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March 11, 2013

One Is Opposed to Discrimination

Userpage icon for supporting gender equality.One is opposed to discrimination: the Queen will sign a charter supporting gender equality and other rights.

The charter includes affirmations on democracy, human rights, international peace and security. It also contains a commitment to “gender equality” and “women’s empowerment”. This is seen as a step forward for gay rights, a huge deal considering that several of the Queen’s Commonwealth nations disapprove of – and strongly punish – homosexuality.

“Women’s empowerment” refers to the endorsement of new legislation ending discrimination against women in the line of succession to the British throne. During the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) last year, the Queen made the move to allow her female heirs equal access to the throne. If the first child for the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge is a daughter, that child cannot be supplanted by a younger brother.

Without getting dragged into political activism over gay rights, a Buckingham Palace spokesman said that “the Queen, as in all matters, is apolitical but is signing the document in her capacity as head of the Commonwealth.”

 

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Filed Under: Announcements, Australia, Canada, Controversy, History, Monarchies, New Zealand, United Kingdom Tagged With: , Leave a Comment
December 26, 2012

Royal News Roundup For 2012!

It’s my Royal News Roundup For 2012! This year was huge. Let’s take a look back at all of the events in the lives of the royals:

January

bullet_pinkJanuary 4: The Duchess of Cambridge announces the first charities she will support. They include The Art Room, The National Portrait Gallery, East Anglia’s Children’s Hospice, and Action on Addiction.

bullet_pinkJanuary 14: Queen Margrethe II of Denmark celebrates the 40th anniversary of her accession to the country’s throne – her Ruby Jubilee.

bullet_pinkJanuary 24: Princess Athena is born to HRH Princess Marie and HRH Prince Joachim of Denmark.

February

bullet_pinkFebruary 17: HRH Prince Friso, second son of Queen Beatrix, is hit by an avalanche while on a skiing holiday in Austria. He survives, but remains unconscious.

bullet_pinkFebruary 24: It is announced that Prince Friso has “permanent brain damage and may never regain consciousness,” according to Dr. Wolfgang Koller, head of ICU and Trauma Center, during a press conference at Innsbruck University Hospital in Innsbruck, Austria.

March:

harry-tourbullet_pinkMarch 2: Prince Harry begins his own Diamond Jubilee tour in honor of the Queen. The prince kicks off his tour in Belize, continuing on to the Bahamas and Jamaica. The tour is followed up by a trip to Brazil, during which he promoted a British government to encourage more tourism to Britain.

bullet_pinkMarch 17: On St. Patrick’s day, the Duchess of Cambridge carried out the traditional awarding of shamrocks to the Irish Guards at their base in Aldershot; this was her first solo military engagement.

April:

bullet_pinkApril 21: HM The Queen celebrates her official birthday. She is 86 years old.

bullet_pinkApril 26: It is announced that Hereditary Grand Duke Guillaume of Luxembourg will marry Belgian Countess Stephanie de Lannoy.

May:

bullet_pinkMay 13: The Queen invests The Duchess of Cornwall with the Insignia of a Dame Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order.

© Royal Household/John SwannellJune – Official Jubilee Celebrations

bullet_pinkJune 2: The Queen attends the Epsom Derby.

bullet_pinkJune 3rd: Big Jubilee Lunch – Inspired by the immensely popular Big Lunch initiative, people across the UK are encouraged to share lunch with neighbors and friends as part of the Jubilee celebrations.

The Thames Diamond Jubilee Pageant – Nearly 1,000 boats assembled from across the UK, the Commonwealth and around the world to parade down the Thames River. The Queen and The Duke of Edinburgh traveled in the Royal Barge, the centerpiece of the flotilla.

bullet_pinkJune 4: The televised extravaganza, Jubilee Concert at Buckingham Palace, was host to many famous faces British and American alike! It took place right outside the palace, with the stage built around the Victoria Memorial. Millions crammed into the area, and stretched all the way down the Mall.

The Prince of Wales gave a speech honoring his mother at the conclusion of the Jubilee concert. The prince also called upon the public to send good wishes to his father, the Duke of Edinburgh, who was in the hospital for an infection. The crowd roared their support, hoping for the Duke’s return to form.

The Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Beacons: A network of 2,012 Beacons will be lit by communities and individuals throughout the United Kingdom, as well as the Channel Islands, the Isle of Man and the Commonwealth. The Queen herself lights the National Beacon.

bullet_pinkJune 5: The Diamond Jubilee weekend culminated with a service at St Paul’s Cathedral, followed by two receptions, a lunch at Westminster Hall, a Carriage Procession to Buckingham Palace and finally, a Balcony appearance and a RAF flypast.

bullet_pink June 27: The Queen shakes the hand of Martin McGuinness, believed to be a major figure in the IRA at the time of Lord Mountbatten’s execution. It is a huge moment in the history of relations between the Irish Republic and Britain.

July:

bullet_pinkJuly 4: Princess Caroline of Monaco announces the engagement of her eldest son, Andrea, to heiress Tatiana Santo Domingo. Rumors also emerge that Tatiana is pregnant based on her loose-fitting garments.

bullet_pinkJuly 27: The 2012 London Olympics begin. William, Kate, and Harry make dozens of appearances at various sporting events to cheer on Team GB. And as I’m sure you’ll agree, one of the most memorable parts of the Olympics was seeing ‘the Queen’ parachute into the opening ceremony! The Games last until August 12.

bullet_pinkJuly 31: The Queen’s granddaughter Zara wins silver with her equestrian team. The day before, Zara marked her one-year wedding anniversary to Mike Tindall.


August:

bullet_pinkAugust 28: Charlotte Casiraghi and her boyfriend of eight months, Gad Elmaleh, enjoy time together on Princess Caroline’s yacht. It is the family’s annual summer cruise around the Mediterranean.

bullet_pinkAugust 29: The Paralympics kicks off in London, with the British royals cheering them on and the Duchess of Cambridge awarding medals. It lasts until September 9.

September:

bullet_pinkSeptember 11: The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge touch down in Singapore to kick off their Far East and South Pacific tour for The Queen’s Diamond Jubilee.

bullet_pinkSeptember 12: The University of Leicester and Leicester City Council, in association with the Richard III Society, join forces to search for the mortal remains of King Richard III. At the press conference, they discuss what they’ve found at the presumed burial site of King Richard (under a car park!). DNA tests will be carried out to determine if it is indeed the Plantagenet king.

bullet_pinkSeptember 13: While the Duke and Duchess conduct their tour, the French magazine “Closer” publishes photographs of the Duchess sun-bathing topless while on holiday at the private Château d’Autet.

bullet_pinkSeptember 15: Spain’s Letizia, Princess of Asturias, turns the big 4-0!

Princess Madeleine of Sweden Engaged

© Kungahuset

October:

bullet_pinkOctober 19: Hereditary Grand Duke Guillaume of Luxembourg marries Belgian Countess Stephanie de Lannoy.

bullet_pinkOctober 25: The Swedish royal court announces the engagement between Princess Madeleine and her American boyfriend, Christopher O’Neill.

November:

bullet_pinkNovember 19: Prince Friso, who has been in a coma since his skiing accident in February, is showing “signs of limited awareness,” according to the state information service RVD. Doctors are still “gravely concerned” about his recovery.

December:

bullet_pinkDecember 3: The news we’ve all been waiting for – the Duchess of Cambridge is pregnant! It was announced after Kate had to be taken to the King Edward VII hospital for hyperemesis gravidarum, a severe version of morning sickness.

bullet_pinkDecember 7: Jacintha Saldanha, a nurse at the hospital where the Duchess is treated for morning sickness, commits suicide. It is said she committed suicide after the ‘humiliation’ of being pranked by two Australian radio DJs pretending to be the Queen and Prince Charles. It is determined that Saldanha was not the nurse who gave away information on Kate, she only answered the call and passed it through. Reports emerge that Saldanha had tried to commit suicide twice before.

bullet_pinkDecember 18: The Queen sits in on a Cabinet meeting for the first time, taking a seat between British Prime Minister David Cameron and Foreign Secretary William Hague to observe the weekly discussion of government business. It is said that this visit by the Queen is the first time a sitting monarch has attended a Cabinet meeting in 100 years.

Want to include a royal event or person not seen here? Add it to the comments section below! Happy New year!

Filed Under: Australia, Denmark, Events, Monarchies, New Zealand, Spain, Sweden, United Kingdom Tagged With: , , , , , , , Leave a Comment
November 23, 2012

RoyaltyNow! News: Jubilee Tour Joy; Feminist Takes On Princesses; Mental Floss Turns Royal

movie-icon RoyaltyNow! News presents: Jubilee Tour Joy; Feminist Takes On Princesses; Mental Floss Turns Royal. You don’t want to miss it!


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November 10, 2012

Charles and Camilla’s Tour In Video (So Far)

Charles and Camilla’s Tour In Video (So Far): The Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall began their Pacific tour in Papua New Guinea:

The royal couple traveled on to Australia where they toured the famous “Outback”, viewed cute kangaroos, and got a whip-cracking lesson:

Charles and his Duchess in Adelaide, Australia:

The royals in Tasmania and Sydney:

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November 5, 2012

Charles and Camilla in Longreach

Charles

©Carlu

The Brisbane Times brings you all the latest news from Longreach as Prince Charles and the Duchess of Cornwall embark on their Australian tour (All times in AEST, just like the rest of Queensland; 5.30am GMT). Charles and Camilla have visited Longreach, viewing a beautiful sunset and mingling with the local people.

Check out the gorgeous photos and reports from Bridie Jabour here!

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November 3, 2012

C and C Kick Off Tour

The Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall have landed in Papua New Guinea, where they begin their tour this week in honor of the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee.

Prince Charles and his Duchess are paying a visit to the country, as well as neighboring Australia and New Zealand. They are all Commonwealth countries of which the Queen is head.

About Papua New Guniea

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July 9, 2012

Eliminating Good Influences, One At A Time

LONDON, ENGLAND - JUNE 05: Queen Elizabeth II...

Not “cool” enough: being a lady is “out”.
(via Daylife)

The Australian Girl Guides – aka Girl Scouts – not only decided to drop all references and pledges to the Queen, but also to God. [See the article]

Instead, the Australian Girl Guides will “be true to myself and develop my beliefs.”

This latest event is another brick being placed in the wall of selfish ego building. Why pledge allegiance to anything other than yourself? Why feel like there is anything higher, better, or more pure than yourself – you’re a little god. Who needs the actual God?

If you don’t feel like having a higher power to answer to, then why would you respect authority here in the corporeal? Drop the Queen.

“We all absolutely admire her in her jubilee year [said Belinda Allen, the New South Wales state commissioner], but our community comes from many different backgrounds … Being responsible to one’s community is one of the essences of guiding. We espouse that rather than the Queen.”

To unite under one banner and get along together with shared values is far too “old fashioned”, I gather.

“Whether they take down pictures of the Queen or keep them in the halls is totally up to the girls,” she said. “They may decide they still like to have pictures of the Queen but the world has changed and we have to move on.”

Yep. Too old fashioned. So move on to what, exactly?

I thought Girl Guides/Boy Scouts organizations were supposed to teach preparedness, respect, and leadership skills so that children become fruitful adults. Now they’re centering solely on the self, yet trying to serve the community. Huh?

What went wrong?

The 1980s were declared the “Me” generation. That’s my generation, and unfortunately, it was true. More mothers began to go out to work. Fathers were already working, so that left the kids to tend to themselves. That era of children became known as “latch-key kids”. So is it the fault of the 80s era that kids today are now being trained to think only of themselves, as their parents once had to?

The 1960s were a pretty radical era. Overthrow the “Man” and “the system”, show contempt for Western Civilization, and hate pretty much anything that was authority or tradition. Is this their generation’s fault? Is this why so many kids aren’t taught anything even remotely respectful in the home? Why any mention of God or Jesus gets you branded as a redneck?

Whose fault IS it?

The truth is, there are so many elements that have contributed to this crazy world of ours that it is impossible to blame any one factor, any one generation. It takes a village to raise a child, and that village is also pretty good at messing him up.

This latest attempt to disregard authority is such an insult to the Queen. I feel sorry for her. While she’s probably not angry about it, the Queen is more than likely very sad. She enjoyed her time as a Girl Guide when she was a child, and her little sister, Princess Margaret, was even in her own Brownie troop.

And it’s not simply a matter of leaving out the Queen, or leaving out God. It’s the combination of leaving both the Queen and God out of it that speaks volumes. Her Majesty is the Head of State, experienced, well respected, and an icon of propriety. God is the engine that steers the ship, so to speak, a guiding light to many people all over the world. It’s frightening that there are those who would so doggedly dismiss these two elements, believed to be powerfully good, uniting influences, for nothing more than vague modernity.

Mind you, I am not equating the Queen with God. She is as mortal as the rest of us. They are simply both positive authority figures in daily life – one is timeless, the other just appears to be timeless. ;)

That authority is going to disappear completely if we continue to allow our children to be groomed as self-centered egotists. Whomever plotted this “every man for himself” scenario is getting their wish. The groundwork has been laid, and the cement is hardening. Time to bust out the jackhammers.

Recommended:

God and Queen are no longer a guide for girls

Girl Guides and Scouts Are Being Slipped A Micky

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November 7, 2011

The Queen and Duke in AU – Wrap Up

October 23rd, a Sunday, saw the Queen attending church services in Brisbane. Her Majesty, along with Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh, attended morning Worship at St. John’s Church.

That afternoon, a reception and lunch was hosted by the Governor-General for the royal couple.

October 24th was an “away day” in Brisbane. The Queen and the Duke hopped aboard a river boat and traveled up the Brisbane River to Southbank. Once ashore, they visited the Queensland Performing Arts Center.

That afternoon, the royals met with emergency response personnel and members of the communities affected by the floods. The Queen and Prince Philip attended a re-dedication Ceremony of Rainforest and the opening of Rain Bank.

The Queen and Prince Philip were back in Canberra on Tuesday, October 25th. They visited the Australian War Memorial and viewed the Afghanistan Memorial, where the Queen placed a wreath. Later, the royal couple met with Australian Defense Force Personnel at Orientation Hall.

October 26th: Prince Philip and The Queen participated in another Away Day, this time in Melbourne, where they opened the Royal Children’s Hospital. That afternoon they toured Melbourne, starting with a visit to the Ian Potter Centre, National Gallery of Victoria; a walk through Federation Square and a ride on a Melbourne Tram; attended a reception hosted by the Governor of Victoria at Government House. The Queen was resplendent in pink throughout.

After the Away Day activities, The Queen and The Duke departed Melbourne for Perth.

On Thursday, October 27th, the royals paid a visit to Clontarf Aboriginal College. The Duke of Edinburgh was especially keen to see the sporting facilities. Afterwards, they attended a Garden Party at Government House, where the Queen turned out in her second stunning turquoise and white ensemble for the day.

Approximately one hundred students from across Western Australia lined a path to the lower gardens, when the Duke stopped to chat. Philip asked why the students were in pairs, and when told it was because they were the head boys and girls, he said in his typical blunt fashion: “It’s obvious they didn’t choose the attractive ones then”. (!)

Premier Colin Barnett was pleased to have the royal visitors come to the country, and he thanked the Queen and Prince Philip for visiting WA and presented the royals with a gift – a book of drawings of wild flowers from the Eastern Goldfields by Phillipa Nikulinsky.

October 28th: Her Majesty arrived at the Opening Ceremony of the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting. The opening featured a vast array of leaders from around the world: 25 Prime Ministers, 10 Presidents, five Vice-Presidents, two Deputy Prime Ministers, one High Commissioner, a lord and the Sultan of Brunei.

“I have had the good fortune, together with Prince Philip, to attend many CHOGMs over many years. Their importance has always been in precise relationship to their relevance: always being attuned to the issues of the day, and always looking to the future with a sense of vision and practical action to match. In your deliberations over the days ahead, you have the encouragement of the whole Commonwealth to maintain this vital tradition.” – The Queen’s speech at the CHOGM

That evening, the royal couple attended a banquet at the Pan Pacific Hotel. For this occasion, the Queen busted out her best parure for the occasion – the brilliant aquamarine set in honor of the brilliantly blue ocean that surrounds Australia.

These gems are gifts from Brazil. The earrings and matching necklace were a Coronation gift to The Queen from the President and People of Brazil in 1953.

Well, hello there!

The stones sit inside a diamond and platinum setting. A few years later, in 1958, a bracelet and matching brooch were presented to The Queen by the Brazilian Government as a matching set to the original Coronation presents. Elizabeth then requested that royal jeweler Garrard complete the parure with a stunning tiara.

On Saturday, October 29th, the Queen and the Duke were feted by the Australian community during “The Big Aussie BBQ”. In the spirit of outdoor eating, the Queen topped off her elegant maroon and white outfit with a hat eerily reminiscent of a marshmallow. S’mores, anyone?

And so…

Elizabeth and Philip set off from Australia back to the U.K. after the barbeque. It was a highly successful visit and one that the Australian people will not soon forget. Her Majesty charmed everyone she met, and though there were one or two gaffes (Gillard’s curtsey controversy and Philip’s quips!) the royal couple made a happy and favorable impression on their Commonwealth neighbors. It also gave the United Kingdom a chance to present its history-making change to the succession law.

Vivat Regina! (And God Bless The Duke!)

Filed Under: Australia, Commentary, Crown vs Republic, Events, Style + Glamour Tagged With: , , Leave a Comment
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