A-EngelsRB – Pagina 2

Queen Máxima wraps up visit to Pakistan

februari 11, 2016 door Royalblog.NL

Queen Máxima wrapped up her 3-day UN visit to Pakistan with a promise. If the ambitious targets for financial inclusion the country has set for itself are met, she will gladly return. The queen confirmed her promise during a press meeting in Islamabad, where the governor of the State Bank of Pakistan, Mr. Ashraf Mahmood Wahtra confessed to having changed the goal posts at the urging of the queen.

Pakistan set a goal of having 50 percent of the adult population have a bank account by 2020. A tremendous challenge while currently only 11 to 16 percent, depending on the definition, have that access. Mr Wahtra suggested the goal could me met one or two years earlier. 'That would ensure the reurun of the queen. We are looking foward to that', he said in a most charming way. Queen Máxima did not voice any doubts about the goal being reached, but emphasized that Pakistan now has to implement all the plans drawn up for the extension of financial inclusion of its 200 million strong population.

The queen paid a visit to Pakistan President Mamnoon Hussain in the morning, and sollicited his support for the far reaching plans. Earlier during her visit she also held talks with Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif.

As she usually does during her country visits the queen in her role as Special Advocate for financial inclusion explored projects that aim to improve the lives of the poor by utilizing transformative financial tools. Among the programs she visited were the Benazir Income Support Programme, which delivers government support to women through digital accounts, and Easypaisa, a digital, branchless banking service that utilizes banking agents located in shops, where customers can deposit or withdraw cash, and even take out insurance.

Máxima also met with clients at the Kashf Foundation, which offers small loans to women to promote entrepreneurship, provides them with financial training, and inform them about other financial products.

CP Mary cancels trip to Burkina Faso

januari 18, 2016 door Royalblog.NL

The trip of Crown Princess Mary of Denmark to Burkina Faso has been postponed after the terrorist attack on a hotel last weekend in Ouagadougou, the capital of the West African country. The action of the African branch of al-Qaeda killed at least 28 people and injured 50 people seriously.

The Danish Foreign Ministry announced Monday that the trip, planned for later this week, had to be postponed due to the security risks. "Because of the security situation, it is unfortunately necessary to postpone the Crown Princess, and my visit to Burkina Faso. But I very much look forward to complete the visit as soon as possible.", Foreign Minister Kristian Jensen stated in a press release.

"I want to reiterate that I most strongly condemn the terrorist attack. Burkina Faso is a country which has shown an indomitable will to democracy, and terrorists must not be allowed to destroy the people's desire to live in peace and stability. "

Crown Princess Mary, who would have been accompanied by Danish Foreign Minister Kristian Jensen, was planning to pay special attention during her visit to the health and rights of women and the positive democratic development of the country.

Burkina Faso is one of the world's poorest countries, with a high population growth. The West African country has made progress in relation to maternal and infant mortality, and is committed to improving women's and children's rights. The situation of girls and women is still characterized by a number of challenges, including lack of access to a number of basic health services.

The Crown Princess, together with the Foreign Minister was planning to visit health facilities in the capital and in the countryside. There was also a visit planned to a clinic, where there would have been the opportunity to talk to young Burkinabé on their access to information, contraception and health care.

© RB; Beeld: © MPE

Emotional meeting of miners and King

oktober 8, 2015 door Royalblog.NL

King Willem-Alexander and Queen Máxima visited the southern part of the Dutch province of Limburg on Thursday. It was their fifth so-called area visit. The royal couple on average pay 2 to 3 such one day visits a year to a specific part of a province. The provincial government invites the King, and the provinces take their respective turns.

The visit was to see how southern Limburg had fared since the fateful day in December 1965 when the government announced the closure of all coal mines. That was a devastating blow to the area, which was dominated by its monoculture of coal mining. Some 75,000 people were employed by the mines or were working in industries or jobs related to mining.

The couple was told the area after half a century had still not recovered fully, otherwise were more optimistic and saw an upward turn with new innovative industries, life science parks, high tech education and a central location close to Belgium and Germany. King Willem-Alexander and Queen Máxima also met with former minirs, who gave them some heart breaking stories about their lives in the mines. ,,Very emotional”, the King said afterwards.

© RB Hans Jacobs

Powerful messages of Mabel & Viktória

oktober 7, 2015 door Royalblog.NL

"At age 15, we wantd to learn and grow! Not to be child brides – Princess Mabel and Princess Viktória campaigned to end Child Marriage with a clear message when they both attended an expert meeting at the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs in The Hague, Wednesday.

The meeting was organised by Save the Children, of which Princess Viktória de Bourbon de Parme is patron. Princess Viktória is the wife of Prince Jaime, younger brother of the present Duke of Parma, and himself Dutch ambassador in the Vatican. Jaime and Viktória have one daughter, Princess Zita, named after the last Empress of Austria, who was a sister to Jaime's grandfather Prince Xavier of Bourbon-Parma.

Princess Mabel is founder of Girls Not Brides, an umbrella organisation for over 500 ngo's and other organisations in 71 countries across the world who strive for girls rights and an end to child marriage. Every year around 14 million girls are married under the age of 18, and of this number 1 in 7 will marry before their 15th birthday and in extreme cases even before the age of 10. Hence the powerful message: what was your goal at age 15? 'Not to be a child bride'.

© RB Hans Jacobs; Photos by © Monarchy Press Europe, Patrick van Katwijk

Belgian King and Queen in Liechtenstein

september 17, 2015 door Royalblog.NL

The heads of state of the German speaking countries in Europe met in Liechtenstein for an informal gathering by invitation of Hereditary Prince Alois and his wife Hereditary Princess Sophie. Apart from the Liechtenstein royal couple there were other royals present as well.

Grand Duke Henri of Luxembourg and the King and the Queen of the Belgians, Philip and Mathilde, travelled to the tiny Principality, sandwiched between the river Rhine, Switzerland and Austria. The presidents of Liechtenstein's neighbors and Germany's President Joachim Gauck also attended.

Prince Alois welcomed his royal and presidential guest to Vaduz Castle, high above the tiny capital of his country. Alois has been overseeing the daily administration of Liechtenstein since 2004, when his father Prince (Fürst) Hans Adam went into semi-retirement, although he remained head of state.

The meeting had the European migration and refugee crises as one of its main topics, along with digitization and the labor market. Tthere was also an excursion to the Liechtenstein Art Museum, and a meeting with Liechtenstein politicians. Next year's meeting will be hosted by King Philip in Belgium.

Máxima steadies herself just in time

september 15, 2015 door Royalblog.NL

Queen Máxima had her big day Tuesday as she dressed to impress for what could be called the State Opening of Parliament, with her husband King Willem-Alexander delivering the annual Speech from the Throne to the joint Houses of the Dutch Parliament. The Jan Taminiau designed dress though made her almost fall twice as she walked up the stairs of the medieval Knight's Hall, or Ridderzaal in Dutch.

The queen wore a 'hand-painted silk organza gown.' According to information from the Government Information Service its the decoration was inspired by the Japanese room in palace Huis ten Bosch. And there was an exceptional first: no hat! A royal first. Máxima did have matching hair decoration, based on the flowers from the gown. But for the queen to refrain from wearing a hat – a smart move considering the stormy weather – was short of sensational. At least in the eyes of De Standaard, a newspaper from neighboring Belgium.

The Dutch are too restrained to copy the hat extravaganza of Britain's Ascot, but over the years the annual joint session of the 'States-General' (where Staten Island gets its name from) has grown into something of a fashion show, where the media try to answer the question of 'who is wearing what hat'. In 2001, right after 9/11 and the attack on the Twin Towers, members of parliament were even asked to forgo their hats – as the opening of parliament at the time should be a sober affair.

So hatless she was, Queen Máxima on Tuesday, unlike her sister-in-law Princess Laurentien. Máxima's role is simple. She is there to support her husband, as he announces his governments plans for the next year, and reviews the state of affairs of the country. The Dutch economy is on the way up he said, but the problems in Europe and in the countries surrounding it are manyfold and at times distressing.

The royal couple travelled to parliament in the Golden Coach, built in 1898 for then Queen Wilhelmina. She was never particularly fond of the carriage, which is rather ostentatious. Wilhelmina preferred the much older Glass Coach, built for The Netherlands' first King William I.

She eventually had to give to popular demand for the more spectacular Golden Coach. Her true feelings though were revealed in her diary right after World War 2 when neither Coach was used and she was driven by car. “This was the most wonderful opening of parliament”, she wrote. “But I think I am the only one who thinks so”, she added.

The Golden Coach made its last tour of The Hague for some years to come though, as it is up for extensive repairs. Its 'rival' the Glass Coach, which was restored to its former glory only earlier this year, will see active duty again on the third Tuesday of September, since 1888 the traditional date for the parliamentary highlight. Which, by the way, technically is not an opening, as parliamentary work no longer closes.

Along the route from Noordeinde Palace to the Binnenhof, or innercourt of the Houses of Parliament, was a very familiar face. Princess Beatrix, ever supportive of her successor and daughter-in-law, watched from the Mauritshuis as the Coach passed by and Queen Máxima sent her a kiss.

© RB Hans Jacobs

Máxima’s big day in the royal calendar

september 14, 2015 door Royalblog.NL

* Impression of Princes Day 2015

The Dutch royal calendar has two key dates. The first one is the third Tuesday in September, Princes Day. The day the Golden Coach is dusted off, and the Dutch military dress in all their finery to take King Willem-Alexander and Queen Máxima to the joint session of the Houses of Parliament in the medieval Knight's Hall. The King in his speech from the throne will outline his government's plans for the next year. The second big day of course is King's Day, the very public celebration of the King's birthday in April.

Officially Princes Day (Prinsjesdag) is all about the King as head of state and member of government. He gets to read the mumble jumble composed by the different government departments under supervision of Prime Minister Mark Rutte. He gets the 'hurrah, hurrah, hurrah' at the end of the speech from the throne, and he is checked for speed of delivery and clarity of pronunciation.

But the truth is, the general public only has eyes for Queen Máxima. What will she wear, how will she wear it, what kind of hat did Belgian hat maker Fabienne Delvigne come up with this year. And an important question Tuesday: is the hat weather proof as stormy weather is expected in The Hague and both the inner court of the Houses of Parliament ('Binnenhof') and Noordeinde Palace can be quite windy. It is therefore safe to say it is Queen Máxima's biggest day of the royal calendar.

The King and Queen are not the only members of the royal family taking part in the big day. Willem-Alexander's youngest brother Prince Constantijn and his wife Princess Laurentien will travel ahead of the Golden Coach to Knight's Hall and listen to the speech. After the royal party has returned to Noordeinde Palace they too will appear on the balcony to wave to the crowd in front of the Palace.

* Joint session of Parliament, 2014

Máxima says ‘cheese’ in factory tour

september 9, 2015 door Royalblog.NL

Queen Máxima of the Netherlands made two stops on her tour of the northern province of Frisia (Fryslân), Wednesday morning. She visited a futuristic and sustainable dairy farm in the small community of Koudum and than drove a short distance to Workum, to the cheese factory of Royal FrieslandCampina, where the milk of the dairy she just visited is processed.

The Queen was not exempt from the requirement to wear protective clothing, much to the delight of the photographers. It provided a very different look for Máxima, who was unfazed by her less glamorous outfit. And the special white shoes actually were comfortable and a great help on the wet and sometimes slippery floor of the cheese factory.

FrieslandCampina last year was awarded the King William I Prize for industry, and Queen Máxima wanted to see for herself what makes the factory tick.

Queen Máxima fully enjoyed her work visit to the dairy farm of the Stokman family in the northern Dutch province of Fryslân (Frisia). She was welcomed by enthusiastic mooing, and after days of rain Wednesday was a bright and sunny day. "What a wonderful day", she said when leaving the car and meeting the dairy farmer and his young family.

Queen Máxima fired off lots of questions to the farmer and his son Arie, who plans to succeed his father in running of the business. Their dairy farm is all but run of the mill. If there is such a thing it comes closes to 'cow heaven'. The animals for instance are free to go in and out of the cowshed, can decide their own milking times, have a hill to play on, and brushes to scrub their skin, and above all, have their own pool – a 'jakoezie', 'koe' being the Dutch word for cow.

Queen Máxima with her Argentine background and a father who served as Secretary for Agriculture, of course is no stranger to farming, although Argentine cattle is raised for their meat and not for their milk. She heard about the challenges dairy farmers face, but also appraised the innovations Mr Stokman made, so that birdlife is also accomodated on his fields, and manure is turned into biogas.

Máxima in surprise visit to Argentina

september 4, 2015 door Royalblog.NL

Queen Máxima this week paid a brief visit to her native Argentina, ahead of the 71st birthday of her mother Maria del Carmen. The private trip was kept a secret but Argentine media were tipped off and tv station C5N caught glimpses of the Queen as she left her parents' home in Buenos Aires.

Caras magazine brought the news of Máxima's 'secret' visit on the front page of this week's issue, as was shown in C5N's society programme. Curiously enough the Argentine producers decided to present the item on Queen Máxima with the penultimate British 'Land of Hope and Glory' as accompanying music. One guesses for lack of appropiate Dutch music.

C5N's flamboyant reporter Robertito went to see Máxima and waited for her to say her goodbyes at home, before shouting some questions at her as she left for Holland. She answered that she was doing well and that her father, who at one time last year erroneously was proclaimed dead by Argentine papers, was doing 'bien' too.

Royals pay tribute to Armin of Lippe

augustus 31, 2015 door Royalblog.NL

Armin Prinz zur Lippe was laid to rest in the family crypt in the Christuskirche in Detmold at the end of a spirited service attended by a large gathering of Germany's Gotha. Dukes, Princes, Counts, from Oldenburg to Hesse and everything in between paid their last respect to the head if the House of Lippe who passed away 20 August, two days after his 91st birthday.

The Prince was praised as a 'great man' and his death meant a great loss to the former independent principality of Lippe, to the German state Nordrhine-Westphalia which incorporated Lippe in 1947, and to the Federal Republic as well, a former chief minister of the state said in his eulogy.

The church was filled to overflowing, with the chief representatives of the German royal and princely families seated in the front, next to Prince Armin's widow Princess Traute, her son Primce Stephan and his young family, and other members of the different branches of the Lippe family.

It was a sweltering hot day in Detmold, the capital of the former principality. After the service, in which the coffin was lowered into the crypt, Princess Traute, 90, and Prince Stephan, welcomed their guests at the Residenzschloss, the beautiful family castle right in the middle of town on a peninsula.