Last week, His Serene Highness Prince Albert II of Monaco visited a school in Guié, Burkina Faso supported by Monégasque association, Mission Enfance. Whilst at the school the sovereign prince met with students and faculty as well as inspected a new water pump at the school which was installed to provide students with clean drinking water. Prince Albert II also visited the school’s nursery where he met with staff and hugged cute babies.
It was announced by Clarence House that Their Royal Highnesses the Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall will visit Scandinavia beginning on March 20-27, 2012 in Norway.
Press release from Clarence House:
The Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall to visit Norway, Sweden and Denmark
The British Government have asked The Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall to undertake official visits to Norway, Sweden and Denmark from 20th to 27th March 2012. These visits, to other Monarchies linked by common Royal descent, mark the start of Their Royal Highnesses’ official overseas celebrations of The Queen’s Diamond Jubilee. Their Royal Highnesses will, in each case, be guests of the Sovereign Head of State.
The themes of the tour will include strong historic and diplomatic links between the United Kingdom and all three countries. There will be a particular focus on commercial opportunities for British business to support our economy, military co-operation, environmental sustainability, social cohesion and youth opportunities.
The tour will begin in Oslo, Norway, with a ceremonial wreath laying at the National Memorial, accompanied by The King and Queen. The Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall will then meet young people engaged in youth activities, including survivors of the terrible attack at Utøya last Summer, at the city’s Nobel Peace Centre. The King and Queen will host a State Dinner for Their Royal Highnesses in the Royal Palace. The Prince and Duchess will also travel to Bergen, where, among other engagements, they will attend a concert in a medieval hall which The Prince first visited in 1969 on a visit with Her Majesty The Queen and The Duke of Edinburgh. The Prince will also meet the crew of HMS Liverpool who, working in partnership with their Norwegian counterparts, played a key role in the recent liberation of Libya.
In Sweden, The Prince and The Duchess will be received in Stockholm by The King and Queen, before visiting Europe’s largest youth activity centre at Fryshuset. Their Majesties will host an official lunch for Their Royal Highnesses. The remainder of the programme will focus on military and commercial cooperation, the international work of a world renowned environmental research centre and education. There will also be a visit to the world famous Vasa warship which, like her counterpart the Mary Rose, sank on her maiden voyage and was recovered in the twentieth century.
On Saturday, February 18, 2012, Their Serene Highnesses Prince Albert II and Princess Charlene of Monaco attended a cocktail reception to celebrate the 8th Edition of the Challenge Albert II Rowing Competition. The event was held at the Société Nautique de Monaco.
Meanwhile in New York City… Prince Albert II’s nephew, Pierre Casiraghi, was partying with his pals at the Double Seven club in the Meatpacking District on Saturday, February 18, 2012. Witnesses at the club told the New York Post that Pierre and his pals “were being completely obnoxious”.
Any way, sometime during the night, Pierre and his pals annoyed the crap out of some big burly dude named Adam Hock and his friends. Apparently, Pierre decided that it was cool to repeatedly take a “swig from $500 bottle of vodka on Hock’s table” as well as insult and harass Mr. Hock and his friends.
So, as time goes on Mr. Hock just couldn’t take it anymore. Words were exchanged then all of a sudden… BAM! Mr. Hock punched Pierre — Mike Tyson style — in his pretty little face whereupon he “…flew across the room and landed on a table on the other side.”
Well, that sucks.
To read more about this drama please click here.
Sources: Palais Princier de Monaco and NY Post
Photo courtesy of Palais Princier de Monaco
On February 18, 2012, Her Royal Highness Princess Christina of the Netherlands turned 65 years old, and in honor of the princess’s birthday the Dutch network, NOS, aired a new documentary about her life. Click the link below to watch:
Prinses Christina 65 (in Dutch)
Last year, journalist James Chau interviewed Their Majesties King Constantine and Queen Anne-Marie of Greece on “… the eve of the wedding of His Royal Highness Prince William of Wales and Miss Catherine Middleton.” Click the links below to watch the interview in English.
His Royal Highness Prince Johan Friso of Oranje-Nassau remains at the Innsbruck University Hospital’s intensive care and trauma unit after being buried by an avalanche on February 17, 2012.
As of today the second son of Her Majesty Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands and the late Prince Claus remains in “stable” condition; however, the Dutch royal court made it clear that Prince Johan Friso is still “not out of danger.” The medical team treating the prince stated that they, “…will not be able to give a full prognosis of his condition until the end of this week.”
Her Majesty Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands, Prince Johan Friso’s wife, Princess Mabel and their children remain in Austria and continue to visit the prince every day. Their Royal Highnesses Crown Prince Willem-Alexander, Prince Maxima and their family along with Their Royal Highnesses Prince Constantijn and Princess Laurentien and their family are also in Austria.
Finally, after receiving a tremendous amount messages of support and prayers from people all over the world the Dutch royal court released a statement today:
The members of the royal family are sincerely grateful and deeply touched by all the messages of support and kindness they have received since Prince Friso’s skiing accident. They are a great support to them at this difficult time.
Click here to watch the latest video news from NOS.
Source: RVD/HKH
Per the Japan Times:
His Imperial Majesty Emperor Akihito of Japan, who underwent heart surgery on Saturday, is recovering well and was able to drink water on Sunday morning in the intensive care unit where he is being treated, Imperial Household Agency officials said.
The agency said the Emperor asked a doctor when he can start reading books.
Her Imperial Majesty Empress Michiko of Japan visited University of Tokyo Hospital to see her 78-year-old husband, while many people signed books for well-wishers in front of the Imperial Palace in central Tokyo.
Their Imperial Highnesses Crown Prince Naruhito and Prince Akishino visited their father on Sunday afternoon.
Asked about the Emperor’s heart bypass surgery, Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda told reporters at his official residence, “I’m relieved that it ended without complications. I want to pray for his quick recovery.”
The Emperor underwent coronary artery bypass surgery on Saturday. The operation, which lasted about four hours, ended without complications or significant bleeding, according to a team of physicians from the hospital and Juntendo University Hospital who operated on him.
Per AFP News:
His Imperial Majesty Emperor Akihito of Japan underwent a successful four-hour heart bypass operation Saturday and hopefully should be fit to play tennis again, officials said amid lingering concerns over his declining health.
It was the first surgery for the 78-year-old Emperor since 2003 — when he had an operation for prostate cancer — after tests showed a narrowing of two of his coronary arteries.
His physicians, a team from the University of Tokyo hospital and the private Juntendo University, said the operation went without a hitch from the start at 11:01 am (0201 GMT) until the end at 2:57 pm.
The Emperor was awake before he left the operating room at 3:55 pm for the intensive care unit.
His wife Empress Michiko and their daughter Sayako Kuroda, a former princess who left the royal household to marry a commoner, visited him about an hour after he came to the ICU and had a brief chat, the palace said.
He might be discharged in two weeks, his doctors said.
“The operation ended smoothly as planned,” Minoru Ono, surgeon at the University of Tokyo, told a news conference.
“His blood pressure is good. No bleeding is seen. His condition after the surgery is just as expected,” he said.
During his recuperation, Emperor Akihito’s first son His Imperial Highness Crown Prince Naruhito will handle official duties such as attending public ceremonies and meeting state guests.
The monarch arrived at the hospital on Friday morning accompanied by Empress Michiko, who stayed with the emperor overnight.
Emperor Akihito walked to the operating room with his wife and daughter seeing him off at its entrance.
After his operation, the Empress and Kuroda saw him briefly and rubbed his hand.
“It feels good,” the emperor told them, according to Ono.
More than 10,000 people flocked to the Imperial Palace on Saturday to sign books wishing him well at a special tent set up outside the palace gates.
Local press reports had earlier stressed the surgery was a routine procedure that thousands of Japanese undergo every year. But, the surgery came amid increasing concerns about Emperor Akihito’s health.
A catheter angiogram taken a week ago showed that his arteries had continued to narrow since an examination a year ago, the palace said in a statement.
In November, Emperor Akihito, who acceded to the throne in 1989 following the death of his father Hirohito, spent 19 days in hospital with mild pneumonia and underwent surgery for prostate cancer in 2003.
His youngest son, His Imperial Highness Prince Akishino, has suggested there should be a discussion about setting a retirement age for the head of state.
Despite being stripped of much of its mystique and its quasi-divine status in the aftermath of World War II, the Japanese throne is held in deep respect by much of the public.
The palace will continue to consider ways to reduce Akihito’s duties, said Ichiro Kanazawa, the palace’s top medical supervisor.
“Fortunately, his heart has become better, so I am hoping that he will be able to play tennis again,” he said. “But, as for his work, we have to think of his age, which is not getting younger.”
The Royal Correspondent 