Royal News August 2021

Last modified: 18 September 2021

1 August

King Mohammed VI of Morocco on Saturday delivered a speech on the occasion of the 22nd anniversary of his accession to the throne.

The Sofia Court of Appeal has ruled on 29 July that the former Tsar Simeon II of Bulgaria and his sister Princess Maria Luisa are the owners of the Vrana Palace in Bulgaria. They overturned the Socia City Court that ruled that the property was state owned. However the decision is not final and can still be appealed. More than 12 years ago the fight for the ownership of the royal estates began. The Supreme Court of Cassation in 2020 already ruled that the Tsarska Bistrica Palace is the property of Tsar Simeon II and his family.

2 August

The official emblem for the Queen’s platinum jubilee in 2022 has been revealed. It was designed by the 19-year old graphic design student Edward Roberts from Nottinghamshire.

The mother of Queen Nanasipau’u of Tonga, Baroness Tuputupu ‘o Pulotu Vaea of Houma, was laid to rest at the Kolomanatau Cemetery, Houma, Tongatapu.

4 August

The Duchess of Sussex, who celebrated her 40th birthday today, launched a new initiative “40×40″to help women return to the workplace. She asked friends and acquaintances to donate 40 minute of their time to mentor a woman in their community. Meghan launched the initiative with a video in which she was joined by comedy actress Melissa McCarthy. Also Princess Eugenie of York has joined the initiative.

The Swiss media reports that Prince Rudolf von und zu Liechtenstein has bought the Marschlins Castle in Igis-Landquart, Graubünden, Switzerland, on 2 August 2021. The landquarter land registry confirmed reports. The Prince, a nephew of sovereign prince Hans-Adam II, is married and has two children. It is unclear which plans he has with his fairytale castle, that probably dates back to the 13th century and has four towers. It is well preserved.

5 August

Princess Mako of Akishino received her first Covid-19 vaccine at the Imperial Household Hospital in Tokyo. Her younger sister Princess Kako already had hers on 21 July.

6 August

The moving portraits of Holocaust survivors and their families by the Duchess of Cambridge are part of a new display of the Imperial War Museum London honoring their legacy. The exhibition “Generations: Portraits of Holocaust Survivors” was opened today. Kate has announced to be honoured to be part of the exhibition.

7 August

King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia of Spain ended the annual week of official engagements at the island of Mallorca

9 August

Queen Elizabeth II of Great Britain has officially been welcomed at Balmoral Castle for her annual holiday. In a small ceremony outside the castle gates she inspected the Guard of Honour from Balaklava Company from The Royal Regiment of Scotland.

Queen Elizabeth II of Great Britain has congratulated the Olympic medal winners of Tokyo 2020: “I send my warmest congratulations to the competitors from Great Britain and Northern Ireland, and across the Commonwealth, following their success at the Olympic Games in Tokyo in recent weeks. The skill, determination and hard work shown by the athletes and their support teams throughout the unique and challenging circumstances of the last year has been an inspiration to us all. ‘I extend my very best wishes to everyone who has played a part in this extraordinary achievement.” Also the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge have praised Team GB on social media for doing the nation proud.

Lawyers for Virginia Giuffre filed a lawsuit against the Duke of York in Manhattan federal court. She is one of the women that claim to have been abused by sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and his friends, including Prince Andrew. In a statement, Giuffre said she was “holding Prince Andrew accountable for what he did to me.”

10 August

Prince Christian of Denmark has started boarding school at Herlufsholm in Næstved, Denmark.

King Willem-Alexander and Queen Máxima of the Netherlands received the Dutch medal winners of the Summer Olympic Games of Tokyo 2020 at Noordeinde Palace.

For the second year in a row the Dutch opening of parliament, Prinsjesdag, on 21 September 2021 wil take place in the Grote Kerk in The Hague. The church offers enough space for the 75 members of the Senate and 150 members of the House of Representatives, as well as the government members. As usual King Willem-Alexander will deliver the speech from the throne and presents the plans of the government for the following year. There will once again not be a carriage ride, nor will a balcony scene be held. The military ceremonial will also be limited.

The campaign Free Latifa has been closed after new images of Sheikha Latifa bint Mohammed Al Maktoum of Dubai appeared on Instagram. Her friend Sioned Taylor posted a picture on Instagram showing her with Latifa in Iceland. Also on the photo is Latifa’s cousin Marcus Essabri, who says latifa is happy and focuses on her plans.

11 August

Princess Danica of Serbia was interviewed by the Serbian magazine “Hello” about her life and being a mother.

12 August

Reports by the Association of Friends of Tatoi that two containers full of possibly valuabel artefacts were destroyed, were not confirmed during a press conference the Greek minister of culture and sports Lina Mendoni. She provided details of the damage by the wildfire that reached the former royal estate of Tatoi on 4 August. She explained that a large part of the forest is list. The Tatoi Palace itself could just be saved, although several buildings on the estate were damaged or burnt. Mendoni says that horse carriages, cars and other valuable objects were not damaged. The fire however reached the royal cemetery near the palace.

13 August

The Prince’s Palace announced that Princess Charlène underwent a successful four-hour operation under general anaesthetic to improve her condition. She is staying in South Africa already for several months because of complications following a sinus lift and a bone graft in the jaw. Her husband sovereign prince Albert II and their children Hereditary Prince Jacques and Princess Gabriella will join her during her recovery period.

14 August

Photo & Copyright: Elisabeth Toll/Royal Court of Sweden

Prince Julian of Sweden, Duke of Halland, was christened in the church of the Drottningholm Palace in Stockholm. During the baptismal service, Psalms 289 (“God’s love is like the beach and the grass”) and 201 (“Summer hymn”) were sung. “Lilla vackra du (Little beautiful you)” by Charlotte Runevret and Anders Neglin was also premiered in connection with the baptism. The godparents of Julian are Johan Andersson, Stina Andersson, Jacob Högfeldt, Patrick Sommerlath and Frida Vesterberg. After the service Julians grandparents, King Carl XVI Gustaf and Queen Silvia of Sweden hosted a private lunch for the families and the godparents. Among the guests were the siblings of both Prince Carl Philip and Princess Sofia with their families, members of the royal court, a handful of politicians and personal friends of the princely couple.

On the eve of the centenary of the death of King Peter I of Yugoslavia, Crown Prince Alexander and Crown Princess Katherine visited Kikinda, where a monument to this king was unveiled in the central town square of Kikinda.

15 August

The official state act with the speeches by Hereditary Prince Alois von und zu Liechtenstein and State Parliament President Albert Frick on the occasion of the Liechtenstein national day (Staatsfeiertag) took place this morning in the rose garden. Due to the current covid-situation, the ceremony was carried out without guests from home or abroad. As a sign of solidarity, Hereditary Prince Alois von und zu Liechtenstein handed over 11 flag bearers one flag of Liechtenstein for the respective municipalities. These were brought to the municipalities after the state ceremony and hoisted during the national anthem in the evening. A video of the ceremony.

A very proud Princess Märtha Louise of Norway congratulated her daughter Emma Tallulah Behn after she won the bronze medal during the Norwegian championships show jumping. She was riding Märtha Louises horce Fetoucha.

SVT broadcasted a summary of the christening service of Prince Julian of Sweden.

16 August

A photo of Queen Margrethe II of Denmark with her son Prince Joachim and his children Prince Henrik and Princess Athena at Caÿx Castle in France was released.

King Norodom Sihamoni of Cambodia and the Queen Mother have departed for China for routine medical checkups.

In a Zoom-chat with Giovanna Fletcher, guest editor of Hello’s Back to School digital issue, Princess Beatrice of York revealed that also her husband Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi is suffering of dyslexia. Beatrice said that if any of her children are lucky enough to be dyslexic, that would be a “gift”.

17 August

Princess Noal Zaher, a granddaughter of the last king of Afghanistan, has reacted to the news that the Taliban seized the capitaly city of Kabul. On social media she wrote: “Thank you all for your immeasurable messages of love, fear and support. We are stunned, heartbroken and we still have to integrate it. Continue to pray for the innocent families who cannot leave and for those who have courageously chosen to stand together. My heart bleeds for the countless innocent Afghans who are once again homeless, helpless and defenseless. We will be resurrected, the soul of Afghanistan is eternal.”

20 August

Prince Gabriel of Belgium celebrated his 18th birthday. From September he will follow a preliminary course at the National Mathematics & Science College in Warwickshire it was announced. This training focuses on STEM subjects (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) and is intended for students who are preparing for an academic education in one of these directions.

The Duchess of Cornwall toured the Herefordshire garden of well-known British gardener Monty Don and talked about her own gardening experiences. She declared gardening a “spiritual experience” and “healing”, and said: “I think gardens got people through Covid, they realised how special a garden was and what they could do with it.” The visit was shown in today’s episode of the BBC TV-program “A Gardeners’ World”.

The Prince of Wales, who earlier this month made a donation to the Hellenic Red Cross (HRC) to support the organisation’s humanitarian response to wildfires in Greece, has written a piece for the newspaper “Daily Mail” about the fight against climate change, in which he addresses the many recent natural disasters He also said that “owing to family connections, I have always felt a particular fascination and affection for Greece”.

The British TV-channel BBC has announced that lessons have to be learned after the coverage of the death of the Duke of Edinburgh. The channel received a record 109,741 complaints from the public after all normal tv and radio schedules were changed because of the Duke’s death in April 2021. The boss of BBC, Tim Davie, also noted in a board meeting that the viewer numbers on the night of his death were lower than expected.

21 August

On 14 August the private apartments of Emperor Nicholas II and Empress Alexandra Feodorovna of Russia at the Alexander Palace at Tsarskoye Selo, Russia, reopened their doors after a 6-year restoration project. The Western wing is scheduled for completion no earlier than 2024. A video about the restoration.

The sister of Queen Letizia of Spain, Telma Ortiz, gave birth to her second daughter at hospital in Madrid. The father is Robert Gavin Bonnar.

22 August

The Norwegian royal court announced that Princess Ingrid Alexandra has tested positive for Covid-19 and is isolating at the Skaugum estate. There was an outbreak at her school. Crown Prince Haakon and Crown Princess Mette-Marit, as well as Prince Sverre Magnus, have tested negative. The Crown Princely couple has postponed a few engagements.

Princess (Fürstin) Marie von und zu Liechtenstein, the wife of the present Sovereign Prince Hans-Adam II, died on Saturday 21 August 2021 at 4:43 pm in the hospital in Grabs. After her health steadily deteriorated following a stroke on 18 August 2021, she passed away in the presence of her family and after receiving the Holy Sacraments. The princely court announced 7-day state mourning.

23 August

For the first time since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic the Changing the Guard ceremony has been performed at Buckingham Palace. The spectacle temporarily came to an end 18 months ago, to avoid large gatherings of onlookers. The 1st Battalion the Coldstream Guards marched from the Wellington Barracks to Buckingham Palace to take over the duty from the Nijmegen Company Grenadier Guards. The Band of the Coldstream Guards played music in honour of the Olympic achievements of the country.

24 August

At the start of the Paralympic Games an interview (in Dutch) with Princess Astrid of Belgium about the event was published by the newspaper Het Nieuwsblad.

Emperor Naruhito of Japan attended the opening ceremony of the Tokyo Paralympic Games at the National Stadium in Tokyo. The honorary patron of the event proclaimed the Games open.

A 28-year old woman was fined RM10,000 for posting seditious and insulting remarks against the King of Malaysia on Twitter on 22 May 2021. In court the woman apologised to all Malaysians for her mistake.

25 August

Crown Prince Haakon and Crown Princess Mette-Marit of Norway celebrated their 20th wedding anniversary.

The Monegasque Princely Court released photos of Sovereign Prince Albert II of Monaco and his children Hereditary Prince Jacques and Princess Gabriella in South Africa, where they visited Princess Charlène.

Countess Eloise of Orange-Nassau opened her one-day pop-up exhibition LAYERED at the Beurs van Berlage in Amsterdam.

26 August

Tessy Antony-de Nassau has become the mother of a third son, Theodor Frank Floessel, born at the Klinik Hirslanden in Zürich, Switzerland, on 26 August. In July 2021 she married Frank Floessel. Theodor is a brother for Prince Gabriel and Prince Noah of Nassau and of Julia Floessel.

The official teaser trailer of the film Spencer with Kristen Stewart as Diana, Princess of Wales, has been released.

27 August

The Duke of Parma, his three siblings, their partners and children attended a memorial service for Princess Maria Teresa of Bourbon-Parma at the Basilica Santa Maria della Steccata in Parma. After the ceremony she was buried in the royal crypta of the basilica next to her brother Don Carlos Hugo, The Duke of Parma, who died in 2010 The Princess died on 26 March 2020 in Paris, France, and was the first known royal Covid-19 victim.

28 August

The funeral service for Princess Marie von und zu Liechtenstein was held at 2pm in the St. Florin Cathedral in Vaduz, Liechtenstein. During the service she was buried in the royal vault next to the cathedral. Due to lack of space the service was for invited guests only. The service was broadcasted on the national tv-channel. Among the guests were members of the family. Also Queen Sofia of Spain and Princess Caroline of Hannover attended. The mortal remains of the Princess were transfered to the cathedral on 26 August, where people could say goodbye in the evening and also on Friday. The funeral service can be watched here.

The Prince of Wales appeared in the BBC Radio 4 programme “The poet laureate has gone to his shed“. Moderator Simon Armitage spoke to the Prince in his Welsh home, Llwynywermod in Llandovery. They spoke about the Prince’s passion for conservation, flora and fauna, the music of Richard Wagner and other related themes.

The Luxembourg Grand-Ducal family published pictures of their holidays in France.

Prince Nikolai of Denmark celebrated his 22nd birthday.

The remains of Alessandro Farnese, Duke of Parma (1545-1592) and Maria of Portugal were reburied at the Basilica Santa Maria della Steccata in Parma after a requiem. Last year the remains were taken out of the vault to be researched to establish the cause of death. There have always been rumours that he was poisoned by jealous rivals. Historical forensic experts of the University of Parma and RIS police have discovered that he suffered from gout, had a fractured right forearm due to a musket shot and probably died of pneumonia in 1592.

30 August

Both Princess Alexia of the Netherlands and the Princess of Asturias have travelled to Wales today, where they will study at the UWC Atlantic College in Llantwit Major for the next two years. The Dutch royal family released a photo of Alexia leaving her home in The Hague, while the Spanish royal family released photos of the departure of the princess from the airport of Madrid and photos taken upon arrival of Leonor at St Donat’s Castle.

Queen Anne-Marie of Greece celebrated her 75th birthday at home in Porto Heli, Greece, together with members of the immediate family. Among the guests were Queen Sofia of Spain and Princess Benedikte of Denmark. Her eldest sister Queen Margrethe II couldn’t come because she was on a three-day summer tour with the royal yacht Dannebrog.

31 August

Queen Margrethe II is to design the sets for the forthcoming Netflix film, an adaptation of Karen Blixen’s fantasy novel Ehrengard, to be released in 2023. The film will be directed by the Danish director Bille August. Queen Margrethe said in a statement: “Karen Blixen’s stories have always fascinated me, with their aesthetic tales, their imagination and their, to me, image-creating worlds – and I’m very happy to be part of this project. I have tried to interpret Blixen’s fantastic universe in the creation of the decoupages and costumes and I’m looking forward to seeing the tale of Ehrengard come to life in this film.”

It was announced that Princess Elisabeth of Belgium, The Duchess of Brabant, will start studying history and politics at Lincoln College, Oxford University, in October 2021. She will return to Belgium regularly and remain involved in Belgian public life.

On the 24th anniversary of the death of Diana, Princess of Wales, the new statue of the Princess at Kensington Palace, London, was specially opened to the public between 3pm and 5pm. Because of the pandemic the gardens are at the moment only opened from Wednesday to Sunday.

Prince Gabriel of Sweden celebrated his 4th birthday.

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