2008 Official Picture of the Year

[LadyK]

Welcome to the
2008 Picture of the Year Poll!

The monthly official polls highlight the official side of royalty as opposed to the informal side of royalty. The Picture of the Year Poll showcases the thirteen picture of the month poll winners from the past year (July's Poll had a tie!).

The monthly polls will consist of pictures that show a royal on official business.

• gala events such as the Nobel prize ceremonies, state visits, royal ceremonies such as the the Order of the Garter ceremony in Great Britain or the New Years gala for the Knights of the Order of the Elephant in Denmark, Opening of Parliament, coronations, enthronements.
• openings of public events, government buildings, hospitals, christening of ships, official charity work
• family celebrations (such as wedding, christening, or special days such as Victoria Day in Sweden or Queen's Day in the Netherlands, King Harald's 70th birthday) and the balcony shots that accompany them
• among many other official events

If you have any ideas or suggestions for future polls you can contact Empress or LadyK.

As always, our Picture of the Month representatives had help in selecting their images with a small committee of their choosing. Below, you can see each royal house's representative (in bold) followed by their chosen committee members.

Belgium: - Marengo, stephanievl, LadyLeana

Britain: TheTruth - jcbcode99,Menarue

Brunei/Malaysia/Dubai/Morocco: Humera - Warren

Denmark: GlitteringTiaras - Jessrulz, Princess Robijn

Greece: Rhapsodybrat - Odette

Japan: Dragonsfire8, Al_bina

Jordan: Humera - Little_star, salma

Liechtenstein: HRH Kerry

Luxembourg: Jessrulz - grim_lady, kyansaunt20

Monaco: Iceflower - radker18,

Norway: Her_Majesty - Kikkib, Rhapsody Brat

Spain: Paty -

Sweden: Iceflower, HRH Kerry

The Netherlands: The Watcher, Marengo, Lucien

The poll will be open for three weeks. It will close on 27 February 2009. During these three weeks, we ask that no one state whom they've voted for so as not to influence other members as they make their choices. For the final week of the month, you can discuss as much as you'd like about which image you voted for and why.

Please note that the links in the above poll have been posted in the order in which they were received and do not reflect the opinions of the moderating team.

Enjoy and have fun!
Empress & LadyK

[LadyK]

A. January

Picture Link
Source: Danish Royal Watchers (DRW)

Queen Margrethe, Prince Henrik & the Crown Prince Couple receiving the Corps Diplomatique at the Christiansborg Palace in Copenhagen Jan 3, 2008.


B. February

Picture Link
Source: Marcel Antonisse/ANP

Members of the Dutch Royal family sing 'Happy Birthday' to Queen Beatrix and Princess Margriet at the birthday party in Amsterdam.



C. March

Picture Link
Source: Swedenabroad.com

Royal fascination - Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden during her visit to a gerfalcon breeding center outside Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, March 28, 2008. Crown Princess Victoria was on a five day official visit to United Arab Emirates.



D. April

Picture Link
Source: D2foto.nl

Princess Maxima, left, and her husband Crown Prince Willem Alexander, skate as the couple celebrates Queen's Day in Franeker.


E. May

Picture Link
Source

HRH Prince Joachim, overcome with emotion, and his sons watching his bride Marie Cavallier walk down the aisle with her father, Alain Cavallier.


F. June
Picture Link
Source: Reuters

Under the approving eye of princess Claire of Belgium is Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden holding her goddaughter Princess Eléonore of Belgium during Eleonore's christening in Ciergnon.

[LadyK]

G. July

Picture Link
Source: Map

July 31, 2008 –Fête du Trône – Crown Prince Moulay Hassan watches his father, King Muhammad VI, give a speech on the occasion of the 9th anniversary of his ascension to the throne. The King was presiding over an oath-taking ceremony of officers of Royal Armed Forces. His brother, Prince Moulay Rachid, stands on the left.



H. July

Picture Link
Source: Getty

Belgian Royals at the military parade on the National Day.




I. August
Picture Link
Source: www.dailymail.co.uk

Prince Charles and Camilla attend the Mey Highland Games at Queens Park on August 9, 2008 in Caithness, Scotland.




J. September

Picture Link
Source; nsk.se

A warm welcome in the rain - Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden is greeted by local preschool and school children during her 2-day-visit to the South Swedish region of Skane, September 29, 2008



K. October

Picture Link
Source; gettyimages via daylife

Oficial Dinner in Honor of Their Majesties the Kings of Jordan, on the ocassion of their visit to Spain.



L. November

Picture Link
Source: bunte.de

National celebrations - Charlotte and Pierre Casiraghi, children of Princess Caroline of Hanover, Prince Albert II and Princess Stephanie of Monaco react to the cheers of the crowd at the balcony of the Princely Palace during the official ceremony for the Monaco National Day, on November 19, 2008 in Monaco.



M. December

Picture Link
Source: Gettyimages

A joyful celebration - Queen Silvia, Princess Madeleine, King Carl XVI Gustaf, Prince Carl Philip, and Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden applaud during the Nobel Foundation Prize 2008 Awards Ceremony at the Concert Hall on December 10, 2008 in Stockholm, Sweden.

[iakynthi]

Not that hard...For me it was obvious

[LadyK]

Remember- Please Do Not say who you voted for until the poll is closed.
Posts saying who you voted for (or listing your top choices) will be deleted.

[Lady Claire]

I thought it was a hard choice. There were some great pictures to choose from!

[Princess_Beatrix]

oh so many great pictures. but one was especially moving.

[bbb]

thanks for the work on the poll, all the photos are great, good job. i'm having alot of trouble deciding on a favorite out of 5

[sgl]

It was very difficult to decide! So many fantastic photos! This is one of the best photo polls I have ever seen.

[magnik]

It's unfair LadyK! I never until this time have so hard to choice the best photo.

[Her_Majesty]

Don't forget to vote here too: January 2009 Official Picture of the Month

[edjopago]

This is the first time I have voted in The Picture of the Year....only one photo clearly made an impression.

[Her_Majesty]

The Poll is closed!

Picture of the Year 2008 :

1. Belgium and Sweden

2. Denmark

3. The Netherlands

Thanks for your votes!

[iceflower]

Wow! Great to see that our co-operation between the Belgian
and the Swedish team has come to fruition
Thank you so much for all your votes!!

[Holland]

I cannot see neither Danish or the Dutch image... :(

[Lumutqueen]

The images have been removed, probably because the poll was opened 2 years ago.