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

Saudi King on 'special leave'

Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah is in Morocco on what's described as "special leave" as the country's affairs are being run by the No. 2 to the throne. The official Saudi Press Agency gave no other details about the trip or any possible health issues with the 88-year-old monarch. The agency called the trip both a "special leave" and "private vacation."

Abdullah hosted a gathering of Islamic countries earlier this month and has kept a steady schedule of meetings before his departure late Monday for Morocco, where the Saudi royal family has a palace
compound. A royal decree placed Crown Prince Salman in charge of Saudi affairs during the king's absence. © GPD AP

Prince Philip home to Balmoral

Britain's Prince Philip left Aberdeen Royal Infirmary Monday after five days of treatment for a bladder infection.

The 91-year-old husband of Queen Elizabeth II was hospitalized Wednesday with a recurrence of an infection he suffered earlier this summer. Buckingham Palace said Philip was discharged from Aberdeen Royal Infirmary in northeast Scotland was returning to the nearby Balmoral estate, where the royal family is on vacation. © GPD AP

Prince Michael honours Allied soldiers

Britain's Prince Michael of Kent on Sunday attended commemorations to honour Allied soldiers killed 70 years ago in a failed World War II invasion, in Dieppe, northern France.

Some 1,400 soldiers were killed in "Operation Jubilee" when the Allies tried to briefly invade Dieppe to test German defenses. © GPD AP

Royal support for Dutch Paralympians

Princess Margriet and her husband Prof. Pieter van Vollenhoven will attend the Opening Ceremony of the Paralympic Games in London, the Government Information Service (RVD) announced. The royal couple will support 91 paralympic athletes from the Netherlands who are hoping to improve on the 22 medals won at the previous Paralympic Games in Beijing in 2008.

Princess Margriet and Pieter van Vollenhoven will visit several events in the first days of the ten day event. The sister of Queen Beatrix is member of the honourary board of the International Paralympic Committee, along with Sweden's Crown Princess Victoria and Monaco's Prince Albert II.

Clarence House in London announced on Thursday that the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge (William and Kate) and Prince Harry will be supporting the British paralympic team.

The Dutch chose javelin thrower Ronald Hertog, 23, to carry the flag into the Olympic stadium on opening night on Wednesday August 29th. Hertog is the reigning European champion and aims to be the first amputee athlete to throw the javelin over 60 metres. His current record is 56,76 metres. © HJ

Felipe attends inauguration Pres. Medina

Spain's Prince Felipe attended the inauguration of Danilo Medina as new president of the Dominican Republic, Thursday. It is customary for the heir to the throne of Spain to attend the inauguartion of new heads of state in Latin America.

Dominican Republic's new President Danilo Medina succeeded President Leonel Fernandez. Medina, a 60-year-old economist of the Dominican Liberation Party won 51 percent of the vote in May, beating former President Hipolito Mejia.

Fernandez' wife Margarita Cedeño de Fernandez is the new Vice-President. © GPD AP

Prince Philip to stay in hospital

Prince Philip will likely remain hospitalized for a few more days while receiving treatment for a recurring bladder infection, Buckingham Palace said Thursday.

The 91-year-old husband of Queen Elizabeth II was taken to Aberdeen Royal Infirmary, in Scotland, on Wednesday. The palace said Thursday that he is responding well to treatment, but it was unclear when Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh, would be released.

It said "he is likely to remain in hospital for a few more days." Philip was taken to the Aberdeen hospital as he and the queen had been staying at Balmoral, her country retreat in eastern Scotland. It is Philip's third hospital stay in the last eight months. © GPD AP

Reinventing toilets and Dutch Crown Prince

In June 2011, the Bill & Melinda Gates foundation awarded eight universities grants of approximately $400,000 to leverage, in one year, advances in science and technology to create a waterless, hygienic toilet that is safe and affordable for people in the developing world. One year later, the Gates Foundation is hosting the Reinvent the Toilet Fair to showcase the work of these teams.

Prince Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands was asked to give speech at the Awards Ceremony. The Prince of Orange as he is more properly known, is Chair of the UN Secretary-General's Advisory Board on Water and Sanitation. As such "I do spend a good deal of time advocating for more toilets. So, it is exciting to get a close-up look at all the state-of-the-art toilets here. I know that they can make a big contribution in solving the sanitation crisis", the Prince said.

Toilets are obviously not sexy, but access to proper toilets for the entire world population is a human right. "There is also an economic side. Healthcare is becoming prohibitively expensive. Curative healthcare is ten times more expensive than preventive healthcare. By shifting dollars from curative to preventative health, sanitation is extremely cost effective public health intervention", the Prince said.

"Solving the sanitation crisis is not just a technological challenge. Education, demand creation, cultural perceptions, advocacy, supply chains and public policy must all be grappled with. Some call these "soft" issues, but they are no less real. Sanitation solutions will be very different for rural and urban communities, for dry or tropical ecosystems, and for democratic or centralized states."

"These winning toilets are a real achievement and a tremendous advance. They deserve investment and widespread distribution. Carried out with careful attention to context", Willem-Alexander stated before touring the winning designs with Bill Gates at the Microsoft campus in Seattle. © HJ; Source: © RVD; Pictures provided  by Gatesfoundation; The full speech: click here

Football nostalgia at the Stockholm Palace

Members of Brazil's 1958 World Cup side, including Zito, Pele, Mazzola, and Pepe, met with Queen Silvia, Crown Princess Victoria and Prince Daniel of Sweden during a reception at the Royal Palace in Stockholm Wednesday.

The Swedish national football team met Brazil later Wednesday for a friendly match which was the last one played at the Rasunda stadium, where Brazil won their very first World Cup title in 1958, before that arena is razed. Brazil beat Sweden in the friendly 3-0. © GPD AP

Prince Philip taken to hospital again

Queen Elizabeth II's husband, Prince Philip, was admitted to hospital Wednesday with a recurrence of the bladder infection he suffered earlier this summer, Buckingham Palace said. Palace officials said he would likely stay in the hospital for a few days for investigation and treatment.

The 91-year-old royal consort was hospitalized for five days in June with a bladder infection that may have been aggravated by his prolonged appearance at a flotilla pageant marking the queen's 60-year reign. Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh, was taken from the royal family's Balmoral estate in Scotland to the Aberdeen Royal Infirmary on the advice of his physician.

Philip resumed royal duties after recovering from his bladder infection in June, attending the opening ceremony of the Olympics on July 27, watching his granddaughter Zara Phillips take part in Olympic equestrian competition two days later and carrying out engagements on the Isle of Wight on Monday. He has looked well at recent events despite his advancing years. © GPD AP

King Juan Carlos gets holiday visit from PM

Britain's Queen Elizabeth traditionally has her Prime Minister come and stay for a weekend during her longer summer holiday at Balmoral in Scotland. Spain's King Juan Carlos traditionally has his Prime Minister come and visit Marivent Palace in Palma de Mallorca.

For Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy it was the first such visit since he came to office last year December. Meeting with reporters afterwards he said he had still not made a decision on asking for more financial aid for his country and would not until the European Central bank made known plans and conditions for for buying troubled government bonds.

The King meanwhile kept a low profile. He has had his fair share of disasters and mishaps this year, including a public fall only two weeks ago which left him with bruises. © GPD AP