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This has been a banner year for Her Majesty. After two royal weddings and several successful tours, she now looks forward to her Diamond Jubilee in 2012.

Throughout the year, many events kept Her Majesty busy. We take a look back at 2011 in review:

January

• 10^th: Singer Charlotte Church apologizes for referring to the Queen as ‘an old woman [who] has no idea what’s going on’. The Queen, who at almost 85 is one of the most experienced leaders in the world, wasn’t bothered in the slightest. People begin asking, “Charlotte who? Casiraghi?”

February

• 24th: Official visit to Wales by Prince William to introduce his fiancée and future Queen consort, Catherine Middleton.

March

• 17^th -18th: Prince William undertakes an official visit to New Zealand, representing The Queen.
• 19^th -21^st: Prince William continues on an official visit to Australia.

April

• 21^st: The Queen turns 85.
• 23^rd: The christening of Savannah Phillips, Elizabeth’s first great-grandchild.

• 29th: Her grandson and eventual heir, Prince William, marries Catherine. They become the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge.

May

• 3^rd – 5th: The Prince of Wales represents Her Majesty on a visit to the United States.
• 17th – 20th: State Visit to Ireland by The Queen and The Duke of Edinburgh.
• 24th – 26th: State Visit from the President of the United States and Mrs. Obama. The President and First Lady also meet with the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge.
  

June

• 2^nd: The 58^th anniversary of Her Majesty’s coronation.
• 10^th: Prince Philip celebrates his 90^th birthday.
• 11^th: Her Majesty’s official birthday and Trooping the Color.
• 30^th: The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge begin their extensive tour of Canada, representing the Queen.

July

• 1st – 8th: The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge continue their Canadian tour, with a brief stop in Los Angeles, California in the USA.
• 11th: The year was darkened by the loss of a lovely man. The Queen’s first cousin, Lord Harewood, dies at age 88.
• 30th: The Queen’s eldest granddaughter, Zara Phillips, marries rugby captain Mike Tindall in Scotland.
  

August

• 15^th: Iranian media was caught publishing fake stories about an anti-monarchy uprising in the UK. The Guardian reports that the press for the Islamic regime used photos of the miners’ strike of 1984, a bloodied man who was involved in a football skirmish in 2010, among others, to pretend that there were anti-monarchy riots across Britain.
  

September

• 12^th: The BBC presents The Queen’s Palaces, a three-part landmark television series hosted by Fiona Bruce.

October

• 19th – 29th: The Queen and Duke of Edinburgh tour Australia. A protocol controversy brews upon being met at the airport by Prime Minister Julia Gellard, who bowed instead of curtseying. The rest of the tour is a smashing success.

November

• 2nd: Working visit to Copenhagen by the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge. They meet with Crown Prince Frederik and his wife, Crown Princess Mary.
• 20th: The Queen and Prince Philip celebrate their 64th wedding anniversary.

• 22nd – 24th: The President of the Republic of Turkey and Mrs. Gül paid a State Visit to the UK as the guests of Queen Elizabeth II.

December

• The Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh host one of the largest royal gatherings at Sandringham in years. A brief scare ensues when Prince Philip suffers chest pains and is taken to a nearby hospital. The Duke turns out to be fine, but requires a stent to open a blocked coronary artery.

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The Royal Representative would like to congratulate Crown Prince Haakon and Crown Princess Mette-Marit of Norway! Today the couple celebrate their tenth wedding anniversary.

It was announced that His Royal Highness Crown Prince Haakon was engaged to Mette-Marit Tjessem Høiby on December 1st, 2000. They married the following year on August 25th. It was the first major royal wedding since the marriage of Haakon’s parents, then-Crown Prince Harald and the former Sonja Haraldsen in 1968. Like Mette-Marit, Sonja was also a commoner.

Haakon met his future bride at a music festival in Kristiansand, a city on the south coast of Norway (and Mette-Marit’s birthplace). Haakon was immediately enraptured, and they became a couple soon after.

King Harald and Queen Sonja were supportive of the relationship, if not their cohabitation.  The king and queen remembered their own struggle to be together: Harald had to wait nearly a decade before his father, the late King Olav V, allowed Sonja into the royal family. Olav was not pleased with the idea of marriage between his son and a commoner. Harald had to throw down the gauntlet: either he married Sonja, or he would never marry. Since he was Olav’s only son and immediate heir, the king relented.

Unlike her future mother-in-law, however, the striking blonde Mette-Marit came to the royal family with what has been described as “an unconventional past”. Some of her friends were reportedly involved with drugs and “a criminal environment,” according to police reports. Mette-Marit had been known to attend parties where drugs were used. Police and security believed that this would put a strain on the monarchy.

Mette-Marit also had a child, Marius, out of wedlock with a man who was convicted of cocaine possession.

Haakon had to face the pressure of the media and the nation when he proposed to Mette-Marit. When her past was revealed, most Norwegians didn’t mind that Mette-Marit was a single mother, but they were not amused about the drugs and the underground party scene in which she had participated.

Haakon was steadfast in his devotion to his fiancee and knew that she would be a good and worthy member of the royal family, and wanted the people of Norway to know it, too.  With Haakon at her side, Mette-Marit acknowledged her past during a press conference just days before the wedding. She publicly apologized for living what she described as “quite a wild life”.

They have been by each other’s side ever since.

“What we two found together was so strong that I could not let it go,” said Haakon in an interview.

Mette-Marit entered the Oslo Cathedral on Haakon’s arm, another small break with tradition. She was an absolute vision in her bridal finery, which was devastatingly beautiful in its simplicity. The ecru-colored gown was a collaboration between the bride herself, designer Ove Harder Finseth, and seamstress Anna Bratland. It was made of thick silk crêpe and soft silk tulle with a 6.5 foot train, a corset waist, and a square neckline with long, tailored sleeves.  Her blonde hair was styled in a classic chignon, topped with a diamond bandeau tiara, a gift from King Harald and Queen Sonja. From the tiara flowed a 19-foot veil of silk tulle.

Instead of the usual bridal bouquet, Mette-Marit carried a stream of flowers worn on her wrist as a muff. It was comprised of rosary vine, Wanda orchids, hydrangeas, roses, bear grass, and beads interwoven on metal threads.

The prince was dashing in his black uniform of the Norwegian Army, complete with Norway’s red and blue sash.

Haakon gave Mette-Marit the engagement ring worn by both his grandmother and his mother.  He then slipped the white gold wedding band over her finger, and they were pronounced husband and wife. Norway gained a new Crown Princess.

Pivotal Role

After their wedding, Mette-Marit  dove into her role as Crown Princess by getting actively involved in HIV/AIDS-related work. A few years later she was appointed Special Representative for UNAIDS. Two years later she was invited by UNAIDS to participate in strategic planning of the future AIDS response. In 2010,  the princess was appointed Young Global Leader under the World Economic Forum. In addition to these activities, the princess promotes Norwegian trade and industry, architecture and design, education and humanitarian initiatives.

Mette-Marit has made a graceful and intelligent transition from new princess to a true, dyed-in-the-wool Crown Princess of Norway, future Queen.  She has provided two heirs to the Norwegian throne: Princess Ingrid Alexandra, born January 21, 2004 and Prince Sverre Magnus, born December 3, 2005.  Her son Marius, born January 13,1997, has been adopted by Crown Prince Haakon in all but name. His obvious love and care for Marius has been evident ever since he has been with Mette-Marit.

Again I say, many congratulations to the Crown Prince and Princess, and here’s to the continued happy success of their family, and the Norwegian Royal Family!

Obama’s royal gaffe

President Barack Obama arrived in Tokyo November 13, the first stop on his four-nation tour of Asia. He met with Japan’s Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama, Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko.

With a deep bow and handshake, Obama greeted the Emperor. His gesture has been met with criticism. Obama should know the custom of a country like a professional businessman and behave accordingly.

Apparently improperly briefed about accepted procedure in Japan or perhaps having a time zone mind melt, Obama stuck out his hand for a shake. Which was fine. And friendly.

He then proceeded to simultaneously bow. Which was not.

And take his eyes off the person he’s greeting. Which was not.

And, worst in the eyes of many, the over-enthusiastic president of the United States bowed way down at a 45-degree angle, indicating in that culture and apparently in the eyes of many others, subservience to the emperor, son of the man who authorized the 1941 Pearl Harbor attack. – LA Times

Prior to this incident, the President caused a stir during a visit to Saudi Arabia when he bowed deeply to the ground for King Abdullah.

After the Japanese visit, Obama will continue to Singapore, China and South Korea.

Good will to all men this season… or not

Labour candidate Peter White has been forced to apologize for calling the Queen a ”parasite” and ”vermin” on Facebook.

White, who is seeking election to Havering Borough Council in London next year, was summoned by officials after he compared the idea of a public holiday to mark the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee in 2012 with ”celebrating vermin”.

Apparently becoming a politician does not give this man pause in his choice of words.

Stephen Fry an oracle?

According to the Telegraph, Stephen Fry has come to be regarded as a “modern oracle” because of all of his updates to many followers on Twitter. But Stephen has put his foot in it.

The actor and longtime comedian has upset friends of the late Princess Margaret by accusing her of anti-Semitism. During a lecture at the Royal Institute of British Architects, Fry claimed that the Queen’s sister had been shocked when he told her that he had Jewish ancestors. The princess then allegedly expressed her horror by shouting to everybody else at her table: “He’s a Jew. He’s a Jew.”

Lord Glenconner, who points out that Margaret’s chum Peter Sellers was Jewish, adds of Fry: “It’s a bit unfair of him to say these things when she cannot defend herself.”

Happy birthday, Prince Charles!

The Prince of Wales turned 61 on Saturday, November 14.

Even if you aren’t a history buff, the thought of the end of a generation is mind blowing.

I realized with breathtaking finality what it meant when I saw the Queen attending the service at Westminster Abbey to “mark the passing of the World War I generation”. The words alone are astounding.

This year, the three remaining veterans of WWI passed away: William Stone in January, and both Harry Patch and Henry Allingham in July. Allingham was the oldest Royal Navy Veteran, the last survivor of the battle of Jutland, and a founding member of the Royal Air Force.

The families of many of these WWI heroes attended the service. The Queen, accompanied by the Duke of Edinburgh, laid a wreath on The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier to commemorate the event.

http://www.royal.gov.uk/LatestNewsandDiary

Elizabeth Angela Marguerite Bowes-Lyon, known to the world as The Queen Mother, was born today in 1900.

Elizabeth was born to the aristocratic Strathmore family in Scotland. Her father was Lord Glamis, later 14th Earl of Strathmore and Kinghorne.

She lived an idyllic life in Glamis Castle and the Strathmores’ country house, St Paul’s Walden Bury. Elizabeth’s closest companion was her younger brother, David. They were the youngest children in the family – ninth and tenth respectively.

Elizabeth blossomed into a lovely, well-bred lady who caught the eye of King George V’s second son, the Duke of York. Albert, or Bertie, proposed to her several times before she accepted him. Little did Elizabeth know that with this marriage she would be making history.

Bertie was not meant to be king. That duty was supposed to be passed from his father to his elder brother, Edward. The Prince of Wales did not want the crown, however. He was madly in love with American divorcee Wallis Simpson. Edward declared that she would be crowned with him, or he’d abdicate. He chose the latter, and many said that the decision saved Britain and the Royal Family.

Bertie and Elizabeth, once the Duke and Duchess of York with a simple life and two sweet little girls, now became King and Queen of Great Britain. Their daughters were now very much divided according to education and training – little Elizabeth would eventually be queen, so she was given maximum exposure to state documents and ceremonial minutiae. Margaret was allowed free reign and she received no education except for the study of social graces.

The King grew more and more ill as time went on. The stress of World War II and his constant smoking and drinking eventually took their toll, and he passed away in early 1952. Young Elizabeth was now Queen Elizabeth II and her mother was the Dowager Queen.

The elder Elizabeth viewed appearances as one of life’s top priorities. Instead of being a dowager queen, which sounded sad and dowdy to her ears, she re-styled herself as “Queen Elizabeth, The Queen Mother”. Those close to the family noted how she deftly inserted the title of Queen twice!

The Queen Mother lived until the age of 101. She was an active, lively lady who held considerable influence within the Royal Family up until the end.

She died in her sleep in March 2002 at the Royal Lodge, Windsor, with Queen Elizabeth II at her bedside. Princess Margaret had died just a few months before in February.

Seven years after her death, the Queen Mother was remembered by the public and the Royal Family at the unveiling of her statue. Placed next to the statue of King George VI, the Queen was sculpted wearing her Garter Robes, her age approximately 50. She now looks down the Mall at the Palace, keeping a watchful eye over all.

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When I think of Belgium, I think of Tintin, the EU, and lots of arguing about who should speak what language.

The Belgian royals are a lovely family, but they are not usually on my radar. They are pretty quiet – at least here in America – compared to their counterparts.

In Britain, we’ve seen Prince William sending the media into a frenzy over whom he will marry; in Holland, the traditional ‘Queen’s Day’ ended in drama when a crazed man drove his car through the crowds; and in Sweden, the Crown Princess is about to set a record when she marries next year – the only Queen regnant to take a commoner husband and grant him the HRH title.

Lately, however, I’ve seen that the Belgian royals are full of character and crazy events. We don’t always get to see the funny, dramatic, or casual side to the lives of Royalty until that one crowning moment.

That moment came when Belgium’s dowager Queen Fabiola was threatened with death by an anonymous nut. They claimed that they would shoot to kill during Belgium’s National Day celebrations, the fatal blow to be delivered with a crossbow.

I don’t know about you, but I would take that threat seriously. I’d consider attending said celebration with a bullet-proof vest and some chain mail. Under armor. Or maybe I wouldn’t turn up at all.

Not Queen Fabiola.

This feisty Queen Mum of België decided to dress in normal attire, with the typical royal chapeau and… an apple.

The surrounding members of her family were seen chuckling as Fabiola brandished the apple. She waved it to and fro, as if to say, Where are you, William Tell? You might, at this juncture, expect a white-gloved thumb to the nose and a quiet “Neener neener”.

Queen Fabiola is full of surprises, and brazenly brave to boot. My hat is definitely off to her!