Zara Phillips, the daughter of HRH The Princess Royal, made a quick visit to Australia earlier this week to attend the 2009 Emirates Melbourne Cup at the Flemington Race Course in Victoria.

View the image at the Daily Mail

Zara attended the event on Tuesday November 3rd as one of the year’s international guests (others included Good Charlotte rockers Benji and Joel Madden), and was a prominent fixture in the Birdcage (the place to be). Wearing a royal blue frock by American brand Thread Social and a resplendid fascinator by British milliner Philip Treacy, Zara had no problems enjoying her day at the races and mingling with Australian celebrities.

“Ascot has a lot of rules about dress codes, so it’s nice to be able to be a bit more relaxed and for women to able to wear skirts that are a bit shorter,” Zara told a reporter from The Australian. And with some of the short skirts and questionable fashion choices at the Racecourse on the day, one could not be blamed if they missed the race that stops a nation and didn’t know that Shocking took out the Cup.

Later that evening, Zara was seen at Melbourne hot-spot Spice Market with a group of friends. She avoided being photographed, but was happy to chat with others at the post-Race party, including the winning jockey Corey Brown.

Click here to view Zara’s current events thread.

JessRulz British Royals Australia, Horse Racing, Zara Phillips

Queen Elizabeth hosted this week’s State Visit by the President of India Pratibha Patil and her husband Dr Devisingh Ramsingh Shekhawat. The 3-day visit began on October 27, 2009 with a welcome ceremony at Windsor Castle. A carriage procession through the streets of Windsor, a private lunch with the Queen and an inspection of the Honour Guard were all part of that first day.

A State Banquet was held in St George’s Hall in Windsor Castle, with Queen Elizabeth wearing her Burmese Ruby Tiara for the occasion. The Royal Channel released this video of the banquet, showing the pomp and formality of such a dinner. You can see that in a video here.

The State Visit by India ended yesterday, with the launch of the XIX Commonwealth Games through the Queen’s Baton Relay, followed by the farewell ceremony at Buckingham Palace.

Discussion of the State Visit can be found on the Royal Forums here. Merry Royals has some photos posted here, here and here.

Maricar British Royals Commonwealth Games, Elizabeth II, India, President Patil, Queen's Baton Relay, State Visit

Alexei in 1912

“Science” journal published results of a study which found that some of Queen Victoria’s male descendants suffered from a severe form of blood clotting disorder Haemophilia B, also known as the Christmas Disease. Although it has already been known that the British Queen’s descendants were affected by Haemophilia, this is the first time the exact form of the disease was identified.

The scientists examined DNA samples extracted from the remains of the Romanovs and found that Tsarevich Alexei suffered from Haemophilia B, while one of his sisters, Anastasia, was a carrier. Alexei and Anastasia were the children of Nicholas II and Empress Alexandra, and female-line descendants of Queen Victoria: they inherited the mutation from their mother, who was Queen Victoria’s granddaughter.

Haemophilia lowers the level of the chemicals that cause blood to clot after injury. Haemophilia A, resulting from a lack of clotting factor VIII, is the most common form, affecting one in 5,000–10,000 males. Haemophilia B is caused by a deficiency of factor IX and affects one in 20,000–35,000 males. Because the disorder is linked to the X chromosome, only males suffer from the disease. This is because males have only one X chromosome, so if that single chromosome is affected, than the male in question will be a victim of the disease. Females only carry it because their second X chromosome is extremely unlikely to have the same mutation. Through Queen Victoria, Royal Houses of Russia, Spain and Germany were plagued with the “Royal Disease”.

Read more…

Marsel British Royals, Historical Royals, Russian Royals Grand Duchess Anastasia, Haemophilia, Health, Queen Victoria, Science, Tsarevich Alexei

 TRH Crown Prince Frederik and The Princess Royal today joined forces in Copenhagen for the launch of the Save the Children Fund’s new campaign, “Knit a Hat,” at the Fund’s centre in Copenhagen.

Click to see the image at ANP

The two royals, who are both patrons of the Save the Children Fund, brought along a knitted hat to donate, in keeping with the new campaign. “Knit a Hat” aims to reduce infant mortality rates in developing African countries, where there are many cases of preventable disases like pnuemonia, diarrhea and measles. A press release from the Danish branch of Save the Children, Red Barnet, stated that “even in Africa, there are cold nights” which explains the campaign of donating knitted caps to be sent to African children.

The cap brought by Prince Frederik was not made by him though. “I would love to have knitted it myself. But it is not true,” he said in the press conference.

The Princess Royal is currently in Copenhagen for the 121st IOC Session and Olympic Congress, which runs until October 9th. Read more about the IOC event here.

Click here to view Prince Frederik’s thread on Save the Children, and here for Princess Anne’s.

JessRulz British Royals, Danish Royals Children, Patronage, Prince Frederik, Princess Anne, Princess Royal, Save the Children

Click for the photo at Times LIVE

 American admirers of the late Princess Diana should take advantage of an opportunity to visit a traveling exhibit, organized by Earl Spencer, now showing at the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania until December 31, 2009.

Earl Spencer appeared on The Today Show last week and was interviewed by Matt Lauer. Among the objects brought by Spencer for the interview were the beautiful black, cleavage-baring Jacques Azagury dress worn on the Princess’s last birthday, for her last public engagement; a large, red pedal car from their childhood; and her autographed pink ballet slippers. He also brought some family films which I have never seen, including footage of the family leaving Diana’s christening and some charming film of Frances in slacks, rolling around on the ground and playing with her children.

The Philadelphia exhibit contains other Diana treasures, including her wedding dress, with its matching shoes, bag and parasol. Spencer family jewels are also included. Among them is a diamond tiara but it does not appear that the tiara which was worn by the Princess at her wedding is included. The featured tiara is described as being composed of a Greek key pattern ca. 1860 and surmounted by nine associated palmettes ca. 1840. This piece struck me as being two separate tiaras which were combined, and according to a note in a previous exhibition that is precisely how the Spencers created this tiara at the end of the Victorian period. The hybrid tiara is not a very successful piece in my opinion. Some writers claim that the Princess wore this tiara, but I don’t remember Diana ever wearing this larger Spencer tiara. Other RF jewel experts agree that they have no knowledge of Diana wearing the hybrid tiara in public.

Diana’s former chef, Darren McGrady, who now cooks and sells books as the Royal Chef, is preparing a brunch on Sunday, December 20, in conjunction with the exhibit. The brunch will feature some of the Royal Family’s favorite recipes. Darren’s website is http://www.theroyalchef.com.

Regular adult tickets to the regular traveling exhibit cost about $23 and should be ordered in advance. For more information about the exhibit and tickets, contact Museumtix.

For more information about the main article describing the exhibit, see Times LIVE – Princess Diana exhibition opens

iowabelle British Royals Diana Princess of Wales, Exhibition, Princess Diana, United States of America

 Prince Harry spent his day off from helicopter training to take part in Monday night’s WellChild Children’s Health Awards. The ceremony honored the courage of British children as they dealt with serious illnesses.

Click here for more pics at Daylife

While the children and their parents were thrilled to see the Prince in their midst, there was one child who was not impressed.

“Are you sure you are Prince Harry?” asked six year-old Alex Burke. “Where’s your crown? So you’re not William then?”

Amused, Harry told Alex, “I’m here, you have to make do with me.”

Still unimpressed, the little boy, who suffers from neurofibrosismatosis type 1, then went to blow some bubbles. He continued to do so when the Prince picked him up.

Alex’s mother, Sarah Burke, from Manchester said:  “Alex was loving every minute of it and was not fazed at all to meet Harry. I have been showing him pictures of Harry and his brother, trying to explain who they are but he couldn’t understand why he wasn’t wearing his crown. I just told him that he wasn’t allowed to take it out with him.”

Other children the Prince met with included eight year-old Lucy Tutton, who won the Most Bravest Child award for caring for her ill sister. She sat on Harry’s lap for a brief chat before giving him a flower shaped balloon.

Another was a boy Harry’s brother, Prince William, met with not too long ago during a trip with WellChild. Upon seeing Harry, eight year-old Harrison Holmes gave him a photograph of William, whom he called the “Prince of Cuddles.” He asked Harry to give it to his brother, which Harry indeed promised to do.

Sonjapearl British Royals Awards, Children, Health, Prince Harry

Click on the photo to read the article from Kentnews.

 The Duchess of Gloucester officially opened a refurbished inpatient unit at the Heart of Kent Hospice. The new unit was the result of a £286,000 grant provided by the Department of Health, with the goal of improving the environment for the terminally ill adults who are served by the hospice.

According to an article from Kentnews.co.uk, the Duchess was welcomed to the area by the Lord Lieutenant of Kent, and was greeted at the Heart of Kent Hospice by its patron, Viscountess Monckton of Brenchley. The Duchess spent time meeting with members of the project team, and also unveiled a plaque created in honor of her visit.

Some of the renovations to the unit include improved lighting, new bedding and curtains, as well as a new floor and a new bathroom. These improvements were funded by the grant, while additional improvements including a family bedroom and therapy room, were funded by the Frances Winham Foundation, the Genzyme Corporation, and the Caron Keating Foundation.

To read more about the Duchess of Gloucester, please visit this thread.

sgl British Royals Duchess of Gloucester, Hospital

On September 25, 1896, Queen Victoria became the longest-reigning Monarch in British History, surpassing George III’s reign, who was King for 59 years. Victoria also left behind the longest-reigning English and Scottish Monarchs, Henry III and James VI, who had reigned for 56 and 57 years respectively. She was a Queen for 63 years and 216 days.

Click to see the portrait at Newspaper Collections

Grand commemorative events were planned for the occasion; however the Queen requested all public celebrations to be delayed for a year, until 1897, to coincide with her Diamond Jubilee. The double celebrations of Queen Victoria’s Diamond Jubilee and her long reign were truly spectacular and were held in every corner of the British Empire. The banquet in honour of the glorious events was attended by 50 European Kings and Princes, numerous Queens and Princesses, and the Prime Ministers of all the colonies and dominions. The Jubilee procession held next day included troops from every British colony and dominion, as well as soldiers sent by Indian Princes as a mark of respect to the Empress of India. Mark Twain, who was a witness to the procession, later wrote that it “stretched to the limit of sight in both directions”.

The celebrations were marked by great display of affection for the Queen: tens of thousands of people had lined the streets to catch a glimpse of their beloved Monarch, newspapers and bulletins seemed to be unable to find enough words to express their deepest regard and devotion, foreign dignitaries were united in their praise. Although Victoria had to pass through years of unpopularity because of her prolonged mourning period, by the time of the celebrations she was immensely popular once again. Read more…

Marsel British Royals, Historical Royals Biography, Queen Victoria, Reign

HM Queen Beatrix and HRH the Duke of Edinburgh yesterday commemorated the 65th anniversary of the liberation of the Dutch city of Nijmegen from German occupation during World War II. The city was the first Dutch city to fall to German hands in 1940.

Click to see the image at Koninklijkhuis

The royal pair inspected the customary guard of honour, before laying wreaths at the Resistance Monument at Traianus Square. Speeches were made by both Dutch, British and American parties, including the Dutch Defence Minister, the Mayor of Nijmegen, former NATO chief Lord Carrington (who served in the liberation of Nijmegen) on behalf of the British Guards Armoured Division and Major Moffitt Burris for the 82nd Airborne Division (who also served in the liberation in 1944).

A parade of historical vehicles concluded the official ceremony, with HM and HRH then given the opportunity to speak with veterans at the Nijmegen Town Hall.

The Duke of Edinburgh was selected as the British representative at the event as he is the Colonel-in-Chief of the Grenadier Guards, a regiment which was instrumental in the liberation of Nijmegen, which began on September 17 when the Allied Forces landed in the south of the country.

According to royalblog.nl, there has been some criticism in Britain by the press over HRH the Prince of Wales’ non-attendance at the anniversary. Prince Charles is the Colonel-in-Chief of the Parachute Regiment, which also played a large part in the Battle of Arnhem and the liberation of Nijmegen. A large group of 100 paratroopers were dropped on the city on Saturday as part of the commemoration festivities, and some veterans are “disgusted” that the Prince was not in Holland to mark the anniversary.

Click here to view the thread for the anniversary.

JessRulz British Royals, Dutch Royals Anniversary, Duke of Edinburgh, Liberation, Military, Prince Charles, Prince of Wales, Prince Philip, Queen Beatrix, World War II

 Prince William showed enthusiasm today as he opened the Darwin Centre at the Natural History Museum.

Click here to see more pics at Daylife

He did, however, seem less than enthusiastic when asked to hold a large, hairy tarantula just before the official opening.

The arachnid, an eight-inch wide Mexican Red Kneed named Sarah, was being shown to children at the Attenborough Studio when its minders politely asked the Prince if he would like to hold her.

“Ooh, I would love to,” William said, though he certainly didn’t sound like it. But he did hold the tarantula calmly for about a minute.

The Prince later joked about his experience when he opened the Darwin Centre.

“Just to warn you,” he told the audience, “that there is a spider loose somewhere in the Cocoon. It was given to me, and I seem to have lost it. If you see it, it goes by the name of Sarah.”

William admitted he was “petrified” as he held Sarah.

The Natural History Museum’s Darwin Centre is a new 78 million pound section dedicated to the work of Charles Darwin. Both Prince William and naturalist Sir David Attenborough officially opened it.

“I remember coming here first as a child with my mother,” the Prince said in his speech. “Millions of others will have shared with me that same sense of awe and wonder and just a shiver of something more as you step off the street, through the doors, to stare into the beady eye of the blue whale or the terrifying eye socket of a T. Rex. A moment never to be forgotten — especially when everything is a lot bigger than you.”

At one point during the centre’s opening, William stopped by the laboratory, put on a white coat and gloves and was given a demonstration on how scientists work with mosquitoes in order to fight diseases such as malaria.

Sonjapearl British Royals Animals, Charles Darwin, Prince William