tshering upholding the wheel that symbolises royalty.

September 2nd
Princess Basma bint Saud, a niece of King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia, has accused the regime in her country of corruption. The princess is a social activist and a supporter of women's rights. She says that while 5% of the population of the country lives in wealth, the other 95% live below the poverty-line of the country and don't even have access to water and electricity.

September 5th
Only three months after his knee surgery King Juan Carlos of Spain underwent another operation. This time he is to have surgery on his Achilles tendon of his left foot, which is a minor operation. The surgery took place at the USP San José Hospital in Madrid today. The King was admitted to hospital yesterday. Afterwards doctors said that the procedure was carried out successfully under epidural anaesthetic. The King will have to go through a long rehabilitation process. He will not attend any public events for at least one month as the heel will be temporarily immobilised.

In an interview in Tatler magazine of October 2011 Zara Phillips, granddaughter of Queen Elizabeth II of Great Britain, says she thinks that the social networking site Facebook is dangerous. She said she rather uses the phone or Skype. She also reveals she has decided to focus on her equestrian career first. She'd love to have children, but not yet.

A man who disrupted a concert attended by Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands on Saturday evening has been admitted to a psychiatric institution. Just before the concert started the man climbed on the stage and called on the audience to recognise Allah. He also said he didn't have a bomb with him, and then was quickly escorted from the stage by security people.

September 6th
Prince Hisahito of Japan is celebrating his 5th birthday today. According to the Imperial Household Agency he is very interested in insects and vehicles. He attends the Ochanomizu University Kindergarten in Tokyo.

40-year-old Thai computer programmer Surapak Puchaieseng was arrested by the police and is being held in jail in Bangkok. He is accused of posting images and messages on Facebook that are insulting the Thai monarchy. The man denies the accusations.

September 7th
On the official website of the Swedish royal family Crown Princess Victoria and Prince Daniel of Sweden thank everybody for all congratulations they received upon the announcement of the pregnancy. They say they appreciate all the support and are very happy that so many people share in their joy.

Royalcourt.se

Princess Elisabeth of Belgium opened the children's hospital Princess Elisabeth in Gent today in presence of her proud parents Prince Philippe and Princess Mathilde.

Royal Portraits: Elisabeth opens hospital

September 8th
Christina Murray presented her new cookery book "A Taste Of Mey" at the Palace of Holyroodhouse in Edinburgh today. The book contains a series of anecdotes and unknown pictures and well-guarded recipes, and is dedicated to the late Queen Mother, who was the owner of the Castle of Mey in Caithness, Scotland. The Prince of Wales wrote the foreword.

Family of a victim of the Videla regime in Argentina have launched legal proceedings against Jorge Zorreguieta, the father of Princess Máxima of the Netherlands, who was part of the Argentinian government at that time. He is being sued for his role in the disappearances of people during the regime. Samuel Slutzky disappeared in 1977.

The right kidney of King George Tupou V of Tonga was removed during a successfull surgery at the Cedars-Sinai Medical Centre in Los Angeles, USA, last month. Recently a significant tumour was found in the kidney. He is expected to travel back to Tonga on Saturday. According to the royal court: "The king has made a good recovery following that procedure and will return to Los Angeles in a few weeks time for follow-up consultations."

September 9th
The exhibition of the wedding dress of the Duchess of Cambridge has attracted a record number of visitors to Buckingham Palace this summer.

Princess Beatrice of York has graduated today from the Goldsmiths College, University of London, with a 2:1 degree in history and the history of ideas. Her proud parents the Duke and Duchess of York attended the graduation ceremony. Beatrice will now start a series of internships to develop her experience, particularly in business and philanthropy. According to Buckingham Palace these internships will help to "complement" her position as a member of the British royal family.

September 12th
Princess Anita van Oranje-Nassau, van Vollenhoven is currently staying in the USA for a neurological examination. She and her husband, who accompanies her, therefore didn't attend the Red Cross Gala in Amsterdam today, during which the Princess Margriet Foundation was presented.

Princess Annemarie de Bourbon de Parme, Duchess of Parma, presented her new book "De smaak van de macht. Gesprekken met oud-premiers", today in The Hague, Netherlands. She interviewed the five surviving former Dutch prime ministers for the book about how they experienced their time as a prime minister. Princess Annemarie wrote the book under her maiden name Annemarie Gualthérie van Weezel. She is parliamentary editor at the Dutch NOS television.

September 13th
Princess Margriet of the Netherlands received members of the honorary board of the International Paralympic Committee today at Palace Het Loo in Apeldoorn for their annual meeting. She was joined by among others Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden and Princess Astrid of Belgium.

Royal Portraits: Gathering at Het Loo Palace

September 14th
Children between 4 and 16 are encouraged to make their own self-portrait. The pictures will be posted on the Face Britain online gallery until the end of March 2012. Then they will be projected onto the front of Buckingham Palace to form a portrait of Queen Elizabeth II of Great Britain. The project was launched in connection to the Diamond Jubilee year of the Queen. All schools in Great Britain have received a registration pack.

September 15th
King Carl XVI Gustaf, Queen Silvia, Crown Princess Victoria, Prince Daniel, Prince Carl Philip and Princess Madeleine of Sweden attended the yearly opening of parliament at the Storkyrkan and the Riksdag in Stockholm today. The family arrived at the Riksdag (Parliament) in horse-drawn carriages. In the evening the royals attended a concert at the Royal Swedish Opera.

Royal Portraits: Opening Parliamentary Year

Royalcourt.se: Opening of Parliament 2

The Balearic Island Provisional Court has reopened an investigation into a rape case on the island of Ibiza, Spain, in August 2008 after an appeal by the victim. Last year the case was shelved because of lack of evidence. Prince Alwaleed bin Talal of Saudi Arabia, who is being accused of raping the young woman, says he hasn't been at Ibiza for more than ten years.

September 16th
Vanessa de Serclans, a French literature teacher at the Humboldt University in Berlin, has found back a copy of an original erotic poem written by King Friedrich the Great of Prussia. She found the poem "La Jouissance", written in France in July 1740, in a Berlin archive among some letters by the king.

September 17th
King Mohammed VI and Princess Lalla Salma of Morocco attended the first schoolday of their daughter Princess Lalla Khadija today at the princely school at the Royal Palace in Rabat, Morocco.

Agence MAP: first schoolday of Princess Lalla Khadija

September 18th
St James's Palace has confirmed that the Duchess of Cambridge is privately visiting charities. She will use the next few months to get to know several charitable and other causes better. The visits will help her to decide what her future role will be and which causes she wants to support as a royal patron.

September 19th
Paola Cecilia Laurentien ten Cate, daughter of Tjalling ten Cate and Princess Margarita de Bourbon de Parme, was christened yesterday at the catholic St Willibrordus Church in Wassenaar, The Netherlands. Her godparents were Paul Westermand, Paul Lodder and Princess Laurentien of the Netherlands. Among the guests were Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands, the Prince of Orange and Princess Mäxima of the Netherlands with their daughters and Prince Constantijn and Princess Laurentien of the Netherlands and their children.

PPE Pictures: Christening of Paola

September 20th
Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands, the Prince of Orange, Princess Máxima, Prince Constantijn, Princess Laurentien, Princess Margriet of the Netherlands and Pieter van Vollenhoven attended Prinsjesdag, the yearly opening of the Dutch parliament, at The Hague, the Netherlands. The Queen drove to the Knight's Hall in the golden carriage to deliver the speech from the throne. Afterwards the royals drove back to Noordeinde Palace and shortly appeared on the balcony.

Royal Portraits: Prinsjesdag 2011

Royal Press Europe: Prinsjesdag 2011

King Bhumibol Adulyadej of Thailand has approved the design for the cremation of Princess Bejraratana Rajasuda who died on 27 July. The construction of the pyre will be started at the end of October. The cremation itself will take place at Sanam Luang on 9 April 2012.

Former King Michael of Romania will not be allowed to address the Romanian parliament on his 90th birthday, 25 October. The lawmakers have voted against it, saying he is not the head of state, although he was Romania's King until 1947. Crown Princess Margarita said that it is a shame for the nation that they have missed an opportunity to let him speak.

September 22nd
Although he gave up his role as the global trade ambassador of Great Britain recently, the Duke of York has flown to Saudi Arabia earlier this week to meet with dignitaries and businessmen. He hired an estimated £150,000 private jet for his flight to Saudi Arabia, because he was too busy to catch the regular flight on Sunday morning, according to the Daily Mail newspaper. A spokesman for the Duke says that the programme for the visit was already agreed before the Duke stepped down from his function. The Royal Visits Committee had approved the visit. The Duke also used a private jet for the trip home after the three-day visit.

September 23rd
Although the lawmakers voted against a speech, the Parliament of Romania has invited former King Michael to attend a plenary meeting of the parliament on his birthday on 25 October. On the occasion of the King's 90th birthday a concert will be held at the Romanian Athenaeum on 24 October and another concert at the National Opera in Bucharest on 25 October. There will also be a royal lunch organised at the National Bank of Romania headquarters. On Monday 203 members of parliament voted for an approval of the visit, while only three members voted against and three members didn't vote. President Traian Basescu will not attend the meeting.

September 24th
In "Our Queen", a new biography about Queen Elizabeth II of Great Britain by journalist Robert Hardman, the Duke of Cambridge reveals that his family members thus far haven't succeeded in letting her slow down. He said: "She's so dedicated and really determined to finish everything she started." He also said that his grandmother has been very helpful with the guestlist before his wedding to Catherine Middleton.

Princess Märtha Louise of Norway celebrated her 40th birthday today with a private dinner and party at the Royal Palace in Oslo. Close family, royals and friends from Norway and abroad attended the event. Among the guests were Princess Astrid Mrs Ferner, the Earl and Countess of Wessex, Hereditary Grand Duke Guillaume of Luxemburg, Prince Constantijn and Princess Laurentien of the Netherlands, Princess Irene of the Netherlands with her four children and son-in-law and daughter-in-law, Princess Sumaya of Jordan and Princess Alexandra zu Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg. Crown Princess Mette-Marit of Norway didn't attend. She was off on a long-planned trip to India. Princess Märtha Louise's actual birthday was already on Thursday. For pictures see Fotoalbum under Märtha Louise and Kong Harald V (Kongeparet 2011).

Kongehuset.no: Photo Album

Oscar Magnuson, son of Princess Christina Mrs Magnuson (Sweden), married Emma Ledent today in a private chapel at Vence, France. Only about 55 guests attended. Among them were close relatives and friends of the couple. It is reported Queen Silvia, Crown Princess Victoria and Prince Daniel of Sweden attended the wedding.

Princess Theresa zu Löwenstein-Wertheim-Rosenberg married Jürgen Hayessen at the Wallfahrtskirche Dieburg today.

Pictures at Royalty Guide

September 25th
The wedding of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge on April 29 wasn't fully without mistakes. It has emerged that the Duke of Cambridge forgot to release the handbrake of the car when driving his bride from Buckingham Palace to Clarence House after the wedding. Luckily the public along the Mall applauded so loud, that nobody appears to have heard the engine's noise. The newlywed Duke had borrowed the dark blue Aston Martin DB6 from his father, the Prince of Wales.

King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz al-Saud of Saudi Arabia has announced today that women will be given the right to vote and stand in elections. They will however not be able to vote already at the elections that will take place next week. The next elections will be in 2015. In Saudi Arabia there are only elections for half of the seats on municipal councils with few powers.

September 26th
In interviews to the French newspaper Le Monde and the TV-channel Europe 1 Princess Hélène of Yugoslavia has confirmed over the weekend that she separated from her husband Thierry Gaubert five years ago. They are not divorced yet. The French police have heard her as a witness in the so-called Karachi investigation, and they have only found documents proving illegal facts with her signature on it. She said she had signed some because she trusted her husband. Thierry Gaubert was advisor of the present French president Nicolas Sarkozy 1993-1995. Princess Hélène has confirmed her husband's travels abroad and the bags and money he returned with. Hélène's daughter Milena Gaubert says in the press that her mother gave evidence in the investigation only to have her revenge on Thierry Gaubert. She also told that her mother has been suffering from depression for a long time and has even attempted to commit suicide a few times. The daughters Milena and Nastasia live with Thierry Gaubert and are not on good terms with their mother.

September 27th
Crown Prince Frederik and Crown Princess Mary of Denmark will pay an official visit to the USA from 20 to 25 October. They will visit New York and Boston. During the visit they will be guests of honor at a gala dinner to mark the 100th anniversary of the American Scandinavian Foundation in the USA. Also the heads of state of Norway, Sweden, Finland and Iceland will be present. The crown princely couple will also pay an official visit to Australia from 19 to 26 November and head a Danish export and culture promotion under the themen 'State of Green-Join the Future'. They will visit Sydney, Canberra and Melbourne.

Since 19 September the Dutch royal house can also be followed mobile via the Koninklijk Huis app which can be downloaded for free via iTunes and Android Market.

iTunes

Android Market

Princess Anita van Oranje-Nassau, van Vollenhoven underwent a surgery of her back last week at the Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, USA. She suffered of a spontaneous leak of cerebrospinal fluid in her back. The complex operation had to be performed by a specialised doctor.

September 28th
Five pieces of costume jewellery that once belonged to the Duchess of Windsor will be auctioned by Dreweatts and Bloomsbury Auctions on 10 October. The auction will take place at The Cumberland Hotel in London, Great Britain The pieces were all designed by the American designer Alexis Kirk. The necklaces are expected to fetch prices from £1,500-to £3,000.

Princess Aiko of Japan went to and from school without the company of one of her parents for the first time since 1 1/2 year. She temporarily stayed away from school at the end of the second grade at Gakushuin Primary School early 2010 after the "rough behaviour" of some boys at her school had shocked her. She has began spending more time at school this year. Since late June she has taken part in the activities of the orchestral music club at her school all alone on Saturday.

Queen Margarita of Bulgaria underwent a hip operation at the USP Hospital San Camilo in Madrid last Thursday. She was discharged from hospital today and is now recovering at home. She got a full hip prosthesis.

Prince Davit Bagration-Mukhransky and his wife Princess Anna Bagration-Gruzinsky have become the parents of a son yesterday at 10.40pm at Madrid, Spain. The boy is called Prince Giorgi Bagration Bagrationi.


Royal News: August 2011. Last updated: September 8th, 2011.