12 November 2010

Things I Missed

Thanks to everyone for continuing to support The Princess Palace blog with your visits and links! After neglecting my blog for a few months (having taken on a couple of extra jobs to pay the mortgage!), I have returned to keep you updated on the world of princesses. Here are a few things that happened during my period of blog silence.

QEII went social
The Facebook page of Britain's Queen Elizabeth is shown on a computer screen in London November 8, 2010. Queen Elizabeth has joined Facebook, adding a presence on the world's most popular social network to the royal family's accounts on Twitter, photo-sharing site Flickr and YouTube.  REUTERS/Dylan Martinez  (BRITAIN - Tags: ROYALS SOCIETY)
Having joined Twitter some time ago, the British Monarchy finally launched a Facebook page earlier this month. I'm a "fan" and I definitely like this interaction better than the Twitter feed. (It's the pictures!)

Queen Sofia played with pandas
Spanish Queen Sofia holds one of a pair of recently born twin pandas at the Madrid Zoo & Aquarium November 5, 2010. The twin pandas were born on September 7, conceived through artificial insemination in a joint effort by Spain's National Research council and scientists from China. The cubs are the first of their species to be born in Spain since 1982, and only the third litter to be born in Europe, according to Chinese veterinarian Yuan Bo, who travelled from Beijing to assist with the birth and the first months of the newborns. REUTERS/Susana Vera (SPAIN - Tags: ROYALS SOCIETY ANIMALS)
In a moment designed to make my little sister cry with jealousy, Queen Sofia got to feed and handle two baby pandas. My sister never wanted to be a real princess more than when she found out royal ladies get to play with pandas instead of visiting them religiously from a reasonable distance at Zoo Atlanta (where, by the way, we had a brand new panda cub born this month.)

A Sheikha shook up fashion watchers
Britain's Queen Elizabeth (R) poses with Sheikha Mozah bint Nasser Al Missned, the wife of Qatar's Emir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al Thani, before a banquet held during their state visit at Windsor Castle near London October 26, 2010. REUTERS/Kieran Doherty  (BRITAIN - Tags: ROYALS)
Sheikha Mozah bint Nasser Al Missned, wife #2 of the three wives of the Emir of Qatar, showed Western style moguls that the modesty required in traditional Muslim societies, doesn't have to be humdrum. During official visits with her husband to France and England, she drew a lot of press attention, including favorable comparisons to Jackie Kennedy. Of course, drawing attention to oneself may not fit some people's definition of modesty.

Not like mother-in-law
DOHA, QATAR - OCTOBER 31: H.E. Sheikha Al Mayassah Bint Hamad Bin Khalifa Al Thani presents Kim Clijsters of Belgium the Billy Jean King trophy after her win over Caroline Wozniacki of Denmark in the singles final on day six of the WTA Championships at the Khalifa Tennis Complex on October 31, 2010 in Doha, Qatar. (Photo by Matthew Stockman/Getty Images)
Sheikha Mozah's daughter-in-law, Sheikha Al Mayassah Bint Hamad Bin Khalifa Al Thani, apparently does not aspire to the same Western-influenced sartorial style as her mother-in-law.

We ARE amused
BRAEMAR, SCOTLAND - SEPTEMBER 04: Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Charles, Prince of Wales laugh as they watch the tug-of-war during the Braemar Highland Games at The Princess Royal and Duke of Fife Memorial Park on September 4, 2010 in Braemar, Scotland. The Braemar Gathering is the most famous of the Highland Games and is known worldwide. Each year thousands of visitors descend on this small Scottish village on the first Saturday in September to watch one of the more colourful Scottish traditions. The Gathering has a long history and in its modern form it stretches back nearly 200 years. (Photo by Chris Jackson/Getty Images)
The queen is often represented as lacking a sense of humor, but she clearly was amused by something at the annual Highland games at Braemar in Scotland. She also obviously enjoyed sharing the moment with her oldest son, Prince Charles.

A new princess arrived
SPETSES, GREECE - AUGUST 25: Prince Nikolaos of Greece and Princess Nikolaos of Greece and Denmark (Tatiana Blatnik) leave in a horse drawn carriage after getting married at the Cathedral of Ayios Nikolaos (St. Nicholas) on August 25, 2010 in Spetses, Greece. Representatives from Europe s royal families will join the many guests who have travelled to the island to attend the wedding of Prince Nikolaos of Greece, the second son of King Constantine of Greece and Queen Anne-Marie of Greece and Tatiana Blatnik an events planner for Diane Von Furstenburg in London. (Photo by Chris Jackson/Getty Images)
Prince Nikolaos of Greece finally ended his long bachelorhood by marrying the gorgeous Tatiana Blatnik on a gorgeous Greek island surrounded by other gorgeous royals on Aug. 25. If only my life were half as gorgeous...

Back to school
MADRID, SPAIN - SEPTEMBER 15: Princess Leonor (L) and Princess Sofia (R) arrive at 'Santa Maria de los Rosales' School on September 15, 2010 in Aravaca near of Madrid, Spain. (Photo by Carlos Alvarez/Getty Images)
Little princesses, like Infanta Leonor and Infanta Sofia, went back to school like millions of other youngsters.

Princess with a pen
ANTWERPEN, BELGIUM - NOVEMBER 06: Princess Martha Louisa of Norway signs her book 'discover your Gardian Angel' at the Antwerp Book Fair (Boekenbeurs) at on November 6, 2010 in Antwerpen, Belgium. (Photo by Mark Renders/Getty Images)
Princess Martha Louise of Norway, who is looking more and more like her mother, wrote a book about guardian angels.

Remembering 9/11
NEW YORK - OCTOBER 29: Crown Princess Mette-Marit and Crown Prince Haakon of Norway visit Ground Zero on October 29, 2010 in New York City. (Photo by Henry S. Dziekan III/Getty Images)
Crown Princess Mette-Marit and Crown Prince Haakon of Norway visited Ground Zero during a trip to New York City.

Not pregnant
OVIEDO, SPAIN - OCTOBER 22: Princess Letizia of Spain attends 'Prince of Saturias awards 2010 Laureates' audience at the Reconquista Hotel on October 22, 2010 in Oviedo, Spain. (Photo by Carlos Alvarez/Getty Images)
Despite my insightful analogies between the lives of Crown Princess Mary of Denmark and Crown Princess Letizia of Spain, Letizia has not announced a pregnancy to coincide with the impending arrival of Mary's twins in January. The two princesses each had their first two children within a month of the other's. (Read my faulty prediction.)

No engagement
Photo by: MC/AAD/starmaxinc.com  2010  10/23/10 Prince William and Kate Middleton attend a wedding at the St. Peter and St. Paul church in Northleach. (Gloucestershire, England)  Photo via Newscom
Kate Middleton went to a wedding with Prince William, but alas it wasn't her own. I'm with other royal watchers, however, in predicting a 2011 wedding, but I think it will be a lower-key affair than Charles and Diana's extravaganza in 1981. I certainly don't think it will be at St. Paul's. Look for Westminster Abbey or St. George's Chapel.

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