Globe Trotting Royals

HRH Hereditary Grand Duke Guillaume of Luxembourg (above) will be visiting the U.S. cities of Los Angeles, Phoenix, Seattle and San Francisco as part of a delegation to meet with the heads of companies with a history of doing business with Luxembourg and to encourage more businesses to move or open new branches there (many businesses are fleeing California in particular these days) and likewise to meet with those companies interested in the opportunities Luxembourg offers.

HRH the Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall have been on a tour of Eastern Europe and have just finished their visit to Poland where the Duchess had to take a break from the activities of the day due to back pain. The royal couple will next be visiting Hungary. The Prince of Wales hopes to strengthen ties with the eastern countries that have recently been coming into the European Union. Just after his arrival in Poland the Prince of Wales visited the grave of Father Jerzy Popieluszko, a priest murdered by the communists who the Vatican is set to beatify next year this summer. The couple have also met with the Polish President and First Lady and visited a group of Muslim Tatars on the Belarussian border.

Last week HM King Norodom Sihamoni of Cambodia visited France to accept his place in the French Academy of Inscriptions and Belles-lettres. The King formerly lived in France and in his acceptance speech talked about the veneration of the Khmer people for their ancient temples and of the great work done by his father, Senior King Norodom Sihanouk. Cambodia became a French protectorate in 1863 and became independent in 1953 under King Sihanouk.