Prince Andrew, Duke of York Current Events 5: November 2009-June 2010

[Lumutqueen]

5 days, thats quite a long trip.
Wonderful pictures today.

 

[Russophile]

What's the weather like in India? Is it opposite of what we have here which is rainy and cold and nasty? HRH looks like he got caught in the glare of the projector in pic 2. Thanks Ice!

 

[iceflower]

It's very hot in India these days, February till June are the hot
months in India These days Andrew is in China:

Prince Andrew, the Duke of York toasts champagne with president of
China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC), Fu Chengyu (C), and
BG Group chief executive Frank Chapman (R) after a signing ceremony
in Beijing on March 24, 2010.
British energy company BG Group signed the multi-billion USD deal to
supply liquefied natural gas from Australia to China's state-run CNOOC,
as the Asian giant works to secure access to needed natural resources.


-------> Pic

 

[Russophile]

Does he actually drink it? Being a teetoller? They might slip in a little sparkling cider instead. With all of his travels, though, I can see why one wouldn't want to drink, when you get as old as Russo you don't bounce back as fast after a couple . . .

 

[iceflower]

I think he doesn't refuse any delicious dinner he's offered, but
as a kind of travelling salesman he has to keep a clear head

Prince Andrew meeting Chinese Vice Premier Wang Qishan in
Beijing, China, on March 25, 2010.


--------> Pic

 

[Duchessmary]

You have to wonder what they're saying.

 

[Lumutqueen]

You have to wonder what they're saying.

I always do when it comes to picture like this.
Then again, I always wonder what royals say.

Andrew is really on the job at the moment.

 

[iceflower]

Andrew seems to be travelling a lot these day - now from
China to the United Arab Emirates:

Prince Andrew attended the 15th 'Dubai World Cup', the world's
richest horserace, at the Meydan racetrack, in Dubai, United
Arab Emirates on March 27, 2010. On pic 2 he's pictured with
Dubai ruler, Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum.


** Pic 1 ** Pic 2 ** Pic 3 ** Pic 4 **

 

[Russophile]

Beautiful horses and nice pictures of HRH. Does HM have any horses racing? I know she stables a few and knows horse and corgi blood lines like the back of her hand. Don't supposed PA shares that trait with his mother. . .

 

[wbenson]

Duke of York avoids bloody coup - Telegraph

The Duke of York has called off a visit to Kyrgyzstan after the president he was due to meet was overthrown in a bloody coup.

 

[wbenson]

RICHARD KAY: Andy puts pal before the Masters | Mail Online

in a sign that he has, perhaps, taken on board the jibes, the Duke of York surprisingly eschewed a trip to the Masters Tournament at the Augusta National Golf Club in Georgia over the weekend, in favour of paying tribute to an old friend.

In a sign that he has, perhaps, taken on board the jibes, the Duke of York surprisingly eschewed a trip to the Masters Tournament at the Augusta National Golf Club in Georgia over the weekend, in favour of paying tribute to an old friend.

 

[iceflower]

Prince Andrew has been on a two-day-visit to Italy on April
13 and 14, 2010. No pics of day 1, but at least some of day 2:

Prince Andrew, Duke of York attends a press conference with the
General Manager of Expo 2015 Lucio Stanca held at Palazzo Reale
on April 14, 2010 in Milan, Italy.


** Pic 1 ** Pic 2 ** Pic 3 ** gettyimages **

In his role as Special Representative for International Trade and
Investment Prince Andrew will visit the Republic of Turkmenistan
tomorrow, April 15, and afterwards he'll continue his journey to
the Republic of Kazakhstan where he'll stay for several days.

 

[silviaelena]

He continue being the most handsome and attraging of all the siblings. He are aging better than the prince Charles. He continues having hair.

 

[sliver_bic]

He continue being the most handsome and attraging of all the siblings. He are aging better than the prince Charles. He continues having hair.

He's the spare not the heir which means he gets to keep his hair. (I didn't mean to rhyme it originally, it just happened ) Look at Harry (his name being a pun considering the conversation) and William. Must suck when your little brother can say, "I went to WAR and I still have more hair than you!"

 

[Sereta]

thanks Iceflower, Andrew seems to be busy with his Trade role lately.

 

[Mermaid1962]

I agree. He's a very handsome man, like the prince in a fairy tale.

He continue being the most handsome and attraging of all the siblings. He are aging better than the prince Charles. He continues having hair.

 

[Sister Morphine]

He really is incredibly attractive, even for a man of 50. I do agree, his siblings haven't aged well at all -- when Anne was younger, she was a beautiful woman.....now, well let's say she looks very much like a Windsor.

 

[rmay286]

Andrew just looks the part of the handsome prince somehow. As for his siblings, Sarah does say she married "the best-looking one of the lot"!

 

[Russophile]

thanks Iceflower, Andrew seems to be busy with his Trade role lately.

Indeed he is busy, I just don't see the results of what he is doing.

when Anne was younger, she was a beautiful woman.....now, well let's say she looks very much like a Windsor.

I'd say she looks more Tudor than Windsor, a la QEI. And though she doesn't seem to keep herself up, she's still a hell of a woman!

 

[wbenson]

Prince Andrew in hot water after accepting use of £1m Abu Dhabi villa | Mail Online

Prince Andrew has come under fire for accepting the use of a £1million golfing and holiday villa in Abu Dhabi.

The oil-rich Gulf nation's royal rulers gave him free run of the four-bedroom townhouse inside their personal compound last year.

 

[Russophile]

Indeed he is busy, I just don't see the results of what he is doing.

And then stories like what Wbenson just posted pop up. . .

 

[Mermaid1962]

He's a royal person staying in a royal person's property. If he were doing business in Denmark or Spain and staying in a royal property there, would there be so much of an issue? Isn't there also criticism when he and his entourage stay in a hotel and incurr expenses there? An argument could be made that he's saving tax-payers money by taking advantage of local hospitality.

That the criticism comes from a republican source is also telling.

 

[Iluvbertie]

It would also cut down on security as the local royals compound would have excellent security.
You are right - if he stayed at the royal palace in Denmark there would be no criticism but staying in the royal compound in an Arabian state causes this sort of report.

 

[rmay286]

I don't think the article is going to the point of criticizing Andrew for staying as a guest at a royal person's property. It seems to be suggesting that he's been given the property flat-out rather than just using it occasionally. Buckingham Palace however has apparently denied that:

I think that Andrew does have to be careful, because the countries he deals with are mostly oil-rich Middle Eastern and Eastern European countries that aren't necessarily friendly to the West. They seem very happy to do Andrew favours (eg. the purchase of Sunninghill, by a Kazakh businessman, for much more than the asking price) but I doubt all those favours come without an expectation that Andrew will do something in return. The problem is that if Andrew does some of these countries favours in exchange for their hospitality...even if it's something as simple as encouraging British businesses to invest in their economies...he could find himself in trouble if the political goals of those countries take a nasty turn. Many of the countries he deals with aren't fully democratic and are sometimes guilty of abusing human rights or even being training sites for terrorists.

For example I saw an article about Andrew's recent visit to the Ukraine, where he said he wholeheartedly supports Ukraine's reforms and is going to try to get British business to invest in their economy. But the comments on the article, by Ukrainians, were along the lines of "why would British businesses invest in a country where our freedoms are being slowly taken away again?"

I think I'm going a little off-topic. I don't necessarily agree with the article when it says that Andrew is doing something wrong by staying in the Abu Dhabi villa, but I do see the pitfalls of his role.

 

[Russophile]

PA spends an awful lot of time in Arab countries and in Gogo/Gaga's country though I don't see any results. So, IMO, It makes him appeared "owned". And that isn't good.

 

[Lumutqueen]

Just what I was thinking, bad move IMO.

 

[Iluvbertie]

He spends time there because that is where the government sends him to do the job he is doing. They know that these Arab countries will do business with a fellow royal far better than an ordinary citizen. They can talk on the same level. That is a major reason why the government wants a royal in that position - to talk to other royals about doing business in their country.

It is all very well for republics to send untitled people but for a monarchy a royal will be more successful.

There is no evidence that Andrew is 'owned' by the Arabs but more that he respects them and is respected by them. It is a major part of Arab culture to offer hospitality even if the offerer really can't afford it (although that isn't the case here) and is seen as very insulting to not accept that hospitality when offered.

 

[Mermaid1962]

This is true, Iluvbertie. I remember hearing years ago that Arabs are very, very hospitable.
These countries are run by their royal families. A person has work with them in order to win contracts.

 

[iceflower]

HRH Prince Andrew, the Duke of York opened the first Vietnamese
art gallery 'The Apricot Gallery', London, Britain - 27 April 2010



** Pic 1 ** Pic 2 ** Pic 3 ** Pic 4 ** gallery **

 

[Russophile]

There is no evidence that Andrew is 'owned' by the Arabs but more that he respects them and is respected by them. It is a major part of Arab culture to offer hospitality even if the offerer really can't afford it (although that isn't the case here) and is seen as very insulting to not accept that hospitality when offered.

I meant that he spends an awful lot of time in Gogo-Gaga's country where somebody from there bought SouthYork --you remember--for that abomidible sum that it wasn't worth, so, to me, that appeared that he was "owned".