ROYAL NEWS: JULY 2010

Last updated: July 25th, 2010.

July 1st
In red-white lady's suit Queen Elizabeth II of Great Britain, accompanied by the Duke of Edinburgh, marked Canada Day on Parliament Hill in Ottawa. For the 143rd anniversary of the country she arrived in a horse-drawn carriage, while thousands of people watched.
  • Canada Day speech


    • July 3rd
    The engagement was celebrated between Prince Rashid bin El Hassan of Jordan and Zeina Shaban. He is the only son of Prince El Hassan bin Talal, uncle of King Abdullah II of Jordan, and his wife Princess Sarvath. The bride-to-be is a daughter of Mohammed Abdullah Shaban. The ceremony was among others attended by King Abdullah II of Jordan, and members of the royal and the Shaban family.
  • Picture 1
  • Picture 2


    • July 5th
    The Prince of Orange, Princess Máxima of the Netherlands and their daughters Amalia, Alexia and Ariane had their summer photosession in the garden of their house, villa De Eikenhorst, in Wassenaar this morning. It was clear that also the princely family is very much interested in the World Cup football in South Africa right now. The children played with their balls, and Amalia showed how good she can play the vuvuzela.
  • HQ Pictures Koninklijk Huis
  • Pictures Dutch Photo Press
  • Pictures PPE
  • NOS videos


    • The financial reports 2009-2010 of Queen Elizabeth II of Great Britain were published today. The support for the head of state was reduced by more than £3 million to £38,2 million, a decrease in real terms of 12,2%. Reason for the cut was a reduction in commercial charter flights and a refund of lease rentals from the sale of the royal helicopter, which was replaced last year. This means that the Treasury contributed the equivalent of just 62 pence per inhabitant of Great Britain to enable the Queen to carry out her duties as head of state.
  • Financial reports: 2009-2010


    • Crown Princess Victoria and Prince Daniel of Sweden had their premarital agreement submitted to Solna District Court it was revealed today. The agreement was signed by the couple on 7 June 2010. According to the statement, everything that the couple owned before the marriage and everything that they subsequently inherit, receive as gifts or earnings through work while they are married would remain separate property in the event of a divorce. Also all proceeds of the private property will remain seperate. If the couple would divorce only their jointly purchased furniture and household items would be divided.

    Count Bronislaw Komorowski has been declared the winner of the Polish presidential elections today for a five-year term. The Polish people hope for free market reforms, bringing down debts and cut welfare spending. The new president is a member of a Polish countal family, of which also the mother of Princess Mathilde of Belgium is a member.

    July 6th
    Queen Elizabeth II has travelled to New York at the end of her tour through Canada. She addressed the UN-Assembly. She was welcomed by UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon. In her speech the Queen said she had witnessed great change since her last address to the UN in 1957, "Much of it for the better" she added. Furthermore she laid a wreath at the site of the World Trade Center, destroyed on 11 September 2001. The Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh afterwards talked to dignitaries and family of victims. She told the widow of one of th firefighters that she had never seen anything so shocking in her life. The Queen also opened a British Garden of Rememberance in honour of the 67 victims from Great Britain.

    The Prince of Orange and Princess Máxima of the Netherlands attended the semi-final of the World Cup football in Cape Town, South Africa, this evening. They saw the Dutch football team winning from Uruguay with 3-2. Queen Sofia of Spain will attend tomorrow's semi-final between Spain and Germany.

    July 7th
    Forbes published its list of the wealthiest monarchs in the world today. For the third year in a row King Bhumibol Adulyadej of Thailand is the richest royal in the world. His fortune remained stable at $30 billion. He is followed by the Sultan of Brunei whose fortune is $20 billion. Third on the list is King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia with a fortune of $18 billion.
  • The World's Richest Royals


    • Countess Camilla Holstein-Ledreborg died of cancer on 4 July aged 51. She was the fifth of seven daughters of Count Knud Holstein-Ledreborg and his wife Marie-Gabrielle née Princess of Luxemburg. She married in 1986 Baron Eric de Bertouch-Lehn, whom she divorced in 1995, and had two sons, Nicolas and Philip.

    July 8th
    Peter and Autumn Phillips said in a statement today that they are delighted to confirm that they are expecting a baby in December. The baby will be the first grandchild of the Princess Royal and her former husband Mark Phillips, and the first great-grandchild of Queen Elizabeth II of Great Britain and the Duke of Edinburgh. The statement further says that the Queen and Duke of Edinburgh have been informed, as well as Autumn's family, and that they are all delighted by the news. The couple married in May 2008 and is currently living in Hong Kong.

    The yearly photosession of Prince Philippe and Princess Mathilde of Belgium with their children Elisabeth, Gabriel, Emmanuel and Eleonore took place today at De Pierlapont farm in Loppem, Belgium. They made a walk, had lunch outside, helped feeding the animals, went horse riding and took part in a cooking lesson.
  • Belga Gallery 1
  • Belga Gallery 2
  • RTL Video


    • July 9th
    Archaeologists from the National Museum of Denmark have discovered the remains of the castle of the Danish king Erik Menved on the island of Samsø, Denmark. The king reigned from 1287 to 1319. The castle was build around 1290 and abandoned by the king's men after the death of King Erik.

    Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko of Japan received coach Takeshi Okada, two senior players of the Japanese football team and Motoaki Inukai, president of the Japan Football Association at the Imperial Palace in Tokyo today. The Imperial couple told to be proud of the team. They also confided they had watched almost all matches of the Japanese team during the World Cup in South Africa, even when they were at night.

    The District Court in Plovdiv, Bulgaria, has ruled that former King Simeon II of Bulgaria and his sister Maria Luisa are not the owners of the former royal residence Krichim.

    Earl Spencer has raised £21.076.288 in a three-day auction at Christie's in London. The Spencer family sold off items including paintings, porcelain, furniture and carriages to raise £20 million to help with restoration work on the family estate of Althorp. Sold were among others a painting by Peter Paul Rubens for £9 million. The painting is called "A commander being armed for battle" and is thought to depict Roman Emperor Charles V. The buyer remains anonymous. A painting by Guercino showing "King David" fetched £5,2 million.

    July 10th
    The Prince of Orange and Princess Máxima of the Netherlands are being criticized in the Netherlands for spending part of their vacation in Mozambique. the Dutch ambassador to South Africa said on television on Thursday the couple was in Mozambique, in between the semi-final and the final of the World Cup football in South Africa. Some months ago the princely couple announced their intention to sell their villa in Mozambique as soon as it was completed. The villa is not ready yet, despite of claims by the Dutch press that the couple is spending time in the villa. The Government Information Service says that the couple used the time in Mozambique to attend a builder's meeting and an inspection of the villa.

    July 11th
    The World Cup finals between The Netherlands and Spain, in Johannesburg, South Africa, today was attended by several royals. Queen Sofia of Spain, the Prince and Princess of Asturias came to support Spain. The Prince of Orange, Princess Máxima of the Netherlands and Prince Pieter-Christiaan van Oranje-Nassau, van Vollenhoven supported the Netherlands. Spain won in the extra time with 1-0. On the guestlist were also Nelson Mandela, Prince Albert II of Monaco and his fiancée Charlene Wittstock, Emir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani of Qatar, as well as King Mswati III of Swaziland.

    July 12th
    The Spanish team, that won the World Cup football in South Africa on Sunday, were received at the Royal Palace in Madrid today by King Juan Carlos, Queen Sofia, the Prince and Princess of Asturias and their daughters Leonor and Sofía, as well as by Infanta Elena. The little infantas wore Spanish football shirts. They were very proud to meet their heros, and Infanta Leonor even was allowed to hold the World Cup trophy.
  • Pictures PPE


    • Pauline Ducruet, the 16-year-old daughter of Princess Stéphanie of Monaco, represented Monaco in the European Junior Swimming and Diving Championships in Helsinki, Finland, in the past days. Pauline took up diving four years ago. She finished 22nd in a field of 24th in the three metres competition and finished 19th in the one metre section.

    In an interview with France 2 today Prince Albert II of Monaco said he and his fiancée Charlene Wittstock intend to establish a home and have children soon after their marriage in the Summer of 2011.

    July 13th
    Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands received the Dutch national football team at Noordeinde Palace in the early afternoon. The team lost the World Cup final on Sunday, but were received in the Netherlands like heros. After their royal visit, the team travelled to Amsterdam where about 700.000 people cheered them.
  • Pictures: Royal Portraits


    • July 14th
    Despite of the absence of Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden herself and her husband Prince Daniel of Sweden Victoria Day was celebrated at the Swedish island of Öland. About 400 people had gathered outside the royal summer residence Solliden. King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden led the festivities in presence of Queen Silvia, Prince Carl Philip and Princess Madeleine.
  • Pictures: Royal Portraits


    • A man who was accused of insulting the Sultan of Perak in February 2009 has been freed by the Sessions Court yesterday. The man had allegedly posted an offending remark on a website that was linked to the official website of the Sultan. He was released without his defence being called.

    July 15th
    Prince Radu of Romania has won a court case against the royal magazine Royalty at High Court in London. The Prince has accepted a pubic apology, as well as "substantial" damaged. The defendants have also agreed to pay the legal costs of the prince. The magazine wrote in September 2004 an article called "Scandal in Romania as Princess Margarita's husband is branded as an imposter". In the article it was claimed that the prince dishonestly claimed the title "Prince von Hohenzollern-veringen". He also was accused of using his title for monetary gain. It was also written he had been an officer in the Romanian Securitate secret police under the regime of Ceausescu. After six years Royalty magazine has acepted that the statements in the article were "wholly untrue".

    July 17th
    Crown Prince Alexander of Serbia celebrated his 65th birthday in private with his family in Greece.
  • Birthday video


    • July 19th
    Crown Princess Mette-Marit of Norway spent several days in Vienna, Austria, to attend part of the XVIII International AIDS Conference. On Saturday she participated in a pre-conference meeting, where 40 young and more established leaders discussed further efforts to combat AIDS. On Saturday evening she attended a banquet at the Austrian Parliament and a reception for the Norwegian participants of the conference. The Crown Princess on Sunday attended the official opening of the conference. Before leaving Vienna on Monday she opened the Youth Pavilion, a networking space for young people involved in the fight against AIDS. Since 2006 the Crown Princess is Special Representative for UNAIDS.

    July 20th
    Crown Prince Haakon of Norway celebrated his 37th birthday today in private. In connection to the birthday the Crown Prince, Crown Princess Mette-Marit and their children Ingrid Alexandra and Sverre Magnus posed for the press at Dvergsøya near Kristiansand. Also the dog, Milly Kakao, posed.
  • Kongehuset pictures
  • NRK: Video


    • July 21st
    The Belgian royal family attended the National Day celebrations today. King Albert II, Queen Paola, Queen Fabiola, Prince Philippe and Princess Mathilde attended the Te Deum at the cathedral of Brussels. Princess Astrid and Prince Lorenz attended a Te Deum in Hasselt, while Prince Laurent and Princess Claire travelled to Arlon. In the afternoon they all attended the military parade in front of the Royal Palace in Brussels. The security measures on National Day were higher than ever. Reasons were ongoing death threats against Queen Fabiola. The first threat was received in May 2009, the last one early July according to the Belgian newspaper La Dernière Heure. National Day happily passed without incidents.
  • Pictures Royal Press Europe


    • Former King Simeon II of Bulgaria hasn't decided yet whether he will sue the Bulgarian state in the European Court of Human Rights over suspended property rights. The former king received back property between 2001 and 2005. There is doubt that this decision was lawfully. The Bulgarian parliament voted to freeze the rights on grounds of information that the former monarch received more land than his family actually owned before the end of the monarchy.

    July 22nd
    The princely court announced that the civil marriage of Prince Albert II of Monaco and Charlene Wittstock will take place at the princely palace in Monaco on Friday 8 July 2011. The religious wedding will take place the day afterwards, 9 July 2011.

    New pictures were released on the occasion of the 8th birthday of Prince Felix of Denmark. They were taken by Steen Brogaard.
  • PPE: Prince Felix


    • Twenty pieces of jewelry made by French jewellers Cartier for the Duchess of Windsor will be auctioned at Sotheby's in London on 30 November. The auction is set to make more than £4million. The most expensive pieces are a flamingo brooch and a panther bracelet. Both are expected to fetch between £1million and £1.5million.

    July 24th
    For the first time since she entered her third year at Gakushuin Primary School in Tokyo, Princess Aiko of Japan has walked home from school alone yesterday, the Imperial Household Agency said. She was brought to school with her mother by car for the last day before the Summer vacation. She didn't attend the end-of-semester ceremony, but attended a homeroom class. While Aiko walked home, her mother had a meeting with the principal of the school. Aiko missed 12 days of school because of a cold and other reasons in the first semester of the third year. On the other days she arrived often late at school and left school after attending three or four classes.

    July 25th
    The British royal court has opened an account on Flickr. The account will contain more than 600 photographs of the royal family at work and play since the second half of the 19th century, including some rare pictures. The account is a collaboration between Buckingham Palace, Clarence House and St James's Palace.
  • The British Monarchy's photostream


    • Princess Nathalie zu Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg and her husband Alexander Johannsmann had a son at 6.45pm on 24 July at a hospital in Bad Berleburg. Mother and son are doing fine, and the father was present at birth. The baby's name is still unknown. He is the third grandchild of Prince Richard zu Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg and Princess Benedikte of Denmark.

    Countess Ruth af Rosenborg died this afternoon. Alice Ruth Nielsen was born at Frederiksberg on 8 October 1924 as daughter of Kai Nielsen and Edith Fischer. She married in 1949 count Flemming af Rosenborg who died in 2002. The couple had children: Axel, Birger, Carl Johan and Désirée. Countess Ruth is also survived by ten grandchildren.


    Royal News: June 2010. Last updated: July 8th, 2010.