A pregnancy, an anniversary and a wedding - a roundup

I have earlier commented on the challenges I meet as a blogger when I want to write about and comment on current issues, but just don't have enough time. It is often easier for me to write "timeless" articles, like my many blog articles about cemetery visits, than to write about topics which are "in the news" here and now.

There have been many interesting events to write about lately, but I will have to limit myself to a "roundup" this time around. Normally I would have written about the pregnancy news from Denmark on Thursday 24 August the very same day, but as I was preparing for a work trip to Berlin the day after, I just didn't have the time. And I have also been rather busy after I returned to Oslo. Anyway, Amalienborg Palace issued the following press release on 24 August 2011:

Prince Joachim and Princess Marie are expectng a child

Amalienborg Palace, August 24, 2011

Their Royal Highnesses Prince Joachim and Princess Marie are happy to announce the pregnancy of Princess Marie.

It is expected that the birth will take place at Rigshospitalet in Copenhagen (Copenhagen University Hospital) at the end of January, 2012.

The press release was signed Kurt Bache, Chamberlain, Colonel, Private Secretary.

Prince Joachim has from earlier two sons - Prince Nikolai and Prince Felix - from his former marriage to Alexandra Manley, now Countess of Fredensborg, as well as one son - Prince Henrik - with his current wife, Princess Marie, née Cavallier. The future prince or princess will when born enter the line of succession to the Danish throne as no. 10 (see the current line here). Queen Margrethe II and Prince Henrik, the Prince Consort, will by then have 8 grandchildren.

The same day I left for Berlin, 25 August 2011, Crown Prince Haakon and Crown Princess Mette-Marit celebrated their 10th wedding anniversary. The occasion was first marked with a church service in Oslo Domkirke (Cathedral). In attendance were among others King Harald, Queen Sonja, Princess Märtha Louise and Ari Behn, Princess Astrid Mrs. Ferner and Johan Martin Ferner, Crown Princess Victoria and Prince Daniel of Sweden, Princess Rosario of Bulgaria, members of the Norwegian Government, Crown Princess Mette-Marit's mother Marit Tessem and her partner Magnar Alfred Fjeldvær, other members of the Tjessem family as well as many friends of the Crown Prince couple. After the church service the Crown Prince couple attended the 10th anniversary of their wedding fund at Universitetsplassen (the University Square), while in the evening the king and queen had the pleasure of hosting a private dinner at the Royal Palace. (Sources: Kongehuset.no; VG 26 August 2011.)

The Norwegian Crown Prince couple will have to share their wedding day with the head of the Royal House of Prussia, Prince Georg Friedrich, and his wife Princess Sophie of Isenburg, as their civil wedding took place at Potsdam City Hall on Thursday 25 August 2011 (I wrote about their engagement in January 2011). I was in Potsdam at the same day, having a day off with sightseeing together with a group of "royalty watchers" and bloggers. Funnily enough the bridal couple passed us in their car after the ceremony had taken place, as we were standing at the road between the Sanssouci and Orangery Palaces, but as I was on the wrong side of the car, I didn't get a glimpse of them.

The religious wedding was celebrated in Friedenskirche in Potsdam on Saturday 27 August (and that date will surely be more celebrated in the years to come, not the date of the civil ceremony), followed by a reception at Neue Kammern (New Chambers) and a gala dinner at the Orangery Palace in the evening (our group toured this palace on Thursday and witnessed some of the preparations). I have seen different numbers of guests, but apparently 650-700 people attended the church wedding, while around the half were present for the gala dinner. The guests included Prince Hassan Bin Talal and Princess Saravath of Jordan, Princess Sybilla of Luxembourg, Prince Laurent of Belgium, the British Lord and Lady Nicholas Windsor and many members of the former royal, princely or noble families of Germany as well as from other parts of Europe, such as Anhalt, Austria, Baden, Bavaria, Bourbon-Parme, Bourbon-Two Sicilies, Castell-Castell, Castell-Rüdenhausen, Hannover, Hesse, Hohenzollern, Isenburg, Leiningen, Lippe, Oldenburg, Portugal, Prussia, Reuss, Romania, Russia, Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, Schaumburg-Lippe, Solms-Laubach and Württemberg.

The newspaper B.Z. am Sonntag produced an ancestry table for Prince Georg Friedrich, besides focusing on politicians and celebrities such as former German football team coach Otto Rehhagel and his wife Beate, Brandenburg Minister-President Matthias and his wife Jeanette Platzeck, the bridal dress designer Wolfgang Joop, the publisher Friede Springer as well as Count Alexander von Kalckreuth and Countess Tamara von Nayhauß(-Cormons) with their children Max and Louis (has she not taken her husband's name and social title?) Berliner Morgenpost brought more photos of royal guests, but also mentioned the singer Max Raabe.

The church ceremony was, by the way, officiated by Pastor Michael Wohlrab and the Catholic abbot Count Gregor Henckel zu Donnersmarck. (Sources: Nobiliana.de, B.Z. 28 August 2011, Berliner Morgenpost 27 August and 28 August 2011.)

Other than the pregnancy, anniversary and wedding mentioned above, I would also to include a future wedding date in my round-up: The wedding of the King of Bhutan, Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck and Jetsun Pama (see the engagement news here) will take place in Punakha on 13 October 2011. The celebrations wil be held at the Changlingmithang Stadium in the capital Thimphu 2 days later, cf. Kuensel Online 1 September 2011.