November 2009: The 1990's

[Zonk]

The decade that began on January 1, 1990 and ended on December 31, 1999 was a continuation of the decade that preceded it. The decade is noted for the growth of capitalism and multi-national economies that it begat. Many companies experienced a steady economic growth that began to falter by the end of the decade.

The world power structure was forever altered by the birth of the European Union, the dissolution of the Soviet Union, German Unification and the fall of the Berlin, the breakup of Yugoslavia, the invasion of Kuwait by Iraq which led to the Gulf War, the release of Nelson Mandela and the end apartheid in South Africa and the deaths of Diana, Princess of Wales and Mother Teresa. In addition, human tragedies were documented in the Balkan Wars, the Rwandan Genocide, Somalia, and the Gulf War.

The 1990’s also introduced us to the creation and growth of the Internet; Michael Jordan, Tiger Woods and David Beckham as worldwide sports figures, bands such as U2, N’SYNC and the Spice Girls who dominated the decade; classic television shows which included Friends and Seinfeld, and timeless movies such as Titanic, Ghost, Schindler’s List, The English Patient, Forrest Gump and Braveheart just to name a few. The decade also brought forth the introduction of reality television programs and 24 hour news channels that many continue to enjoy today depending on personal preference.

Despite many doomsday predictions, the Y2K prediction was a bust. Many feared that the world’s computers would crash on January 1, 2000 but it was much to do about nothing and life carried on.

We hope you enjoy this month’s newsletter and you have a great Thanksgiving!

Zonk and LadyLeana
Newsletter Editors

 

[Zonk]

Changes to the team​

It is with great sadness that we say Adieu to Elspeth and Mandy who are leaving the TRF to seek new adventures. We thank them for their support and dedication. Needless to say, TRF wouldn't be what it is today without them.

The Administrators are proud to announce Marmi, Mademoiselle Lilo, Sofajr, Stefan and wbenson have received supermoderator status, in recognition of their hard work and great contributions as moderators to their Forums.

Questions about The Royal Forums?​

We have a thread in the Support and Feedback forum that contains all sorts of information about TRF and also contains a copy of the Member FAQs for easy reference

Picture of the Month​

Don't forget to vote for September's Picture of the Month. There are two polls this month. The official poll highlights the official side of royalty and is here. The unofficial poll features funny faces and is here.

The Royal Forums Blog​

The Royal Forums blog continues to thrive. We have nearly 40 bloggers, including 17 regular contributors also known as Royal Bloggers.

The blog entries are posted at the TRF Twitter account. We hope TRF members who belong to Twitter will follow us. We also have a group and a page at Facebook.

The Royal Articles​

If you haven't had the opportunity, please check out The Royal Articles. At present the articles site is not publishing articles because we are looking to switch the software that hosts the articles. We expect to resume article publication in the next two or three months.

Since we are unable to use professional photos to illustrate the articles, the editors are very interested in hearing from any members who have taken photos of royals and would be willing to have their photos used in the articles. Also, anyone who would like to try their hand at writing an article should contact one of the editors. The editors are Marengo and TheTruth.

 

[Zonk]

Royal Calendar for November​

1st-6th: State visit to Vietnam by Queen Margrethe, accompanied by Prince Frederik and Princess Mary (thread)

2nd-12th: Visit to British Columbia by Prince Charles and Camilla (thread)

5th: Anniversary of the Gunpowder Plot (1605)

8th: Remembrance Sunday (thread)

15th: King's Feast (Belgium) (thread)

19th: National Day (Monaco) (thread)

26th-29th: State visit to Trinidad and attendance at CHOGM by Elizabeth II (thread)

30th: St Andrew's Day

 

[Zonk]

Births​

23 March 1990: Princess Eugenie of York, second daughter of Prince Andrew, Duke of York and Sarah Ferguson, Duchess of York.

16 February 1991 : Princess Alexandra of Luxembourg, only daughter and fourth child of then Hereditary Grand Duke Henri of Luxembourg and his wife, Maria Teresa.

23 October 1991: Princess Mako of Japan, first daughter of Prince Akishino and Princess Kiko of Japan.

9 december 1991: Prince Joachim of Belgium, third child and second son of Princess Astrid of Belgium and Prince Lorenz, Archduke of Austria-Este.

16 April 1992 Prince : Prince Sébastien of Luxembourg, fourth son and youngest child of then Hereditary Grand Duke Henri of Luxembourg and Hereditary Grand Duchess Maria Teresa.

26 November 1992 : Louis Ducruet, first child of Princess Stéphanie of Monaco and Daniel Ducruet.

4 May 1994 : Pauline Ducruet, second child of Princess Stéphanie of Monaco and Daniel Ducruet.

28 June 1994: Prince Hussein of Jordan, first child of then Crown Prince Abdullah of Jordan and Princess Rania. He was made Crown Prince of Jordan by Royal Decree on 2 July 2009.

29 December 1994 : Princess Kako of Japan, second daughter of HIH Prince Akishino and Princess Kiko.

24 May 1995: Prince Joseph Wenzel of Liechtenstein, eldest child of Hereditary Prince Alois of Liechtenstein and Heriditary Princess Sophie of Bavaria, Duchess in Bavaria.

11 October 1995 : Princess Luisa Maria of Belgium, second daughter and fourth child of Princess Astrid of Belgium and Prince Lorenz, Archduke of Austria-Este.

27 September 1996 : Princess Imam of Jordan, second child and first daughter of then Crown Prince Abdullah of Jordan and Princess Rania.

17 October 1996 : Princess Marie-Caroline of Liechtenstein, second child and first daughter of Hereditary Prince Alois of Liechtenstein and Hereditary Princess Sophie of Bavaria, Duchess in Bavaria.

13 January 1997 : Marius Borg Høiby, first child of Mette-Marit Tjessem Høiby, later Crown Princess of Norway.

15 July 1998 : Camille Gottlieb, third child and second daughter of Princess Stéphanie of Monaco.

17 July 1998 : Don Felipe Juan Froilán de Marichalar y de Borbón, first child of Infanta Elena of Spain and Jaime de Marichalar, Duchess and Duke of Lugo.

20 July 1999 : Princess Alexandra of Hanover, only daughter of Ernst-August V, Prince of Hanover and Caroline, Hereditary Princess of Monaco. Princess Caroline has three children from a previous marriage, and Prince Ernst-August has two sons from a previous marriage.

20 April 1999 : Prince Georg of Liechtenstein, third child and second son of Hereditary Prince Alois of Liechtenstein and Hereditary Princess Sophie of Bavaria, Duchess in Bavaria.

28 August 1999 : Prince Nikolai of Denmark, first son of Prince Joachim of Denmark and Princess Alexandra.

29 September 1999: Don Juan Valentín de Todos los Santos Urdangarín y de Borbón, first child of Infanta Cristina of Spain and Iñaki Urdangarín, the Duchess and Duke of Palma de Mallorca.

 

[Zonk]

Royal Marriages​

4 October 1997 : Infanta Cristina of Spain and Iñaki Urdangarín. Infanta Cristina of Spain was born on June 13, 1965, the youngest daughter of Infante Juan Carlos (later King Juan Carlos) and Princess Sophie of Greece (later Queen Sofia of Spain). Inaki Urdangarin was born on January 15, 1968, the son of Juan Maria Urdangarin Berriocha and Claire Liebaert Courtain. The couple met in 1996, at the Summer Olympics in Atlanta, as Inaki was a member of the Spanish handball team (as well as the 1992 and 2000 Oympics). The couple married on October 4, 1997 in Barcelona, and are the parents of Juan, Pablo, Miguel and Irene. At her marriage, the couple were conferred with the title of Duke and Duchess of Palma de Mallorca. The Duke was temporarily transferred to the United States as a result of work commitments, and the family currently resides in Bethesda, Maryland.

18 March 1995 : Infanta Elena of Spain and Jaime de Marichalar y Sáenz de Tejada. Infanta Elena of Spain was born on December 20, 1963 the eldest child of Infante Juan Carlos (later King Juan Carlos of Spain) and Princess Sophie of Greece and Denmark (later Queen Sofia of Spain). Jaime de Marichalar y Saenz de Tejada was born on April 7, 1963. His parents are Amalio de Marichalar y Bruguera, 8th Count of Ripalda and María de la Concepción Sáenz de Tejada y Fernández de Boadilla. The couple married in Seville on March 18, 1995. They are the parents of Felipe and Victoria. They separated on November 13, 2007.


18 November 1995 : Prince Joachim of Denmark and Alexandra Christina Manley. Prince Joachim of Denmark was born on June 7, 1969, the younger son of Queen Margrethe II of Denmark and Henrik, Prince Consort of Denmark (formerly Henri Marie Jean André de Laborde de Monpezat). Alexandra Christina Manley, the daughter of Richard Nigel Manely and Christa Maria Manley, was born on June 30, 1964. The couple met in Hong Kong and married on November 18, 1995. They are the parents of Prince Nikolai and Prince Flexi. Prince Joachim and Princess Alexandra divorced on April 8, 2005, with Alexandra assuming the title of Her Highness, Princess Alexanra, Countess of Frederiksborg). On March 3, 2007, Alexandra married Martin Jorgensen. As a result of her new marriage, she is now known as Her Excellency Alexandra Christina, Countess of Frederiksborg. Prince Joachim remarried Marie Cavallier on May 24, 2008.


1 July 1995 : Princess Stéphanie of Monaco and Daniel Ducruet. Princess Stephanie, the daughter of the Princess Grace and Prince Rainier of Monaco. She was born on February 1, 1965. Daniel Ducret was born on November 27, 1964. While working as a bodyguard for Prince Albert of Monaco, Daniel met Princess Stephanie and began a relationship with her. Their son Louis was born on November 26, 1992 and their daughter Pauline was born on May 4, 1994. The couple married on July 1, 1995 and were divorced on October 5, 1996.

4 December 1999: Prince Philippe of Belgium, Duke of Brabant and Lady Mathilde d'Udekem d'Acoz. Prince Philippe, first son of King Albert II and Queen Paola of Belgium was born April 15, 1960. Lady Mathilde d'Udekem d'Acoz is the eldest daughter of (then) Sir Patrick d'Udekem d'Acoz and Countess Anne Komorowski, born January 20, 1973. They met in a tennis club in Laeken. Mathilde was a speech therapist before their marriage in 1999. The couple has four children, Elisabeth (b. 2001), Gabriel (b. 2003), Emmanuel (b. 2005) and Eléonore (b. 2008).

 

[Zonk]

Royal Deaths​

17 January 1991: Olav V of Norway was the son of Prince Carl of Denmark and Princess Maud of the United Kingdom. He married Princess Martha of Sweden in 1929. He participated to WWII and became Chief of Defence. In 1957, he eventually succeeded to the throne and gained a lot of popularity during his reign. When he died, Norwegians expressed great sadness.

30 April 1991: Ghislaine, Dowager Princess of Monaco was a french comedy actress. She married Louis II and became Princess of Monaco from 1946 to 1949.After her husband's death in 1949, she inherited the title of Dowager Princess of Monaco.

1 April 1993: Don Juan, Count of Barcelona was the son of King Alfonso XIII of Spain and Victoria Eugenie of Battenberg. He was never King, the monarchy being replaced by the Spanish Republic on 14 April 1931. He married Maria Mercedes of Bourbon-Two Sicilies in 1935. He was buried as Juan III, as if he had been King.

31 July 1993: Baudouin I of Belgium was the eldest son of King Leopold III and Princess Astrid of Sweden. He married Doña Fabiola in 1960, nine years after being crowned. It's under his reign that Belgium became a federal state and although he was very concerned about keeping a united Belgium, he couldn't avoid its division in 3 communities and the creation of a linguistic barrier. He was very close to his religious faith and never gave it up. He died in Spain and is interred in the royal vault at the Laeken Cemetery in Brussels.

26 April 1994: Queen Zein of Jordan was the wife of King Talal and the mother of the late King Hussein of Jordan. She was one of the first defenders of women's rights and in 1952 took part in the writing of the Constitution. She died in Switzerland at the age of 77.

31 August 1997: Diana, Princess of Wales was the daughter of John Spencer, Viscount Althorp and Frances Spencer. She married Charles, Prince of Wales in 1981 and gave birth to two heirs, Princes William and Henry. After a relationship made of controversies, Charles and Diana separated and divorced in 1996. Since she married Charles, her life has been followed by many and her work for charities supported. She died in a car crash in Paris after being chased by paparazzi.

7 February 1999: Hussein I of Jordan was the son of King Talal of Jordan and Queen Zein. He became King when his father abdicated in 1952 and remained King until his death. During his reign, he had to guide his country through the Cold war and the Arab-Israeli conflict. He was attached to democracy and human rights, which made Jordan a model for the Middle East. He died from cancer at the age of 63.

19 June 1999: Henri d'Orléans, Count of Paris was the Orléaist claimant to the French throne from 1940 until his death. He married Princess Isabel of Orléans-Braganza in 1931 who gave birth to eleven children. He died at the age of 90 in France.

23 July 1999: Hassan II of Morocco was the son of Mohammed V and Lalla Abla bint Tahar. He became 22nddKing of the Alaouite dynasty in 1961. He survived two assassination attempts. In 1961, he married Lalla Latifa Hammou with whom he had 5 children.

 

[Zonk]

Accessions, Enthronements, Jubilees, and Abdications​

12 November 1990: Coronation of Emperor Akihito. After the death of Emperor Shōwa on 7 January 1989, then crown prince Akihito received the succession. Emperor Akihito formally acceded to the throne on 12 November 1990.

17 January 1991: Accession of Harald V of Norway. Upon the death of his father, King Olav V of Norway, Harald acceded to the throne. Harald V swore the Royal Oath in the Storting (the Norwegian Parliament) on 21 January 1991 and received the benediction in the Nidaros Cathedral on 23 June 1991.

9 August 1993: Accession of Albert II of Belgium. Upon the death of his brother, King Baudouin I of Belgium, on 31 July 1993, Albert, Prince of Liège, acceded to the throne. He took the constitutional oath in the Belgian Parliament a few days after the funeral of Baudouin. This oath made him King of the Belgians, the crown prince does not succeed the King automatically.

23 July 1999: Accession of Mohammed VI of Morocco upon the death of his father, King Hassan II of Morocco. During his reign, Morocco has seen a tremendous social change.

 

[Zonk]

Major World Events​

2 August 1990–28 February 1991: Gulf War. The Gulf War was sparked by the economic difficulties in Iraq after the Iran-Iraq war. The Iraqi government accused Kuwait of manipulating oil prices to keep them low and hinder Iraq's recovery. After threats of invasion by Iraq and a statement from the US ambassador to Iraq that the USA had no opinion on conflicts between Arab nations, Iraq invaded Kuwait on 2 August 1990 and overcame the Kuwaiti army, declaring victory, installing a puppet government in Kuwait, and claiming that Kuwait was now part of Iraq. The invasion was immediately condemned by the United Nations, which called for a withdrawal, a resolution ignored by Iraq. The United States, concerned about a possible Iraqi takeover of the Saudi oilfields, mounted Operation Desert Shield along with several allies, including Middle Eastern states. Iraqi attempts to draw Israel into the war in order to drive a wedge between the USA and its Middle Eastern allies were unsuccessful. The combined air and ground offensive coupled with a naval blockade was successful in driving the Iraqi army out of Kuwait, although the Iraqis set fire to the Kuwaiti oilfields on their way out of the country. After the Allied victory, the Iraqi government had to face rebellions by Shiites in the south and Kurds in the north; in both cases the rebellions were crushed. The US government decided to stop at removing Iraqi troops from Kuwait; it did not attempt to engineer an overthrow of the Iraqi government, which lasted until the Second Gulf War over 10 years later.

6 August 1991: Debut of the World Wide Web. The World Wide Web was developed by British physicist Tim Berners-Lee at CERN in Switzerland based on earlier hypertext systems. He used a NeXT computer as the server for the first Web pages, and he developed the first web browser, WorldWideWeb. On 6 August 1991, after a couple of years of development, the Web was made available to the public. Berners-Lee founded the World Wide Web Consortium in 1994 and the Web has grown exponentially ever since.

April-June 1994: Rwandan genocide. In only about 100 days, nearly a million Rwandans were killed during a period of out-of-control violence. There are two major ethnic groups in Rwanda, the Hutu and the Tutsi. Although the Hutu were the majority, power was held mostly by the Tutsi minority. Although there was longstanding tension between the two groups, the genocide was sparked by the killing of President Habyarimana in an attack on his plane on 6 April 1994; the Tutsis and Hutus blamed each other for the attack. The Presidential Guard responded to the death of the president by attacking Tutsi politicians and other leaders, and the violence spread to include the military, the police, and eventually ordinary laymen, with the aim of exterminating Tutsi Rwandans. By July, the mostly Tutsi Rwandan Patriotic Front, led by Paul Kagame (who was suspected of being behind the killing of President Habyarimana), had retaken Kigali and millions of Hutus fled to the Democratic Republic of Congo, where they continued to mount a resistance. The international community, including the United Nations, mostly stayed out of the conflict.

12 October 1999: Overthrow of the Pakistani government. Since gaining independence, Pakistan has experienced several military coups taking power away from democratically elected governments. During the 1990s the economic situation in Pakistan was deteriorating, and by the end of the decade the country was involved covertly in the Kargil Conflict with India. On 12 October 1999, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif dismissed General Pervez Musharraf as head of the army, but the army did not support this move and assumed control of the country. General Musharraf took over as the leader of Pakistan, and in 2001 he formally assumed the Presidency. He remained leader of the country until his defeat in the general election of 2008.

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[Zonk]

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