The Royal Court announced yesterday that the King and Queen of Jordan flew to London on Sunday for a working visit to Britain, which is due to last several days.

During the visit His Majesty, accompanied by Queen Rania, will meet with British Prime Minister Gordon Brown. According a Royal Court statement the two leaders will talk about “latest developments in the Middle East, particularly efforts being made to establish peace based on the two-state vision”.

The King is also scheduled to deliver a speech at the British Royal College for Defence Studies. It is the second working visit to UK during this year. The previous visit took place on June 19-22, 2009

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Click here to see the photo from the BBC

Today, the Duke and Duchess of Gloucester, along with Prime Minister Gordon Brown, and his wife, Sarah, attended the very first Armed Forces Day celebrations at the Historic Dockyard, in Chatham, Kent. This is not the first time that Great Britain has honored the military; the event was previously known as Veteran’s Day. The name has been changed to Armed Forces Day, in order to include the thousands of men and women who currently serve in the British military, according to a report by the BBC.

In addition to the Duke and Duchess, 30,000 people attended today’s events, which included a fly-over by the Red Arrows and the Royal Air Force’s Battle of Britain Memorial Display Team. Throughout Great Britain, concerts and parades are taking place in many cities. Despite the fact that Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II and the Prince of Wales were unable to attend, they did send greetings of “deep and enduring gratitude” to the veterans and military members, and the Queen presented campaign medals to the Royal Scots Dragoon Guards in Edinburgh.

Currently, British military members are serving in 11 different nations, as well as working with the UN. There will be more events throughout the week in honor of the Armed Forces.

For more information about the Duke and Duchess of Gloucester, please visit this thread.

sgl British Royals Duchess of Gloucester, Duke of Gloucester, Elizabeth II, Military, Official Visit, Prime Minister Brown, Prince of Wales

Click image to view at daylife.com

His Majesty King Abdullah II held talks with British Prime Minister Gordon Brown in London on July 22. They discussed efforts to launch serious negotiations to solve the Palestinian-Israeli conflict on the basis of the two-state solution. His Majesty said “Failure to reach peace and the continuation of the conflict threaten Israel, the Palestinians, Arab states as well as world peace and stability.” King Abdullah and Prime Minister also talked about cooperation between the two countries and ways boosting them in various fields.

Her Majesty Queen Rania Al Abdullah also met at Downing Street with wife of the British prime minister Sarah Brown. and discussed issues of common interest as well as cooperation in various fields.

dazzling Jordanian Royals Abdullah II, England, Prime Minister Brown, Queen Rania

Click to see the image at the Daily Telegraph

 After several months of finger-pointing by the press and the governments involved, it was decided that the Queen would not attend the 65th-anniversary commemoration of D-Day in France, but that the Prince of Wales would represent her (see this blog). President Obama, President Sarkozy, Prime Minister Stephen Harper of Canada, and Prime Minister Gordon Brown also attended.

As reportedly planned by President Sarkozy, the commemoration was largely a Franco-American affair, with the contributions of the British and Canadian troops downplayed.

At the official commemoration at the Normandy American cemetary near Colleville-sur-Mer (Omaha Beach), speeches were made by Presidents Sarkozy and Obama and Prime Ministers Brown and Harper, but not by the Prince, whose only official action was to lay a wreath.

Earlier, the Prince had visited Arromanches, where many of the British troops landed on D-Day, and met with the veterans at the Commonwealth Cemetary. He also attended a memorial service arranged by the Royal British Legion at Bayeux Cathedral. Some of the veterans reportedly wanted to know why the Queen was not there, but they seemed pleased that a member of the royal family had travelled to France to join them in commemorating their fallen comrades.

Lucia-mia British Royals D-Day, Elizabeth II, France, President Obama, President Sarkozy, Prime Minister Brown, Prime Minister Harper, Prince Charles, Prince of Wales, World War II

Click to see the photo at the Daily Mail

 There has been a circus surrounding the preparations for the D-Day 65th anniversary this weekend, as no member of the British Royal Family was invited; and the situation has received media coverage globally. The anniversary will be attended by Presidents Sarkozy and Obama, but questions were raised when no member of the British Royal Family was announced as attending. The royal household initially stated that no royal was attending as none had been invited; the response from the French was that the British had been invited, but it was up to them to decide exactly who would represent them. Gordon Brown’s attendance had previously been confirmed.

Rumours that the anniversary was intended to be low-key in Britain are swirling, and the suggestion that this is why the Prime Minister accepted the invitation followed.

Click to see the article at the Daily Mail

White House spokesmanRobert Gibbs stated on camera that President Obama felt that the Queen should receive an official invitation, and suggested that Obama had communicated this. It is unclear whether he was referring to France or Britain here, however media reports suggest that Clarence House had no knowledge of this.

The resolution to the matter has recently been announced, with The Prince of Wales attending, representing his mother the Queen. This comes following an invitation from the French Ambassador in London.

The irony of this resolution however, is that it appears that there was never any suggestion that the Queen would attend the anniversary, but the intention was always that Charles would go! HM has only attended the 50th and 60th anniversaries to date, not the 55th…

It is expected that the Queen will spend Saturday at the Epsom Derby, as is her tradition. She is the head of Britain’s Armed Forces.

marmi British Royals D-Day, Elizabeth II, France, President Obama, President Sarkozy, Prime Minister Brown, Prince Charles, Prince of Wales, World War II