Monday, July 8, 2013

UK: Queen Elizabeth II's Fourth Great-grandchild

LONDON (Reuters) - The Queen's granddaughter, Zara Phillips and her husband, rugby player, Mike Tindall are expecting their first baby in the New Year, Buckingham Palace said in a statement on Monday.
Phillips' mother, Princess Anne, the Princess Royal, her father Captain Mark Phillips and other family members are delighted at the news, the statement added.
The pair are known in Britain for their sporting success with Phillips, 32, the 13th in line to the throne, winning an equestrian silver at the London Olympic Games in 2012 and her 34-year-old husband famous for formerly captaining the England rugby union team.
They met in Australia during England's Rugby World Cup campaign in 2003 and married eight years later in Edinburgh at a ceremony attended by the Queen, Prince Charles, Prince William and other members of the royal family.
Just six weeks after the 2011 marriage, CCTV footage showed Tindall hugging and kissing another woman at a bar in New Zealand, where his team was competing at the World Cup. He later apologized over the incident and said the woman was "just an old friend".
The baby will be the Princess Royal's third grandchild. The only daughter and second child of Queen Elizabeth, Anne married Mark Phillips in 1973 but the couple divorced in 1992 after having two children, Zara and Peter.
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Thursday, July 4, 2013

Belgium: New King and Queen



Back in 1993, when King Baudouin died unexpectedly, I remember there being rumblings about his brother Albert not being ready, prepared, popular...not being the best choice, as if hereditary monarchy has a choice. "Philippe, is a better choice," told me several Belgian friends.

Yesterday, when news of King Albert II's decision to abdicate the throne on his son Philippe, wouldn't you know...the same commentaries were made about Philippe that two decades ago were made about Albert!

Ah Belgians and royal watchers...you can be such a difficult crowd to please!

:-)

I think that Philippe and Mathilde will do just fine...I have no doubts that there will be some missteps in this the seventh reign of the Saxe-Coburg & Gotha Dynasty. I don't think that we will be served with the new King of the Belgians having secret children, but I am sure some Walloon and Flemish idiosyncrasies will be rubbed the wrong way here and there. In a nation as deeply divided as Belgium that ius bound to happen...more the expected norm than anything else.

The Duke of Brabant, as Philippe will continue to be known until July 21 when he becomes King Philippe I, was born on April 15, 1960. Philippe was initially educated in Belgium, later attending Trinity College, Oxford, and finally obtaining a Masters' degree at Stanford, not far from where I live. In fact, I first met Philippe and Mathilde in the early 2000s when the couple toured the Bay Area and the visit included a stop at Stanford University.

In 1999 I was among the press corps at their wedding. It was a lovely, though frigid December day. During those hectic celebrations I had a chance to photograph them plenty, but I never got to meet the happy couple.

Mathilde d'Udekem d'Acoz was born in Uccle, a suburb of Brussels, on January 20, 1973. Though she was born into a baronial family of the Belgium nobility, her father did not have the title of Baron. She did, however, grow up in the family's country estate, Château de Losange, in Bastogne. Through her mother, Mathilde descends from the Polish Princes Sapieha, the same family that married into the Brazilian Imperial Family. Among Mathilde's distant cousins are the present President of Poland, "Count" Bronislaw Komorowski.

When Philippe and Mathilde married, her father and his descendants were granted comital status by King Albert II. Mathilde's parents had five children, although only four survive today: Marie-Alix (1974-1997), who died along with her grandmother in a terrible automobile accident, a tragedy whose consequences led to Philippe and Mathilde meeting; Elisabeth (b. 1977), who dated Prince Charles-Philippe d'Orléans, but married Margrave Alfonso Pallavicini; Hélene (b. 1979), who married Count Nicolas Janssen; and Henri (b. 1985), his father's long-awaited heir. Count Patrick (Mathilde's father) was a pleasant, old-school aristocrat. He died in 2008. Her mother, the former Countess Anna Komorowska (b. 1946), survives him.



Princess Mathilde, Duchess of Brabant, attended schools in Belgium. She earned a degree in speech therapy, while also studying at the Université Catholique de Louvain, alma mater of Archduke Otto of Austria, where she earned a degree in psychology. Mathilde graduated "magna cum laude." She worked in her own private practice until marrying Prince Philippe, Duke of Brabant. Like her husband, Mathilde is a polyglot: French, Dutch, English and Italian.

The Duke and Duchess of Brabant married in a splendid ceremony in Brussels' imposing Cathedral of Saint Michel and Saint Gudula on a sunny, yet frigid day, December 4, 1999. The wedding ceremony was followed by a ride through the streets of Brussels and ended with a luncheon at the Royal Palace. The streets of the Belgian capital were packed on that cold day, even though some journalists had predicted little enthusiasm about the wedding, the Belgian people proved them wrong. In fact, Mathilde has become easily the most popular member of the Belgian Royal House.

In 2001 Princess Mathilde gave birth to the couple's first child, and future Queen of the Belgians, Princess Elisabeth. Two years later a son was born to them, Gabriel. In 2005 a third child, Emanuel, joined the family. Finally, in 2008, Princess Mathilde gave birth to their fourth offspring, Princess Eléonore. Since the Belgian succession law was changed in 1991 to allow absolute primogeniture, irrespective of gender, Princess Elisabeth, who will become Duchess of Brabant as heir to the throne, will be the first female monarch of the Belgian dynasty, as long as she succeeds her father, which God willing will be the choice.

The Duke and Duchess of Brabant are indefatigable and tireless workers. They carry out myriad duties for the Royal House and Belgium. There is no doubt in my mind that they will make a wonderful monarch and consort.

(Abdication Speech of King Albert II: http://www.monarchie.be/en)














Wednesday, July 3, 2013

UK: Royal Baby's Name

Kate Middleton still doesn't know whether she's having a boy or girl, but bookies are already betting on names "Alexandra" and "George."
 Expectant royals Kate Middleton and Prince William will likely soon be choosing their baby's name and they will likely be more conservative than Kim Kardashian and Kanye West who named their baby girl North West.
While William and Kate do not yet know the sex of their unborn child — who isn't due until July 11 — bookies are already betting on the heir to the throne's name.
"Bookies William Hill say their punters are expecting Kate’s first child to be female," reports The Week. "As for names, Alexandra and Elizabeth are the favourites for a girl while George and James are favourites for a boy."
CNN royal contributor Victoria Arbiter says royals choose "dynastic names; names with a sense of history" that will provide the "elements of continuity that the survival of the monarchy depends on."
Arbiter predicts "Alexandra Elizabeth Frances Mary for a girl and George Philip Arthur Charles for a boy."

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©Getty Images

Royal Baby – It's a Boy!


Prince Floris and Princess Aimée van Oranje-Nassau van Vollenhoven welcomed their third child and first son on July 1. The baby, who is to be baptized with the name of Willem Jan, was born in The Hague.

Willen Jan is the 11th grandchild of Princess Margriet of the Netherlands and of her husband, Pieter van Vollenhoven.

The baby and his two sisters


Belgium: King Albert II to Abdicate July 21!



BRUSSELS—Belgium's King Albert announced Wednesday that he will abdicate in favor of Crown Prince Philippe on July 21, the country's independence day holiday.
The move had been rumored for weeks and will end nearly two decades of steady reign over a fractious kingdom, one increasingly torn apart by political strife between northern Dutch-speaking Flanders and French-speaking southern Wallonia.
Frail at 79, King Albert will be handing over the throne to his son Philippe, who is 53. Albert said his age and health no longer allow him to carry out his functions as he would want to.
''After a reign of 20 years I believe the moment is here to hand over the torch to the next generation," Albert said in an address carried

Belgium has had six kings since it came into being in 1830; Albert is the first to voluntarily abdicate the throne.
by all of Belgium's major broadcasters. ''Prince Philippe is well prepared to succeed me."
In August, Albert would mark his second decade on the throne of the kingdom of 10.5 million people. Many have said that the day Belgium celebrates its independence could be an ideal day to hand over the largely ceremonial post.
Belgium is enjoying something of a political lull as it prepares for potentially bruising nationwide and regional elections next spring. Any abdication at that stage would be practically impossible.
"His most important gift is that he provided a sense of stability" as Flanders and Wallonia drifted apart, historian and author Marc Reynebeau told The Associated Press.
Reflecting the strife, a few dozen protesters of the extreme right Flemish Interest party posted themselves in front of the royal palace Wednesday with a huge banner that said "Flanders Independent."
At a family level, life has not been as smooth.
After he succeeded his devoutly Roman Catholic brother Baudouin in 1993, Albert became embroiled in a major royal scandal when he had to acknowledge the existence of an out-of-wedlock daughter, Delphine Boel, and suffered a major crisis in his marriage with Queen Paola.

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EUROHISTORY: New Editor-in-Chief Appointed – Welcome Greg King!!!

NEWS RELEASE

We at Eurohistory are delighted to announce the addition of the the very talented Greg King to our staff. Greg and Arturo have been in contact over the last few weeks, not only negotiating Greg's incorporation into the growing number of contributors working for Eurohistory, but also the publication of a commemorative book on the Russian Imperial Family. Greg's addition to our staff as Editor-in-Chief, starting immediately with ERHJ XCIII (June 2013), is the next big step in our Publisher's efforts to turn Eurohistory into the best source of royal historiography.

Arturo and Greg have been in contact for nearly twenty years. Together they possess an unparalleled wealth of royal history knowledge – working together they plan on making huge, positive, forward-moving changes to Eurohistory!

Eurohistory began as a hobby when Arturo was working for Goldman Sachs in the 1990s. It soon turned into a business and for the last sixteen years has played an important role in the area of royal studies. However, Eurohistory has grown to a point where it remaining a hobby is no longer feasible. The magazine side has 93 issues in publication, while the book publishing side has nearly 20 titles in print, with a further 11 titles in the works. This can no longer be managed by one person alone. Here is where Greg comes in...his aid will help ensure that Eurohistory's growth continues without compromising quality, veracity and overall contribution to the study of Europe's Royal Houses.

Indeed, we are delighted to welcome Greg under our ever-expanding tent...and we hope that with his steady leadership, we will be able to continue bringing you, our readers, excellent articles inside the pages of Eurohistory, as well as a more varied list of royal biographies.

Please help us welcome Greg!

–//–


I am delighted to join Arturo and the team at the European Royal History Journal (Eurohistory) as the magazine’s new Editor-in-Chief.  Having watched Eurohistory progress and develop into an invaluable resource, I hope to help shepherd it into a new era of even greater influence.  While respecting the important platform Arturo has cultivated, I will also approach historical exploration of diverse subjects and work closely with authors to help encourage research.

Having edited Atlantis Magazine: In the Courts of Memory with Penny Wilson for four years, I know that the strength of a publication rests both with its readers and with its writers.  I encourage the former to please be in touch, to let us know what we are doing well and what areas you think need improvement and also to share your ideas with us.  To the latter group, I promise to be diligent in my attentions, receptive to ideas, and eager to work with all of you.  I would especially like to cultivate disparate voices, points of view, and previously unpublished writers who would like an opportunity to see their work in print.  All of us who write about royalty had to take the initial leap of faith and begin.  I did so at the age of twelve, when I began writing my biography of Empress Alexandra of Russia.  No one took seriously the idea, but my interest and passion for the Romanovs drove me forward until it eventually became my first book.  And so I encourage readers and writers alike to join us as we begin this new and exciting chapter in the life of Eurohistory.  Under Arturo’s continued guidance and vision, and armed with determined enthusiasm, we can share in these exciting developments and help create a truly informative, supportive community where everyone is welcome.

Greg King


ABOUT ME


Greg King is the author of eleven internationally published works of royal and social history, specializing in late Imperial Russia and Edwardian-era royalty.  His books include The Last Empress: The Life and Times of Alexandra Feodorovna, Tsarina of Russia (1994), The Man Who Killed Rasputin (1996), The Fate of the Romanovs (with Penny Wilson, 2003), The Court of the Last Tsar (2006), The Resurrection of the Romanovs (with Penny Wilson, 2010), and the UK bestseller The Duchess of Windsor (2000).  A frequent contributor and onscreen expert for more than fifty television documentaries, his newest book is The Assassination of the Archduke: Sarajevo 1914 and the Romance That Changed the World (with Sue Woolmans, St. Martin’s Press/Pan Macmillan, September 2013).

Born in 1964, I was educated at King’s High School; Edmonds Community College in Edmonds, Washington, where I received the Distinguished Alumni Award in 1998; and also studied at the University of Washington in Seattle.  Since the age of ten I have been passionately interested in royal history, especially the Romanov Dynasty and I have written about the subjects I find most intriguing: Russian and royal history, Victorian, Edwardian and Gilded Age society, and architecture.  I enjoy the challenge of discovery and reconciling conflicting documentation when researching and writing, and like to approach subjects with an eye toward reality.  With Penny Wilson, I edited and ran Atlantis Magazine: In the Courts of Memory, a quarterly devoted to Imperial Russia.  I have assisted numerous authors in their own works, including Julia Gelardi, Zoia Belyakova, Edvard Radzinsky, Coryne Hall, and Joseph Fuhrmann.  I have also served as an advisor, onscreen expert, and commentator for more than fifty television programs and documentaries aired by A & E, the History Channel, The Learning Channel, National Geographic, The Discovery Channel, The Romance Channel, E! Entertainment Television, Fox News, and Court TV in the United States; the CBC in Canada; and ITV, Channel 4, and Granada Television in the United Kingdom.  My books have been serialized in Majesty Magazine, the Daily Mail (London), and in Atlantis Magazine, and my writing has appeared in Majesty Magazine, Royalty Magazine, Royal Russia, Royalty Digest, and Atlantis Magazine.


MY PAST WORKS


The Last Empress: The Life and Times of Alexandra Feodorovna, Tsarina of Russia (1994)

The Man Who Killed Rasputin: Prince Felix Yusupov and the Murder that Helped Bring Down the Russian Empire (UK title The Murder of Rasputin, 1995)

The Mad King: The Life and Times of Ludwig II of Bavaria (1996)

The Duchess of Windsor: The Uncommon Life of Wallis Simpson (1999)

Sharon Tate and the Manson Murders (2000)

The Fate of the Romanovs (with Penny Wilson) (2003)

The Court of the Last Tsar: Pomp, Power and Pageantry in the Reign of Nicholas II (2005)

Twilight of Splendor: The Court of Queen Victoria During Her Diamond Jubilee Year (2007)

Gilded Prism: The Konstantinovichii Grand Dukes (with Penny Wilson) (2007)

A Season of Splendor: The Court of Mrs. Astor in Gilded Age New York (2009)

The Resurrection of the Romanovs: Anastasia, Anna Anderson and the World’s Greatest Royal Mystery (with Penny Wilson) (2011)

Assassination of the Archduke: Sarajevo 1914 and the Romance That Changed the World (with Sue Woolmans) (2013)


PRAISE FOR GREG KING’S PAST WORKS


The Last Empress: The Life and Times of Alexandra Feodorovna, Tsarina of Russia


“Wonderfully vivid…a worthy companion to Edvard Radzinsky’s The Last Tsar” – Publishers Weekly

“Fascinating, readable and involving…strongly recommended” – Library Journal

“In this popular but not unperceptive treatment, King lends sympathetic understanding to the apparently unsuccessful life of this un-liked but significant figure” – Booklist


The Man Who Killed Rasputin: Prince Felix Yusupov and the Murder that Helped Bring Down the Russian Empire


“Carefully crafts a mosaic of one of the most enigmatic men of the Russian Revolution” – Publishers Weekly

“Compelling reading” – Booklist


The Mad King: The Life and Times of Ludwig II of Bavaria


“A straightforward account of Ludwig’s sad life. Recommended.” – Library Journal


The Duchess of Windsor: The Uncommon Life of Wallis Simpson


“Right on target when detailing how the royal family did much to damage the duchess’s image” – Booklist

“This readable, thoroughly researched biography of the much maligned duchess convincingly lays to rest much of the negative gossip” – Kirkus Reviews

“One of the essential books in any halfway complete collection on the Windsors” – Royalty Digest


Sharon Tate and the Manson Murders


“Even though I prosecuted Charles Manson, I learned much from this splendidly written book.” – Vincent Bugliosi, author of Helter Skelter and Reclaiming History: The Assassination of President John F. Kennedy

“Incredibly detailed account of the most famous of the Manson Family’s victims…unearths a staggering trove of information…true crime fans will find it irresistible” – Kirkus Reviews

“A thorough account of Sharon Tate’s brief life” – Publishers Weekly


The Fate of the Romanovs


“A complex, fascinating work…refreshingly, daringly, and compellingly revisionist.” – Simon Sebag Montefiore, author of Potemkin: Catherine the Great’s Imperial Partner, Young Stalin, and Stalin: The Court of the Red Tsar

“Sure to become the standard for which all future books on the Romanovs will be based....This is historical research at its best. A stunner of a book” – Marlene Eilers, author of Queen Victoria's Descendants

“A startlingly revisionist history that compelling destroys the tired old romantic clichés and recreates the Tsar and the commissars as real characters” – Financial Times, UK

“A comprehensive volume of one of history's great intrigues…those fascinated with the case will find it worthwhile” – Publishers Weekly

“In an attempt to separate historical fact from sentimental fantasy, King and Wilson have taken advantage of the glut of documentation made available by the collapse of the Soviet Union, fashioning a comprehensive reexamination of the 78 days of the Ekaterinburg captivity, the murders themselves, and the 1991 exhumation of the bodies. Utilizing fresh information and cobbling together an abundance of primary and secondary source material, the authors engage in a complex game of historical detection that ultimately results in a controversial new perspective on an old but ever-captivating topic” – Booklist

“The Fate of the Romanovs is both encyclopedic and compelling” – Evening Standard, UK

“King and Wilson have written a graphic, compelling reconstruction of the fate of the last tsar and his family and a detailed account of the developments in 1989–2001…the exhaustive documentation and notes, and readable style, make this book necessary for academic and public libraries” – Library Journal

“The two authors have turned their investigations into a murder–mystery tale” – South Wales Argus

“Makes for fascinating reading...an erudite retelling of a story that refuses to die” – Fortean Times

“The cold eye of reason combs through the evidence, delivering astonishing details about the demise of the Romanovs…A masterpiece of historical research” – Good Book Guide


The Court of the Last Tsar: Pomp, Power and Pageantry in the Reign of Nicholas II


“Any book by Greg King is a book to be kept and savored.  He has not only given us a fresh, clear-eyed, and often startling new look at the life of the last Romanovs, but also lived up to the promise of his title.  He has shown us how the whole enterprise worked, from Tsar Nicholas to his lowest cook and chambermaid.  This book is a great work of scholarship and a wonderful read” – Peter Kurth, author of Tsar: The Lost World of Nicholas and Alexandra and Anastasia: The Riddle of Anna Anderson

“Superb!” – Simon Sebag Montefiore, author of Potemkin: Catherine the Great’s Imperial Partner, Young Stalin, and Stalin: The Court of the Red Tsar

“A mammoth, monumental achievement. No other book captures the essence and the entire scope of life at the court of Nicholas II. It's a thoroughly enjoyable and encyclopedic masterpiece that will be a major source for historians and biographers for years to come” – Marlene A. Eilers, author of Queen Victoria's Descendants

“Greg King has truly written a tour de force. The book is extremely well researched, has over 100 illustrations and is, quite simply, marvelous” – Coryne Hall, author of Little Mother of Russia, Once a Grand Duchess, and Imperial Dancer

“Greg King is emerging as one of the leading authorities in today’s liveliest field of Russian studies, and this is a major contribution to the study of late Imperial Russia” – Professor Joseph T. Fuhrmann, author of Rasputin and the editor of The Complete Wartime Correspondence of Tsar Nicholas II and the Empress Alexandra

“Fascinating, exotic, indispensable” – The Sunday Telegraph, UK

“King has a vast knowledge of his subject, and those who are fascinated by the life of the royals and aristocratic intrigue will find much to delight in; for those intrigued by the Russian court, there is no better escort” – Publishers Weekly

“King marshals an amazing amount of information, and just as amazingly he presents it all in a very fluid, compelling fashion” – Booklist

“So completely approached this complex topic from a cultural standpoint…a great companion to Russian Revolution and Nicholas and Alexandra collections in all libraries” – Library Journal


Twilight of Splendor: The Court of Queen Victoria During Her Diamond Jubilee Year


“Biographies of Victoria are plentiful, but King’s special approach and limited focus makes this new one far from redundant” – Booklist

“Greg King leads you on a tour into the heart of history’s last and greatest royal empire” – Majesty Magazine


The Resurrection of the Romanovs: Anastasia, Anna Anderson and the World’s Greatest Royal Mystery


“Covers the subject so thoroughly and so honestly that this is almost certainly the last book that needs to be written” – Robert K. Massie, author of Nicholas and Alexandra, Journey, Peter the Great, Dreadnaught, and Catherine the Great

“This book presents a large amount of information in an accessible way, and will certainly answer many questions” – Russia Profile


Belgium: King Albert II to Abdicate

The King of the Belgians, Albert II, is going to address the nation amid reports he is going to abdicate.

Belgian state TV reported that the 79-year-old monarch would make an announcement on all of the major networks at 18:00 (16:00 GMT).

His son, Crown Prince Philippe, 53, is next in line to the throne.

During Belgium's political deadlock in 2010-11, the king - who is due to mark 20 years on the throne next month - took on the role of mediator.

Media reports say he will announce his abdication to take effect on Belgium's national day on 21 July.

Royal scandal 

King Albert met the Belgian government's cabinet earlier on Wednesday to inform them of his decision, Belgian state TV reported.

The palace said in a statement: "The core council of ministers has convened in the presence of the king. The king will speak to the people at 18:00 via a radio and television address."

Following the king's announcement, Belgian Prime Minister Elio Di Rupo will address the nation.
King Albert was sworn in as the sixth king of the Belgians on 9 August 1993, following the death of his brother, King Baudouin at the age of 62.

After he succeeded his brother, King Albert became embroiled in a major royal scandal when he was alleged to be the father of an out-of-wedlock daughter, Delphine Boel, and suffered a major crisis in his marriage with Queen Paola.


That issue came to the fore again this spring when Ms Boel opened court proceedings to prove she was the king's daughter. There is some speculation in the media that may have influenced his decision to abdicate.


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