Three weddings and a pregnancy

I haven't been able to update my blog lately, so here is a short summary of recent wedding and pregnancy news:

• Prince Muhammad Ali of Egypt married Princess Noal Zaher Shah of Afghanistan at the Çirağan Palace in Istanbul, Turkey on Friday 30 August 2013. Prince Muhammad Ali, b. 1979, is the son of the former King Fuad II of Egypt and his former wife Fadila, née Dominique-France Loeb, while Princess Noal, b. 1978, is the only daughter of Prince Muhammad Daud Pashtunyar Khan of Afghanistan and his wife, Princess Fatima Begum. The bride's father is the fifth son of the late and last king of Afghanistan, Muhammad Zahir Shah (1914-1933-1973-2007). For photos, go here and here (the latter is King Fuad II's official Facebook page).
• Andrea Casiraghi and Tatiana Santo Domingo Rechulski were married at the Princely Palace, Monaco on 31 August 2013. Andrea, b. 1984, is the eldest son of HRH The Princess of Hannover (Princess Caroline of Monaco) and the late Stefano Casiraghi, while Tatiana, b. 1983, is the daughter of Julio Mario Santo Domingo and  Vera Rechulski from Colombia and Brazil respectively. Andrea and Tatiana became parents to Sacha Casiraghi on 21 March 2013 in London. Upon marriage Sacha entered the line of succession to the Monegasque throne due to the rather liberal succession law. See Huffington Post and the Telegraph for photos and more information.
• Gustaf Magnuson and Vicky Andrén were married at Ulriksdal Palace Chapel on 31 August 2013. Gustaf, b. 1975, whose full name is Carl Gustaf Victor Magnuson, is the eldest son of Princess Christina of Sweden and Tord Magnuson and thus a nephew of King Carl XVI Gustaf. Vicky Elisabeth Andrén, whose parents are Elisabeth Malm and Kenneth Andrén, is born in 1983. Among the many guests were King Carl Gustaf, Queen Silvia, Crown Princess Victoria, Prince Daniel, Prince Carl Philip, his girlfriend Sofia Hellqvist as well as Queen Sonja of Norway, who is one of Gustaf's sponsors. See photos at Expressen and Svensk Damtidning.
• The Royal Court of Sweden announced on 3 September 2013 that Princess Madeleine and her husband Chris O'Neill are expecting their first child in early March 2014: "Princess Madeleine and Mr. Christopher O'Neill are delighted to announce that The Princess is expecting their first child. The birth is expected to take place in beginning of March of 2014. No changes to the schedule of The Princess's engagements and work for Childhood are planned during the fall of 2013." (See also Expressen.se.) Princess Madeleine and Chris O'Neill were married at Stockholm Palacce Church on 8 June 2013. As of now the couple lives in New York City, and as far as I know the court has not revealed if the couple plans to move to Sweden before the birth. This could be interesting constitutionally speaking, as the Swedish Act of Succession Article 4 says among others that "princes and princesses of the Royal House shall be brought up [...] within the Realm". However, the poorly formulated article doesn't say anything about what consequence it would have if a prince or princess is brought up outside the realm. Then again, one might ask if the text should be taken literally. Will non-titled children be affected? Personally I would be surprised if the future child becomes a Prince of Princess, but surely we will get more information from the court on this in due time. The preparatory works to the changes to the succession law in 1979 (Prop. 1977/78 no. 71) mentions the possibility of conditional consent to marriage, but I haven't heard anything about such a clause in the marital agreement.

Norway's Royal Family: Official engagements in November

The calendar at the Norwegian Royal Family's official website reveals that the royals are rather busy these days. Among the usual stuff like presiding over the Council of State on Fridays and granting the Foreign Secretary an audience, there are some newsworthy engagements for the king as well.

On Thursday 5 November HM The King will grant the new Ambassador of USA, His Excellency Mr Barry B. White, a formal audience at 11:15. Mr. White, who was confirmed by the US Senate on 22 September and sworn in on 21 October 2009, replaces Benson K. Whitney, who came to Oslo in 2006 and left in June this year. James T. Heg, the Deputy Chief of Mission and Chargé d'Affaires ad interim, has held the fort in the meantime.

Later on Thursday the King will also grant the new Ambassador of Afghanistan, Her Excellency Ms Manizha Bakhtary, a formal audience.

The Norwegian football season 2009 will be finished this weekend with the cup finals for both men and women. Usually the king is present at the men's cup final at Ullevaal Stadium, but King Harald makes an exception this year and will go to Telenor Arena at Fornebu in Bærum on Saturday to attend the women's cup final between Røa and Team Strømmen. Surely it is much more comfortable for the king to be indoors. The first snow arrived in the Oslo area today... But the main reason for the switch is obviously that the king will travel to Stavanger on Sunday 8 November to attend the consecration of the new Bishop of Stavanger, Erling Pettersen.

This means that it is the Crown Prince and Crown Princess who will attend the cup final for men between Aalesund and Molde at Ullevaal Stadium on Sunday. Later on the same day Crown Prince Mette-Marit will visit the Bollywood Festival arranged by X-Ray Youth Centre and World Music Festival, Cosmopolite Torshov.

Next week Crown Prince Haakon will travel to India to attend the World Economic Forums India Summit in New Delhi. And if that was not enough, the Crown Prince will thereafter go directly to Botswana in the role as Goodwill Ambassador for the United Nations Development Programme.

Even Princess Märtha Louise will have official engagements. On 18 November she will grant audiences to representatives of the Norwegian Association of the Blind and Partially Sighted, the Norwegian Association of Muscular Disorders, the Norwegian Epilepsy Association, the Norwegian Rheumatism Association and Special Olympics Norway, all organisations under her patronage.

References

• Mr. Barry B. White confirmed as new Ambassador of USA
• Biography
• The Norwegian Royal House
• Organisations under the patronage of Princess Märtha Louise