Queen Fabiola of Belgium talks about being unable to bear children

When Queen Fabiola of Belgium, 79, married King Baudouin, in 1960, it was not a secret to anyone that they had high hopes to have many children for future heirs of the throne. After several years, the question was — why weren’t any children’s footsteps being heard in the palace?

Now, for the first time, the Queen herself admits that every time she was expecting, unfortunately each pregnancy would end in a miscarriage. While each pregnancy was extremely difficult and caused the Queen such frustration, she says she tried to keep the same outlook on life: That it ‘is beautiful.’

I lost five children, but I’ve learned to live with it. On the contrary, you learn from the experience. I had problems with each pregnancy, but in the end I kept thinking that life is beautiful.

The hardest thing for the Queen was that each time her pregnancy was announced, hundreds of flowers and cards would arrive to the palace, but in the end, there would be no baby. During this time, while the Queen remained quiet, King Baudouin made a public statement about their losses.

We have asked ourselves why we feel this pain: little by little we have begun to understand that this way, our hearts will be even more free to love all the children, every single one.

King Baudouin passed away in 1993.

from Celebritybabies.people.com

It's a family affair as young royals party in London

After his tour of duty in Afghanistan, it was time for Prince Harry to let his hair down and enjoy a night out in London.With beautiful girlfriend Chelsy Davy still in South Africa, soldier Harry turned to glamorous cousins Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie for company. The trio – joined by Beatrice's boyfriend Dave Clark – spent the night dancing at the glitzy Mahiki nightclub in London's Mayfair. His skin lightly tanned from his recent romantic holiday in Africa with Chelsy, the prince cut a handsome figure on his first excursion onto the London night scene since returning from active service. Also showing off her bronzed skin was 19-year-old Beatrice. Dressed in a black ruffled smock and sporting Christian Louboutin heels, Prince Andrew's eldest daughter looked the picture of health following a two-week trip to Thailand. All eyes, however, were on her younger sister. Sporting a sleek brunette bob, the princess, 18, showed just why she is getting a reputation as the royal trendsetter with her manicured nails painted an eye-catching cornflower blue to match her floaty dress designed by Kate Moss for Topshop.

Source: Hello Magazine

Prince Harry promoted to lieutenant

Prince Harry, fresh from active service in Afghanistan, has been promoted to the rank of lieutenant.

Prince Harry was promoted because he has completed two years in the Army
The Prince, on regimental duties at his barracks in Windsor, was elevated from second lieutenant because he has completed two years in the Army.His salary has risen from £20,173 to £24,247. If he remains in the Army, he can expect to be promoted to captain in three years.
When Prince William joined Sandhurst in January 2006 his younger brother was there to greet him.

Officer Cadet Wales, as the future King became known, had to salute Harry when the younger prince was commissioned as a second lieutenant in April of the same year.
But as Flying Officer Wales he has caught up with his brother.
Senior members of the Royal family will gather at Windsor Castle on Saturday for the christening of the second child of the Earl and Countess of Wessex.
They have named him James Alexander Philip Theo. His title is Viscount Severn. He is eighth in the line of succession, replacing his sister Lady Louise who moves down to ninth.

The ceremony will take place at the private chapel in Windsor.
He will wear a hand-made replica of the christening gown of Queen Victoria's daughter, which was worn at subsequent royal christenings and has now been preserved.
It is the first time the gown, which was commissioned by the Queen, has been worn by a member of the Royal Family.

Source: Telegraph.co.uk

Fergie used to be woken by a prince, but now it's a flashgun from a passing photographer

It was 3am and she'd had a busy night. So it was only natural that the Duchess of York succumbed to the inevitable and nodded off in the back of a Mercedes taxi taking her home.
But she had a rude awakening – when her slumbers were interrupted by a passing photographer.
Sarah Ferguson was caught off guard in the early hours of Thursday as she dozed in the back of the luxury taxi. The flash of the camera woke her and, clearly disoriented, she ordered her driver to speed off.
An onlooker said: "It was a bizarre situation. It was 3am and the Duchess of York was asleep in the back of a taxi stopped at traffic lights on Cromwell Road in Kensington, West London. "When the flash went off she awoke with a look of horror on her face and told the driver to make off as quickly as possible.
"You certainly don't expect to see a member of the Royal Family snoozing in a cab, especially at 3am."
Sarah was not wearing a seat belt as she slept. As the car was in traffic, she was breaking the law.
And the photos have prompted speculation about what she was doing at that time of night.
The former wife of Prince Andrew was wearing a fashionable black leather blazer and lacy fishnet-style tights with a distinctive floral design on the calf.
The Duchess, an ambassador for WeightWatchers, could have been eating in one of the many restaurants in Kensington.
Or she may simply have been tired after a day's house-hunting.
She is said to be looking to buy a £1million apartment for her daughter, Princess Beatrice, who is expected to start a design course next year at Goldsmiths College in London.
The simplest explanation could be that her busy transatlantic lifestyle is taking a heavy toll.
The Duchess regularly commutes between Britain and America, where she runs a successful charity, writes children's books and works as a part-time television presenter on the Larry King show on CNN.
Last week, there was no sign of Geir Frantzen, her close friend and boss of the Findus food empire, who has been spotted in her company in recent weeks.
Last month the tycoon – who at 40 is eight years the Duchess's junior – escorted her around some of his favourite spots in Lofoten, a remote archipelago in northern Norway, where the pair were seen dining on whale burgers.
Friends say their relationship is strictly professional and deny reports she is planning to buy a holiday home in Norway.

Talented Eugenie set to follow sister Beatrice's artistic ambitions

Princess Eugenie looks set to follow in her older sister's footsteps by pursuing a career in the art world.
The 18-year-old daughter of the Duke and Duchess of York is studying at Marlborough College and is considering going to art school instead of university when she completes her A-levels later this year.
"Eugenie spends every spare hour she has in the art room," says a friend.
"She has decided she wants to continue studying art and at the moment she's debating whether to pass up university and go to art college instead."

Perhaps she might join Beatrice at Goldsmiths College where her sister plans to study textiles.
Meanwhile Princess Beatrice has been learning a new skill while on holiday in Thailand.
She acquired her PADI Open Water scuba-diving certificate in Koh Tao.
"Beatrice and a few friends learned the basics and went for a dive, which they loved," according to a source.
Apparently, the traditional celebration for passing the course involves filling a snorkel with a local spirit and downing it in one.

Source : Daily Mail

RO comment: doesn't Eugenie look slimmer and absolutely stunning in this photograph? :)

MoD defends Prince William stag party flight

The Ministry of Defence today defended the actions of Prince William who used a helicopter training exercise to fly himself and his brother to a stag do.
The young royal, who is on an attachment with the RAF, piloted a Chinook to London on Friday, picked up his sibling Prince Harry then travelled to the Isle of Wight for the social event.
The MoD stressed that the sortie was always planned as part of William's training and included all the elements being tested - flying in busy air traffic, crossing water and landing in an enclosed helicopter pad.

Hours before the flight the Prince, 25, received his RAF wings from his father the Prince of Wales at a ceremony at RAF Cranwell in Lincolnshire attended by William's girlfriend Kate Middleton.
An MoD spokesman said: "The Prince's training was designed to give him an insight into the many roles of the Royal Air Force.
"Having spent a week under instruction with a Chinook helicopter squadron Prince William flew a legitimate training sortie which tested his new skills to the limit.
"Flying at low level Prince William piloted the heavy support RAF Chinook helicopter through the busy London flying lanes to a helicopter landing site in Central London before departing the lanes to the South West, making a water crossing and an approach to a civilian airfield routinely used by Chinook squadrons."
William's instructor, who was not named by the MoD, said: "Prince William showed natural piloting skills and an ability to pick things up quickly.
"His final flight tested his burgeoning flying skills to the full and he performed very well indeed."
The Princes - both officers in the Household Cavalry regiment - flew to the Isle of Wight to join Princess Royal's son Peter Phillips who is getting married next month.
They were pictured in the Sun newspaper looking relaxed with their cousin who was made to hold a doll during the stag weekend.
William is coming to the end of a four-month attachment with the RAF and in the coming weeks will visit some of the service's frontline units.
In May, he will undertake a number of official engagements followed by some leave before beginning an attachment with the Royal Navy at the beginning of June.
The secondments are part of a "familiarisation" exercise to help the Prince understand all the services, as he will one day head the armed forces.

Source: The Herald

Diana inquiry costs exceed £12m

The cost of the investigation into the death of Princess Diana has topped £12.5m, new figures show.
The coroner's inquest reached £4.5m, with a further £8m spent on the Metropolitan Police investigation.
The inquest into the deaths of Diana and Dodi Al Fayed, who died in a 1997 Paris car crash, lasted more than three months and heard from 250 witnesses.
The jury returned verdicts of unlawful killing. A BBC poll found 78% of people thought the inquest a waste of money.
Flights to LA
The jury found that Diana and Mr Al Fayed were the victims of "gross negligence" by driver Henri Paul and the paparazzi.
Figures collected by the inquest's press office showed the bill for the investigation included £1.85m for lawyers' fees, running costs of £768,000 with video conferencing and special visits totalled £703,000.
The £8m bill incurred by the Metropolitan Police included legal representation for the force's commissioner at the inquest and police protection for the jury.
Also included in the £8m was the cost of the Operation Paget investigation from 2004 to 2006, which was estimated to have racked up expenses of about £3.6m.
In one set of expenses, public money was used for an official to be flown to Los Angeles to collect a tape of a telephone conversation involving Dodi and his ex-girlfriend, Kelly Fisher.
The final figure will rise higher than £12.5m as the hearing's last few days have not yet been included in the total and neither have legal bills for the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and MI6.
Last week's survey for BBC Two's Newsnight found only 19% of those questioned thought the truth was worth the money it cost to uncover it.