News Summary R O Y A L B L O G. N L

Benedikte hands out gold medal

Princess Benedikte of Denmark handed Edward Gal of the Netherlands his gold medal in grand prix special dressage at the World Equestrian Games at the Kentucky Horse Park, Wednesday. Gal, riding Moorlands Totilas, finished with a score of 85.667 for his second gold of the event.

He also won the grand prix dressage competition earlier in the week. "I felt (Moorlands Totilas) was much more relaxed today," Gal said. 

"He gave me a fantastic feeling. It is so difficult to explain. You have to ride him to feel it, and I won't allow that. He's such an amazing horse. I don't think I will ever get a horse like that (again)."

Britain's Laura Bechtolsheimer had a score of 81.708 to take the silver, followed by Steffen Peters of the United States at 78.542 for the bronze. GPD © AP 

Emir of Qatar warmly welcomed in Berlin

 
Emir Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani and his wife Sheika Mozah bint Nasser Al Missned of Qatar are on a State Visit to Germany.

 
The royal couple were welcomed by German President Christian Wulff and his wife Bettina at the Bellevue Schloss in Berlin, Wednesday. Later that day the visitors from the oild rich Gulf state met with German chancellor Angela Merkel. GPD © AP

Victoria & Daniel meet Nicolas & Carla

 
On the third day of their official visit to France Swedish Crown Princess Victoria and Prince Daniel kept a busy schedule, travelling from Paris to the southern city of Pau, and back again to Paris for a meeting with French President Nicolas Sarkozy and his wife Carla Bruni.

 
Victoria and Daniel are in France since Sunday to commemorate the bicentenary of the election of French general Jean Baptiste Bernadotte as heir to the throne of Sweden, to succeed the aged and childless King Karl XIII.  

 
Sweden at the time needed a strong ally, having just lost Finland to Russia. France, under Napoleon, was such an ally, and the successful general Jean Bernadotte was chosen in 1810 to continue the monarchy. Bernadotte was not the war-monger some Swedes had hoped him to be, instead he advocated peace and good neighbourship.  

 
Bernadotte ascended to the throne in 1818, and became King of Sweden and Norway as Karl XIV Johan.  © GPD; Photos: © Royal Press Europe, Albert Nieboer

Commonwealth Games: Charles or Patil?

A diplomatic feud is brewing amid the already existing chaos at the Commonwealth Games, this time involving Prince Charles and Indian President Pratibha Patil.

With Queen Elizabeth II skipping the New Delhi Games _ the first Commonwealth Games she's missed since 1966 _ the prince is scheduled to speak on his mother's behalf at Sunday's opening ceremony. However, many Indians feel Patil should be the one to officially inaugurate the games, the first to be held in India and only the second in Asia.

"There is no row. Both the Prince of Wales and the president of India will have a prominent role in the opening ceremony in Delhi," the prince's office, Clarence House, said in a statement. "We cannot be specific about the choreography, but the prince will read out the Queen's baton message, ending by declaring the games open."

Patil's office did not want to comment on the matter. "This is a diplomatic issue which will be decided on by the ministry of external affairs," the Indian president's office said. GPD © AP

Queen Rania has heart procedure in US

Jordan's Royal Palace says Queen Rania has undergone a non-surgical procedure in New York to correct an irregular heartbeat.

The 40-year-old Rania accompanied her husband, King Abdullah II, who attended the U.N. General Assembly meetings in New York. She also attended separate functions, including a panel on empowering girls.

A spokesman for the queen said Monday that Rania had a procedure known as catheter ablation, in which doctors inserted a catheter into a blood vessel and used an electric current to restore a normal heart rhythm.

A palace statement said the procedure went smoothly and that Rania is "well" and in "good spirits." Rania is to remain in a New York hospital for two nights to recuperate and will return home later in the week. GPD © AP

Victoria and Daniel visiting France

 
To mark the 200th anniversary of the election of French general Jean Baptiste Bernadotte as future King of Sweden, Crown Princess Victoria and her husband Prince Daniel, are visiting France.

Watch video of second day of royal visit

 
The Swedish royal couple was welcomed at the Swedish Institute in the Rue Payenne in Paris for a reception, Sunday evening. On Monday Victoria and Daniel will visit Sceaux, where Bernadotte wed Désirée Clary, and on Tuesday the will travel to southern France, to Pau. © GPD; Photos: © Dutch Photo Press, Patrick van Katwijk

 

Marking Spain's first liberal constitution

King Juan Carlos and Queen Sofia on Friday presided over the solemn session of parliament commemorating the bicentennial institution of the Parliament of 1810, held at the Real Teatro de las Cortes in the town of San Fernando, in southern Spain.

In a speech King Juan Carlos said that the 'seed of freedom' born in this city two centuries earlier had inspired the fathers of the current Constitution, which provides Spain with its 'longest period of stability and prosperity in freedom. "

The representatives who gathered at Cádiz were far more liberal than the elite of Spain taken as a whole, and they produced a document far more liberal than might have been produced in Spain were it not for the war. Few of the most conservative voices were at Cádiz, and there was no effective communication with King Ferdinand, who was a virtual prisoner in France. Ferdinand abolsihed the Constitution immediately upon his return in 1814.  GPD © AP More on the 'Constitution of 1812'

Spain's King Juan Carlos, right, talks to parliamentary speaker Jose Bono, left, during a ceremony to celebrate the bicentennial anniversary of the first session of Cadiz's bicameral parliament, known as "Cortes de Cadiz" in San Fernando, southern Spain, on Friday, Sept. 24, 2010. Cadiz's Cortes elaborated Spain's first Constitution in 1812.

Queen's heating subsidy vetoed

A government fund intended to provide subsidized heating to low-income Britons got some interest from an unexpected source: Queen Elizabeth II, who wanted help paying the bills at Buckingham Palace. The official response, according to documents unearthed by The Independent newspaper, was that the handout might prove to be an embarrassment if word got out.

The paper quotes an unnamed functionary as gently reminding the royal household that the money was meant for local authorities, housing associations, and the like. "I also feel a bit uneasy about the probable adverse press coverage if the Palace were given a grant at the expense of say a hospital," the paper quoted the official as saying. "Sorry this doesn't sound more positive."

The newspaper said royal aides were looking for a way to pay the queen's spiraling utility bills, which had risen by 50 percent to more than 1 million pounds ($1.58 million) in 2004. A letter written that year and addressed to Britain's culture department asked whether the queen could get a community energy grant to upgrade the heating systems at Buckingham Palace and Windsor Castle, the monarch's favorite weekend residence.

Officials were receptive to the idea, but eventually decided against it, the paper said Friday, citing documents obtained under Britain's Freedom of Information Act. A Buckingham Palace spokeswoman confirmed that royal officials had explored the possibility of getting money under the program, saying it was part of an attempt to reduce both its burden on the taxpayer and improve the palaces' energy efficiency.

She claimed the royal household was not initially aware that the money had been earmarked for low-income Britons. The queen's finances have been controversial in the past, with occasional debates about whether Britain's head of state costs too much. Still, the queen has a reputation for frugality and the monarchy has recently been keen to show it gives value for money.

Taxpayers fund the royal household to the tune of 38.2 million pounds ($60 million) a year, which the royal website points out is only 62 pence (less than a dollar) per person. That amount doesn't include the cost of providing security for the queen and her family.

Expensive or not, word that the royal household had toyed with the idea of trying to get money intended for some of the nation's poorest citizens had a medieval ring to it and predictably the drew the ire of Republic, which campaigns for the abolition of the British monarchy. The group said the story provided "clear evidence of the contempt the palace has for ordinary people in this country." GPD © AP

Unusual stage for King Abdullah

King Abdullah of Jordan on Thusrday accepted an invitation by Jon Stewart of the popular American television programme Comedy Central, to appear on 'The Daily Show with Jon Stewart'.

King Abdullah and Queen Rania are in New York to attend various United Nations meetings, including the General Assembly which started on Wednesday. 

 
King Abdullah ready to address the General Assembly.

Queen Rania earlier in the week, speaking about education for children. GPD © AP

Strong royal presence at U.N. meet in NY

* Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon greets Princess Maxima of the Netherlands at the 65th session of the United Nations General Assembly

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon warned kings, prime ministers and presidents in his keynote address at the General Assembly of the U.N. in New York, Wednesday, of growing political polarization and social inequalities in the world.

* King Abdullah at the U.N. luncheon

He implored U.N. members to show greater tolerance and mutual respect to bring nations and peoples together. "We hear the language of hate, false divisions between 'them' and 'us,' those who insist on 'their way' or 'no way,"' he said. In times of such polarization and uncertainty, Ban said, "let us remember, the world still looks to the United Nations for moral and political leadership."

* Morocco's King Mohammed VI, with the U.N. Secretary General.

President Barack Obama, speaking soon after, echoed the secretary-general, warning that underneath challenges to security and prosperity "lie deeper fears: that ancient hatreds and religious divides are once again ascendant; that a world which has grown more interconnected has somehow slipped beyond our control.

* U.S. President Barack Obama talks to Argentinian President Cristina Fernandez, seated, as Turkish President Abdullah Gul, left, and Qatar Emir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, center, look on, during a luncheon hosted by UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon at the United Nations.

* Queen Rania of Jordan and her plea for Education for All.

Qatar's Emir Sheik Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani declared that terrorism "should not be treated by waging wars." He blamed wars fought to combat terrorism for spreading destruction, causing the death and displacement of millions of people "as well as economic and financial crises that shook the stability of the world and undermined the efforts made in dialogue among cultures.

* Salman ibn Hamad ibn Isa Al Khalifa, crown prince of Bahrain, right, talks with Amre Moussa, secretary-general of the Arab League

GPD © AP