Crown Princess Mary of Denmark christened a new frigate for the Royal Danish Navy, “The Niels Juel”. Later she opened a National Geographic photo exhibition in Copenhagen where Princess Benedikte also attended a fashion show on Tuesday.
In Sweden, Crown Princess Victoria and Prince Daniel made a special visit to the northern part of the country, touring local facilities and meeting local officials. Across the pond in New York, little sister Madeleine visited a youth center in Harlem. The Norwegian Royals were also in Sweden this week for the opening of an art exhibition which features some works done by Queen Sonja of Norway herself. Also in Norwegian news, the Crown Prince and Princess will be releasing a special Christmas CD featuring young Norwegian singers with proceeds to benefit underprivileged Norwegian youth.
In the Low Countries, HRH Grand Duke of Henri of Luxembourg made a state visit to the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, visiting Hanoi, Hue and Saigon. And, on Friday, Hereditary Grand Duke Guillaume turned 30-years old. I hope he enjoyed it more than I did. Of course, The Mad Monarchist wishes the future Grand Duke a very happy birthday. So far, he’s been an upstanding prince. In Belgium, Crown Princess Mathilde visited the “House of Parenting” in Leuven; giving them some pointers perhaps? On Armistice Day Princess Mathilde attended commemorations in Flanders while Prince Philippe, on behalf of King Albert II, attended the wreath-laying ceremony in Brussels. And the Dutch Royal Family wrapped up a successful visit to the Caribbean where the Queen and Prince and Princess of Orange visited all the major Dutch islands, even those where there has been an up-swing in anti-Dutch rabble-rousing lately but which went off without incident. Princess Maxima attended opened a special week dedicated to teaching young people how to handle money. She later opened a new department in the Hague dedicated to ‘production chain sustainability’. The Princess was also in Utrecht this week, at the mint, to present the first coins produced for the aforementioned “Money Week”. On Friday, HM Queen Beatrix was at the Hall of Knights in The Hague to mark 200 years of judicial power. She was even given a couple of books on the subject -though I doubt she needs them. Recently Her Majesty also became the oldest Dutch monarch in the history of that kingdom, passing the record set by King Willem III.
The Prince and Princess of the Asturias were in London this week, promoting business links between Spain and the United Kingdom. Meanwhile, officials are investigating corruption allegations concerning a non-profit firm once led by the husband of HRH Infanta Cristina. So far, the palace has not commented on that. In Monaco, HSH Prince Albert II took in the new film “Oxygen”, meeting with the director and stars afterward. This week he also accepted the credentials of new ambassadors to Monaco from the nations of Ukraine, Switzerland and Lithuania as well as a new ambassador from the French Republic. Today also marks the anniversary of the birth of the late Princess Grace who would have been 82-years old today. Always one of a kind, I’m sure Her Serene Highness is looking down on her children, properly pleased that her dear Albie has finally settled down to married life.
The Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall visited South Africa before going on to Tanzania where they even danced with the locals on Zanzibar. Of course, the Prince of Wales also had to take time out to explain the dangers of global warming to the natives. On Thursday, HRH the Duke of Edinburgh visited the Field of Remembrance at Westminster Abbey, placing a cross and meeting with a number of British war veterans. The same day HM the Queen was visiting Goodenough College to mark the 80th anniversary of that institution (gotta love the name). That evening the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge attended a charity gala at St James Palace to benefit an arboretum for veterans (probably best I say nothing about that one). On Friday, the Queen and Prince Consort were in Margate where they visited a modern art gallery, a new café and a lifeboat station. It was also announced on Thursday that soon Prince William, Duke of Cambridge, will be deployed to the South Atlantic British possession of the Falkland Islands. Tensions over the islands have flared up again recently over speculation that there may be oil in the territorial waters. Argentine President Cristina Kirchner raised eyebrows recently by saying that the Argentine claim to the islands is “non-negotiable” and calling the United Kingdom a, “crude, colonial power in decline”.
I think it is needless to say that I am pro-Britain on the Falklands thing. Though I hope the Emperor of Japan heals well.
ReplyDeleteOh, it's not needless. A Frenchman wishing Britain well? If you go to London they might put up a statue of you! ;-)
ReplyDeleteWell, you know, us colonialists have to stick together! Can't let the riff-raff take all our little islands!
ReplyDeleteI've often thought that we should get Newfoundland back, if the redeems me, haha.
lol I doubt that but you could probably get Haiti at a bargain bin price.
ReplyDeleteThe oil claims are nothing new, there was intense speculation about a possible undersea field in the Falklands in the 1970s, and it would have no doubt been developed sooner had it not been for Argentine aggression.
ReplyDeleteI really hope Britain doesn't take the PC approach and back down, or worse yet, agree to some sort of revenue sharing with the Argies. A big, new, productive oil field would be a tremendous benefit to the islands, the UK, and the world and ought to be pursued at all costs regardless of Buenos Aires' saber rattling. Argentina is in such shambles right now (worse off than Britain) that they could hardly afford a repeat of 1982, and I bet their president knows that full well.
I'm sure the President also knows that the prevailing opinion at the Foreign Office has long been that the Falklands are not worth having. They probably also know that pretty soon the Royal Navy will be cut to a trawler and two row boats at the rate their going. Even in the 80's many in London didn't want to fight over the islands and even then the Navy was only barely strong enough to manage it. I'm sure if Kirchner tries anything it will be on the understanding that Britain will be unable or unwilling to do anything about it.
ReplyDeleteOf course, I would like to be wrong, I'd love to see the UK cut out all the welfare and foreign aid and rebuild the RN and reassert herself as the best (if not the biggest) naval force in the world. But somehow I doubt it.
This is true. Its pretty hard to see how that sort of war could be fought without even a single aircraft carrier, which is where the Royal Navy will be all too soon.
ReplyDelete"Crude" is quite rich, from a country whose human rights record in living memory left much to be desired.
ReplyDeleteYeah, "Call Me Dave" should ask Kirchner to compare the UK vs Argentina record on military coups.
ReplyDelete