It seems that His Serene Highness Prince Albert II of Monaco, Her Royal Highness Princess Caroline of Hanover and Her Serene Highness Princess Stephanie of Monaco are not all that thrilled with the upcoming film, Grace of Monaco, starring Ms. Nicole Kidman and directed by Mr. Olivier Dahan.
This afternoon, the Palais Princier issued a press release stating that the princely family “… does not endorse…” the film and that the script, “… is not a biopic, but recounts a page rewritten and unnecessarily glamorizes of the history of the Principality of Monaco and their families with both significant historical inaccuracies and a series of scenes that are purely fictional.”
The statement also notes that the princely family has been “… in no way heavily involved in this project that (sic) supposedly is devoted to their parents. The Palais had received the script [from the producers] and requested numerous times for changes [for accuracy] …” Unfortunately, it seems their requests were not taken into consideration by Mr. Dahan and the producers of Grace of Monaco. The press release goes on to state that the “…Palais cannot accept that, today, for commercial reasons, the producers of this film implied that they have received Their Serene Highnesses’ full support… this is not the case.”
So yeah, it seems the film will not be historically accurate which is a shame, in my opinion.
To learn more about this breaking news pleasehereand here (in French).
On the morning of January 15, 2013, Their Majesties King Albert II and Queen Paola of Belgium along with Their Royal Highnesses Prince Philippe and Princess Mathilde hosted a New Year reception at the Palais de Bruxelles for “… permanent Representatives and Heads of Mission to the North Atlantic Council, Members of the International Secretariat and the Military Representatives to NATO and General Officers SHAPE.”
Meanwhile, Her Royal Highness Princess Claire attended the inauguration of Etterbeek, “…a housing unit for low income families in Brussels.”
It was announced by Jordanian royal court that His Majesty King Abdullah of Jordan will attend the 2013 Arab Economic and Social Development Summit on January 21, 2013 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
According to the Saudi Arabia Ministry of Foreign Affairs website the upcoming summit is:
“… within the Arab League’s framework to develop joint Arab effort and to support developmental issues in economic and social fields which were neglected due to the intense focus on political issues and crises. This summit is also an extension of the joint Arab work on developing social and economic fields as well as enhancing and improving means of cooperation between Arab countries.”
On Monday, His Majesty held a meeting with “… a delegation from the American Israel Public Affairs Committee…” in Amman. Please click hereto read an article from the Jordan Times.
Her Majesty Queen Rania of Jordan gave a keynote speech during the opening ceremony of the 6th Annual World Future Energy Summit during Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week.
In her speech Her Majesty, “… highlighted the importance of long-term sustainable solutions and addressed energy needs and powering sustainable development globally.”
On January 15, 2013, His Royal Highness Prince Daniel of Sweden, in collaboration with the Royal Academy of Engineering Sciences (IVA), launched the Prince Daniel Fellowship and Entrepreneurial Programs at the Carlsforsskas Ekonomi and Handelsskola in Västerås.
Per the Swedish royal court:
“The project aims to inspire young people to become entrepreneurs and to support a number of companies through mentoring. Prince Daniel Fellowship has gathered a group of successful entrepreneurs and business leaders in an expert who will visit high schools, universities and colleges in Sweden to inspire young people and share their experiences as entrepreneurs.”
And, finally, in an interview with the Royal Academy of Engineering Sciences (IVA) Prince Daniel explains why he started this important fellowship/project. Here is what he had to say (rough translation):
Why do you, Prince Daniel, believe this fellowship is important?
Getting young people to realize their potential, perhaps by becoming entrepreneurs, is a way to care about the future of Sweden. For society to function, we depend on people who dare to go and people who are prepared to spend a lot of time to realize their ideas. When the ideas successfully created jobs and many other positive effects.
What would you hope to accomplish?
I hope that our initiative will explore what it means to be an entrepreneur and that the project will inspire you to want more and dare to take the step to start your own.
Sweden is one of the leading countries in terms of innovation, but we are not as talented when it comes to implementing our ideas. It is important that we create a culture that encourages people to dare. A good contractor will help not only himself, but affects many people’s lives by also creating opportunities for others to develop.
Failure is a common and not totally unimportant element of the contractor’s life, much learning comes from there. Entrepreneurship is about taking risk. Anyone who is not willing to fail will never not be successful.
How can the Prince’s background as an entrepreneur contribute to the project? What has Prince taught himself on his business trip?
My main role in the project is to be a catalyst and to gather driving and experienced people in a common effort to entrepreneurship. It is inspiring to meet and listen to talented people. Through this project, we provide more that opportunity. I hope that many young people, who have the potential to create something good and important, dare to take the plunge, thanks to the project. I myself had very little knowledge of what it was like to run a business when I started. I’m not entirely sure it would have happened if I had not been surrounded by several talented entrepreneurs who encouraged me.
One lesson I have taken with me is that small business owners need to be prepared to do everything, from large to small, and especially in the boot.
Running a business is demanding, but few things are as rewarding as seeing dreams take shape.
What are your thoughts on how to increase the number of start-ups and successful businesses in Sweden?
According Tillväxtverket want more than one in two Swedish to be employed, so the desire is there. So you have to get those who want to also dare to invest.
I think we can improve the culture. Those who dare to invest should be encouraged and it is good to see good examples. It was not a coincidence that many young people wanted to be a tennis player during Pori heyday and who does not want to become a new Zlatan?
I hope that many young people to dream of becoming a new Daniel Ek, or a new Cristina Stenbeck.
What is your advice to young people who are looking to start their own, and on a general level, but possibly also, to make it as real as possible, in the industry in which the Prince himself worked?
Initially, it is important to have the courage to try to realize his idea. A concrete idea is to find a mentor, a wise person to talk to who can support and challenge ideas. To test their business ideas to people in their environment is also good. Is the target group interested in buying your product or service, it may mean that there is something to build on. Then you just have to roll up our sleeves and work on!
It was recently announced that Her Serene Highness Princess Charlene of Monaco will host the South African swim team’s winter training camp in Monaco.
Speaking with the South African newspaper, Times Live, head coach, Mr. Graham Hill, stated that the swim team will “… return to Monte-Carlo before the world championships in Barcelona in late July.”Click here for further information.
And, finally, Prince Albert II and Princess Charlene accepted an apology and an “…offer of damages…” from the Sunday Times newspaper today. The princely couple sued the British paper over a July 2011 article entitled, The Full Filthy Monte, which claimed that Princess Charlene was “…reluctant to marry him, discovered the existence of a third love child, and only agreed to marry him for the sake of appearances …”
In an another article by the Sunday Times claimed that the sovereign prince “…turned a blind eye to corrupt activity and granted residence permits to foreigners for fear of having alleged secrets about his love life exposed.” The article also claimed that the sovereign prince harbors “… mobsters and money launderers in Monaco.”
Nothing could be farther from the truth.
Click here to read more about this breaking news from the Independent.
On January 15, 2013, Her Majesty Queen Sofia of Spain was awarded the XXI Premio de Convivencia de la Fundación Manuel Broseta (Coexistence Award) in recognition of her “… significant commitment to various social projects, for her role in the recent history of Spain and for her outstanding work in promoting harmony, coexistence and the momentum of democratic values.”
According to the Spanish royal court the Premio de Convivencia was created to, “… distinguish those individuals, organizations or groups who have excelled in defending the values of freedom, justice, coexistence, and respect.”
Today’s ceremony was held at the Palau de la Generalitat in Valencia and was attended by the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation, Mr. José Manuel García-Margallo, the Government Delegate in Valencia, Ms. Paula Sánchez de León, and the Mayor of Valencia, Ms. Rita Barbera to name a few.
It seems that His Serene Highness Prince Albert II of Monaco, Her Royal Highness Princess Caroline of Hanover and Her Serene Highness Princess Stephanie of Monaco are not all that thrilled with the upcoming film, Grace of Monaco, starring Ms. Nicole Kidman and directed by Mr. Olivier Dahan.
