The Royal Correspondent

On December 5, 2011, T.S.H.s Prince Albert II and Princess Charlene of Monaco attended the opening of the Monaco Christmas Village located at Port Hercule.  The princely couple along with hundreds of attendees toured the “…19th Century Christmas Village…” whereupon they viewed various Christmas booths, workshops, food stands offering delicious Christmas treats, and much more.

Tomorrow, the royal couple will be in Durban, South Africa where Prince Albert II will participate in the United Nations Climate Change Conference.  On December 7, the princely couple will attend the UNEP’s One Billion Tree Campaign event to be held at the Moses Mabhida Stadium.  Finally, on December 8, the princely couple will arrive in Cape Town, South Africa where they will met with Archbishop Desmond Tutu.  From there Prince Albert II and Princess Charlene will attend the Polaris Project presentation, again, in Cape Town.

To view photos from today’s event please click here.

Photo courtesy of Daylife/Reuters

On December 5, 2011 Their Majesties King Carl XVI Gustaf and Queen Silvia along with T.R.H.s Crown Princess Victoria and Prince Daniel of Sweden attended a meeting regarding the 2011 Nobel Prize Laureates and their respective areas.

The Nobel Foundation CEO, Lars Heikensten, along with Permanent Secretary for the Royal  Academy of Sciences, Staffan Normark, Goran Hansson, secretary of Medicine Committee and Peter Englund, the Swedish Academy’s permanent secretary were also in attendance.

This year there are 13 Nobel Laureates including Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, Leymah Gbowee and Tawakkol Karman. The oldest of this year’s winners are Thomas Transtromer (80 years old) and youngest of those who come to Stockholm, Adam G. Reiss (42 years old).

 Here are some of this year’s Nobel Laureates:

The Nobel Prize in Medicine/Physiology goes to Ralph Steinman, Bruce Beutler and Jules Hoffmann.

 The Nobel Prize in Physics goes to Saul Perlmutter, Brian Schmidt and Adam Riess for the discovery of the universe’s accelerating expansion by studying distant supernovae.

 The Nobel Prize in Chemistry is awarded to Daniel Schechtman for the discovery of kvasikristaller.

 Nobel Prize in Literature is presented to Tomas Tranströmer.

 The 2011 Nobel Prize ceremony will be held on December 10, 2011 in Stockholm, Sweden.

On December 5, 2011, Her Majesty Queen Sofia of Spain attended the opening of the Russian Center for Science and Culture in Madrid.  Also, in attendance was First Lady of the Russian Federation, Her Excellency Svetlana Medvedeva, the Ambassador of the Russian Federation in Spain, Alexander Kuznetsov, Spain’s ambassador to the Russian Federation, Luis Felipe Fernández de la Peña, Ambassador on Special Mission of the Year Dual Spain-Russia, Mikhail Schvidkoy, and the coordinator of the Year Dual Spain-Russia, Juan Jose Herrera de la Muela.

 During the inauguration there were several performances of Spanish-Russian folk music.  Afterward, H.M. Queen Sofia and Mrs. Svetlana Medvedeva toured a photography exhibition by Andrey Terekhin and the Russian Center of Science and Culture’s library.

Today’s opening was the closing of the Year Dual Spain-Russia. The Year Dual Spain-Russia has given new impetus to bilateral cooperation in the humanitarian field, serves to develop relations in the field of science, culture and education between Spain and Russia.

 Photo courtesy of Casa de Su Majestad el Rey

T.R.H.s Grand Duke Henri and Grand Duchess Maria Teresa of Luxembourg attended the closing ceremony of the 2011 European Year of Volunteering organized by the Ministry of Family and Integration, together with the European Commission Representation in Luxembourg on December 5, 2011.

Following the presentation of projects selected by the associations, the Grand Duke and Duchess awarded the Volunteer Award of Merit 2011 to a lucky recipient. This award recognizes organizations that have strategies and innovative ways to guide and support volunteering and volunteers.

Meanwhile, it was announced that the Grand Ducal couple will attend the 2011 Nobel Prize ceremony on December 10, 2011 in Stockholm, Sweden.

Recently, H.S.H. Prince Richard of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg spoke with the German magazine, Country Lust Auf Ländliche Lebensart, regarding his latest project and passion the Bison.  The prince is committed to the sustainable return of these beautiful creatures to the forests surrounding Bad Berleburg.

Prince Richard also discusses his sister-in-law, Queen Margrethe II, as well as his wife, Princess Benedikte of Denmark.

To read the article in full please click here.  (sorry, but I don’t have time to translate it for you.)  

Photo courtesy of Country Lust Auf Ländliche Lebensart