Christmas break summary

I left Oslo on Saturday 22 December in order to celebrate Christmas with my family in Sandefjord, and even though I was connected to the Internet most of the time (too often, perhaps) during the Christmas weekend, I had decided to take a break from blogging and website updating. I had long days at work on Thursday 27 and Friday 28 December, so here comes finally a short summary of the events I find worth mentioning.

1. The Swedish Royal Court announced on Sunday 23 December 2012 - the 69th birthday of Queen Silvia, by the way - that Princess Madeleine and Christopher O'Neill's wedding date was set for 8 June 2013. The wedding will take place in the Palace Chapel in Stockholm. The couple's engagement was announced on 25 October 2012. The wedding date announcement can also be found on Princess Madeleine's Facebook page, which was launched on 7 December.
2. Several European held their traditional Christmas speech on either Christmas Eve or Christmas Day. King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden's speech can be read, viewed and/or listened to here (in Swedish). A summary by The Local can be read here. See also Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom's Christmas Broadcast on SkyNews. An English summary of Grand Duke Henri of Luxembourg's speech can be read here, while King Albert II of the Belgian's speeech can be read in Dutch or French. Finally, King Juan Carlos of Spain's speech was broadcasted on Christmas Eve and can be read (in Spanish only) at Casareal.es.
3. Archduke Christoph of Austria married Adélaïde Drapé-Frisch at the city hall in Nancy, France on Friday 28 December 2012. The religious ceremony took place at the Basilica St. Epvre on Saturday 29 December. Archduke Christoph, who is the second son of Archduke Carl Christian and Archduchess Marie-Astrid, née Princess of Luxembourg, had his brother Imre and his first cousin Prince Louis of Luxembourg as witnesses. Grand Duke Henri of Luxembourg, the bridegroom's uncle and godfather, was also in attendance, among many other guests. See the blog Luxembourg. All things grand ducal for more details.