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Saturday, July 10, 2010

Royal News Roundup

On the royal House of Windsor front, the Harper administration has named its candidate for the next Governor-General of Canada; a constitutional law professor named David Johnston. Yes, in a move totally breaking with tradition, the next representative of the Queen in Canada will be a white man who is not best known as a “television personality” but for actually being an expert on the inner workings of the Canadian government. Shocking isn’t it. There is also some very happy news on the family front as HM Queen Elizabeth II is set to become a great-grandmother for the first time (and about time, my grandmother is the same age and is about to be a great-great grandmother). Her oldest grandchild, Peter Philips, son of the Princess Royal Anne, has just announced that he and his wife Autumn Philips are expecting their first child. Royal watchers might remember a slight uproar at the time of their marriage as Autumn, a nominal Catholic, was required to change her religion to the CofE so that the Queen’s oldest grandson would not lose his place in the succession. The Mad Monarchist sends the couple heartfelt congratulations and we hope the pregnancy goes smoothly.
In the Low Countries the Crown Princes of the Netherlands and Belgium were out recently to show off their good looking families. Prince Willem-Alexander of Orange, Princess Maxima and their three daughters (Catharina-Amalia, Alexia and Ariane) posed for the cameras at the Eikenhorst at Horsten gardens in Wassenaar. The three princesses were pretty in pink and evidently still coming off the ‘high’ of all the fun at the World Cup as Princess Catharina-Amalia was playing with one of those annoying vuvuzela horns (yuck!) but at least it appeared to be an appropriate orange color. Mom and Dad posed as well but the girls stole the show, making all sorts of adorable faces and waving at the cameras. They better watch those girls; they’re adorable and they know it!
Not to be left out Prince Philippe Duke of Brabant and Princess Mathilde of Belgium took their little ones for some summer fun at an educational farm in Loppem where the children; Princess Elisabeth, Prince Gabriel, Princess Emmanuel and little Princess Eleonore saw what some farm chores are all about, fed and played with the animals and learned to make bread.
Looks like a good day at the market -if you buy the whole set they knock some off the price!
Princess Eleonore does not seem very impressed.

4 comments:

  1. Princess Mathilde is such a beauty. I don't know if you've seen this, but here is a clip of Philippe and Mathilde taking their children for an outing in the woods:

    http://crossoflaeken.blogspot.com/2009/02/princelings.html

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  2. Mother to four children and Crown Princess Mathilde still looks HOT in those jeans! How can I focus on the rest of the post? lol

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  3. Imagine me finding both of the above comments at the same time -Belgian minds think alike it seems (though coming from rather different places let us say). Belgie, I would have to agree though I think you could find a more polite way of saying so when referring to your future Queen (God willing).

    Matterhorn, thanks very much, I had not seen that before but it brought me a smile. They are such a lovely family and since the Crown Princess is getting all the compliments here, let me say that the Duke of Brabant, while he is looking his age, seems to act very young with his children; if you know what I mean, he seems very youthful and energetic. His behavior seems like a very young, new Dad. Perhaps you can give a feminine opinion of his whiskers. If he lets them get too long he might start to resemble a rather unpopular Belgian royal I shall not name... (I usually have them myself so my view would be biased).

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  4. I have to calls'em as I sees'em. I love the Crown Princess, I regard her with all my respect, I like a Belgian born queen, good for the future, but princess or queen, a babe by any other name is still h-o-t and she is hot! Some girls may put on an act, but they all like to hear it, trust me. And she is. Hot.

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