King Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands and Queen Máxima wrapped up their four day working visit to Germany in Schloss Oranienbaum near Dessau in Saxony-Anhalt. Oranienbaum - Orange Tree - has a close connection to the Dutch royal family as it was build in the late seventeenth century by Princess Henriëtte Catharina, daughter of the Dutch Stadholder Frederick Hendrick, and Princess of Anhalt-Dessau. The Dutch King is a 9th generation descendant of Henriëtte.
© RB
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King Willem-Alexander and Queen Máxima of the Netherlands marked the 500th anniversary of the start of the Reformation by Martin Luther by visiting the 'Schlosskirche' (Palace Church) in Lutherstadt Wittenberg. According to tradition it was at the door of this All Saints Church that Martin Luther put his 95 theses opposing the Catholic Church's sale of indulgences. That was the starting point of the Church Reformation, and brought about the protestant churches.
The Netherlands were influenced by Luther, although it was John Calvin who had a stronger and lasting effect on its culture, religion, history and tradition, King Willem-Alexander said after the visit. The Dutch Royal Couple are on a four day working visit to the German states of Thuringia, Saxony and Saxony-Anhalt.
Queen Margrethe of Denmark visited the same Church in October and presented an altar cloth she had made and designed herself. One week later the Church was visited by King Carl Gustaf and Queen Silvia of Sweden during their State Visit to Germany.
© RB Hans Jacobs
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Forget sunny weather and pleasant temperatures. Gråsten and southern Denmark were having none of that on the eve of the arrival of Queen Margrethe and Prince Henrik for their annual summer stay at Gråsten Castle. Instead Thursday evening saw low temperatures, gusty winds and quite a few showers.
A weather man across the border in Germany - only a few kilometres away - quipped that it would be quite pleasant if this was April weather. But it is supposed to clear up over the weekend. Maybe not in time for the annual photo shoot, but at least before the parade on Sunday.
The Danish royals have been coming to Gråsten almost every summer since 1936, when then Crown Prince Frederik and his Swedish born wife Crown Princess Ingrid started the tradition. The Danish government had given them use of the castle which, given its location near the German border in a part of Denmark which had just rejoined the nation, held great significance for all Danes.
After her mother's death in 2000 Queen Margrethe has kept up the tradition of bringing the family together in Gråsten and eldest son Crown Prince Frederik and Crown Princess Mary have started a tradition of their own, by coming here ahead of the Queen's arrival and spending time as a family.
© RB Hans Jacobs
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Swedish Queen Silvia officially opened the World Equestrian Festival CHIO in the German imperial city of Aachen, accompanied by King Carl Gustaf and Danish Princess Benedikte. Some 41,000 spectators saw and heard the queen on Wednesday evening deliver her opening speech in her native German. She was interrupted several times by a warm applause from the stands. “I know the public here in Aachen is very special”, the queen remarked.
Sweden is this year's partner country for the great equestrian event, often described as the 'Wimbledon of the equestrian sport'. Sweden put on a great show during the opening ceremony, which was not hampered by the rain at the start which forced the royal couple, which arrived in an open carriage specially brought over from the Royal Mews in Stockholm, to shelter under a giant umbrella.
There was an unexpected tribute to King and Queen too. As ABBA's 'Dancing Queen' was played during the opening show, reference was made to the song's origins – it was first played for the wedding of Carl Gustaf and Silvia in June 1976 – and to the royal couple 40th wedding anniversary only a few weeks ago. The crowd again burst out in a thunderous applause, and Queen Silvia and King Carl Gustaf acknowledged the tribute by standing up and waving, with the queen squeezing her husband's hand afterwards.
During the week long Festival special attention will be given not only to Sweden but also to Queen Silvia's World Childhood Foundation – much to the queen's pleasure. © RB
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Queen Mathilde of the Belgians spent two days at the United Nations in New York. Her working visit was in her capacity as Special Advocate for the Sustainable Development Goals. The queen also lobbyed with Deputy Prime Minister Didier Reynders for a non-permament seat for Belgium in the UN Security Council in 2019-2020. For this she attended a reception held at the UN Monday evening.
The queen on Monday also spoke at an UN High Level Event dedicated to the 'Rehabilitation and reintegration of children affected by armed conflict'. "If there is one cause we must strive for in these unsettled times, it is the future of our children. Their future is our responsibility and our societies will benefit from their development. That is exactly why the harm caused by war and conflict is of major concern", the queen said in her speech.
"The protection of children’s rights is a cause that is particularly dear to me personally. So I consider it a privilege to be able to take an active part in raising awareness and advocacy on their behalf, both in my own country and at the level of the UN organisations. As Honorary President of UNICEF Belgium, I closely follow the impact and consequences of armed conflict and emergencies on children."
"The impact on children of our collective failure to prevent and end conflict is devastating. In fact, conflict prevention should be our common goal. Increased efforts should be made to identify long-term solutions that will reduce and mitigate the root causes of conflict, such as poverty", Queen Mathilde said.
"Research shows that effective reintegration programmes for children are not only crucial for their own well-being, but are also a critical factor for durable peace and security. In a sense, such programmes are a preventive measure and a tool for breaking the vicious circle of violence", she added.
On Tuesday the queen addressed the participants in the UN High Level Debate 'UN@70 Human Rights'. Queen Mathilde stressed how protection of human rights is interlinked with sustainable development,
CROWN PRINCESS VICTORIA
Earlier this year the Queen was asked by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to join the Advocacy Group for the Sustainable Development Goals of the United Nations. Other group members are Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden and Shekha Moza of Qatar, along with football star Lionel Messi and singer Shakira. The members shall assist the United Nations in the mobilization of the international community for achieving the SDG's by 2030. The SDG's were adopted by the Member States of the United Nations in September 2015.
In previous years Mathilde repeatedly worked to promote the so-called Millennium Development Goals, such as children rights, the right to good health and the right to quality education. The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are the next step forward as an universal set of goals, targets and indicators that UN members will use to frame their policies over the next 15 years.
The objectives are to be achieved by 2030 and include, for example, agreements on ending child marriage, improving access to financial services, climate control, reducing child mortality and poverty. In total there are seventeen so-called SDG's.
© RB Hans Jacobs
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Princess Carolina of Bourbon-Parma, the youngest daughter of Princess Irene of the Netherlands, has moved with her husband Albert Brenninkmeijer to Hong Kong. A spokesperson for the royal family Bourbon-Parma confirmed the move Tuesday.
Mr. Albert Brenninkmeijer, scion of the famous C & A Brenninkmeijer family, was until this spring head of the Swiss branch of C & A and is now directing C & A's business in Hong Kong and further afield, in China.
Princess Carolina worked until recentlyas the Swiss "representative for partnerships" of UNRWA, the UN organization dedicated to the support and development of the Palestinian refugees. The couple have two children. © RB
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Three years after her voluntary abdication former Dutch Queen Beatrix is still keeping a busy schedule. Not always in the public eye, but with private visits she is keeping abreast of developments in Dutch society. She also pays special attention to the charities she is patron of, and as always the Arts in its many shapes and forms, hold her attention and interest.
King Willem-Alexander was asked Friday how his mother had made the transition from Queen to Princess. He declined to answer. "I cannot and will not speak for my mother", he said. But it was obvious she was still very active, and also on occasions represented him at home and abroad. She was also spending a lot of time with her grandchildren, he added. He thought she started her new phase in life in high spirits and the past three years have passed quickly.
Princess Beatrix recently travelled to Bratislava, in Slovakia, to open an exhibition at the Danubiana Meulensteen Art Museum, situated on a peninsula in the Danube River, and to symbolically mark the hand over of the Dutch EU presidency to Slovakia. She met with Slovak President Andrej Kiska at the Presidential Palace. © RB Hans Jacobs
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Despite a mild concussion Queen Máxima still took part in Friday's pre-Summer photo op in the back garden of the Dutch royal family's residence Eikenhorst in Wassenaar, near The Hague. Princess Amalia showed up on crutches after she sprained her right ankle the night before.
'Part of growing up' her father King Willem-Alexander said – he was surprised by all the media attention given to her injury. He was glad in his youth the media focussed less on every scratch or cut he and his young brothers got. It was part of life the King quipped.
Máxima said she still suffered from dizziness and 'great headaches' and had to take rest. The King added it was difficult to get his wife to do just that, but promised he would see to it that she did take her rest. The Queen fell – presumably at a party – last week Friday but ignored the signs of a possible concussion and did not see a doctor till five days later.
The photo session was chaotic and got out of hand at times – and had Queen Máxima fear for the central piece of art in the garden, and the flowers in front of the terrace. Security personnel had to contain the photographers and cameramen who were vying for the best position in front of the royal family.
The King and his daughters looked on in bemusement. The scuffling and even swearing made for good entertainment he said afterwards and gave them something interesting to look at. It was worse than in Britain the British photographers remarked; they were already sour because they had missed Prince George's little excursion with his parents that morning.
As by tradition – although skipped in 2013 – the royal couple also took questions from the press, in two separate rounds, for the written media and tv and radio. Questions covered a wide range of issues, and the King and Queen also made a statement about the recent deaths of two Dutch soldiers serving with the United Nations in Mali.
Queen Máxima said all three daughters succeeded in going to the next level at school, and the King added that Princess Amalia will take up Chinese as one of her subjects in the next school year. Her parents had taken her on an introductory vacation to China last year, just ahead of their State Visit to the People's Republic. Chinese had interested the Princess of Orange, and she had now chosen it as an elective subject.
The royal couple did not give any hints about their holiday plans. But the King, who will attend the opening of the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro early next month, did not exclude the possibility he would take his daughters to watch some of the sports in Brazil.
© Royalblog, Hans Jacobs
Also watch a short video clip:
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Ten kilometers she promised and ten kilometers she delivered. Princess Margriet, 73, was the second oldest on the ice at FlevOnice, but she patiently and dilligently made her rounds around the 400 meters long track. Each round adding to her total, and each time receiving a stamp on her scorecard as proof of her achievement in the 'Holland 100'.
Each stamp translated into money for the good cause this whole event was organised for: to raise money for fundamental research into the nature and treatment of lymphoma and to raise awareness of this cancer. Princess Margriet's second son Prince Bernhard, a father of three, was diagnosed with lymphoma in 2013. After his recovery he co-founded Lymph&Co, which seeks to financially support cancer research. The 'Holland 100', which combines 10 kilometers of skating with 90 kilometers of cycling, is one way to raise money.
Princess Margriet was not the only member of the extended Royal Family to lend her support. Her husband Pieter van Vollenhoven gave moral support from the sidelines, taking pictures of his wife, children and grandchildren. Eldest son Prince Maurits with Princess Marilène and their two youngest children skated more than four kilometers, with Princess Aimée and her daughters cheering them on.
Prince Bernhard's youngest brother Prince Floris was been the most active and succesful fundraiser. With some friends he has already reached 82 percent of the set goal of 100,000 euros. “And we will reach our goal”, Floris said after completing a tough ten kilometers earlier, before getting on his bicycle for the second part of this typical Dutch duathlon.
Prince Bernhard had wanted to compete in both sports, but a knee injury kept him on the sidelines of the skating event in which his wife Princess Annette skated. Both did embark on the cycling adventure. “I will see how far I will get”, the Prince, already expressing satisfaction with the more than 360,000 euros raised for Lymph&Co.
© Royalblog Hans Jacobs
See also: Princess Margriet and her sons to skate 10 km to raise money for lymphoma research
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The Greek Royal Family this weekend commemorated the death of King Paul (March 6, 1964) and his wife Queen Frederika (February 6, 1981). The family gathered at Tatoi, the royal burial place next to the former royal summer palace outside Athens.
Tatoi was forcibly requisitioned in 1973 and has never been returned to the royal family, although the Greek government had to pay some compensation. The palace is at present not used.
King Constantine, who had difficulty walking, attended the ceremony for his parents accompanied by his sisters Queen Sofia of Spain and Princess Irene. His wife Queen Anne-Marie and sons Princes Pavlos (Paul) and Nikolaos (Nicholas) were present as well and placed wreaths on the tomb stones of the former royal couple.
Constantine was only 23 years old when he succeeded to the Greek throne upon the death of his father who was 63 years when he passed away after a reign of 17 years. Constantine who later in 1964 wed Danish Princess Anne-Marie,occupied the throne only for three years. He fled the country after he failed to dislodge the Greek junta, which had taken power in 1967. The Greeks voted to abolish the monarchy several years later.
The Royal Family was only able to travel freely to Greece again since the Olympic Games in 2004. King Constantine and Queen Anne-Marie have since moved back to Greece and sold their home in London.
© RB; Illustrations: YouTube screenshot & Facebook ΒΑΣΙΛΟΦΡΟΝΕΣ ΤΗΣ ΕΛΛΑΔΟΣ
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