The Diamond Jubilee Luncheon and Dinner for the World's Monarchs: May 18, 2012

[Iluvbertie]

It's interesting that the York girls were there...are they going to have have a role in the Royal Family?

The York princesses are royal by birth. Anne's children aren't royal - her words not mine. Anne said many years ago 'my children aren't royal, they just have The Queen for their grandmother'.

The York princesses will probably turn out at events like this for the rest of their lives, in the way that the Kents and Gloucesters do. The difference is that the York princesses won't be having a load of royal duties to do as well.

 

[Renata4711]

The junior Royals have a part to play, if only by making up the numbers.

 

[Lumutqueen]

The Bhutanese Royal family are`nt the only absentees. The Cambodian Royal family is not represented and given that several deposed Monarchs are in attendance, it`s surprising to learn that former King Guyanendra of Nepal is absent, the UK and Nepal are long standing allies after all. Perhaps they are being represented by their diplomats in London? I am personally disappointed that neither the Empress Farah Diba or Crown Prince of Iran, appear to have been invited. The late Shah was a great friend of the UK and paid a state visit to our country, in the mid-70`s. His wife has endured her 30+ years in exile with great dignity and their son is a credit to his memory.

All world monarchs were invited, if they aren't there they chose not to come.

Apparently, The Queen and Prince Philip were not in attendance. This event was hosted by Prince Charles on her behalf.

Apparently they were in attendance, all reports say they were there. They probably arrived away from other guests and didn't get photographed. They'd had enough of that at lunch.

 

[Osipi]

Possibly... Or it could be our Informal Picture of the Month for June since the theme is Jubilee Celebrations, lol. We haven't started discussing our options yet.

And, with respect to the Swaziland dress... It's a quinceanera dress. An over-the-top, insanely ruffled quinceanera dress.

to be honest, at first I thought I was looking at Big Bird.

 

[MagMil]

Here is another video from the lunch and in 1:15 you can see Duchess Of Cambridge curtsy to Crown Princess Margarita of Romania

The Queens controversial Jubilee lunch with world's monarchs incl Bahrain's Hamad - YouTube

 

[maria-olivia]

Queen Beatrix, King Albert Ii and Queen Paola dir not attend the dinner hosted by Prince Charles.

 

[MagMil]

Here is another video from the lunch

and another...

World Dictators Gather to Mark Queen's Diamond Jubilee - YouTube

 

[Osipi]

How wonderful to see William and Catherine FINALLY in pictures with other royals and not people like Beckham and such low. He will be king one day and it is important he and his wife get to know the other royals. I think they all look wonderful and so happy and relaxed with each other. Fabulous pictures of them all.

One thing we know is where David Beckham was. He was part of the entourage with the Princess Royal bringing the Olympic flame to Cornwall Friday. To me, as future King and Queen Consort, they have the ability to meet and greet with anyone be it prince or pauper and make them feel comfortable.

 

[soraya]

=Queen's handshake and Kate's curtesy for a despot as they entertain brutal King of Bahrain at Jubilee lunch (so who was at biggest gathering of world royals since the Coronation?) | Mail Online

Does Ms. Rebecca English imply that British royals are somehow superior to other royals? The article dragged through mud almost every guest. Although one should not expect anything intelligent from the Daily Mail, the tone of the article is offensive and rude.

Thanks Al bina for this article.
I too find this article disgusting and irrespectful.What a lack of respect for the Queen's and her country foreign guests.
The scandals the journalist listed for every royal are for sure true but she has only forgotten that the British royal family has some scandals too.

 

[EIIR]

Quite right Osipi. David Beckham may be a celebrity, but he's also a patriot who has served the country in lots of different ways. He's always happy to promote Britain around the world. I have no problem with any of the royals spending time with him.

 

[Carminha Stalker]

Thanks for the lovely pictures of luncheon and dinner parties.
Every family be it Royal or not has some kind of scandal connected with their lives.
Newspapers like the DM love to create situations and are very disrespectful sometimes.
I loved Charlene´s pink dress. For me the best dressed.
Thrilled to bits to see my darlings King Constatine and Queen Anne Marie.

 

[Hampton]

How come none of the Russian Royals were invited even though they have not reigned for years some are related to the Queen.Nice gesture. What does everyone think?

 

[soraya]

How come none of the Russian Royals were invited even though they have not reigned for years some are related to the Queen.Nice gesture. What does everyone think?

I have no answer for you but I wonder if the Russian royals are invited by any european royal family

 

[Artemisia]

How come none of the Russian Royals were invited even though they have not reigned for years some are related to the Queen.Nice gesture. What does everyone think?

We don't really know whether they were invited or not. All reigning Monarchs certainly were invited (although some didn't attend), and it looked as though quite a few former Monarchs (Romania, Bulgaria, Greece) and pretenders (Serbia) were too. It is thus unlikely none of the Russian pretenders were actually invited, especially since they are pretty closely related.

I have no answer for you but I wonder if the Russian royals are invited by any European royal family

Not very often, but sometimes they are, especially if the event has any relevance with Russia, or is a major royal gathering. For example, Grand Duchess Maria Vladimirovna attended the wedding of Prince Albert and Charlene of Monaco.

 

[Al_bina]

Spletnik -Jubilee luncheon

Spletnik -Prince Charles' official dinner

 

[suztav]

Apparently, the Queen of Swaziland has never heard nor understood this simple maxim of fashion:

Perfection is "simplicity devoid of unnecessary elements".

 

[timtonruben359]

All world monarchs were invited, if they aren't there they chose not to come.



Apparently they [The Queen & Prince Philip] were in attendance, all reports say they were there. They probably arrived away from other guests and didn't get photographed. They'd had enough of that at lunch.

I posted the official list guest list from Buckingham Palace, I think it's a few pages back, and the Queen and Prince Philip were not in attendance at the dinner last night. I believe the remained at Windsor to take part in Saturdays military review.

 

[timtonruben359]

How come none of the Russian Royals were invited even though they have not reigned for years some are related to the Queen.Nice gesture. What does everyone think?

Here's the thing with the British Royals they're a little bit snobbish when it comes to their European relations. Maybe snobbish is a harsh word, but they do slightly distance themselves from their royal relations. That dates back to George V's reign when WWI broke out and the royal family's strong German roots and even links to Russia became a liability. George V had the family name changed to Windsor in an attempt to re-brand the family as non-German and basically cut off the German and later the Russian relations. To this day, the British Royals really only associate themselves with royal families who were either neutral or on the allied side during the wars.

 

[EIIR]

That's part of the issue I have with inviting ex-royals, where and when do you draw the line? Should the Russian, German, French, Portugese 'royals' be invited? Should we expect to see Pavlos and Chantal at a potential future celebration of the silver jubilee of King William V?

 

[Breffney]

That's part of the issue I have with inviting ex-royals, where and when do you draw the line? Should the Russian, German, French, Portugese 'royals' be invited? Should we expect to see Pavlos and Chantal at a potential future celebration of the silver jubilee of King William V?

I was amused by ex-King Constantine of Greece. He certainly isn't backwards at coming forwards. For the official picture there he was, seated in pride of place, in the front row along with Queen Elizabeth when "real" royals were standing in rows behind him.

I know that ex-King Michael of Romania was sitting in the front row too but that gentleman is over 90 years old so I wouldn't begrudge him a seat .

 

[Artemisia]

I was amused by ex-King Constantine of Greece. He certainly isn't backwards at coming forwards. For the official picture there he was, seated in pride of place, in the front row along with Queen Elizabeth when "real" royals were standing in rows behind him.
I know that ex-King Michael of Romania was sitting in the front row too but that gentleman is over 90 years old so I wouldn't begrudge him a seat .

All former Monarchs - King Michael of Romania, King Constantine of Greece and King Simeon of Bulgaria - were seated in the most prominent places of the front row.
The only exception was Crown Prince Alexander II who was in the third row, but then he is just a pretender (unlike the other three, he never actually reigned).
The sitting arrangements were made long before the actual photoshoot; when the Monarchs entered the room, they took their places which were marked by flags of their respective countries; King Constantine thus merely occupied the place the Queen had found fit for him.

 

[Sunnystar]

All former Monarchs - King Michael of Romania, King Constantine of Greece and King Simeon of Bulgaria - were seated in the most prominent places of the front. The only exception was Crown Prince Alexander II who was in the third row, but then he is just a pretender (unlike the other three, he never actually reigned).
The sitting arrangements were made long before the actual photoshoot; when the Monarchs entered the room, they took their places which were marked by flags of their respective countries; King Constantine thus merely occupied the place the Queen had found fit for him.

In addition to that, Constantine was seated next to his sister-in-law, Margarethe of Denmark. His placement makes a lot more sense when you consider that.

 

[NGalitzine]

I think they were pretty much seated according to the dates they accended the throne, regardless of if they still had their throne. Once a king always a king. Both Michael and Simeon would have been on their thrones longer than QEII had WWII and the Soviet occupation not ended ther reigns .

 

[mybags]

yes...they were seated according to the date of the beginning of their respective reigns...longest reigned monarchs up front...

http://www.yuko2ch.net/mako/makok/src/1337386177232.jpg

 

[grevinnan]

How come none of the Russian Royals were invited even though they have not reigned for years some are related to the Queen.Nice gesture. What does everyone think?

You must have seen information as to who was invited. Could you please provide the site reference. I have only come across who chose to attend, not who was invited.

 

[EIIR]

I just wonder how the Greeks, facing the tremendous difficulties that we've all seen, would feel about the fact that the King they got rid of is still being invited to lavish dinners which are specifically for sovereigns. He's not a sovereign anymore. The Greek people face utter destitution while he's being treated to dinner at Windsor Castle, Buckingham Palace etc., as if he were still their King.

I have nothing against him personally, I'm just using him as an example. I just think if I were Greek it would bug me a bit.

 

[Mr. Peter]

Why? The Greeks should worry about what their political elite do not how their former Head of State is treated or not at Windsor Castle. He was a Head of State, he's entitled to be treated according to that - at least at royal courts - and that's how he, the Romanian and Bulgarians Kings were treated yesterday.

The Greeks, now, are worried with real problems not with royal issues.

 

[Breffney]

Thanks to everyone for explaining how the seating arrangements were decided upon. !

 

[EIIR]

But the Greeks, I believe, have always been touchy about Constantine. They refuse to give him a passport while he continues to style himself as King of the Hellenes.

It's like the rest of the royal world is saying, well you silly Greeks did vote to get rid of him, but we're just going to pretend that none of that unsavoury bit happened and treat him the same as all the proper reigning monarchs.

It just looks bad, to me at least.

 

[NGalitzine]

I think the British monarchy pretty much goes with the philosophy of "once a monarch always a monarch". Not so very different than former American presidents still being called President. If the Greeks were to kick up a stink right now about their former kings attendance at Windsor I don't think they would get much sympathy from the British population given the Greeks domestic turmoil..