[Spain] King Juan Carlos I opens Parliament with new government

I am completely in love with her dress and coat!

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Girls equal in British throne succession

Sons and daughters of any future UK monarch will have equal right to the throne, after Commonwealth leaders agreed to change succession laws.

The leaders of the 16 Commonwealth countries where the Queen is head of state unanimously approved the changes at a summit in Perth, Australia.

It means a first-born daughter of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge would take precedence over younger brothers.

The ban on the monarch being married to a Roman Catholic was also lifted.

Under the old succession laws, dating back more than 300 years, the heir to the throne is the first-born son of the monarch. Only when there are no sons, as in the case of the Queen's father George VI, does the crown pass to the eldest daughter.

Announcing the changes had been agreed, Prime Minister David Cameron said they would apply to descendents of the Prince of Wales. They will not be applied retrospectively.

David Cameron: ''The idea a younger son should become monarch instead of an elder daughter simply because he's a man... is at odds with the modern countries we have become''

"Put simply, if the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge were to have a little girl, that girl would one day be our queen," he said.

"The idea that a younger son should become monarch instead of an elder daughter simply because he is a man, or that a future monarch can marry someone of any faith except a Catholic - this way of thinking is at odds with the modern countries that we have become."

Australia's Prime Minister Julia Gillard said it was an extraordinary moment: "I'm very enthusiastic about it. You would expect the first Australian woman prime minister to be very enthusiastic about a change which equals equality for women in a new area."

She said the changes appeared to be straightforward. "But just because they seem straightforward to our modern minds doesn't mean that we should underestimate their historical significance, changing as they will for all time the way in which the monarchy works and changing its history."

But the campaign group Republic - which wants an elected head of state in Britain - said "nothing of substance" had been changed.

"The monarchy discriminates against every man, woman and child who isn't born into the Windsor family. To suggest that this has anything to do with equality is utterly absurd," spokesman Graham Smith said.

On scrapping the ban on future monarchs marrying Roman Catholics, Mr Cameron said: "Let me be clear, the monarch must be in communion with the Church of England because he or she is the head of that Church. But it is simply wrong they should be denied the chance to marry a Catholic if they wish to do so. After all, they are already quite free to marry someone of any other faith."

Scotland's First Minister Alex Salmond welcomed the lifting of the ban but said it was "deeply disappointing" that Roman Catholics were still unable to ascend to the throne.

"It surely would have been possible to find a mechanism which would have protected the status of the Church of England without keeping in place an unjustifiable barrier on the grounds of religion in terms of the monarchy," he said.

"It is a missed opportunity not to ensure equality of all faiths when it comes to the issue of who can be head of state."

In her opening speech to the summit, the Queen did not directly mention the royal succession laws, but said women should have a greater role in society.

"It encourages us to find ways to show girls and women to play their full part," she said.

The BBC's royal correspondent, Nicholas Witchell, said this was a hint that the Queen herself backed the change.

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Queen Elizabeth historic visit to Ireland - Day Two (part one) - Visit to Government Buildings

As part of her visit to Ireland, Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II today visited Government Buildings to meet Taoiseach Enda Kenny. Btw, Taoiseach is the head of government or prime minister of Ireland. Enda Kenny was appointed only two months ago, in March 2011.

Here with Prince Philip and Fionnuala Kenny.

According to wikipedia, at its origins, this building that was to become Government Buildings was the last major public building built under British rule in Ireland. The foundation stone for the building was laid by King Edward VII in 1904. It was built on the site of a row of Georgian houses that were being controversially demolished one by one as the new building was erected. The building itself was designed by Sir Aston Webb, a British architect who was later to redesign the facade of Buckingham Palace. The final completed building was opened by King George V in 1911.

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[The Netherlands] Controversy - beginning and end: Princess Maxima will be Queen

Princess Maxima will become queen when Crown Prince Willem-Alexander ascends the throne. A Lower House majority has rejected a proposal by three leftwing parties to change this tradition.

When a woman is head of state, as with Queen Beatrix, her husband has the title of prince. Conversely, however, the wife of the King does have the right to the title of Queen.

Labour (PvdA), the leftwing Greens (GroenLinks) and the Party for Animals (PvdD) proposed on Friday that the spouse of the king or queen should be respectively a princess or prince. They reasoned that the present situation is discriminatory. But a house majority immediately shot down the plan.

The conservatives (VVD), Christian democrats (CDA) and small Christian parties ChristenUnie and SGP want to maintain the tradition. The Socialist Party (SP) an centre-left D66 consider it an unimportant matter, but support the camp that wants to allow Máxima to be queen. The Party for Freedom (PVV) had not yet responded.

After four queens (Beatrix, Juliana, Wilhelmina, Emma) will have a king again for the first time in decades. The question of when the throne will change hands continues to provide fuel for speculation. When this happens, Beatrix will have the title of princess.

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Spanish survey estimates Prince Felipe of Asturias is ready to succeed to his father King Juan Carlos I

According to a recent survey made by Pulse of the Fundación José Ortega y Gasset and Gregorio Marañón, 69% of those who voted for the Left party in the last general elections also believes that, eventually, Prince Felipe is ready to succeed to King Juan Carlos I. 

The report, conducted through 5,000 surveys from 24 September to 5 November 2010, also reflects the parliamentary monarchy political system remains the most preferred by the Spanish, but his support has declined over the last two years from 72 to 57%, while the Republican option grew from 11 to 35%. 

The positive view of social support that will Rey Don Felipe and future is more widespread among the Spanish under 35 years (78 percent) than among those over 55 (74%) and 83 per Share percent of respondents aged between 35 and 54. The Spanish give an average rating of 6.7, the way the Prince of Asturias functions currently performed as a result of scores ranging from an average of 7.3 of the voters of PP, 6.8 for those who chose by the PSOE in the 2008 elections and 4.9 IU of those who voted. 

Although similar levels, the survey shows a higher proportion of positive responses from the PSOE voters than among the PP to questions about whether social support will be needed to succeed the King (83% versus 79) and if he is properly prepared to assume the status of head of state (as well as create a 89% of Socialist voters and 88 of the PP). As to the form of state, 81% of those who voted in 2008 IU prefer that Spain is a republic, an option that shares 40% of the voters of the PSOE and 15% of the PP. 

King Juan Carlos received from the Spanish average score of 7.3 by the way he has performed his duties as head of state during his 35 year reign, a note that rises to 7.5 in the case of voters PSOE, reached 7.8 between the PP and falls to 5.5 among those who voted to IU. The report also shows that 74% of respondents believe that the Spanish monarchy is firmly established and 56% believe it brings stability and calmness to political life, but 65 says that "it has been useful for the transition to democracy, but as time passes it makes less sense."

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[Liechtenstein] [VIDEO] Interview with Prince Hans-Adam II about The State

This video is a treasure and extremely interesting. We do not have much information (nor gossip) from the Liechtenstein royalty.

Peter Robinson hereby interviews His Serene Higness Prince Hans-Adam II. The journalist from Uncommon Knowledge presents the country firstly with its small size, borders (with Austria and Switzerland) and 35 000 inhabitants.

Prince Hans-Adam II has been reigning since 1989. He delegated some of his powers to his son, Prince Alois in 2004 - including day-to-day management of the principauté.

He wrote the book "The State in the Third Millenium".

He ask the monarch what the state is for, quoting his book "the objective must be to transform all states into peaceful service companies".

Prince Hans-Adam claims monarchies have to serve the people and reminds us of Prince Charles motto "Ich Dien", which means "I serve" in German, with the state serving the people, doing the best and better than anyone else. He also talks about his inspiration in US President John Kennedy, Christian origins, historical heritage and even a comparison with Sarah Palin.

This is a 5-part interview, do not hesitate to click on the other parts to see more of Prince Hans-Adam.

Hans-Adam II (Johannes (Hans) Adam Ferdinand Alois Josef Maria Marko d'Aviano Pius von und zu Liechtenstein was born on February 14th, 1945 and is married to his second cousin, once removed, Marie Aglaë, Countess Kinsky von Wchinitz und Tettau (born April 14th, 1940) who, upon marriage, became Her Serene Highness The Princess of Liechtenstein on 30 July 1967, at Vaduz. They have 4 children and 14 grandchildren.

Queen Rania breaks two-week silence on Twitter

If you are on Twitter and follow Queen Rania, you might have noticed her silence in the past two weeks. These past days have been quite unquiet - to say the least - for her country and neighbors, that are surely living a crucial turning points in their Histories. Many have been asking themselves if the monarchy will survive in Jordan or if a change of government was enough to comply to people's needs.

Today, she tweeted about Egypt, where she studied at the American University of Cairo: 

"Egypt, where I spent my university years. May you be blessed with security & prosperity for all in this new era."

@QueenRania

Prince Charles and Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall in India for Commonwealth Games

Prince Charles and his wife Camilla, the Duchess of Cornwall, called on President Pratibha Patil Saturday, a day before the heir-apparent to the British throne and India's first citizen will declare open the 19th Commonwealth Games here. According to a Rashtrapati Bhawan official, the couple had over an hour-long meeting with the president, during which they also visited the Mughal Gardens. 'They had a chat. After that, they went for a walk in the gardens,' the official said. The Indian delicacies offered to the prince included pineapple halwa, made from a personal recipe of the president. Charles and his wife arrived here Saturday afternoon for a three-day visit.

The Commonwealth Games 2010 begin Sunday with a gala opening ceremony in the Indian capital. This is the first time the Games are being opened by two dignitaries as part of a compromise pact between the hosts and the Commonwealth Games Federation.

from sify.com

[Norway] New session of Parliament begins

The opening of Parliament (Stortinget) is a serious, ceremonial affair, and this year was no exception. King Harald, Queen Sonja and Crown Prince Haakon were there, in full regalia, while the often casually dressed members of Parliament were dressed up in dark suits, elegant dresses or national costumes.

Dag Terje Andersen, the former Labour Party minister who now serves as president of the parliament, made his own address in which he noted that Norway had come through the financial crisis relatively unscathed, but many young Norwegians still face difficulty finding work and the country’s petroleum fortunes are worth less than the value created by the workforce.

The highlight of the ceremonies, however, is the speech prepared by the government but delivered by the monarch. In it, King Harald read of possible new compromises between conservationists and ranchers on the sensitive issue of predators in Norway and new measures to lower the numbers of persons granted asylum in Norway, promote equal pay and address climate issues. An update on proposed management of natural resources in the Barents Sea and around Lofoten is also due.

Opposition politicians, as usual, dismissed the speech from the throne as lacking substance or vision. “This year’s speech was the shortest one I have heard,” complained the head of the Progress Party, Siv Jensen. “The absence of reform and new ideas was clear.”

One line in Andersen’s speech, though, brought traditional agreement from most of the politicians assembled for the festive occasion:

“God save the King and the Fatherland!”

from newsinenglish.no

New Thai army chief takes helm with royal pledge

Thailand's powerful new military chief -- thought to take a hardline view of anti-government "Red Shirts" -- vowed to protect the country's monarchy in a ceremony Thursday to mark his appointment.

General Prayut Chan-O-Cha, who officially starts work on Friday, is the Thai army's 37th commander-in-chief and takes the helm at a crucial juncture for the country following the deadliest political unrest in decades.

"I am ready to govern my subordinates fairly and will strive to develop the army to be prepared to maintain Thailand's sovereignty and protect the monarchy," he told soldiers at army headquarters in Bangkok.

Thailand remains deeply divided after deadly April and May protests, while a recent string of grenade blasts in Bangkok and the brief return of thousands of Red Shirts to the streets have stoked fears of continuing political crisis.

Revered King Bhumibol Adulyadej, seen by some Thais as a demigod, has been a stabilising force for the country but he turns 83 in December and has been hospitalised for a year.

Prayut, 56, is seen as a strong opponent of the Red movement, whose protests descended into clashes between demonstrators and troops that left 91 people dead, mostly civilians.

He is reported to have overseen the deadly military assault on the protesters' fortified encampment in the retail heart of Bangkok in May.

Prayut, who could serve up to four years, said he would carry on the policies of his predecessor, General Anupong Paojinda, whose three-year term saw four prime ministers govern in a period of turmoil in Thailand.

Both men were central to the 2006 coup that ousted tycoon-turned-premier Thaksin Shinawatra, who is hailed by the Reds for his policies for the masses but seen by the establishment as corrupt and a threat to the monarchy.

During the Red crisis, Anupong appeared reluctant to use force to disperse the demonstrators, calling for a political solution in a country that has seen 18 coups or attempted coups since 1932.

Anupong, who appeared at the ceremony to officially hand over power, said that while he had faced "several complicated missions" during his tenure, cooperation from the army had made "all of those missions a success".

from AFP

[Norway] Majority urges royal retirement age

Norwegian monarchs traditionally retain their positions until they die, but a new survey indicates that the royals, including King Harald, should also have an official retirement age.

Fully 55 percent of Norwegians questioned in a poll conducted by analysis bureau YouGov for weekly magazine Se og Hør said that their monarchs should qualify for a pension at a given age.

Four out of five questioned said that King Harald, now age 73, should be allowed to retire when he wants to. Nearly 60 percent said they don’t think his son, 37-year-old Crown Prince Haakon, should be too old when he takes over as king.

Author Tor Bomann-Larsen, who has written a series of books on the history of the modern Norwegian royal family since King Haakon assumed the throne in 1905, told Se og Hør that he doesn’t think King Harald (Haakon’s grandson) will abdicate in favour of his son. King Harald himself has indicated that he doesn’t want to be a “part-time” king.

A similar poll was conducted in Denmark, and a majority of Danes also favoured retirement for their monarchs. Queen Margrethe made it clear she had no intention of retiring herself.

read more news @ newsinenglish.no

Liechtenstein announces 5-year austerity plan

As European countries struggle to rein in public spending in the face of mounting national debt, Liechtenstein's government said Wednesday it too plans budget cuts of $140 million a year.

That's million, not billion.

Still, for a country of just 35,000 people, that amount works out to about $4,000 per inhabitant -- far more than larger countries such as Britain or Germany.

By 2015 the tiny principality hopes to have plugged a budget gap of 15 percent by cutting back on government salaries, health expenditure and pension payments.

The measures will only affect the country's ordinary citizens. Liechtenstein's head of state, Prince Hans Adam II, and his family won't be asked to tighten their belts as they do not receive ANY allowance from the state (as specified in a comment on the comment box).

from businessweek.com