August 2008 Official Picture of the Month Poll

[Empress]

Welcome to the
August 2008 Official Picture of the Month Poll!

The monthly official polls will highlight the official side of royalty as opposed to the informal side of royalty.

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

We hope by the end of the year to have some really stunning and regal Picture of the Month winners to compete in our 2008 Picture of the Year awards.

For more information on the 2008 Picture of the Month schedule and all we have planned for 2008, take a look at this thread.

If you have any ideas or suggestions for future polls you can post them there or contact Empress, Dazzling or Mandy.

This month, 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, Johann

Britain: TheTruth - jcbcode99

Brunei/Dubai/Malaysia: Humera - Warren

Denmark: GlitteringTiaras - Jessrulz, Princess Robijn

Japan: Dragonsfire8, Al_bina

Jordan: Humera - Little_star, salma

Luxembourg: Jessrulz - grim_lady, kyansaunt20

Monaco: Iceflower - radker18,

Morocco: Humera – Warren

Norway: Her_Majesty - Kikkib, Rhapsody Brat

Spain: Paty, Cecile76

Sweden: Iceflower, HRH Kerry

The Netherlands: The Watcher, Marengo, Lucien

German Princely Families: GlitteringTiaras,

Liechtenstein: HRH Kerry

The pictures of this poll reflect the official royal events of January. The poll will be open for three weeks. It will close on October 3, 2008. 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, Mandy & Dazzling

[Empress]

A. Japan
Picture Link
Source: Yuriko Nakao/Reuters

Japan's Emperor Akihito (R) and Empress Michiko offer silent prayers before an altar during a memorial service for those who died in the war, during a ceremony marking the 63rd anniversary of Japan's surrender in World War Two, at Budokan Hall in Tokyo August 15, 2008.


B. Sweden
Picture Link
Source: Reuters

"Stockholm World Water Week" - Princess Victoria of Sweden hands out the Stockholm Junior Water Prize (SJWP) to Joyce Chai of the United States in Stockholm, August 19, 2008. The SJWP is the most prestigious youth award for water-related science, Chai received it for her work on nanomaterials.


C. Monaco
Picture Link
Source: Reuters

"A colourful 60st Monaco Red Cross Ball" - Prince Albert II of Monaco arrives with his sisters Princess Stephanie and Princess Caroline with husband Prince Ernst of Hanover, and Charlene Wittstock for the annual Red Cross gala ball in Monte Carlo August 1, 2008.


D. Spain
Picture Link
Source: EFE

This is an Olympic Year, so what better picture! Crown Princes of Spain in the official reception to the Spanish Olympic Team at Beijing. 07 August.


E. Norway
Picture Link
Source: ANP

Pregnant Princess Martha Louise was reading stories for the children at the Reddiken Kanvas day nursery in Lommedalen, Norway, August 18, 2008. The storytelling was part of the UNICEF and day nursery foundation Kanvas found raising auction supporting day nurseries in Norway.




F. Denmark
Picture Link
Source: Billed Bladet


Crown Prince Frederik, Crown Princess Mary, and Princess Benedikte attend a reception at the Royal Danish Ballet in Beijing, China


G. Luxembourg
Picture Link
Source: Guy Wolff/Telecran/Cour Grand-Ducale

Princess Alexandra and Prince Sebastien talk with the Luxembourg cycling team at the Olympic Games in Beijing.


H. Brunei
Picture Link
Source: Infofoto

August 21, 2008 - Princess Azemah, daughter of Sultan Hassan al Bolkiah and his ex-wife Princess Mariam, mingles with young special athletes at the opening ceremony of the 2008 Special Olympics Asia Pacific Bocce Competition. The Princess is Patron of Brunei's National Special Olympics.


I. Dubai
Picture Link
Source: Petra

August 7, 2008 - Princess Haya carries the Olympic torch in one leg of the run in Beijing. The Princess, an IOC member and President of the International Equestrian Federation, said that the impact of sport on people is far greater than politics or rhetoric.


J. Jordan
Picture Link
Source: www.worldcancercongress.org

Princess Dina, Director General of the King Hussein Cancer Foundation (KHCF) and wife of Prince Mired bin Raad, speaks at the World Cancer Summit in Geneva on August 30, 2008.


K. Morocco
Picture Link
Source: www.worldcancercongress.org

Lalla Salma attends the World Cancer Summit in Geneva on August 30, 2008. The Princess chairs the Lalla Salma Association Against Cancer.

L. Great Britian
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.


M. The Netherlands
Picture Link
Source: GDP

11 August 2008, Beijing, the Prince of Orange and Princess Maxima are celebrating the silver medal of Deborah Gravenstijn in the Holland Heineken House.



N. Belgium
Picture Link
Source: PPE

31/8/2008, Brussels, 15th jubilee of King Albert II of the Belgians at Laeken Palace.

[amandamrgt]

Since we can't state who we had voted for, I'll just say that I had a hard time choosing between 2 hillarious and 1 official picture. Pity we can't cast more then one vote!
Great pictures, all of them were! I really like the idea of the polls. Just wish I'd been there for the previous ones.

[Her_Majesty]

Don't forget to have a look at our Informal Vacation Poll as well :
Royal Vacations Photos (informal poll)

[amandamrgt]

Thanks! I didn't realise there is more then 1 poll. going to explore...

[marmi]

Its no big deal, but we all just aged a LOT!!! In J & K above, its shows the year as being 3008!

[Incas]

I like the informal shots, they reveal so much more of the royal's personality.

[Lakshmi]

Voting for pic of the month is one of my favorite activities in this forum.

[Her_Majesty]

The Poll is closed.

The winners of this month are:

1) Great Britain
Photo

2) The Netherlands
Photo

3) Spain
Photo