The Windsors and Europe

[Grandduchess24]

Yes,that is so true because weddings also seem to be like family reunions as well since all royal families are related to one another,
It's also a time when if there monarchs can catch up,

 

[Marengo]

Wasn't there a rul;e that the monarch was not allowed to leave the UK under some of the Hanovarians? I am reading a book on the congress of Vianna and the author (Adam Zomoyski) says that that rule made it impossible for the prince regent to attend the congress (like most other monarchs). When was it lifted? During Victoria's reign or before it?

 

[Iluvbertie]

Wasn't there a rul;e that the monarch was not allowed to leave the UK under some of the Hanovarians? I am reading a book on the congress of Vianna and the author (Adam Zomoyski) says that that rule made it impossible for the prince regent to attend the congress (like most other monarchs). When was it lifted? During Victoria's reign or before it?

As the King of Britain were also Kings of Hanover I doubt that that would be possible - as otherwise they wouldn't be able to visit one of their own kingdoms.

Of course the monarch nowadays, and I suspect then, had to have the approval of the parliament to leave Britain.

 

[Tiberivs]

Wasn't there a rul;e that the monarch was not allowed to leave the UK under some of the Hanovarians? I am reading a book on the congress of Vianna and the author (Adam Zomoyski) says that that rule made it impossible for the prince regent to attend the congress (like most other monarchs). When was it lifted? During Victoria's reign or before it?

In the act of settlement the monarch is forbidden from leaving Britain without the approve of parliament, however this section was repealed due to the request of George I who use to make many visits to Hanover.

 

[XeniaCasaraghi]

Seems quite stuck up if all the other royal families interact but the BRF can't be bothered.

 

[doric44]

well i think their interaction with Europe might have been differnt had the Romanovs and the Hohenzollern's retained thier thrones. After WW1 and the Russian revolution not happend and the Kaiser was not deposed .

seeing as those were the 2 major continental european monarchies and if they were here and alive today might rival the house of Windsor for the spot light .

just my 2 cents but if a Tsesarevich of Russia or a Crown Prince of Germany was getting married. im fairly confident a Senior member of the house of Windsor would attend i dont think they would send Edward and Sophie

 

[Jacknch]

I noticed this when I watched an interview of King Constantine II and Queen Anne-Marie of Greece prior to William and Catherine's wedding.

Queen Anne-Marie pointed out that going to these weddings is really like going to family weddings for them, since her sister is Queen Margrethe II of Denmark and her sister-in-law is Queen Sofia of Spain. She's also a 1st cousin of King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden. I may be wrong, but I believe the closest relation that Queen Elizabeth II has to another European monarch is King Harald V of Norway, and they're 2nd cousins.

All of the monarchs are related to some degree, but I would imagine that many of the continental royals are closer to each other than to the BRF due to their close family ties.

I think this explains it very well. King Constantine and Queen Anne-Marie are actually quite pivotal because of who their siblings are and thus their immediate close connections with the Danish and Spanish royal families. They attend quite a number of events attended by the British royal family such as birthday parties and anniversaries etc.
Also, the Scandinavian countries are very close politically and economically adding another layer to the royal bonds they share.
It is difficult to ascertain how close members of the BRF are to other royal families. The Queen will I am sure regards all the other monarchs as friends as well as "counterparts" and it is easy to assume that she will be in contact with them on a friendly basis quite regularly (such as when Queen Margrethe visits London every year for Christmas shopping - she may well pop in to see Queen Elizabeth

 

[Iluvbertie]

well i think their interaction with Europe might have been differnt had the Romanovs and the Hohenzollern's retained thier thrones. After WW1 and the Russian revolution not happend and the Kaiser was not deposed .

seeing as those were the 2 major continental european monarchies and if they were here and alive today might rival the house of Windsor for the spot light .

just my 2 cents but if a Tsesarevich of Russia or a Crown Prince of Germany was getting married. im fairly confident a Senior member of the house of Windsor would attend i dont think they would send Edward and Sophie

The best evidence to support that claim occurred in 2004 - Frederick marries and Edward and Sophie attend but the week later Felipe marries and Charles also attends - Spain being a much bigger monarchy on a world wide scale - with many South and Central American countries having had ties to Spain - not to mention the fact that Charles has been friends with Juan Carlos etc for years.

 

[Molly2101]

The best evidence to support that claim occurred in 2004 - Frederick marries and Edward and Sophie attend but the week later Felipe marries and Charles also attends - Spain being a much bigger monarchy on a world wide scale - with many South and Central American countries having had ties to Spain - not to mention the fact that Charles has been friends with Juan Carlos etc for years.

Wasn't that the year of the Jordanian wedding too, which Prince Andrew attended? The siblings took a wedding each that year.

I think it all boils down to the fact that Edward and Sophie have the most in common with other Royals who attend these weddings. I imagine now, however, as William and Catherine are married, they may take over the role from Edward and Sophie, being the newly married couple and within the age range of the other attenders.

 

[Iluvbertie]

Wasn't that the year of the Jordanian wedding too, which Prince Andrew attended? The siblings took a wedding each that year.

I think it all boils down to the fact that Edward and Sophie have the most in common with other Royals who attend these weddings. I imagine now, however, as William and Catherine are married, they may take over the role from Edward and Sophie, being the newly married couple and within the age range of the other attenders.

I don't know about the Jordanian wedding but Edward and Sophie also attended Felipe's along with Charles.

 

[Daisiesforever]

Edward and Sophie do usually attend most of the wedding on behalf of the BRF. Hence they have become excellent ambassadors for the country. I do think that as a result and because of their age, they do have a lot in common with members of other European Royal families. It would be a shame to loose this if William and Catherine do completely take over the role.

 

[Zonk]

Andrew attended the wedding of Prince Hamzah (former Crown Prince of Jordan and the son of King Hussein and Queen Noor) and Princess Noor of Jordan in 2004.

Since a majority of the heirs and their siblings are married, if and when Catherine and William start attendingstate weddings if might be for the likes of Ingrid Alexandra, Cathrina Amalia of the Netherlands and Christian of Denmark, etc.

I mean who is left...Theodora and Phillipos of Greece...most likely they will either marry in London and/or Greece...so that might get a bit more of senior presence. When Alexia and Pavlos married in London..you had Charles and/or the Queen, plus the Gloucesters, the Kents, etc. When Nikolas married in Greece...Prince and Princess Michael of Kent (along with Lady Gabriella) attended.

 

[vkrish]

I find it amusing that...

...so many of our members fret and fume over HM QEII for not attending European royal weddings.Well we cant blame them.But what always amazes me is that the other European monarchs have never insisted on 'reciprocation' and thrown tantrums.They have duly accepted every invitation from London or send their immediate heirs.
It is quite touching to see King Harald, Queen Margrethe, Queen Sofia, GD Henri all atend William and Kate's wedding.Can you imagine atleast Charles/Camilla going for a monarch's grandson's wedding?
I am sure that all European monarchs hold QEII in high esteem and respect her wishes not to attend..Actually we got so used to her not attending that now we just cannot imagine her at a royal wedding. And behind the scenes she maintains very good relations with all royal families. And again our people are so obsessed with judging by pics, that unless we see two ppl hugging/kissing pasting a smile, we dont agree they are close.And I bet you are hardly gonna get such a pic of QEII.
And regarding 'interaction' and getting together', London is something probably every royal visits atleast privately, once in a while. So thats not at all a problem..
I feel bad when people say..She is egoistic..She feels much superior..We should have sent just an ambassador for Will-Kate wedding..and all..
She is just what she is..
When all European royalties have accepted her, why should we keep still scolding her..
Did this post make any sense?

 

[vkrish]

The actual reason I entered..

..in this thread is..Just now I have seen the guest list for Lux' Royal Wedding.
This is probably the last wedding of a heir apparent, atleast for the next decade or so..So dont you guys think D and Dss of C'bridge should be "inducted" with this event? It will be a great boost for BRF also..as people are hardly interested in the Wessexes (compared to other high-profile European royals).
Or maybe the Palace must have decided to let the Wessexes attend this wedding, so that William and Catherine can directly start with the "ROYAL WEDDING-SPREE" in 10-15 years, in all possibility as Prince and Princess of Wales..Oh god how much i long to see a 'proper' Prince and Princess of Wales..

 

[NGalitzine]

I have never understood why some make such a big deal of it. It has not been the practice for the reigning British monarch to attend weddings and such on the continent since 1913. 2 world wars pretty much diminished British interest in being closely involved with the continent, even today the EU membership is not entirely welcomed in the UK. Blood relationships between the royal families become more remote with time. Personal friendships remain but in Britain I don't think we view it as a matter of importance that the monarch should attend these events. She always sends a family member so the events do not pass unnoticed, and the continental families do not seem to feel snubbed by her lack of attendance as they keep coming to London whenever invited as well as making private visits.
QEII did attend the Silver Wedding celebrations for Queen Juliana and the funeral of King Baudouin, but other than that has limited herself to state visits on the continent.
The King of Spain does not attend weddings either, but is represented by his wife or children. He seems to prefer funerals.

 

[Lumutqueen]

..in this thread is..Just now I have seen the guest list for Lux' Royal Wedding.
This is probably the last wedding of a heir apparent, atleast for the next decade or so..So dont you guys think D and Dss of C'bridge should be "inducted" with this event? It will be a great boost for BRF also..as people are hardly interested in the Wessexes (compared to other high-profile European royals).
Or maybe the Palace must have decided to let the Wessexes attend this wedding, so that William and Catherine can directly start with the "ROYAL WEDDING-SPREE" in 10-15 years, in all possibility as Prince and Princess of Wales..Oh god how much i long to see a 'proper' Prince and Princess of Wales..

I don't think anyone moans about QEII not attending royal weddings, like NGalitzine said it's been a practice since 1913. The issue some people have is that Charles and William never seem the attend important foreign royal functions and not just weddings either. The BRF are in a sticky situation in that Charles' European counterparts are a lot younger than him, but William hasn't be around long enough to be in 'their' crowd. So they send Edward and Sophie who do a damn fine job of it.

Side note: there is a Prince and Princess of Wales, a 'proper' one. Whether you choose to believe it or not is up to you,mbut that's just an insult to Camilla IMO.

 

[NGalitzine]

Its not as if Charles did not have his day attending European royal events. He attended the weddings in Oslo, Amsterdam, Madrid and Seville and he attended the inauguration of Queen Beatrix and the funeral of Prince Claus. He does know his European counterparts and has hosted them privately during their private visits to the UK. In the past the Kents and later the Gloucesters had their time representing QEII on the continent, Philip, Anne and Andrew also attended events, and now it is the turn of Edward and Sophie. QEII is always represented so not a big deal from the British point of view.
I think the wedding of Harold and Sonja was the only big event with no British attendance but that was because the Duchess of Kent had died and the court was in mourning.

 

[Dman]

I do think it's time for The Duke & Duchess of Cambridge to associate more with their royal counterparts. The Queen & Duke of Edinburgh, Prince of Wales and other British royals are very familiar with the older foreign royals but now I think it's time for the younger generation of royals (William & Catherine and Harry) to interact more with the younger European royals.

 

[vkrish]

Side note: there is a Prince and Princess of Wales, a 'proper' one. Whether you choose to believe it or not is up to you,mbut that's just an insult to Camilla IMO.

By 'proper' I meant a couple, whom all the media, mainstream and tabloid, the government,Palace and we all on TRF, can refer to as P and Pss of Wales, without digging up ghosts from past/setting up factions/getting into cat-fights.
I will be the happiest if that happens for the present couple.
In no way I referred or meant to insult Camilla.

 

[vkrish]

Thanks for all your posts. They are all very reassuring. Some people have made a big deal of it early in this thread, and also in Will-Kate wedding thread.(In the latter thread, they were actually upset for not focussing on arrival/dress of foreign royals,started there and that came finally to blasting QEII and entire BRF and UK)
So now I need not care for those..

 

[NGalitzine]

I do think it's time for The Duke & Duchess of Cambridge to associate more with their royal counterparts. The Queen & Duke of Edinburgh, Prince of Wales and other British royals are very familiar with the older foreign royals but now I think it's time for the younger generation of royals (William & Catherine and Harry) to interact more with the younger European royals.

Well there is nothing to stop the continental royals from coming to visit the UK. With the exception of Sweden and Luxembourg most of the other "young" European royals are 10+ years older then William or very much younger.

 

[Dman]

Either or I think it would be great for The Cambridges & Prince Harry to interact with Crown Princess Victoria & Prince Daniel, Crown Prince Frederick & Crown Princess Mary (they already teamed up with them once) and even Prince Guillaume & Stephanie.

 

[doric44]

i think the European houses are fine with it. i think the senior members of the BRF would draw too much attention at these events. and would become the focus rather then the bride or the event itself. if William and Catherine showed up to Prince Guillaume & Stephanie wedding they would be the focus not the bride and groom.

Edward and Sophie do a great job and already have the personal relationships built up with the other roayls to enjoy these events

 

[vkrish]

They will be interacting with all of them once in a while, Dman. Not necessarily in front of the cams or at official events.
Infact, interaction will be limited at weddings/ in front of media, rather than private ones..

 

[Dman]

That's what I meant. Establishing a relationship with their royal counter parts is what I really mean.

 

[Marengo]

British royal non-attendance of Fabiola's funeral

Posts #476 to #757 have been moved from a thread in the Belgian forum to here. The posts adress the British not being represented by a royal at the funeral of Queen Fabiola.

***
[initial post]

Since many seem to be interested in this topic and want to discuss it, we have created this thread. Please do NOT clutter the funeral thread with too much focus on the Windsors. That thread should be about the deceased and her funeral.

 

[Duc_et_Pair]

I feel this thread is maybe too premature: the Funeral has not started yet and usually only on the last moment we see surprise attendances. I would say: let us wait and see.

 

[Marengo]

The state news just confirmed that there will be no British royal present, as they did earlier this morning. According to the press only royals who were 'close' to Fabiola will attend.

 

[Duc_et_Pair]

Hm... now I am convinced too.

The are represented of course, by Her Majesty's Ambassador, but I understand the difference.

 

[xenobia]

Those who follow the BRF - is there any known reason why they aren't sending anyone to the funeral? Are they all occupied elsewhere?