The Royal Correspondent

This past May 17, 2011, H.R.H. Princess Máxima of the Netherlands turned the big 4-0, and on her day she spent it with her family.  Well, now it’s time for the mega birthday bash with a few of her closest royal friends.

According to the official website for the Dutch royal family, Het Koninklijk Huis, on May 27, 2011 there will be a lovely birthday concert in her honor:

In the upcoming issue of Hola! magazine, the future princess of Monaco, Charlene Wittstock, graces (no pun intended) their cover.  Now, if you are thinking to yourself, “Ummm…  This photo looks very familiar!”

Well, my friends, it is.

The image (shot by famed photographer Ruven Afanador) used on the cover, as well as the images accompanying the article, are the same ones used in the infamous December 2010 issue of Tatler magazine.

Anyway, the nice people at Hola!, (thank you, guys  ),  promised that this issue won’t disappoint their readers and that there are more interesting stuff coming up about the lovely Charlene.

Here is a snippet from the article:

Dressed in white, the future princess has posed the most emblematic of the strength of the Grimaldi, under all the great celebrations of the princely family in the life of Princess Grace. With exceptional ease she poses in haute couture outfits would be her home and confesses: ‘Sometimes I have to pinch myself to verify that this is my life and I live in one of the most beautiful places in the world with the man of my dreams.’

Very much in love with many things in common with her ​​husband to be, including humanitarian causes, sport and the environment, Charlene recounted in this dramatic story how they met, how they fell in love, their commitment and continuous preparation for future Princess.

Source:  Hola.com  Photos courtesy of:  Hola.com and my scanner.  :)

On May 25, 2011, T.R.H.s Crown Princess Victoria and her husband, Prince Daniel, visited the stunning Blutenburg Castle outside of awesome Munich, Germany.

The royal duo were greeted with tremendous enthusiasm from over 500 hundred local people as well as from — you guessed it — local dignitaries.   Once in the castle the couple had a chance to stop and chat with the local youth inside the International Youth Library (if that made any sense.)

Anyway, the couple also had a chance to visit the Linde AG group in Munich as well as doing other stuff that has to do with business (it’s all so boring.)

Tomorrow Crown Princess Victoria and Prince Daniel will head on over to Berlin, Germany whereupon they will be greeted by Christian Wulff.  From there they will:

…take part in a meeting on health.  They will aslo visit the Holocaust memorial, look at the integration project ‘Madonna girls culture’ and meet with Swedish artists.

On Friday, the mayor, Klaus Wowereit will meet the Crown Princess and Prince Daniel where they will be received at the Red City Hall.

Then they will walk to the Brandenburg Gate, then visit the Berlin Wall, and finally the couple will visit Wilmersdorf.

There are lots of photos so please click the links here, here, and here.  To watch a video please click here. 

Sources:  Bunte and Wunderweib

Photo courtesy of:  Bild.de by DPA  Danke!  

H.R.H. Prince Guillaume, The Hereditary Grand Duke of Luxembourg was in Wiesbaden, Germany on May 25, 2011, on business with the L’Université du Luxembourg (University of Luxembourg.)

The purpose of the trip, according to the Cour Grand-Ducale de Luxembourg website, was to “… explore the possibilities of ‘social business.”  The purpose for this notion of social business is to:

…solve social problems, like charitable organizations, with the difference that they operate according to economic principles and that their profits are reinvested.

This is the area that the City of Wiesbaden claims a leading role and can already boast of many projects that can be used to generate ideas.  The study tour was organized by the Unit for Sustainable Development at the L’Université du Luxembourg under the direction of Dr. Ariane König, in collaboration with the Grameen Creative Lab, and with the support of the Grand Ducal Court of Luxembourg as well as with the Ministry of Economy.

The aim of the operation was to gather ideas for projects to be implemented in Luxembourg.

To view photos please click the link here.

Sources:  Cour Grand Ducale de Luxembourg and Wiesbadener-kurier.de

On May 25, 2011, Her Majesty Queen Margrethe II and her husband, H.R.H. Prince Henrik of Denmark, visited the town of Hadsund during their annual summer cruise aboard the royal yacht, Dannebrog.

The royal couple arrived at 10am at the Hadsund Harbor and were quickly greeted by Leif Sondrup, the Government Administration Director, and other local dignitaries.  Of course, there were hundreds of local people at the harbor to welcome Her Majesty Queen Margrethe to their town and of course there were many who lined the carriage route to wave to their lovely queen.

To view photos from today please click the links here and here.  To watch several videos please click the link here. 

Source and photo courtesy of: Amtsavisen.dk

On Monday, May 23, 2011, famed author/interior decorator/museum curator/illustrator/archivist/former model/Bad Berleburg library patron/Lady of Schloss Berleburg, Carina Axelsson allowed those in Bad Berleburg, Germany to be in her presence whereupon she read her world-famous book, Nigel in Hyde Park, (for the billionth time) to a myriad of students and their parents at the Bad Berleburg library.

The purpose of Miss Axelsson being at the library was for her to entertain the youths with her book as well as to help them learn English.

According to the German newspaper, Siegener Zeitung, this is what happened during that fun-filled morning with Frau Axelsson:

The children’s book author and illustrator before yesterday, invited many elementary school students to exciting adventures.

Strange noises in the night, creepy shadows in the room and a small dragon provided with exuberant imagination yesterday at the reading of children’s author and illustrator Carina Axelsson at the Bad Berleburg Library for fun and excitement.  The companion of Prinz Gustav zu Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg read from her book ‘Nigel Hyde Park’ in front of students from the Elsoff and Dotzlar schools.

And the children listened completely spellbound, especially since the author put forward the in the English, while Rikard Riedesel, the curator [manager] of the city, translated some of the words into German.

Time and again the smart and cute winged illustrations from the book, which were thrown by video projector on the wall, the imagination of the students who know that morning to work with Nigel and his adventures, the one or two new English vocabulary were allowed to learn.  After the turbulent story of Nigel, the students had the opportunity to ask Frau Carina Axelsson questions.

The girls and boys asked, ‘Do you also write for adults?’ Wanted to know as one of the girls. ‘No,’ said Carina Axelsson and smiled, ‘I only write for children because it gives me the most.’  ’How the idea for Nigel formed?’ Wanted to know one of the boys. ‘It’s a long story,’ said the author, but she would still tell you.  Eventually she was asked by a friend if she design a funny animal figure for a logo for a children’s shampoo.  ’I finally offered him ten different animal figures, and among them was a small green dragon.’ In the end, the choice of their friend had chosen small, fluffy bunnies.’  But the people I still have repeatedly responded to the dragon. The painting was so funny that there actually had time to create a story.’  So from there emerged Nigel of Hyde Park.

‘Is there a second part (second series),’ asked one student. ‘The second part of Nigel is already done.  I am currently busy with another book, which is also almost done’, said Frau Carina Axelsson. The new book is the way a detective story. And it is about a girl that has a particularly strong character like me. At the moment I’m still looking for a publisher (she was dropped by her old publishing house, Assouline Books) and I hope the whole thing will be finished next year.’

‘Why do you write children’s books at all?’ Asked another girl. ‘Why do I write children’s books?’ repeated Frau Carina Axelsson, ‘primarily because I love books and reading about everything.’

She then thanked the head of the Bad Berleburg library, Gaby Klotz, and then Carina also once again thanked those for their generous donation a few months ago to the library.  The proceeds of the Advent Calendar, designed by Carina Axelsson, even in the way again appeared the little green dragon is Nigel, you have to buy back a lot of new children’s books for the library. ‘And that has made us all very happy,’ said Gaby Klotz.

Incidentally, anyone interested in reading the book, Nigel Hyde Park, can find it in German and English in the library bathroom in Bad Berleburg. After the reading, some students were on their way to have their own books signed by Frau Carina Axelsson. In addition, there was also an autographed photo of Frau Carina Axelsson on the hand.