H.R.H. Prince William of Wales In Christchurch, New Zealand

March 17, 2011 Alexandra

After last month’s devastating 6.3 earthquake that left Christchurch, New Zealand in shambles H.R.H. Prince William of Wales toured the city, which he described the damage as “unbelievable” on March 17, 2011.

According to the British newspaper, The Telegraph, Prince William met with various rescue workers and toured several quake damaged sites:

Driving through the city streets that had been reduced to rubble by the powerful earthquake, the Prince was visibly shocked by the extent of the destruction.

After stopping off at the Christchurch Cathedral, which has lost its spire and is now surrounded by metal scaffolding, and passing the Grand Chancellor Hotel, the city’s tallest building which is leaning dangerously and will have to be demolished, he told Des Bull, an Urban Search and Rescue (USAR) engineer: ‘It’s just the scale of it is unbelievable.’

‘When you see buildings like that….that’s very very sad. It really does bring it home to see it leaning like that.’

To read the article in its entirety as well as to watch a video clip please click the link: The Telegraph

Another article and video from the BBC News and ABC News Australia

Photo courtesy of: ABC News Australia by AFP

Belgian Royals

Their Majesties King Albert and Queen Paola of Belgium Visit Maldegem

March 17, 2011 Alexandra

This afternoon Their Majesties King Albert and Queen Paola visited the East Flemish town of Maldegem, Belgium. Though the visit went well, the royal couple were met with 20 or so protesters who advocate Flemish independence from Belgium.

According to the online Belgian newspaper, Niewsblad.be:

The royal couple were met by Mayor John De Roo and the board of Aldermen were they were received in the House Wallyn. The East Flanders Governor Andre Denys and Defence Minister Pieter De Crem were also present.

The royal couple were given a memento and signed the Golden Book. After a brief visit they were then greeted by the people of Marktstraat. Later on, Her Majesty Queen Paola visited the Woon- en zorgcampus Begijnewater home and care campus. The visit ended with a reception at the local sports Meos.

To view photos as well as to read more about the royal visit to Maldegem please click the link: Nieuwsblad.be

Source and photo courtesy of: Nieuwsblad.be by Belga

Monaco Princely Family, Princely Wedding

The Official Website for the Upcoming Princely Wedding in Monaco is Finally Here: Try to Contain your Enthusiasm

March 16, 2011 Alexandra 3 Comments

For those of you who were waiting ever so patiently to gaze upon the official website for the upcoming princely wedding in Monaco, well, you are in luck.

Today, you can finally breathe a sigh of relief and then scream like a teenager at a Justin Bieber concert because the website is officially up and running complete with H.S.H Prince Albert II of Monaco and Miss Charlene Wittstock’s giant monogram plastered all over the site.

Well… actually it’s only on the left hand side, but whatever.

Any way, the site contains all the important information for you to know. For example:

The dates for the civil and religious ceremony
Information about Monaco
Details about the Princely wedding
A bio about the Prince and Miss Wittstock (who apparently loves to surf like yours truly… though I have a feeling Charlene sucks at it.)
FAQ
Useful information (like how to get to Monaco and we all know how important that is.)
Contacts
Press room
Lots of pretty pictures

Overall, the site is quite nice looking; moreover, it is nice to see that someone at the Palais Princier de Monaco FINALLY realized the correct title of the wedding. For some time now, the official tourism website for Monaco, Visit Monaco, and some dude who works at the Palais Princier de Monaco, kept referring the upcoming wedding as a royal wedding. It’s not. It’s a princely wedding. So, congrats to Visit Monaco and the underpaid Palais Princier de Monaco employee dude who finally realized their past mistake.

To view the website in all its glory please click the link: Mariage Princier Monaco 2011

Photo courtesy of: Zimbio.com by ATTILA KISBENEDEK/AFP/Getty Images

British Royals

A New Portrait of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II Unveiled Today

March 16, 2011 Alexandra

This afternoon a new portrait of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II was unveiled at “… the Scottish Parliament…” according to the BBC. The image, by 24 year old Shaun Murawski, was taken last summer at the Queen’s residence, Holyroodhouse, in Edinburgh, Scotland.

To read the article in its entirety please click the link: Daily Mail

Imperial Family of Japan

H.I.M. Emperor Akihito Speaks to the People on Japanese Television

March 16, 2011 Alexandra

On Wednesday, March 16, 2011, H.I.M. Emperor Akihito of Japan made a rare appearance on Japanese national television to share his thoughts and concerns about the aftermath of last week’s 9.0 earthquake and destructive tsunami that followed.

According to the BBC News:

TV stations interrupted programming on Wednesday to show the emperor describing the crisis facing the nation as “unprecedented in scale”.

The 77-year-old – deeply respected by many Japanese – said: “I hope from the bottom of my heart that the people will, hand in hand, treat each other with compassion and overcome these difficult times.”

To watch Emperor Akihito’s speech via the BBC please click the link: BBC News

Photo courtesy of: Zimbio.com by Kiyoshi Ota/Getty Images AsiaPac

British Royals

Historian David Starkey and Curator for the Royal Collections, Jennifer Scott, Discuss Royal Portraiture

March 16, 2011 Alexandra

On March 14, 2011, the official website for the British monarchy published the discussion about royal portraiture on their official You Tube channel.

The speakers are: The awesome (in my opinion) Historian Dr. David Starkey and Jennifer Scott, curator for the royal collection.

David Starkey, one of Britain’s finest historians joined Royal Collection curator Jennifer Scott to discuss the fascinating subject of royal portraiture from Holbein to Mario Testino.

This event marked the publication of Jennifer Scott’s new book for the Royal Collection, The Royal Portrait: Image and Impact (2010).

Find out more on http://www.royalcollection.org.uk

The discussion is roughly over 56 minutes and is, in my opinion, incredibly fascinating. So, here you go… please click the link to view: Royal Portraiture

Also, there is a wonderful discussion with David Starkey regarding the monarchy, its history, and other cool stuff. Again, the series is roughly 52 minutes, and again incredibly interesting. Click the link to watch: Dr. David Starkey

British Royals

HM Queen Elizabeth II At Westminster Abbey

March 14, 2011 Alexandra

On March 14, 2011, in lovely London, England Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II and her husband the Duke of Edinburgh were at Westminster Abbey to attend the Commonwealth Day observance. I hope that made sense… Anyway, the sweet Queen was all smiles as she walked in the ancient Abbey with her husband.