Showing posts with label Ukraine. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Ukraine. Show all posts

27 April 2022

Royalty Digest Quarterly no. 1, 2022

I received my copy of the lastest issue of Royalty Digest Quarterly – no. 1, 2022 – about a month ago. I have been involved in several genealogy projects since then, so my blog was put on hold for a while. I am almost always involved in various genealogy projects, so I guess it is a bad excuse, but I am enjoying my genealogy research so much ...

Anyway ... The editor Ted Rosvall usually stays away from politics in his Editor's Corner, but this time he has made an exception. He has chosen to comment on the ongoing war in Ukraine and ends by writing: «Royalty Digest Quarterly stands behind the Ukrainian people and their brave leaders in their struggle for a free and independent Ukraine». So do I! Most members of «the European Royal Family» have shown sympathy with Ukraine in various ways since the Russian invasion in February. It cannot have been easy for Grand Duchess Maria of Russia, whose family ruled the Russian Empire, which included what is nbow the Russian Federation and Ukraine, for several hundred years, but I think she made her views on the war clear in her statement of 24 February. 

There are two church-related articles in this issue. Edward W. Hanson shows in his article Royal Priests, Monks and Nuns that quite a few royals, especially members of Catholic families, have taken holy vows throughout the years. The author Edward Hanson is an historian as well as a priest in the Church of England, so I can well understand that he is interested in this topic. Jonathan Iglesias Sancho and Blanca Briones Conzáles on the other hand has written an interesting piece on the relationship between the Romanovs and the Vatican.

The front page gives an illustration of King Gustaf V and Queen Victoria of Sweden, which means that the first issue of 2022 contains the second part of The Bernadottes of Sweden - A Family Album, written by the editor himself. The number of illustrations – 133 in all, if I have managed to count correctly – must be a new record in this series of family albums. In addition there is one page with a genealogical table showing the descendants of King Gustaf V.

Next one out is Michael L. Nash' enjoyable article "Collecting all the Sunshine .....". The First Modern Royal Family, which describes the wedding between Princess Mary (the Princess Royal) and Henry Lascelles (then Viscount Lascelles, later the 6th Earl of Harewood, in 1922.

Then Eric Lowe continues his series Elegant Royals – Some favorites from my collection, before Ove Mogensens tells the story of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt in his article series Tombs, Graves and Monuments in Thuringia (part. VI).

Prince Eugen of Sweden (1865–1947) was a well-known artist in Scandinavia and also a well-liked member of the royal family. But perhaps not so well-known outside Sweden, Norway and perhaps also Denmark. He is the topic of Coryne Hall's Little-Known Royals. I really enjoyed my visit to Prince Eugen's Waldemarsudde in Sweden when I visited it back in 2006. I can really recommend it.



Prince Eugen's house and grave at Waldemarsudde. © 2006 Dag Trygsland Hoelseth.

The World Wide Web of Royalty this time brings news of the Imperial, Royal or Princely houses of Austria, Austria-Este, Luxembourg, Prussia, and Bourbon-Two Sicilies.

Information about Royalty Digest Quarterly can be found at its editor's website Royalbooks.se. See earlier presentations of RDQ here. See also its Facebook page.

28 February 2022

Norway: King Harald breaks off his vacation

The Royal Court has informed the newspaper Dagbladet that King Harald and Queen Sonja have decided to break off their vacation abroad and return home to Norway earlier than planned. The reason for their decision is the war in Ukraine.

The list of official engagements has already been updated and states that the King will grant the prime minister an audience on Friday morning 4 March 2022 and will also preside over the Council of State at 11 a.m. The Criown Prince will be attending both events. Originally Crown Prince Haakon was meant to serve as Regent for the whole week during the King's absence.

26 February 2022

Norway: Crown Prince Haakon back in business

As reported 2 days ago Crown Prince Haakon and Crown Princess Mette-Marit returned home from their vacation abroad a bit earlier than planned on Friday 25 February so that the Crown Prince could take up the role as Regent. No ordinary Council of State was planned for Friday –in week 8 there is a winter break in Oslo and some other counties and it is seldom that a Council of State takes place that week – but I speculated that an extraordinary meeting was going to take place in order to decide on sanctions on the Russian Federation following their invasion of Ukraine. No such Council of State has taken place yet. Next council is scheduled for Friday 4 March.

It could very well be, as for instance fellow historian Oscar Aanmoen has suggested, that the Crown Prince returned home earlier  to «take care of the royal house's duties in the event of an escalation». Following the Crown Prince's return, the program of official engagements was changed and today the Crown Prince Regent granted Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre an audience at 9.30 a.m. I am sure that the war in Ukraine was the main topic during the conversation.

Crown Prince Haakon will as planned serve as Regent the whole of next week due to the king's stay abroad.  

24 February 2022

Norwegian Crown Prince couple returns to Norway earlier than planned due to the war in Ukraine

VG (NRK) reports that the Crown Prince and Crown Prince of Norway have decided to break off their vacation and return home due to Russia's attack on Ukraine so that the Crown Prince can take up the role as Regent.

The Crown Prince couple will arrive in Norway on Friday. Prior to the decision to return home, the Crown Prince as Regent had several engagements planned for Monday 28 February and Thursday 3 March and is going to preside over the Council of State on Friday 4 March. Due to the winter break no Council of State was going to take place this Friday (25 February), but this might change if Norway is going to decide on economic sanctions against Russia. Alternatively an extraordinary Council of State could take place early next week. Time will show.

The whole royal family has been on vacation abroad this week in order to celebrate King Harald's 85th birthday. No details have been given, but I suspect that the Crown Prince family originally had planned to return home on Sunday. The king and queen will stay abroad for yet another week.

According to the Constitution of Norway article 41, when both the King and «the person next entitled to succeed to the throne», i,e, the Crown Prince, are abroad or incapacitated due to illness, «the Council of State [i.e. the Government] will conduct the administration of the realm». This is why the Norwegian state flag has been flying from the roof of the Royal Palace this week. In other words, some time tomorrow the Crown Prince flag will be hoisted at the Palace.

4 March 2014

Norway: Princess Märtha Louise cancels trip to Sochi

Princess Märtha Louise had planned to attend the Paralympics in Sochi, Russia from 10th to 14th of March on behalf of the royal house, but on advice of the Norwegian government she has cancelled her trip, due to the escalated Ukraine-Russia crisis.

Minister of Health and Care Services Bent Høie, who had planned to attend the opening ceremony of the Paralympics on Friday 7 March together with his husband, Dag Terje Klarp Solvang, has also decided to cancel his trip.

Earlier today the Swedish Royal Court informed that Crown Princess Victoria was not going to attend the Paralympics due to the Ukraine-Russia crisis.

See also Views and News from Norway today.