Last modified: 3 July 2022
1 June
A guide to the Platinum Jubilee. The Queen is the first British monarch to celebrate her Platinum Jubilee. A new portrait by Ranald Mackechnie was released to mark the beginning of the celebrations. In her Jubilee message the Queen said: “I continue to be inspired by the goodwill shown to me, and hope that the coming days will provide an opportunity to reflect on all that has been achieved during the last seventy years, as we look to the future with confidence and enthusiasm.”
Queen Máxima of the Netherlands surprised everyone by completing a parachute tandem jump during her visit to the Defence Para School in Breda. She was scared beforehand, but also very exciting.
The Luxembourg Grand-Ducal Court announced that the younger brother of Grand Duchess Maria Teresa, Luis Mestre died in Geneva, Switzerland, aged 64.
Also the Liechtensteiner national day “Staatsfeiertag” on 15 August will get back to normal this year. After the state ceremony on the castle lawn, there will be a festival in Vaduz and a large fireworks display in the evening. Only the aperitif cocktail in the castle gardens has been cancelled due to renovations.
2 June
Prince Moulay Rachid of Morocco and his wife Princess Lalla Oum Kaltoum had their second son, Prince Moulay Abdeslam, in Rabat yesterday.
The Emperor Emeritus of Japan has postponed his visit to an exhibition in Tokoy as he showed signs of fatigue. He cancelled his daily walks yesterday, but is said not to be ill. He also doesn’t need medical treatment.
3 June
During an official dinner organised by the Aarhus Municipality on the occasion of the summer trip of Queen Margrethe II of Denmark it was announced that four donors – the Salling Foundation, Holch Povlsen Foundation, Systematic and LINDBERG OPTIK are spending 40 million DKK for an extensive renovation of Marselisborg Castle. The ten-year renovation will secure the future of the castle and its gardens as a royal residence and a public castle garden. The renovation will start in the late Summer of 2023. It will include an energy optimization of the castle, a new copper roof, new spiers and windows as well as a restoration of the garden staircase.
4 June
In an interview with the French newspaper “Le Journal du Dimanche” Sovereign Prince Albert II of Monaco has described the return of his wife Princess Charlène to Monaco as “the most beautiful thing which could have happened”. He said that the past year had been “a test for my wife especially, who suffered greatly and lived through difficult times, far from her family”. But it was also very difficult for himself and their children Princess Gabriella and Hereditary Prince Jacques, as they missed her a lot. He also said that the family has been “hurt by the malicious rumours” about their marriage.
A new photo was released on the occasion of the birthday of the Queen of Bhutan, Jetsun Pema.
In the chapel of the castle of Bad Berleburg, Germany, the religious wedding of Prince Gustav zu Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg and Carina Axelsson was celebrated. The civil wedding already took place a day earlier at the orangery. Crown Prince Frederik and Crown Princess Mary – who were the witnesses of the bridal couple at the civil marriage -, Prince Joachim and Princess Marie of Denmark attended.
A photo of the civil marriage
5 June
Four days full of Platinum Jubilee celebrations have come to an end with the Platinum Pageant. The celebrations started with Trooping the Colour and also the Platinum Jubilee Beacons were lit. The Jubilee Queen appeared on the balcony of Buckingham Palace at Trooping the Colour and also shortly in the evening at Windsor Castle. The Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall appeared in an episode of the British series “EastEnders”. While her relatives were very active, the Queen didn’t attend the Service of Thanksgiving at St Paul’s Cathedral on Friday, nor the Derby at Epsom Downs or the Platinum Party at the Palace on Saturday. She however appeared on video with Bear Paddington at the start the party. After the Platinum Jubilee Pageant the Queen, the Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge with their three children again appeared on the balcony of the Buckingham Palace. For my highlights see here.
6 June
The Swedish royal family celebrated their national day and flag day. While King Carl XVI Gustaf and Queen Silvia visited Olofström in Blekinge, the Crown Princess Couple opened the Royal Palace. Prince Carl Philip attended the changing of the guard. The royal family attended the celebrations in Skansen, Stockholm, in the evening. Later on the royals attended a reception at the Royal Palace in Stockholm.
A bit belated photographer Misan Harriman published the first photo of Lilibet Diana Mountbatten-Windsor, the daughter of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, on the occas0ion of her first birthday on 4 June, which was celebrated at Frogmore Cottage this weekend with a casual backyard picnic. The family arrived in London by private jet on 31 May for the Platinum Jubilee of the Queen and left the country again on 5 June.
Crown Prince Frederik of Denmark and his family participated in the Royal Run 2022 in various cities in their country.
7 June
The engagement was announced of Princess Märtha Louise of Norway and Durek Verrett. King Harald V and Queen Sonja send their “most heartfelt congratulations and wish them all the best for the future”. Also Crown Prince Haakon and Crown Princess Mette-Marit extended their warmest congratulations and sent their best wishes to the whole family for a happy future.
Christopher Gibbons and Tyrone Patten-Walsh appeared in court at Kingston Crown Court today for encouraging acts of extreme right-wing terrorism in their 23 audio podcasts Black Wolf Radio between March 2019 and February 2020. Mr Gibbons among others called the son of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex “an abomination that should be put down”. He also thought that Prince Harry should be prosecuted and found guilty and judicially killed for treason. The podcast had 128 subscribers.
Carl Duke of Württemberg died this morning in a hospital in Ravensburg, aged 85, after a hospital stay of five days. He is succeeded by his grandson Duke Wilhelm.
8 June
On the first full day of their six-day visit to the Democratic Republic of Congo King Philippe of the Belgians held a very important speech during a ceremony at the Esplanade in front of the Palais du Peuple in Kinshasa. He expressed his “deepest regret for the wounds of the past” for the Belgian atrocities in Congo in the colonial past. The country until 1960 was a Belgian colony. He said: “Although many Belgians gave the best of themselves in Congo at the time, sincerely loved the country and its inhabitants, the colonial regime was based on exploitation and domination.” He also stated that “this regime was one of unequal relations, unjustifiable in itself, marked by paternalism, discrimination and racism” and “gave rise to misdeeds and humiliations”.
10 June
Jamaica has formally commenced its separation from the British monarchy, the Jamaican Minister of Legal and Constitutional Affairs, Marlene Malahoo Forte, has said. That means that the Queen is set to loose her position as head of state of the island nation. The process will be completed in stages before the elections in 2025.
Princess Madeleine of Sweden celebrated her 40th birthday in private with her family in Florida, USA, where they reside.
The head of the imperial family of Brazil, Prince Dom Luiz de Orleans e Bragança has been admitted to hospital in São Paulo. At the moment, his state of health is not worrying.
13 June
Today Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom has become the second longest-serving monarchy in history, and the longest to have reigned as an adult. She became Queen at the age of 25. She has reigned for 70 years and 127 days. The list is headed by King Louis XIV of France, who became king at the age of four, but for several years reigned under regency. According to Wikipedia not counted are monarchs of states that were not internationally sovereign for most of their reign, which includes German countries.
It was decided to limit the presence of The Duke of York on Garter Day. He was not seen in public, but attended the lunch and investiture ceremony for new Order of the Garter recipients, including the Duchess of Cornwall, behind closed doors. Also the Queen decided not to take part in the procession, due to her mobility issues. She attended the lunch and the investiture ceremony.
Crown Prince Tupouto’a ‘Ulukalala of Tonga has completed his post-graduate studies in Canberra, Australia. He and his wife and chidlren are expected to return to Tonga this week.
14 June
81-year-old Crown Prince Mishal Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah of Kuwait is resting after experiencing “minor discomfort”. The Sheikh has been the crown prince since the death of the emir of the country in 2020.
16 June
The Norwegian government hosted a celebratory dinner at Deichman Bjørvika in Oslo on the occasion of the 18th birthday of Princess Ingrid Alexandra.
The Sultan of Johor has appointed Tunku Mahkota Johor Tunku Ismail Ibni Sultan Ibrahim as Regent of Johor as off 16 June. He announced that he was going to take a short break during the opening of the state assembly. For the time being he is to be addressed as Tunku Mahkota Ismail, Regent of Johor. The Crown Prince on 9 June surprised with his announcement that he had decided to step back from managing the football club Johor Darul Ta’zim.
Archduke Karl of Austria has quietly remarried in Spring in private. He married Christian Nicolau de Almeida Reid in her native country Portugal.
17 June
King Harald V and Queen Sonja of Norway hosted a gala dinner at the Royal Palace in Oslo on the occasion of the 18th birthday of Princess Ingrid Alexandra. The guestlist can be found here. Apart from the Norwegian royals also Crown Prince Frederik and Crown Princess Mary of Denmark, Crown Princess Victoria and Prince Daniel of Sweden with their children Princess Estelle and Prince Oscar, King Willem-Alexander and Queen Máxima of the Netherlands with their daughter Princess Amalia, Queen Mathilde of the Belgians and her daughter Princess Elisabeth, King Felipe V of Spain, Hereditary Grand Duke Guillaume and Hereditary Grand Duchess Stéphanie of Luxembourg with their son Prince Charles (who didn’t attend the dinner itself), Crown Prince Pavlos and Crown Princess Marie-Chantal and their children Princess Olympia, Prince Constantine and Prince Aristides, as well as Prince Kyril of Bulgaria, his partner Katharine Jibba Butler, his ex-wife Rosario Nadal and their children Princess Mafalda, Princess Olimpia and Prince Tassilo attended.
The speech of Ingrid Alexandra and others
Both Ingrid Alexandra, the Duchess of Brabant (Elisabeth) and the Princess of Orange (Amalia) made their debut on the international royal stage and all appeared for the first time with tiara. Amalia wore the wedding tiara of her mother, Elisabeth debuted a new tiara, that her parents bought for her on the occasion of her 18th birthday. Ingrid Alexandra wore a Boucheron tiara with pearls and diamonds that was passed down from her great-great-grandmother Princess Ingeborg of Sweden. After her death the tiara was inherited by her granddaughter Princess Ragnhild of Norway. Her children passed on the tiara to Ingrid Alexandra, as that was Ragnhild’s wish. Ingrid Alexandra wore the tiara for the first time at new photographs taken in the Upper Vestibule at the Royal Palace, that were released today. Before the dinner several group photos were published, including one of the (future) heirs to the throne present.
Video of the highlights of the visit to Ivory Coast of Queen Máxima of the Netherlands from 13-14 June as the United Nations Secretary-General’s Special Advocate for Inclusive Finance for Development. Afterwards she spent two days in Senegal, of which another video was released. An interview with Al Jazeera was broadcasted on 17 June. She among others said that being a Queen is “no fairy tale”, and that, as a Queen she has to work hard, even harder as when she was a banker in New York.
The Princess of Asturias and Princess Alexia of the Netherlands have ended their first school year at the UWC Atlantic College in Llantwit Major, Wales, UK.
The Maison du Grand-Duc published its first annual report about the monarchy in Luxembourg.
Lindsay Wallace, the girlfriend of Peter Phillips, grandson of the British Queen, surprisingly took part in the carriage procession at Royal Ascot sitting next to Peter.
Hereditary Prince Alexander zu Mecklenburg(-Strelitz) and Hande Macit celebrated their civil marriage in Mirow, Germany, today.
18 June
A new interview on the occasion of the 75th birthday of the Duchess of Cornwall in July was published by the magazine “Vogue”. The British tv-channel ITV has commissioned a 60-minute documentary, for which they had exclusive access to the Duchess, in her role as guest editor of the magazine Country Life.
Michael (Mihai), son of Nicholas de Roumanie Medforth-Mills (al Romaniei) and his wife Alina-Maria, was christened at the Coronation Cathedral in Alba Iulia. His godparents were Karina de Roumanie Medforth-Mills, Liviu and Simona Popescu. For pictures see here.
19 June
With this photo the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge wished all fathers and grandfathers around the world a Happy Father’s Day.
Buckingham Palace appears to have decided not to publish the results of an independent inquiry by a private law fir into the claims that the Duchess of Sussex bullied staff.
20 June
On the occasion of his 40th birthday on 21 June a huge report about the Duke of Cambridge selling The Big Issue in the streets of London on 9 June appeared in the magazine sold by homeless people. Prince William spoke with the magazine about why he wanted to work with the Big Issue, had a discussion with vendor Dave about homelessness. He also said that his mother Princess Diana taught him about homeless people and that he wants to teach his children the same way. He wants to give the next generation less chance of being homeless.
The British government has decided that the Union Flag will only fly over government buildings on the birthday of the Queen and the Prince of Wales. There will not be any flags anymore for other family members.
Sovereign Prince Albert II of Monaco, his wife Princess Charlène and their twins Princess Gabriella and Hereditary Prince Jacques opened the exhibition “Sailing the Sea of Science, Scientist and Explorer. Prince Albert I and the early Norwegian exploration of Svalbard” at the Fram Museum in Oslo, Norway. They were accompanied by Crown Prince Haakon of Norway. They also had lunch with King Harald V and Queen Sonja of Norway at the Bygdø Kongsgaard. The family will afterwards embark on a cruise aboard the Commander Charcot to Svalbard.
The King of Malaysia has been admitted to hospital and receives treatment after complaining of pain in his leg. He is expected to return home after completing the treatment. His engagements have been postponed.
21 June
Prince Nicolas of Sweden and his parents visited Naturum Höga Kusten and Skuleberget in his dukedom of Ångermanland. The young prince inaugurated the discovery park that he received as a baptism gift seven years ago. He and his father arrived in Sweden this weekend, while Princess Madeleine and the other two children already arrived on 14 June. Madeleine is expected to travel to Frankfurt am Main, Germany, for the Childhood Foundation on 7 July. On 16 July Madeleine invited children with illnesses supported by the charity Min stora dag at the Hovstallet.
It has been confirmed that the Princess of Orange has obtained her hunting license and is now allowed to hunt. It was already known Amalia intended to get it. In the book on the occasion of her 18th birthday she said last year, that it is “not immediately intended to go hunting, but mainly to prepare for the future management of the Royal Estate Het Loo in Apeldoorn”.
Kerry Taylor Auctions in London today sold the wardrobe and a variety of possessions of the late Countess Maya von Schönburg-Glauchau in the auction “Passion for Fashion“.
23 June
The Luxembourg grand-ducal family celebrated the national day of the country. Prince Gabriel of Nassau, son of Prince Louis, made his debute.
The grand-ducal couple in Lellingen
Guillaume and Stéphanie in Esch-sur-Alzette
Fireworks
The National Day itself
During a visit to Cambridgeshire the Duke and the Duchess of Cambridge unveiled their first joint portrait at the Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge. It was painted by one of the leading portrait artists in the UK Jamie Coreth. He happens to be Count James von Coreth zu Coredo by the way, at least according to nobility books, although being British means he doesn’t use his foreign title.
24 June
The photosession of King Willem-Alexander and Queen Máxima of the Netherlands and their daughters the Princess of Orange, Princess Alexia and Princess Ariane took place inside the Noordeinde Palace. They had planned to pose on the beach near The Hague, but because of the bad weather forecast moved the session to the palace. Some photos by Royal Press Europe. In the conversation with the media most questions were for Princess Amalia. She talked about her studies, student life, leaving The Hague, Prinsjesdag, her gap year, but didn’t want to tell anything about her love life. She said to have enjoyed her first big engagement in Norway last week very much and that wearing her first tiara was cool.
25 June
The Duchess of Brabant undertook her first solo engagement. The 20-year-old Elisabeth christened the RV Belgica in Ghent. She smashed a champagne bottle against the side of the newest research vessel of Belgium.
This week the Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall spent several days in Rwanda on the occasion of the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM), that was held from 24 to 25 June 2022. The Prince of Wales among others on Wednesday laid a wreath at the Nyamata Church Genocide Memorial, remembering the genocide of April 1994. The Duchess attended an anti-domestic violence event and said: “We have the opportunity to end gender-based violence and those laws and practices that discriminate against women. And each one of us must take personal responsibility not to let this opportunity be lost.”
26 June
The Crown Princely Couple of Denmark has decided that their son Prince Christian will stop at the Herlufsholm boarding school, and that Princess Isabella won’t start her 9th class there after the summer. It is not sure yet which schools they will attend next school year. The decision was taken after ongoing reports of bullying, violence and indignities at the school during a longer period.
27 June
King Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands has granted his sister-in-law Princess Mabel of Orange-Nassau the Grand Cross of the House Order of Orange for her many services to the Royal House. She was presented with the decorations on Sunday.
28 June
Prince Gustav and Princess Carina zu Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg were involved in a carriage accident in Bernried, Bavaria on Sunday. The horse bolted after which the carriage overturned. They have thanked the coachman for his excellent reaction. The Prince had some minor injuries, while the Princess and the coachman, according to the police, suffered moderate injuries when jumping off the carriage. A spokesman for the couple however said that the injuries were not too serious and that they drove home in the evening.
29 June
King Willem-Alexander and Queen Máxima of the Netherlands paid a three-day visit to Austria. They spent two days in Vienna, and on the last day travelled to the city of Graz.
The annual financial reports of the British royal family have been published.
The Sovereign Grant Report 2021-22
Annual Review of the Prince of Wales 2021-22
The Keeper of the Privy Purse, Sir Michael Stevens during the annual royal finances briefing has confirmed that an independent legal firm has conducted an investigation into the circumstances surrounding the bullying allegiations made by members of staff against the Duchess of Sussex. Buckingham Palace has said that the results won’t be published. The investigation was paid with private money. He only wanted to say that the recommendations on the palace policies and procedures have been taken forward.
30 June
Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom has travelled to Scotland for the annual “Royal Week”. She took part in the Ceremony of the Keys at the Palace of Holyroodhouse, Edinburgh, on Monday. Despite of her mobility issues she attended several engagements in the past days.
Holyrood Week 2022
Another solo engagement for the Duchess of Brabant. Princess Elisabeth opened the Princess Elisabeth Additive Manufacturing Lab of the Catholic University Louvain.
King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia of Spain have received participants of the NATO-Summit 2022 in Madrid on Wednesday and Thursday. Queen Letizia alread met with US-First Lady Jill Biden on Monday and Tuesday for a couple of social engagements.