Eurohistory

Saturday, March 12, 2011

The Wedding Route in 3D

Google's getting in on the royal wedding action: The company has mapped out a 3D video tour of the wedding procession across London, making for a virtual tour of April 29th, as well as a tour of central London complete with the schmaltzy "Wedding March".

In January, the BBC sent a reporter to cover the actual track the newlyweds will travel on their way to Buckingham Palace.

©Getty Pictures

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/03/12/royal-wedding-google-maps_n_834869.html

Thursday, March 10, 2011

Modern Stress of Living Like a King – CP Alexander of Yugoslavia

(Reuters Life!) - Showing visitors the extensive gardens at his 333-acre estate, Alexander Karadjordjevic gestures to a bed of flowers and comments on the burden of maintaining such large grounds.

"We've had to reduce the gardeners to six. These guys are really stretched out," said Karadjordjevic, son of Yugoslavia's last king and heir to the throne. "Tito had 40 -- but he lived like an emperor."

Serbia's monarchy ended during World War Two, after which Communist leader Josip Broz Tito took power, using the royal palaces in Belgrade to host dignitaries and receptions.

Crown Prince Alexander II, son of the late King Peter II who fled to Britain during the 1941 Nazi invasion, returned to live in the palace in 2001 after strongman Slobodan Milosevic fell.
The government still holds title to the royal Dedinje compound, including the six-bedroom 1920s Stari Dvor (Old Palace) where Karadjordjevic lives with his wife, and Beli Dvor (White Palace) used for receptions. Belgrade budgets a million euros a year for upkeep -- far too little, the prince says.

"It's a big responsibility to maintain a place like this," said Karadjordjevic, who wore a doubled-breasted suit and speaks far better English than Serbian. "You have a list of repairs. Number one is the roof. Number 50 is the swimming pool."

Among the areas that are well preserved are the movie theater, billiard room and other ornate basement rooms, ground floor dining room with a massive fireplace and long wooden table, and library stocked with thousands of books.

After World War Two, Communism ended monarchy across the Balkans, although Tito maintained a regal tradition of entertaining top international leaders there.

©Reuters

http://www.reuters.com/article/2010/10/08/us-serbia-prince-idUSTRE6972DA20101008

Moroccan king says constitution to be revised

(AP) – 22 hours ago

RABAT, Morocco (AP) — King Mohammed VI said Wednesday that Morocco will revise its constitution for the first time in 15 years, aiming to strengthen democracy in the face of a push across the Arab world.

In a rare TV and radio speech to the nation, the popular monarch said a new commission would suggest constitutional revisions to him by June, and the overall project would be put to Moroccan voters in a referendum.

"By launching today the work of constitutional reform, we embark on a major phase in the process of consolidation of our model of democracy and development," said the king, wearing glasses, a sober black tie and a dark suit. He was flanked by his brother, Prince Moulay Rachid, and his 7-year-old son, Crown Prince Moulay Hassan.

Some Moroccans poured into the streets of Rabat, the capital, to celebrate after the speech, blaring car horns and waving the North African country's single-star flag.

But the overall reaction to the country's first constitutional revision since 1996, and the first since Mohammed VI took the throne following his father's death in 1999, wasn't immediately clear. The speech, which was only announced hours earlier, came as many people in the football-crazy country tuned in to watch the latest European Champions League contests.

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5iv93UwZeeiBHivr3CHNpEaSzsItw?docId=83be9a52235145ca9d040f4fefb083d5

Wednesday, March 9, 2011

Prince William to Visit Australia and New Zealand

Prince William to visit Australia and New Zealand - Thursday 17th to Monday 21st March 2011

8th March 2011

Prince William is to pay a visit to New Zealand and to Australia on behalf of The Queen following the natural disasters in both countries. Prince William will visit following invitations extended by the Prime Minister of New Zealand and the Prime Minister of Australia. The Prince will meet those affected by the recent disasters as well as meeting members of the emergency and other support services.

Prince William will first visit Christchurch from 17th-18th March, where he will attend a National Memorial Service on Friday 18th March, as well as undertake other engagements in the area. The Prince will also visit Greymouth, near the site of the recent disaster at the Pike River Mine.

http://www.princeofwales.gov.uk/mediacentre/pressreleases/prince_william_to_visit_australia_and_new_zealand_thursday_1_1156900541.html

Tuesday, March 8, 2011

The Duke of York's Increasing Troubles

Goga Ashkenazi, a Kazakh socialite, said that the Duke sent her a BlackBerry message over the weekend expressing his anguish about the coverage of his friendship with Jeffrey Epstein.

He contacted her after the Sunday newspapers contained fresh details over his involvement with the American billionaire, who was sentenced to 18 months in prison in 2008 for soliciting a minor for prostitution.

Last month a picture emerged of the Duke with his arm around Virginia Roberts. The image was taken while she was employed by Epstein as a masseuse but she alleges he sexually exploited her while a teenage minor.

The Government rallied round the Duke yesterday with David Cameron's official spokesman saying the Prime Minister was "fully supportive" of him staying on.

©Rex Features

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/theroyalfamily/8368936/Duke-of-York-very-worried-about-future-as-trade-envoy.html

Queen Noor of Jordan's Thoughts

Throughout the extraordinary events of the last few months, across the Middle East and North Africa, long-silenced voices demanding change are being heard worldwide -- and stalwart among them are the voices of women. From the bereaved mother of the first tragic Tunisian protester, to Asmaa Mahfouz, the 26-year-old whose YouTube video brought Egyptians into the streets, to Sally Zahran, a passionate 23-year-old Egyptian woman who was bludgeoned to death on January 28, to Tawakul Abdel-Salam Karman, the activist whose arrest sparked demonstrations in Yemen and countless others, women have joined with men in peaceful protest, braving beatings, rubber bullets, and worse. In Egypt, considered the birthplace of Arab feminism in the 1920s, an estimated quarter of the million protesters at the height of the demonstration were female. In all the pictures from the protest, none was as powerful as that of the woman standing face to face with an Egyptian soldier in a pose of utmost defiance. One young female protester stated, "There are no differences between men and women here. We are all one hand." In more conservative cultures such as Bahrain and Yemen, fewer women have demonstrated, but for that very reason their presence is perhaps even more significant.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/her-majesty-queen-noor/arab-women_b_832718.html

Monday, March 7, 2011

Queen Victoria and the Munchi – A Comforting Friendship

I am so very fond of him. He is so good and gentle and understanding… and is a real comfort to me.”

These were the words of Queen Victoria speaking to her daughter-in-law, Louise, Duchess of Connaught, on November 3, 1888, at Balmoral. Perhaps surprising, though, is who she was talking about – not her beloved husband, Albert, who had died in 1861. Nor John Brown, her loyal Scottish ghillie, who in many ways filled the void left by Albert, since Brown had died in 1883.

Instead, Queen Victoria was referring to Abdul Karim, her 24-year-old Indian servant.

Her relationship with Karim was one that sent shockwaves through the royal court – and ended up being one of the most scandalous periods of her 64-year reign.

Indeed, such was the ill-feeling that when Victoria died, her son King Edward ordered all records of their relationship, including correspondence and photographs, to be destroyed.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/theroyalfamily/8349760/The-lost-diary-of-Queen-Victorias-final-companion.html

No More Modelling for Duke of Kent's Granddaughter

By Tim Walker 6:28AM GMT 04 Mar 2011

Lady Marina Windsor looked every inch a future catwalk star when she modelled for Tatler last year, but she tells Mandrake that she has no plans to do any more modelling. A career in the United Nations would, she feels, be eminently more rewarding.

Lady Marina, 18, featured in the shoot with her brother, Edward Windsor, Lord Downpatrick, 22, and her sister, Lady Amelia Windsor, 15. “We did it for [couturier] Hardy Amies,” she says. “We owed them a lot because they had done so much for our family.”

The grandchild of the Queen’s cousin, the Duke of Kent, is currently at St Mary’s, Ascot, and hopes to go on to Oxford and then the UN. “I’m very interested in diplomacy,” she says. “It’s very hard to get into the UN – there is a lot of competition – so I’ll have to work very hard.”

©Adrian Weinbrecht

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/theroyalfamily/8360087/Lady-Marina-Windsor-No-more-modelling.html

Lady Anson to Organize Queen's Reception for William's Wedding

When it comes to organising the wedding reception of the year, Prince William and Kate Middleton need a planner with discretion and a unique knowledge of what makes a royal party go with a swing.

Step forward Lady Elizabeth Anson, the Queen's cousin and party planner to both British and Hollywood royalty, who has been called upon to help the couple plan their wedding.

Lady Elizabeth, the founder of Party Planners, a London-based events company, will oversee the couple's wedding reception at Buckingham Palace in April, hosted by the Queen.

The Queen is believed to have called upon Lady Elizabeth's know-how for the royal wedding reception following the success of her own 80th birthday party at The Ritz hotel in London in 2006, which Lady Elizabeth organised.