Royal Passions

[mahawi]

i read once that queen rania loves to cook too.

 

[Ipi Tombe]

she might love to cook-but she doesn't look like much of an eater.

 

[sommone]

short guys.....not my style.....

2 is a respectable handicap. it seems that is what seperates the truly dedicated (and borderline professional) from the weekend warrior. good on him!!

Really..don't bite my head off, but don't you like Mo? Isn't he short? LOL

 

[Ipi Tombe]

short=shorter than me. mo is same height as me or slightly taller (i'm 5'8"). also mo doesn't 'look' short standing around -has something to do with the dishdasha. whereas those hashemite guys all look shrimpy no matter what they are doing.

no probs, sommone. you have ali as an avatar and you know that boy is as short as the weekend after payday.

Really..don't bite my head off, but don't you like Mo? Isn't he short? LOL

 

[sommone]

short=shorter than me. mo is same height as me or slightly taller (i'm 5'8"). also mo doesn't 'look' short standing around -has something to do with the dishdasha. whereas those hashemite guys all look shrimpy no matter what they are doing.

no probs, sommone. you have ali as an avatar and you know that boy is as short as the weekend after payday.

LOL...I usually don't like anyone that I have to look eye to eye at...in fact, any man under 6' is considered short to me. Ali is the exception to the rule for me, Ipi. I don't exactly know how tall he is, but if he stands over 5'5, which is what I am, he's good to go...but I suppose as long as Rym's happy, far be it for me complain.

 

[maryshawn]

I cannot remember what Q. Noor wrote on the subject, but although she did try to be up earlyish, the late king was well known for his nocturnal habits. A typical day would have him getting up at about 11 -12, having a meal, going to work at about 2, and working through the afternoon and evening, eating again sometime through the day. Dinner would be very late, about eleven or so at night. It is true that he was a keen Ham radio operator. The evenings would either involve going to the private cinema or when videos came in, watching videos, late into the night. He rarely slept before 3 am. It made it very difficult for people who worked around him, as official Jordanian working hours were 8 am - 2pm so he would want to start work when most people were ending their working day.

Now that's something I didn't know....fascinating. QN also wrote she lost a ton of weight during their courtship as he wolfed down his food and was done before she'd even finished the soup course.......

 

[sommone]

Now that's something I didn't know....fascinating. QN also wrote she lost a ton of weight during their courtship as he wolfed down his food and was done before she'd even finished the soup course.......

Hi Mary Shawn, haven't spoken with you in awhile...I suppose KH would have had a lot heartburn and indigestion.

 

[shelley]

Now that's something I didn't know....fascinating. QN also wrote she lost a ton of weight during their courtship as he wolfed down his food and was done before she'd even finished the soup course.......

I have heard this, and it made a problem at official dinners when he would finish before everyone else and they would start clearing the plates rather than make him wait around too long for everyone else. Not hugely polite of him not to notice...but perhaps if someone has been king since they were eighteen they kind of get used to everything revolving round them. But apparantly the king and Noor were like Jack Sprat and his wife, as she was a particularly slow eater !

 

[ILoveCristina]

what do they do?

I have always wondered what royals do all day long? I mean, there isn't that much official thing to do is there?

 

[Alexandria]

Is there a specific royal you had in mind? And do you mean the Spanish royals in particular or royals in general?

In regards to the Spanish royals, the King and Queen, Felipe and Letizia have very rigorous schedules so I think their down time is limited. All their duties aren't necessarily about showing up, shaking hands, cutting some ribbons and making small talk before leaving. There is research to be done or read on particular organizations or individuals, the King likely meets up with the government regularly to be kept informed and up to date on government decisions or actions even if he does not get a say in things, the Queen and Felipe each have organizations in their name and likely spend some time being filled in and making decisions about the organization.

Cristina and Inaki each have jobs as well as three young sons to take care of and to chauffeur back and forth to school.

Elena and Jaime also each have jobs and two young children to take care of. Elena is also an avid equestrian and participates in competitions often so she also has training.

 

[ILoveCristina]

Thanks!! Yes, I meant royals in general.

 

[Dennism]

Work on creating another generation of royals!

No seriously. They do what other hard-working people do in their downtime.

 

[Mette2]

"Work on creating another generation of royals"

I hope you don't mean all royals Dennism. It would be a bit scary if the older generation of royals were expecting (that's of course if I understood your joke correctly)

But yes, I can only imagine that the royals work hard with all the things they have to keep up to date with and the preparation for visits within their own country and visits to other countries.

 

[Dennism]

Okay. Maybe not the older royals but they have their fun nonetheless, hopefully.

 

[maryshawn]

The poor butler was often caught in a battle between QN and KH. Hussein apparently liked his Arabic tea; QN did not think it was good for him (is it rich or what is in it?). Anyway, they'd go back and forth. Bring it. Don't bring it.......But the butler said "In the end, you don't say 'no' to a King; he got his Arabic tea." Smart butler.

 

[maryshawn]

Good to hear from you too!

Hi Mary Shawn, haven't spoken with you in awhile...I suppose KH would have had a lot heartburn and indigestion.

Let's start a new thread....all the things that would give KH indigestion:
- ex wives
- siblings
- children
- Presidents, prime ministers, other rulers
- current wife
- succession
- assasination attempts, including poisoned eye drops

Am I missing anything?

 

[shelley]

Smart butler.

But I bet he didn't last long. That household did not have a the reputation of keeping their staff very long, once Q. Noor came on the scene;two years was the max.There were a couple of diehards but most of the king's long term staff were removed. Maybe that is why he prefered to spend so much time up the road at P. Hassan's house where he saw familiar faces ( previous to Q. Noor his household staff were mostly Sudanese or Nubian and all basically related to the staff of the other households - and jobs tended to be handed down from father to son to grandson ) and could eat the the sort of food he liked.

 

[bad_barbarella]

i thought they just lie around and get pampered... i didnt realise they actually do so much

 

[hillary_nugent]

Count their calories?

 

[bad_barbarella]

some dont look like they do.... but mary is so thin now... i heard she like lost 6 kgs since she has been dating fredrick in 2000

 

[DKgirls]

some dont look like they do.... but mary is so thin now... i heard she like lost 6 kgs since she has been dating fredrick in 2000

Well, she seem to have it under control now And others are thinner, so she's not alone!!!!

We think that the Danish Royalties do have some spare time, there's some pretty dead times!
And we do know that when Mary is off, she tries to ride her horse as much as she can and just do "normal" stuff!!!

 

[bad_barbarella]

oh how cute... i never knew she could ride a horse

 

[hillary_nugent]

wish they weren't royals? hahahaha

 

[ILoveCristina]

Is there a specific royal you had in mind? And do you mean the Spanish royals in particular or royals in general?

In regards to the Spanish royals, the King and Queen, Felipe and Letizia have very rigorous schedules so I think their down time is limited. All their duties aren't necessarily about showing up, shaking hands, cutting some ribbons and making small talk before leaving. There is research to be done or read on particular organizations or individuals, the King likely meets up with the government regularly to be kept informed and up to date on government decisions or actions even if he does not get a say in things, the Queen and Felipe each have organizations in their name and likely spend some time being filled in and making decisions about the organization.

Cristina and Inaki each have jobs as well as three young sons to take care of and to chauffeur back and forth to school.

Elena and Jaime also each have jobs and two young children to take care of. Elena is also an avid equestrian and participates in competitions often so she also has training.

OK, you mean they have to read about the associations, etc, that they visit? I don't understand why! Do they have to prepare their speeches themselves or does somebody do it for them? Then I see why they don't have much free time!!
Who decides what associations they visit?

 

[hillary_nugent]

turn on the TV and have some beer? hahaha

 

[Alexandria]

OK, you mean they have to read about the associations, etc, that they visit? I don't understand why! Do they have to prepare their speeches themselves or does somebody do it for them? Then I see why they don't have much free time!!
Who decides what associations they visit?

While royals have a very glamorous job, their job is like many of the jobs us "normal" people have and have entailed responsibilities. They may not read every document that comes their way about an organization when they visit it but they are certainly aware of the most important information, such as who the board of directors are, what recent projects have been carried out by the organization, what kind of support they provide, etc. It's not just a matter of showing up and shaking some hands and smiling. Undoubtedly that happens sometimes but certainly not all the time.

Recently the King and Queen and CP of Sweden visited Iceland. I doubt that they would've gone completely uninformed about the country and recent important events so that they could carry on some level of diplomatic conversation as they met the President, other government officials and other important individuals from Iceland.

I'm sure the royals have speechwriters to prepare the text of what they are going to say, but they likely also practice it once or twice -- nobody makes a speech cold, it would be terribly embarassing to do so (remember Haakon's geographical snafu last year?). But the really involved royals will likely make some contribution to their speeches, whether its injecting a personal anecdote or some personal feelings about the group of people they are speaking to.

 

[Australian]

Some royals have their own careers as well though. Countess Sophie does, well she did until recently. I understand Princess Stephanie of Monaco is a singer/designer. Some of them still have careers. I for one, believe that people marrying into any royal family should not have to quit their jobs. It is a very old fashioned concept. As it was said before, theres not always an official duty to perform every second of the day.

 

[Lena]

I agree with Alexandria...the biggest part of Royal work is the work in their offices...reading and answering letters, refusing or accepting invitations, reading introductions for their visits, reading little biographies about the people, they will meet, planning visits and so on.
Without that, being a Royal with an official function would be an easy job...when you look at the schedules of the Royal houses then you will see, that an average Royal has only about 10 duties a month...10 days working and 20 days off, plus the great payment would be a dream for many people here, but it´s more work than it seems. Anyway...I don´t pity them...every Royal has a certain scope...they can decide, if they just want to do the basics, or if they want to do charity as well, they can decide, if they want to educate themselves and can attend seminars, they can decide if they want to write their speeches or let them write...they have a lot of freedoms, which most working people don´t have. In times when they want to do more sports, more private travelling or just want to be with their children they can do less official duties.

BTW. I agree with hillary_nugent...probably a lot of Royals spend their freetime in front of the TV like "their" people

 

[Australian]

What do you guys think about Princess Stephanie of Monaco having a singing career?

 

[Lena]

Some royals have their own careers as well though. Countess Sophie does, well she did until recently. I understand Princess Stephanie of Monaco is a singer/designer. Some of them still have careers. I for one, believe that people marrying into any royal family should not have to quit their jobs. It is a very old fashioned concept. As it was said before, theres not always an official duty to perform every second of the day.

I partly agree with you...IMO people, who just marry the second, third... one in line to the throne should go on with their work. And if I would be a reigning sovereign I would "force" my children to start an own education/career. I even would refuse to give them money for 1 or 2 years, so that they get to know the life, which an average person in their country lives.
But I´m not sure if it makes sense, when a newly-wed crown princess goes on with her old job (Letizia back to the TV station ?) there´s a lot to learn, and a lot do (my post before), which doesn´t let space for the "old" career.
I further think that it´s a problem, when Royals start a career as "service provider" and/or as enterpriser. I especially think now of prince Edward and his TV-production-business. Edward is still part of the british Royal house...he´s working for them, but he had also this business and has implicated his family too...there´s IMO the independent role of a Royal house in real danger.