News Summary Royalblog.nl

'Rise, Sir Nick Faldo'

Nick Faldo has been knighted by Queen Elizabeth II for a career in which he won six majors and captained Europe's Ryder Cup team. Faldo can now call himself Sir Nick Faldo following the ceremony at Windsor Castle.

He was awarded the honor for services to the sport. Faldo says he had ‘dreams as a young boy of being a golfer and winning tournaments, but you don't dream of this.’ The two-time European Order of Merit winner won three Masters and three British Open titles and is just the second professional golfer to be knighted after Henry Cotton in 1988. © GPD AP

King Abdullah II visits with Gordon Brown

* King Abdullah of Jordan held talks with British Prime Minister Gordon Brown at 10 Downing Street, in London, Tuesday. GPD © AP

Thaksin sings praises of Thai Crown Prince

Thailand's ousted Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, whose political battle against his successors has left his country bitterly divided, received a warm welcome Tuesday in neighboring Cambodia, which shares his disdain for the current government in Bangkok.

Thaksin, a globe-trotting fugitive from Thai justice whose sniping at his homeland has kept his countrymen on edge, has now helped stir up a sharp diplomatic clash between the neighboring nations. Last week he was appointed an adviser to the Cambodian government on economic affairs, sparking cries that he was selling out his own country.

He ignited further controversy Monday with an interview in which he made remarks that his critics construed as being insulting to Thailand's monarchy. Thaksin went into self-imposed exile last year ahead of a court's judgment that found him guilty of violating a conflict of interest law and sentenced him to two years in jail.

He served as prime minister from 2001 to 2006, when he was ousted by a military coup after being accused of corruption and showing disrespect to the monarchy. Thaksin's supporters and opponents have repeatedly taken to the streets since then to spar over who has the right to rule the country, sometimes sparking violence.

Thaksin's surprising appointment soured already poor relations between the two neighbors, which have had small but sometimes deadly skirmishes over their land border in the past year. Thailand responded to the appointment by withdrawing its ambassador from Phnom Penh, and Cambodia retaliated in kind.

In an interview published Monday on the Web site of The Times. Thaksin spoke glowingly of the prospects for Crown Prince Vajiralongkorn once he succeeds his father. But he criticized the king's close advisers for interfering in politics. Open discussion of the succession issue is delicate, in part because of strict laws that prohibit insulting the king and his family.

Thai King Bhumibol has been in hospital for the last two months. Thai Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya, who was an anti-Thaksin activist before joining the government, said to reporters that Thaksin's interview was offensive to the monarchy, and questioned his motive for making them. Other officials made similar criticisms. GPD © AP

Tonga King to give up part of power

The Final Report of Tonga’s Constitutional and Electoral Commission has recommended that the country’s monarchy be stripped of its powers to select and be part of the executive government, Radio New Zealand International reported.

The recommendations come in a just-completed report on a proposed new system of government to be introduced for Tonga next year which has been presented to the King and parliament and also made publicly available.

The report has recommended that the King and Privy Council shall no longer be part of the Executive Government which shall only be answerable to the Legislative Assembly. The King also loses the power to appoint the Prime Minister. The number of people’s representatives in parliament will increas from 9 tot 17, with only nine nobles representatives. © GPD: Pacific Islands Report

Serbian CP visits his father's grave

Serbian Crown Prince Alexander II, along with his wife Crown Princess Katherine and the Princes Peter. Philip and Alexander visited the grave of the late King Peter II of Yugoslavia, who is buried at the Saint Sava Monastery in Libertyville, Illinois.

King Peter II is the only (foreign) King buried in the United States. There are plans to repatriate the remains of the King to Serbia for reburial at the royal mausoleum in Oplenac.

Crown Prince Alexander II, born in exile in London during World War II, is the only son of King Peter II. The three princes are grandsons of the late King. © GPD

Charles all smiles in British Columbia

* Prince Charles, wearing the Canadian Navy uniform, smiles during a visit to Canadian Forces Base Esquimalt near Victoria, B.C., Monday, Nov. 9, 2009. Prince Charles and Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, are on an 11-day tour across Canada. GPD © AP

Queen marks Remembrance Sunday

Queen Elizabeth II led Britain's annual ceremony for the country's war dead Sunday, honoring them with a moment of silence as the military reported that more than 200 British soldiers have been killed in combat in Afghanistan.

As Big Ben chimed 11 a.m., the queen joined thousands of troops, veterans and civilians in the traditional two-minute silence on Remembrance Sunday beside London's major war memorial, the Cenotaph. The silence was broken by a single artillery blast and the sound of Royal Marine buglers playing Last Post.

The remembrance service is held every year on the nearest Sunday to the anniversary of the end of World War I at 11 a.m. on Nov. 11, 1918, and now pays tribute to the dead in all conflicts, including World War II, Iraq and Afghanistan. GPD © AP

Albert takes self proclaimed spy to court

Monaco's Prince Albert II is filing a lawsuit in the U.S. against an American who claims he once worked as the prince's personal spymaster and is owed back pay, the prince's French lawyer said Friday.

Claims by Robert Eringer appearing in the media smear the image of the ruling prince and the reputation of Monaco, the palace said. The claims are for the most part baseless, a statement said.

Eringer, of Santa Barbara, California, filed a lawsuitthree weeks ago in the U.S. state against Albert seeking compensation for back pay, lawyer Thierry Lacoste said. He said that the prince's suit was in progress in the U.S. but could not say when or where it would be filed.

Eringer claimed in an interview in this week's Paris Match magazine that his work for Albert began in June 2002, while the prince was still in the shadow of his omnipotent father, Prince Rainier, who died in April 2005. Eringer claimed he was tasked by Albert with keeping abreast of potentially shady figures seeking favors in Monaco as part of an effort to root out corruption.

The work allegedly ended in March 2007 with no formal termination notice. Eringer said he, therefore, continued his job. Eringer claimed in the interview with the picture magazine that he is a former FBI agent and said that during his private work on behalf of the prince he established contact with a handful of intelligence agencies.

The picture painted by Eringer of his work suggests cloak and dagger operations in the sunny principality, which has long attracted the rich and famous as a paradise for gamblers and those seeking a tax haven _ a status that has recently been changed.

Eringer claimed an entity dubbed the Monaco Intelligence Service, or MIS, was set up for his operations and he installed himself in a three-room Monaco apartment with a view on the palace which he dubbed M-base. Paris Match showed a photo of an ID card for the Monaco Intelligence Service carrying Eringer's picture and number 001. The palace said Friday that MIS has no legal existence. No structure bearing the name M.I.S. (Monaco Intelligence Service) has ever existed, the palace said. GPD © AP

Laurent goes home when he wants to

Belgian Prince Laurent goes home when he wants to. According to the Belang van Limburg newspaper the prince recently left the Royal Palace in Brussels in a huff, after attending the traditional annual Autumn concert.

Customary members of the royal family meet and greet the 500 plus invited guests, with King Albert and Queen Paola concentrating on the politians and the other family members mingling with the invited public.

Laurent and his wife Claire had their work cut out for them, as Prince Filip, Princess Mathilde and Prince Lorenz were abroad, and only Princess Astrid was left to join them in the work. Laurent however wasn’t in the mood. "I go home when I want to", he reportedly told the chef of protocol. And left. © GPD Belang van Limburg

Mexico keeps Dutch royals idling for a while

Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands was welcomed at Mexico’s National Palace at the start of a four day State Visit.

The queen who returned to the country of her 1966 honeymoon, is accompanied by Prince Willem-Alexander and Princess Máxima. Beatrix visited Mexico too in 1964, with her parents Queen Juliana and Prince Bernhard. The prince was a great lover of Mexico. ,,At home we were introduced to the Mexican music he was so passioned about", the queen said in her speech at the State banquet.

Queen Beatrix arrived Monday morning local time with the Dutch government plane at Benito Juarez’ international airport presidential hangar. The Dutch royals arrived in the country earlier and spent the weekend in the Yucatan peninsula.

From the airport the royal guests were taken to the Altar a la Patria, Mexico’s national monument at the foot of Chapultepec Castle (once occupied by the ill-fated foreign imposed Emperor Maximilian and his wife Empress Carlota).

Here the country honours its brave cadets, who rather than surrender to the invading American army in 1847, gave up their lives.

According to the programme the queen was than to be taken straight to the National Palace. But halfway the Paseo de la Reforma, Mexico’s Maximilian inspired grand boulevard, the motorcade was told to turn around. No reason was given, but the royal party was than send on a goose chase around the national monument.

Perhaps it had been decided that Mexico’s President Felipe Calderón would welcome his guest at his residence Los Pinos instead, or the welcoming party at the National Palace on the Zócala in the Centro Historico was not in place yet. Queen Beatrix was left idling for some twenty minutes, before being taken to the palace at last for the colourful and impressive ceremony on the Patio de Honor, the inner courtyard.

In the evening President Calderón hosted a state banquet, serving squash flower soup with avocado, sea bass Vera Cruz style with wild rice and chillacayottes stuffed with corn kernels, and tejocote tart. Both heads of state in their table speeches lauded each other’s countries, with Queen Beatrix reminiscing on her earlier visit with her parents in 1964 and on her honeymoon. © GPD; Photos by © RB Marius Cirtiu

Charles and Camilla in Newfoundland

Prince Charles and the Duchess of Cornwall are in Canada for an 11-day visit. The couple arrived in Canada's east coast province of Newfoundland and Labrador on Monday.

Newfoundland joined the Canadian Confederation fifty years ago. It's the 15th time Charles has toured Canada, but the first time with his wife Camilla by his side.

The heir to the throne will also be making stops in Ontario, British Columbia and Québec - despite opposition to his visit and the monarchy in the French speaking province. They will wind up their visit Nov. 12 in Ottawa. GPD © AP

King Abdullah meets Palestinean leader

* Jordan's King Abdullah on Monday met with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, in Amman. The King also held talks with the American special peace envoy for the Middle East, George Mitchell. 

GPD © AP

Prince William finally going Down Under

Prince William's office says he is planning an official visit to New Zealand, where he will represent the queen at the opening of the new Supreme Court building.

Though William has previously carried out numerous engagements on his own, the January trip to Wellington and Auckland is the first time that William will act on behalf of his grandmother, Queen Elizabeth II.

The 27-year-old prince is then to travel to Australia. His office said Monday he was invited by the government "to begin to get to know Australia and its people, and build on the royal family's close personal links with Australia for himself. William's only previous Australian visit was in 1983, when aged 9 months he accompanied his mother and father on their official tour. GPD © AP

Prince Henrik is taking his family 'home'

Queen Margrethe II of Denmark has travelled to Vietnam for a first ever State Visit.  The queen is accompanied by Prince-consort Henrik and the Crown Princely couple Frederik and Mary. 

For Prince Henrik the State Visit is much more than a state occasion. French born Henrik, 75, spent his first five years in Hanoi, where his father worked till 1939. The young Henri, as he was called at the time, returned to Vietnam in 1950 to study at the French gymnasium.

Henrik’s years in Vietnam came to hound him a few years back when he described how he had eaten dog meat while living there. By Danish and international media that revelation was taken as if he liked it the meat, which would put all dogs in Denmark in imminent danger of being eaten by the Prince-consort.

* Margrethe and Henrik talk with Vietnamese President Nguyen Minh Triet and First Lady Tran Thi Kim Chi at the Presidential Palace in Hanoi, Monday

It will be the first time Crown Princess Mary will accompany the royal couple on a State Visit. Crown Prince Frederik went along with his parents on a State Visit to Thailand in 2001. The Danish royals will extend their stay in Vietnam for a three day private visit.

Vietnam is currently in favour with European royalty: Kings Harald (Norway) and Carl Gustaf (Sweden) and the Duke of York already went there and Luxembourg’s Grand-Duke Henri is currently rescheduling a cancelled visit. © GPD; Photos by GPD © AP

Thai King makes another short appearance

Thailand's ailing 81-year-old King Bhumibol Adulyadej made a brief public appearance Monday, the second during his six-week hospitalization, easing concerns about his health that have shaken the public and the local stock market.

Bhumibol was hospitalized on Sept. 19 with fever, fatigue and lack of appetite. Most Thais revere the monarch, who has been on the throne for 63 years, and are deeply unsure about what will happen in the politically divided nation at the eventual end of his reign.

The king, accompanied by family members and a retinue of aides and nurses, appeared alert but weak as he was taken Monday evening by wheelchair from his hospital room to a nearby pier on the Chao Phraya River, where he briefly celebrated the Loy Krathong holiday.

During Loy Krathong, Thais set afloat lotus-shaped trays containing flowers, candles and incense with prayers that their misfortunes will drift away and good luck will come. The king was handed one of the floats, which he handed back to an aide to place in the water. GPD © AP

Kent's selling off family heirlooms

Fancy a piece of British royal history? Then head to Christie's in London this month. The auction house is selling furniture, jewelry and other heirlooms from the collection of the late Duke of Kent, and his late wife Princess Marina. They are being sold by the couple's children.

The 336 lots include silver wine coolers, linen towels from the Sandringham estate and King George V's picnic set, complete with silver thermos flask. Personal items include a painting by Queen Victoria of her daughter, Princess Louise, and a chair used at the coronation of King George VI.

Christie's said Monday the collection is expected to raise more than 1 million pounds ($1.64 million) at the Nov. 20 sale. GPD © AP

Dutch Prince runs in NYC marathon again

Dutch Prince Pieter-Christiaan participated for the sixth time in the New York Marathon this Sunday. Some 400 Dutch runners too part, in an effort to raise awareness for the NY400 celebration.

Most runners joined on Saturday the International Friendship Run, a short training course for foreign runners. Prince Pieter-Christiaan, third son of Princess Margriet, handed NYRR President and CEO Mary Wittenberg a special NY400 commemorative coin of five euros, to thank the organisation for all their efforts. © GPD

Juan Carlos comes to support Alonso

Spanish king Juan Carlos came to the Yes Marina racetrack in Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates to attend the last Formula One Grand Prix of this season, Sunday.

Before the race he spoke with Fernando Alonso, who is leaving Renault for Ferrari next year. Alonso finished a disappointing 14th in his final race with Renault. "I would like to thank the entire team for everything that we have achieved together over the years", Alonso said. GPD © AP

Queen and President see off the baton

Britain's Queen Elizabeth II and India's President Pratibha Patil attend the launch of the XIX Commonwealth Games Queen's Baton Relay for the Delhi 2010 Commonwealth Games outside Buckingham Palace in London, Thursday.

GPD © AP 

Prince Charles gives Burberry a lift

Britain's Prince Charles is presented with a gabardine walking jacket by Burberry's creative director Christopher Bailey as the Prince officially opened the new Burberry global headquarters in London Thursday. 

Prince Charles was given a tour of the new headquarters and was shown Burberry's latest collections as well as celebrating a grant from the Burberry Foundation to the Prince's Foundation for Children & the Arts. GPD © AP