Royal Wedding for 2013 is all set

One of the most beautiful princesses in the world will be out in the market this June.

Her Royal Highness, Princess Madelaine of Sweden, one of my personal favourites before to marry Prince William now the Duke of Cambridge, will finally walk-down-the-aisle with her American financier boyfriend, Christopher O'Neil on June 8, 2013 at the Royal Palace Chapel in Stockholm.

The ceremony might not a grand royal affair in Europe but will surely attract royal watchers around the world.

The princess, 4th in line of succession to the Swedish throne, revealed some of the details of her wedding: an afternoon ceremony, a lavish palace reception and guests no more than 350 persons. So far the royal guests who are confirmed to be attending are the Earl and Countess of Wessex, who had been attending royal weddings in Europe for the past years to represent the Queen.

Princess Madelaine currently holds the title Duchess of Halsingland and Gastrikland but it is not known whether her future husband will be given a royal title and whether their future children will earn their places in the line of succession to the Swedish throne.

Abdication and Accession in the Netherlands

Finally! After more than a century, The Netherlands has a King!

Today, April 29, 2013, as the sun goes down, the reign of Queen Beatrix will also come to an end. She has been on the Dutch throne for 33 years since 1980, she abdicated in favor of her son, Wilhelm-Alexander, the Prince of Orange.

One of the Netherlands' most popular tourist attractions is the country's canal in the capital city

where the new King and Queen believe to be travelling following the inauguration ceremony

Joy, happiness and great anticipation for the future will be celebrated all through out Netherlands and royals around the world confirmed their attendance to attend the historic event, first at the state dinner marking the  end of the reign of the Queen, second at the inauguration ceremony of the new King.

Queen Beatrix will finally step down on April 30, 2013 and from then on, she will be known as Her Royal Highness, Princess Beatrix, Princess of Orange-Nassau, the original title she assumed upon the ascension of her mother, Queen Juliana, to the throne. Princess of Orange-Nassau is a title reserved for the future Danish Queen. It can never be used by a wife of the Prince of Orange, thus, Maxima, the wife of Prince Wilhelm-Alexander is only titled Princess of the Netherlands.

The young royal family, a day before the abdication and accession

Prince Wilhelm-Alexander and wife Princess Maxima with three daughters

Princess Amalia, Princess Alexia and Princess Arianne

Upon his accession to the throne, Wilhelm-Alexander becomes the youngest crown head in all Europe and his wife, Maxima, the youngest Queen Consort. They have three daughters, Princess Amalia, the Hereditary Princess of Orange, Princess Alexia and Princess Arianne.

Members of the royal family are expected to be in full attendance for the historic event except for Prince Friso, the second son of the Queen, who is still in deep coma at a London clinic. He was struck by avalanche while skiing last year, February 2012. If one day, Prince Friso will still be given a second life, he will awake to find out his mother is no longer the Queen and his brother, the new Dutch King.

Royals arrived for the last state dinner in honor of Queen Beatrix:

They arrived together at the state dinner. Queen Beatrix,

Princess Maxima and Prince Wilhelm-Alexander

Princess Mabel, the wife of Prince Friso (second son of Queen Beatrix who is still in deep coma

at a London clinic), Prince Constanjin, the Queen's youngest son, and wife Princess Laurentien

THE SECOND GENERATION ROYALS 

Prince Charles and the Duchess of Cornwall attending her very first major royal engagement outside Britain. The accession of the Prince of Orange to the throne might be the pondering moment of the Prince of Wales, who, at 64, is the oldest King-in-waiting in present-day Europe. But the Prince might still wait few more years before he could take the British crown because his mother, Queen Elizabeth II, at 87, is still very active and shows no sign of slowing down.

Princess Sofia and Prince Alois of Liechtenstein

Princess Letezia and Prince Felipe of Spain

Princess Mary and Prince Frederick of Denmark

Princess Mette Mariet and Prince Haakon of Norway 

The youngest among the second generation royals

Princess Stephanie and Prince Guillaume of Luxembourg

Princess Mathilde and Prince Philippe of Belgium

Prince Daniel and Princess Victoria of Sweden alongside Naruhito, the Crown Prince of Japan

who came with his wife, Princess Masako

European Royals Attended Pope's Inauguration

Roman Catholic European Royals attended the inauguration of the 266th Vicar of Christ, His Holiness, Pope Francis, last March 19, 2013 at the Vatican. Among those who attended were Their Majesties, King Albert II of Belgium and wife Queen Paola, Their Royal Highnesses, Grand Duke Henri and Grand Duchess Maria Teresa and their son, Prince Felix, Their Serene Highnesses, Prince Albert and Princess Charlene of Monaco, Their Royal Highnesses, Prince Felipe and Princess Letezia of Spain, Their Royal Highnesses Princess Sophie and Princess Margaretha of Liectenstein, the future King and Queen of the Netherlands, Prince Wilhelm-Alexander and Princess Maxima, an Argentinian who remained a Roman Catholic despite being married to a protestant heir to the Dutch throne, they came together with Dutch Prime Minister, Mark Rutte.

Women in black. Princesses Maxima and Letezia attended the papal inauguration

with their spouces, Prince Wilhelm-Alexander and Prince Felipe

Prince Albert and Princess Charlene of Monaco

The inauguration also drew several dignitaries including heads of states and other VIPs. The united states was represented by Vice President, Joe Biden, a Roman Catholic, the Republic of the Philippines, a predominantly Catholic country in Asia, Queen Elizabeth II of Britain was represented by his cousin, Prince Richard, the Duke of Gloucester and his wife, the Duchess of Gloucester.

Vatican protocol dictates that anyone who will be attending a papal audience should wear black so the Princesses, Maxima, Letezia, Charlene, Sophie and Margaretha wore striking black outfit with black lace mantilla covering their heads, except for the Duchess of Gloucester who stick with a traditional British royal custom of wearing a pill box instead of a mantilla. Wearing a mantilla (made of a lace fabric in any color) is a Roman Catholic tradition normally wore by women when attending a Holy Mass.

Over 200,000 pilgrims attended the inauguration ceremony at the St. Peter's square which marked the official start of the pontificate of the first Latin American Pope.

Pope Francis, whose name was taken from the 13th century Catholic saint, Francis of Assisi, stunned the public with his humble lifestyle exemplifying  gesture of humility and modesty. He sets the tone for a humbler papacy discarding the elegance and formality normally associated with the reigning Pope.

King Albert II and Queen Paola of Belgium

Grand Duke Henri and Grand Duchess Maria Teresa of Luxembourg

Their Royal Highnesses, Prince Richard, the Duke of Gloucester and the Duchess of Gloucester

The Pope chose the name Francis to signify his intention for a poor church and a ministry serving the disadvantaged. Simplicity and humility are the noble characters that the Pope wants to highlight his leadership and the church's mission. He wanted to be close to the masses and urged the public to respond to the true Christian mission to take care of the poor, the disadvantaged,  the weakest, the least important and the environment.

The people's Pope. His Holiness, Pope Francis, the 266th Vicar of Christ

And like St. Francis who shunned family fortune to serve the church, Pope Francis turned down material things associated with grandeur, at his inauguration, he chose a papal ring made of silver instead of gold and chose to wear a simple white cassock without a red cape.

Prince Philip Steps in for the Queen

We rarely heard the Queen of England got sick but several days ago, Her majesty was hospitalized due to gastroenteritis which sounds like a stomach bug illness. 

In her absence, her husband, Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh, who at 91 is still actively doing his official duties publicly, stood in, along with his daughter in-law, Sophie, the Countess of Wessex, hosting reception for British politicians in Buckingham Palace.

His Royal Highness, Prince Philip the Duke of Edinburgh stood in for the Queen to welcome British politicians for dinner at Buckingham Palace

The Queen suffered from gastroenteritis last week

There were more or less 150 MPs and MEPs across the country who attended the event and enjoyed the royal family's hospitality. The Queen's illness has forced her to cancel her engagements including a trip to Rome where she was scheduled to meet President Giorgio Napolitano. The Queen was released from the hospital within a day after being assessed by doctors.

The Queen's health is always excellent ever since she was a child, she rarely got sick, in fact she was only caught chicken pox in her early 50s when her grandson, Peter Phillips was ill with the disease. The Queen's health was in great contrast to that of her only sibling, the Princess Margaret, who died in 2002 at the age of 72. Margaret was a compulsive drinker and a chain smoker and suffered multiple illnesses related to alcohol and smoking abuses.

 

Prince Harry and Cressida Bonas getting cozy at the slope

Oh, and oh! Finally the two allowed the world to see what's the truth behind those intense speculation for months regarding the real score of their relationship.

Prince Harry was seen on several occasions getting intimate with socialite model, Cressida Bonas, before he departed for Afghanistan last September. The rumour of romance died down because Harry went to a mission.

The news that the aristocratic lady had cut ties on Harry, because she felt humiliated with his Las Vegas escapade on which he was photographed naked while having fun with friends, made the public believed the rumour was just another passing romantic adventure of the playboy prince.

But when he came back last January, rumours persisted again that he tried to win back Cressida and made effort to patch things up between them.

Well, no one believed it until they were snapped by photographers cuddling at the snowline of Verbier Skiing Resort.

"The One!" 
Prince Harry lovingly hugged his socialite girlfriend, Cressida Bonas, 

while holidaying at a posh Swiss Ski Resort of Verbier. Photos/Xclusive

By royal descent, Cressida Bonas is Prince Harry's 18th cousin
through King Charles II and his fifth cousin through Charles II's son, the Duke of Grafton  

The romantic revelation came over this weekend when Prince Harry joined the family of his uncle, Prince Andrew, the Duke of York, at a posh Swiss Ski Resort, Verbier. The Duke of York, younger brother of Prince Charles, celebrated his 53rd birthday at the resort bringing along few close family members and friends that include his ex-wife, Sarah Ferguson, daughters Beatrice and Eugenie, Prince Harry and Cressida Bonas, who is very close to Princess Beatrice.

Despite being separated and divorced for 17 years, the Duke of York remained very close to his ex-wife and regularly went skiing every year to mark his birthday, and this time their slope adventure has attracted curiosity and intense attention when society figure, Cressida Bonas, was included in the entourage. This is the first time also that Prince Harry came face to face with the Duchess of York after the death of his mother, Diana, Princess of Wales.

Above the freezing temperature at the slope with other skiers squeezing the area, Cressie and Harry seemed to be just fixing their eyes within themselves only. Before the cuddling and kissing moment at the snow, they were seen kissing and getting too cozy at a restaurant the night before according to several onlookers.

The blossoming romance between them made headlines first last May 2012 but it was cut short when Prince Harry's Las Vegas escapade was revealed to the public, Cressida reportedly was humiliated with the Prince's behavior. Then Harry went to Afghanistan to join comrades on a mission. So the romance was put on hold. He returned last January 2013 and according to some accounts wasted no time to win back Cressida. He worked hard in getting her back, so he must have been very in love with this girl.

Several newspapers picked up the story about the romantic slope adventure right away, and many commented that the public showing of affection by the Prince is an indication that Cressi is "the one". The aristocrat receives a quick approval from the Prince's intimate circle because she moved in the same orbit as Harry. 

Cressida Bonas is a 9th great-granddaughter of King Charles II through his son, the Duke of Grafton, whose other descendants include Diana, Princess of Wales and Sarah Ferguson, ex-wife of Prince Andrew the Duke of York. 
Through this royal family connection, Cressida is a distant relative of the British royal family.

Due to her family's aristocratic background, her name appeared in The Peerage: a genealogical survey of British noble families and European royal families

Cressida Bonas's credential is quite impressive, she  is a daughter of a wealthy aristocrat, Lady Mary-Gaye Curzon, a daughter of the 6th Earl of Howe, and old Harovian Businessman and Oxford University graduate, Jeffrey Bonas, and was brought up in the upper-class system of Britain. Her mother's family belonged to the old wealthy noble family in England, just like the Spencers.  She is a descendant of King Charles II through his son, the Duke of Grafton, where the father of the late Princess of Wales, Diana, also descended. 

By royal descent, Cressida is the 18th cousin of Prince Harry and his fifth cousin through the Duke of Grafton. In so many ways, she is a perfect catch for a royal match. She attended a pricey boarding school, Stowe, and went to the University of Leeds. Currently she is studying contemporary dance at Trinity Laban Conservatoire Music and Dance in Greenwich. She is especially close to the Duke of York's daughters, Beatrice and Eugenie.

But her possible inclusion to the royal family might create rough patches to Harry's sister-in-law because Cressida is the younger half-sister of Isabella Calthorpe, the only woman who could make Kate Middleton green with jealousy.

Prince William pursued Isabella in 2004 when he felt his relationship with Kate Middleton would not take any further but he was rejected by Isabella, he pursued her again in 2007 when he broke up with Kate Middleton the second time because he felt he did not love her at all (this discomfort was even shared to the Queen according to some reports) again he was turned down. So the Prince moved back to Miss Middleton who kept her door always open to William and who never tired in tailing him.

Prince William was visibly smitten with the young aristocrat and was heartbroken when she kept on evading him. Isabella was  reportedly not interested with a royal romance. Kate Middleton was completely aware with this situation, thus, a mere mention of the name Isabella would make her hop into an extreme jealousy.

Isabella was not invited to the royal wedding in 2011 even though almost all of William's past girlfriends had been invited because Kate Middleton would not approve it. Now, it seems the shadow of Kate's insecurities towards the pretty blonde aristocrat will haunt her again. Prince Harry has made no secret that he is ready to settle down and looks like he already found "the one".

Reports revealed that he is serious with Cressida and wanted to make things work between them. During his stay in Afghanistan and despite extremely immersed in his duty as an Apache helicopter pilot, he was rumoured to have called Cressida more often than he phoned his father, Prince Charles.

By a strange twist of fate, Cressida's ex-boyfriend is Harry Wentworth-Stanley, a stepson to the 3rd Marquess of Milford-Haven, David Mountbatten, a third cousin to the Queen and a first cousin to Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh. Lord Milford-Haven stood as Philip's bestman when he wed the Queen in 1947. 

So, her orbit is really rotating within the royal family.