Archive August 2010
A Friend Remembers Diana
I remember hearing the news as if it was yesterday. Despite the fact that it was a Saturday night, I was sitting in my apartment in the District when the phone rang. Anytime the phone rings at a late hour you know something is wrong. Because really is there any good news coming on the other end of the phone line after 11 pm? The first words out of her mouth only supported that belief. “Did you hear about Diana,” she asked. “She’s been in a car accident and it isn’t looking good.” I spent the early Sunday morning glued to CNN and MSNBC for updates and then came news that she didn’t make it….. Diana was dead. And just like that, I lost a dear friend.
Reflections on Diana and the Media
Thirteen years after her death, Diana still finds her place on numerous newspaper and tabloid covers around the world. After the 10th anniversary of the night when she lost her life in a car crash caused by an inebriated driver trying to avoid the paparazzi, one might have thought she would finally be granted the right to be left alone.
Although this is more or less the case for the general public, who will probably only gather in small groups this year, it seems that bizarre new stories are still emerging, to the delight of the press.
Funeral of the Duke of Parma and Inauguration of his Son as Duke
Yesterday, 28 August 2010, saw the funeral of the late Duke of Parma, Carlos Hugo Prince de Bourbon Parma, at the Steccata Basilica, Parma.
Besides the new Duke, his son and heir Carlos Xavier and spouse Duchess Annemarie, daughter Princess Margarita with spouse Tjalling ten Cate, her twin brother Prince Jaime and Princess Maria Carolina as well as three sisters of the deceased, almost the entire Dutch Royal Family, 15 strong, attended the funeral of this warm modest man and beloved uncle. HM Queen Beatrix did not attend but was represented by TRH The Prince of Orange and Princess Máxima.
Queen Astrid – 75th Anniversary of her Death
Today, 29 August 2010, King Albert II of Belgium will not be found anywhere near Laeken, ready to pour oil on the turbulent political sea, all day long. The 76-year old King is in Küssnacht am Rigi, Switzerland, to visit the place where his beloved mother, Queen Astrid, died in a car accident, 75 years ago. Like King Albert in Küssnacht, we, at the Royal Universe, want to take a moment to commemorate the life and death of this beautiful Snow Princess.
Wedding of Prince Nikolaos and Tatiana Blatnik
Prince Nikolaos of Greece and Denmark, the second son of the exiled King Constantine and Queen Anne-Marie of Greece, married his longtime girlfriend Tatiana Blatnik today at the Cathedral of Saint Nicholas on the Greek island of Spetses. The members of the Greek royal family descend from George I of Greece, a son of Christian IX of Denmark, and are therefore styled as princes and princesses of Greece and Denmark. Through her marriage Tatiana became Princess Nikolaos of Greece and Denmark, not Princess Tatiana; like the British royals, women marrying into the Greek royal family do not become princesses in their own right.
Death of the Duke of Parma
His Royal Highness Prince Carlos Hugo of Bourbon-Parma, titular Duke of Parma and Piacenza and the Carlist claimant to the throne of Spain, died at 8 a.m. yesterday, 18 August 2010, in Barcelona. He was 80 years old.
He was born Prince Hugues Xavier of Bourbon-Parma (he officially changed his name to Carlos Hugo in 1963) in Paris on 8 April 1930, three years after the wedding of his parents, Prince Xavier (son of Duke Roberto I, the last reigning Duke of Parma, and his second wife, Duchess Maria Antonia) and Princess Madeleine, born Countess of Bourbon-Busset.
Princess Anne Hits Retirement Age
Princess Anne is celebrating her 60th birthday today; to nobody’s surprise, her reaction to reaching retirement age is to carry on with business as usual. She’s already the hardest-working member of the royal family in terms of sheer numbers of engagements she completes each year, and is showing no signs of slowing down.
Royal Twins
The Danish royal house announced yesterday that Crown Princess Mary is pregnant with twins, who are due to arrive in January of next year. The Crown Prince and Princess already have two children, Prince Christian and Princess Isabella, aged 4 and 3 respectively. The timing of the announcement means that Princess Mary is already four months pregnant. Announcements of royal pregnancies are usually made earlier than four months, but with the Princess already being 38 and expecting twins, it may be a case of being safe rather than sorry.