In an official ceremony which took place on Monday at the residence of Henry Paul, French Ambassador to Romania, Princess Margarita was awarded Légion d’honneur (Legion of Honour) of the French Republic with the rank of ‘Knight’. Their Majesties King Michael and Queen Anne, as well as Prince Radu of Romania were present during the ceremony.

Courtesy of FPMR. View larger image

The honour was conferred by President Nicolas Sarkozy in a decree of July 8, 2009. National Order of the Legion of Honour is the highest decoration in France. The distinction was given in recognition of the Crown Princess’s humanitarian activity, in particular her Princess Margarita of Romania Foundation.

The Princess Margarita of Romania Foundation, which was established in 1990, is a non-profit organization that has significantly contributed to the development of civil society in Romania. The Foundation develops programs to improve the living conditions of children and young people, destitute families and elderly, to stimulate intergenerational solidarity, and similar issues.

In her recognition speech (which the Crown Princess delivered in perfect French), Princess Margareta spoke of the needs and issues of the disadvantages sections of Romania. She also expressed gratitude to the people of France, the United Kingdom, Switzerland, the United States and Belgium (countries where the foundation currently operates) for their ongoing and unwavering support throughout the years.

The Crown Princess thanked the Ambassador and President Sarkozy for the award that recognized the team work of the Foundation and highlighted the role France played in the forming and development of Romania, starting with the first formation of the Romanian state, to modern times.

Marsel Romanian Royals France, Orders, Princess Margarita, Princess Margarita of Romania Foundation

 The President of the Republic of Lebanon, General Michel Suleiman, and his wife, Wafaa Suleiman, arrived yesterday in Madrid to start a two-day state visit to Spain upon the invitation of Their Majesties, King Juan Carlos and Queen Sofia.

View the image at Casa Real

The Presidential couple was welcomed with state honours by the King and Queen of Spain at Pardo Palace, where they will reside during their stay in Spain. Afterward, a private lunch was hosted by the King and Queen at Zarzuela Palace, which was also attended by the Prince and Princess of Asturias and the Presidential couple’s eldest daughter, Rita Suleiman, and her husband Wissam Baroudi.

That night, the traditional gala dinner took place at the Royal Palace, in honor of the Lebanese President and his wife which was attended by representatives of both governments. President Suleiman and the First Lady were honoured by the Spanish government with the Spanish Order of Isabel de Catolica, while the Spanish Royals were honoured with the Lebanese Order of Merit.

View the image at Casa Real

During his speech at the dinner, King Juan Carlos spoke of the Lebanese president: “Spain always followed closely the evolution of the political Lebanese situation, and has contributed with our best efforts to your country to overcome the challenges and tears of its most recent history. The commitment of Spain to Lebanon is wide and solid.”

Today Queen Sofia and the Lebanese First Lady will visit the Alzheimers Centre of the Queen Sofia Foundation and at night the return reception in honour of the King and Queen of Spain will take place at Pardo Palace.

Tomorrow, the Presidential Couple will leave Spain.

Paty Spanish Royals King Juan Carlos, Lebanon, Orders, President Suleiman, Queen Sofia, State Visit

It has been announced that on the 1st October Prince Joachim will take over as Chancellor of the Order of the Dannebrog and the Order of the Elephant from the Prince Consort, Prince Henrik.  This means that Prince Joachim shall be responsible for overseeing the administrative side of the orders and for the signing of the orders’ certificates.

Prince Joachim will, according to working secretary Henning Fode, be able to carry out much of the work from Schackenborg, but will of course be required in Copenhagen from time to time.

The Order of the Dannebrog is a “means of honouring and rewarding the faithful servants of the modern Danish state for meritorious civil or military service, for a particular contribution to the arts, sciences or business life or for those working for Danish interests” and was established after a 1660 move to break out of the absolutism of the Danish aristocracy.

The unusually named Order of the Elephant is Denmark’s highest order, founded in 1693 by King Christian V and amended in 1958 so that both men and women could become members of the order. The order, headed by the Danish monarch, is worn by the members of the royal family and can be granted to foreign heads of state and, in some circumstances, to an ordinary ‘commoner’. Currently, the only commoner in the order is philanthropist Mærsk Mc-Kinney Møller. Other notable knights and former knights include the Emperor of Japan, the King of Sweden, Nelson Mandela and Nicolae Ceauşescu, who is notable as the only knight to have had to leave the order.

For more information, please see this thread.

alex001 Danish Royals Orders, Prince Henrik the Prince Consort, Prince Joachim

Click to see the image at Royal Blog

HM Queen Elizabeth II today knighted former Secretary-General of the Commonwealth, Don McKinnon, as Knight Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order in recognition of his 2000-2008 (two terms) “outstanding” service as Secretary-General. Today is Commonwealth Day, a fitting day for his knighting.

Sir Don McKinnon was also New Zealand’s longest serving Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade and Deputy Prime Minister of New Zealand. He is also a member of the Order of New Zealand and McKinnon’s wife and two sons attended today’s ceremony with the Queen. Following the ceremony the new Knight and the Queen talked for a half hour; discussing not only the Commonwealth, but horses and cattle too.

Current New Zealand Prime Minister John Key has congratulated the new Sir Don McKinnon on his knighthood.

marmi British Royals Elizabeth II, Knighthood, New Zealand, Orders, Sir Don McKinnon

During the celebrations of Luxembourg’s National day, Grand Duke Henri has announced that Tessy de Nassau, wife of Prince Louis, will now be styled as Princess of Luxembourg, and her two sons will be styled Prince Gabriel and Prince Noah de Nassau.

His daughter Princess Alexandra has also received the position of a knight in the Order of the Gold Lion of the House of Nassau, which is an order passed onto both the Ottonian and Walram lines of the House of Nassau; in Luxembourg it is the Grand Duchy’s highest national order, bestowed for meritious service to the nation or the Grand Duke, whilst in the Netherlands it is a dynastic order conferred by the Queen upon members who have performed a special service to the Royal House.

For more information, please see this thread.

alex001 Luxembourg Royals Grand Duke Henri, Orders, Prince Gabriel de Nassau, Prince Noah de Nassau, Princess Alexandra of Luxembourg, Princess Tessy, Titles

The Grand Duke this week has held three audiences, the first of which, on Tuesday, was with the Prime Minister of the Ukraine, Yulia Timochenko.

Click here to see the image from the Cour Grand-Ducale.

He then recieved on Friday the recipients of the Order of Adolphe, a chivalric order officially known as the Ordre du Mérite Civil et Militaire d’Adolphe de Nassau that was originally created for members of the Duchy of Nassau, and has now passed on to the Duke’s successor territory, Luxembourg. The award recognises those who have “performed meritorious actions or heroic deeds in the name of Luxembourg.”

The Grand Duke also recieved on Friday, along with the Grand Duchess, the tourist guides of the Luxembourg City Tourist Office who will be accompanying visitors around the Grand-Ducal Palace during its summer opening.

For more information, please see this thread.

alex001 Luxembourg Royals Audience, Grand Duchess Maria Teresa, Grand Duke Henri, Orders, Ukraine

Click on image to see photo at PPE

 On saturday Queen Beatrix of The Netherlands went to the Grote Kerk in Naarden to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the Dutch protestant Johanniter order. The Dutch branch of the ancient order was founded in 1909 by prince Hendrik, consort of queen Wilhelmina of The Netherlands.

At the moment the order has over 3000 volunteers and 600 members, who all are active in helping others, like handicapped or lonely people. Younger members of the order even visit juvenile prisons and the order also organizes holidays for handicapped people.

Queen Beatrix, who wore the ceremonial Johanniter cape at the event, was welcomed by Jhr. J.P. de Savorin Lohman, the co adjutor of the order. In the great church of Naarden Her Majesty received a book about the order that was written by Monda Heshusius. The queen is the honorary commandor of the order while her father, the late prince Bernhard, used to be ‘land commandor’.

Click here to visit the website o f the Dutch Johanniter Order.

Marengo Dutch Royals Anniversary, Orders, Queen Beatrix