Compared with the first days of their state visit to Vietnam, the Danish Royal Family enjoyed a much slower pace on day three. HM Queen Margrethe II and HRH Prince Henrik were out and about by brunch, attending a Danish business event.

View the image at Belga

The royal couple visited Danish work-wear company Mascot International’s building in Hai Duong, where they were met by the company’s directors, Michael Grosbøl and Thomas Bo Pedersen. Queen Margrethe and Prince Henrik were treated to a guided tour of the factory, before attending the awards ceremony of the Corporate Social Responsibility’s honourable prize. The prize was presented to Thomas Bo Pedersen by the Chairwoman of the Provincial People’s Committee in Hai Duong, Ms Nguyen Thi Mihn.

Some history and culture was next on the agenda, as they visited the Kim Lien Pagoda. The Queen and Prince Consort were received by the pagoda’s head monk, who told them of the history and spiritual meaning of the site. They were told of how the pagoda was part of the Tu Hao Palace, ordered to be built by Princess Tu Hoa, a daughter of King Ly Than Tong of the Ly Dynasty. The King then sent his daughter and her maids to the pagoda to make them understand their societal position.

View the image at Billed Bladet

HM and HRH were then treated to lunch at the Koto Restaurant, where the royals were given a tour of the restaurant and kitchens before being given the opportunity to help the staff make Vietnamese spring rolls. Prince Henrik, who has written many a cookbook, seemed in his element and both he and his wife participated with extreme interest. Queen Margrethe spoke with the press later after the lunch, about Prince Henrik’s connection with Vietnam. “The more I see, the more I sense the world my husband remembers and tells about…I think it’s fascinating to come here, I have thought a lot about my parents-in-law,” she said.

The royal couple retired for the evening, and allowed TRH Crown Prince Frederik and Crown Princess Mary to take over. The couple attended a rock concert at the Hue Sports Centre, which featured both Danish and Vietnamese artists. Danish rockers The Blue Van were greeted with wild applause by the Crown Prince Couple, who appeared relaxed and enjoyed their evening.

Day four continues tomorrow. View the state visit thread here.

JessRulz Danish Royals Concert, Margrethe II, Prince Frederik, Prince Henrik the Prince Consort, Princess Mary, State Visit, Vietnam

The King, the Queen, Princess Astrid, Prince Laurent and Princess Claire attended the Autumn Concert at the Royal Palace in Brussels yesterday.

courtesy of Belga

The Autumn Concert is organized in collaboration with the Festival of Flanders and the Festival of the Walloon Region.

The Festival of the Walloon Region (Festival de Wallonie) is an annual event that offers 70 concerts in 4 parts of the Walloon Region and in Brussels. The common theme of the concerts is the aspiration to tell people about the region’s architectural and musical heritage, a strong inclination towards parties and conviviality.

This year, the Festival’s main theme is “Britannia”. The concerts are dedicated, as the name suggests, to the United Kingdom, which either gave birth or welcomed four great composers, whose anniversaries are celebrated this year – Purcell (350th birth anniversary), Handel (250th death anniversary), Mendelssohn (200th birth anniversary) and Haydn (100th death anniversary).

To learn more about the Belgian Royal Family, visit this thread.

Marsel Belgian Royals Concert, Music, Prince Laurent, Princess Astrid of Belgium, Princess Claire, Queen Paola

HRH Grand Duke Jean yesterday attended an annual concert held by the Luxembourg Philharmonic Orchestra.

The 88-year-old Grand Duke was accompanied by his five children: HRH The Grand Duke of Luxembourg, HIRH Archduchess Marie Astrid of Austria, HRH Prince Jean, HRH Princess Margaretha of Liechtenstein and HRH Prince Guillaume.

The concert was held in homage to HRH the late Grand Duchess Joséphine-Charlotte, Grand Duke Jean’s wife. The Grand Duchess died in January 2005 at the age of 77.

Click here to view the family’s current events thread.

JessRulz Austrian Royals, Liechtenstein Royals, Luxembourg Royals Archduchess Marie Astrid, Concert, Grand Duchess Joséphine-Charlotte, Grand Duke Henri, Grand Duke Jean, Prince Guillaume, Prince Jean of Luxembourg, Princess Margaretha

As every year Crown Princess Victoria celebrated her birthday, the “Victoria Day”, at the Solliden Palace in Borghol. Her parents, King Carl Gustav and Queen Silvia, and her fiancé Daniel Westling were also in attendance.

Click at the image to see it at Daylife

This year’s celebrations were different compared to the usual ones. The Royal Watchers waited for hours with flowers in their hands to congratulate their Princess. Victoria received congratulations and little presents over an hour. She took the time to greet everyone and chat with people. Daniel was always close to his fiancé ,chatted and laughed with many people in the audience. The couple looked very happy; holding hands and smiling at each other.

Of course the engaged couple also posed with the Royal couple for a group photo.

In the evening the Swedish Royal family, this time also inclusing Princess Madeleine and Prince Carl Phillip, and Crown Princess Victoria’s fiance Daniel Westling attended a concert in celebration of Victoria’s birthday. Princess Victoria and Queen Silvia both wore the Swedish National costumes for this event.

You can find an article about the birthday celebrations here.

A thread at TRF can be found here.

Her_Majesty Swedish Royals Birthday, Carl XVI Gustaf, Concert, Daniel Westling, Prince Carl Philip, Princess Madeleine, Princess Victoria, Queen Silvia

 The celebrations for Prince Henrik’s 75th birthday began yesterday, with a noon luncheon aboard the royal yacht Dannebrog. The whole Danish royal family was invited; as well as Prince Gustav zu Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg, his partner Carina Axelsson, sister Princess Alexandra, and the birthday boy’s brother Jean Baptiste and his wife Jill.

Click to see the images at MSN.dk

As the royal party arrived at the Nordre Toldbod on Copenhagen Harbour, the heavens opened their doors and umbrellas were quickly found so that the guests could make the short trip from their cars to the royal barge to travel to the Dannebrog.

Crown Prince Frederik and Crown Princess Mary, in a multi-coloured BOSS Black frock, followed Queen Margrethe’s younger sister, Princess Benedikte, and her family in arriving at the Harbour, in exceptionally heavy rain. Teetering on her heels across the wet cobblestone pathway, Mary expertly multi-tasked holding an umbrella, overcoat and purse, while smiling broadly and occasionally waving to the crowd.

Princess Marie, dressed in white slacks and a fitted gray jacket, arrived with husband Prince Joachim to her first official appearance since the May 4th birth of the couple’s son. When Joachim was asked about life with his new son, he proudly told BT reporters, “It is so good!”

Then it was time for the man of the hour (or well, two days) to make his grand entrance. And with his grand entrance, Henrik brought a halt to the rain, meaning umbrellas were not necessary for himself and his wife. The family then sailed on the Dannebrog to Rungsted Harbour, where they disembarked at 3pm in relative sunshine.

Click to see the MSN Gallery

The luncheon was not the only celebration yesterday to mark Henrik’s 75th. A concert was held at the DR Concert Hall in Copenhagen, with the whole family once again in attendance. The luncheon attendees were joined by Prince Joachim’s former wife, Alexandra Countess of Frederiksborg and her second husband Martin Jørgensen, for the concert; which included a performance by the DR Symphony Orchestra. Foreign royals who travelled to Copenhagen for the celebrations were Prince Philip and Princess Isabelle of Liechstenstein, and the Duke and Duchess of Castro.

Celebrations continue today with a lunch at Fredensborg Palace’s Orageriet, and a gala in the evening. Read more about Henrik’s birthday celebrations here.

JessRulz Danish Royals Birthday, Concert, Dannebrog, Prince Henrik the Prince Consort

Click on image to see photo at Belga

 Queen Paola of the Belgians and her daughter-in-law princess Mathilde, yesterday attended a concert by José van Dam, the famous Belgian baritone.  The concert was hold at the Flagey, a cultural and musical center in Brussels. The concert was organized because of the international breast cancer conference ‘Impakt’ that will be held from 7 to 9 May in Brussels. The conference has been organized by the Jules Bordet Institute and the Jean-Claude Heuson Fund.

José van Dam has performed for the royal family on various occassions. Among them at the wedding of the duke of Brabant and Mathilde d’Udekem d’Acoz and at the funeral of count Patrick d’Udekem d’Acoz, father of princess Mathilde.

Marengo Belgian Royals Concert, Princess Mathilde, Queen Paola

Click to view full image on WAM

  Wife of HH Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE, Ruler of Dubai, HRH Princess Haya Bint Al Hussein the Annual Concert “Message from the Past” which was presendted by the Students and staff of Dubai Center for Special Needs.

The concert started off with the Quran recital which was followed by several plays and musicals.

dazzling Jordanian Royals, UAE Royals Concert, Dubai, Princess Haya

Click the image to see the photo gallery from The Age

The rain couldn’t keep the Melbournians away from the MCG on Saturday, likewise the SCG in Sydney; to attend the sold-out Sound Relief concert to benefit the victims of last month’s Victorian Black Saturday bushfires and the Queensland floods. And it wasn’t only the top-grade music line-up to receive rapturous applause: when Princes William and Harry appeared on the big screens in both venues via a pre-recorded video, the crowds cheered.

The Princes first apologised for not being able to attend the events in person, before Prince William began, “Like so many people throughout the world, both of us have watched the devastating news of the catastrophic bushfires in Victoria and floods in Queensland. For those survivors who have lost someone they love, we can only imagine what they are going through … for them, and for all those left injured & homeless, the tragedy is far from over.” The second-in-line also paid tribute to the emergency service workers, “We almost must never forget the amazing and heroic efforts of the emergency services … who have done so much to save so many lives.”

Harry then continued, “Today, you will all be enjoying these great performers who have generously given their time to honour those who have died and been hurt and those who risked their lives to save others. The line-up looks amazing and the concert is a magnificent effort by the Australian Music Community – to pay tribute in the way they know best. And of course all the funds raised will go a long way to help those who have lost so much. We just want to wish a great, and no doubt moving, evening to all of you – performers and crowd alike.”

Read more…

JessRulz British Royals Concert, Music, Prince Harry, Prince William

Click here to see photos at Zimbio

 Today is the fifth anniversary of Spain’s worst terrorist attacks. On the occasion, the Prince and the Princess of Asturias attended the Concert “In Memoriam” in honor of the victims. The concert was organized by Fundacion Victimas del Terrorismo (Victims of Terrorism Foundation) and was performed by the Orchestra of the Community of Madrid, directed by Jose Ramon Encinar.

On the morning of March 11, 2004 (two months before the wedding of the Prince and Princess of Asturias) a series of coordinated bombings against the train system of Madrid killed 191 people and injured 1,800, and three weeks later a Special Forces officer died in a suicide attack while trying to arrest suspects.

Read more…

Paty Spanish Royals Concert, Prince Felipe, Prince of Asturias, Princess Letizia, Princess of Asturias

Click to see the photos from the Cour Grand-Ducale

Luxembourg’s Grand Duke Jean, father of Grand Duke Henri, attended the concert “OPL meets UGDA, music through time and space”; organised by the Union Grand-Duc Adolphe. This is his first public engagement of 2009.

Read more about Grand Duke Jean in this thread.

alex001 Luxembourg Royals Concert, Grand Duke Jean