December/January 2005 Newsletter: A Royal Christmas

[GrandDuchess]

Magnificent Red & Green Jewels (by Reynard)

Since Red and Green are the traditional colors of the glittering Christmas holiday, let's look at some of the most beautiful green and Red royal tiaras. I'm sure if we could see these in person, they'd light up a room like the stars on top of a Christmas Tree!



Another Iraninan tiara

Danish Ruby Tiara

Danish Ruby Necklace

Catherine the Great's recently auctioned emerald necklace

The Norwegian Emerald Tiara

Queen ElizabethII's Godman Necklace

QEII's Vladimir tiara with emeralds

Rosenburg tiara

Marie-Louise's ruby necklace

Sweden's ruby tiara

Thumbnails below:
1. Ruby tiara from the Iranian collection
2. Angouleme emerald tiara
3. Angouleme ruby tiara
4. Bavarian ruby parure
5. The Coburg Rubies
6. Tiara with large Emeralds from the Iraninan collection
7. Queen Victoria's Emerald tiara designed by prince Albert
8. Empress Marie-Louise's tiara, colorized to show the original Emeralds
9. The countess of Rosse's Emerald tiara (mother-in-law of the Princess Margaret)
10. Queen Victoria's Indian Tiara. The original opals were replaced by Queen Alexandra

[GrandDuchess]

The Royal Year in Review


2005 was another banner year for the royals, with royal births dominating the calendar year.

Deaths

This year, the royal community lost some of it's most beloved king and queens, princes and princess. In memory of our cherished royals, we remember.

Princess Marie Therese of Prussia
May 2, 1911-January 3, 2005

Grand Duchess Joséphine-Charlotte of Luxembourg, Princess Joséphine-Charlotte of Belgium
October 11, 1927-January 10, 2005

Princess Fazia of Egypt
April 7, 1940-January 27, 2005

Queen Nariman of Egypt
October 31, 1934-February 16, 2005

Prince Rainier III of Monaco
May 31, 1923-April 6, 2005

Princess Chantal of Bourbon-Two Sicilies, Duchess of Castro, Countess Chantal de Chevron-Villette
January 10, 1925-May 24, 2005

Queen Modjadji VI of the Balobedu
1978-June 12, 2005

Dom João de Orléans e Bragança
October 15, 1916-June 26, 2005

Prince Yi Ku, Head of the Imperial House of Korea
December 29, 1931-July 16, 2005

King Fahd of Saudi Arabia
1921 or 1923-August 1, 2005

Doña Esperanza de Orléans e Braganza, Princess Maria de la Esperanza of Bourbon-Two Sicilies
June 14, 1914-August 8, 2005

Antoine, 14th Prince de Ligne
March 8, 1925-August 21, 2005

Dowager Fürstin Margareta zu Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg, Countess Marguerite Fouché d'Ortrante
March 28, 1909-August 25, 2005

Princess Kira of Yugoslavia, Princess Kira of Leiningen
July 18, 1930-September 24, 2005

Births

The Dutch royal family welcomed three new lovely girls into their family: Countess Emma “Luana” Ninette Sophie was born to Prince Johan Friso and Princess Mabel on Marc 26 in London; Felicia Juliana Bénedicte Barbara van Lippe-Biesterfeld born on May 31 made baby number three for Prince Maurits and Princess Marilène; while the arrival of Princess Alexia Juliana Marcela Laurentien on June 26 made it two girls for Crown Prince Willem-Alexandre and Crown Princess Maxima.

In Spain, the storks brought more royal girl power. After three sons, Infanta Cristina and her husband Iñaki Urdangarin welcomed daughter Irene Urdangarin y Borbón on June 5. Prince Felipe and Princess Letizia welcomed their first child, Infanta Leonor in the early hours of October 31.

While the royal houses of Denmark, Belgium, and Greece welcomed little bundles of joy swathed in blue. In Denmark, Crown Prince Frederik and Crown Princess Mary welcomed “Le Petit Prince” on October 15; Crown Prince Phillippe and Crown Princess Mathilde welcomed baby number three with the arrival of Prince Emmanuel Léopold Guillaume François Marie on October 4); and Princess Alexia of Greece and her husband Carlos Morales welcomed a son, Carlos Morales on July 30.

In Jordan it was a boy and a girl. King Abdullah and Queen Rania added to their growing brood with their fourth child, Prince Hashim on January 30, the same day as his father, while Prince Ali and Princess Rym welcomed a daughter, Jalilah on September 16.

In Norway, King Harald and Queen Sonja welcomed their third granddaughter, Leah Isadora Behn on April 8, the second daughter to their daughter Princess Martha Louise and her husband Ari Behn. At year's end, the King and Queen welcomed their fourth grandchild and first grandson withthe arrival of Prince Sverre Magnus on December 3.

[GrandDuchess]

The Royal Year in Review


Engagements & weddings

The royal wedding of the year took place in Great Britain with the civil wedding and religious blessing of Prince Charles to his longtime love, Camilla Parker-Bowles on April 9, making the Prince of Wales’s one time mistress the second highest ranking royal woman in the country, after the Queen. Also in Britain, Hugh van Cutsem married Rose Astor on June 4.

Princess Margriet of the Netherlands’s family expanded by two with the marriages of her two youngest sons. Prince Pieter Christiaan married Anita van Eijk on August 25 and 27, while his younger brother, Prince Floris and Aimée Söhngen tied the knot two months later on October 20 and 22.

In Japan, Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko’s only daughter Princess Sayako married Yoshiki Kuroda, a civil servant, on November 15.

In Jordan, Princess Badiya married Khalid Blair on June 24.

Prince Albert of Monaco

Of special note, this was an emotional year for Monaco's Prince Albert.

At the beginning of April he lost his father, Prince Rainier III, succeeding his father to the throne.

He also admitted to fathering a son, Alexandre Coste.

In two ceremonies, Albert became the official head of state of Monaco: July 12, with his sisters Caroline and Stephanie at his side and on November 10 for Monaco's National Day, with foreign royal guests in attendance including Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden and the Earl and Countess of Wessex.

[GrandDuchess]

The Babies of 2005 - as a wallpaper for your desktop :) (by Norwegianne)



The TRF Christmas Quiz 2005 (by GrandDuchess)

As a bit of a fun, we hereby present a quiz for this special newsletter. All the answers to the questions can be found in the December/January Newsletter, so why don't you try yourself and your memory and give it a go! The member with the highest score will get an honorary mentioning in the next newsletter, plus the honour of being "crowned" as the "Master of the TRF Christmas Quiz 2005".

Go here to take the quiz!

[GrandDuchess]

And from all of us at The Royal Forums, in our native languages -
happy holidays and best wishes for a prosperous 2006...

* Joyeux Noël (Merry Christmas) from Alexandria.

* En god jul och ett gott nytt år önskar jag er alla! Jag önskar att vi får uppleva ännu ett år fyllt av majestätiska och förväntansfyllda händelser 2006 (I wish you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. I wish for us to experience another year of majestic and anticipation-filled events 2006) from GrandDuchess.

* Aos membros do The Royal Forums, um Natal muito feliz e um ano-novo cheio de realizações (to the members of The Royal Forums, a very merry Christmas and a new year full of realizations) from AnnaR.

* God jul og godt nytt år alle sammen. Måtte 2006 bringe mange flere kongelige høydepunkter som vi kan dele med hverandre (Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you all. May 2006 bring many more royal happy times that we can share with each other) from Norwegianne.

* Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, Happy Solstice, Happy Kwanzaa, and a Happy New Year! from Elspeth