News Archive December 2001

December 31, 2001. HM the Queen Mother did not attend church with the royal family at Sandringham due to a "chill."
Electronic Telegraph article
BBC News article
Queen Elizabeth I (reigned 1558-1603) was voted Britain's greatest monarch in a BBC poll.
The kings of Belgium and Spain heralded the countdown to the euro in a formal ceremony.
Guardian article

December 30, 2001. Police are concerned about plans by anarchists and republicans to disrupt the Queen's Golden Jubilee celebrations.
Electronic Telegraph article
But Britons can look forward to an exciting year of festivities, centered on the official celebrations on June 1 through 4.
Electronic Telegraph article
An Observer Jubilee poll yielded mixed results, showing widespread admiration for the Queen but divided sentiments on the future of the British monarchy.
Observer article
Observer poll results

December 29, 2001. Their roles may have changed since the days when the Three Kings came to Bethlehem, but kings still capture the imagination two millenia later.

December 28, 2001. Special stamps will mark next year's Golden Jubilee.
Electronic Telegraph article
Princess Beatrice and Eugenie are delighted with their new puppy.
Electronic Telegraph article

December 27, 2001. The home of Belgium's Prince Laurent was burgled on Christmas Day.

December 26, 2001. In her annual Christmas message, Queen Elizabeth II expressed hope that faith would triumph over evil.
Electronic Telegraph article
BBC News article
BBC News full text
A tired Countess of Wessex joined, but the Queen Mother and Princess Margaret missed, the traditional Christmas service.
Electronic Telegraph article
BBC News article
Prince Georg Friedrich of Prussia, claimant to the German throne, does not envy his reigning cousins.
Electronic Telegraph interview
2001 has been a rough year for the Kingdom of Nepal.
BBC News article

December 25, 2001. HRH Princess Alice, Duchess of Gloucester, celebrated her 100th birthday, becoming the British royal family's second centenarian.

December 24, 2001. The Duke of Lugo, son-in-law of King Juan Carlos of Spain, was in serious but stable condition after a stroke.
Electronic Telegraph article
Historic royal tiaras are on display at the Victoria & Albert Museum.
Electronic Telegraph article

December 23, 2001. The leading Roman Catholic clergyman of England and Wales called for the British monarchy's ban on Catholic succession to be lifted.
HM the Queen is expected to stress tolerance in her Christmas message.
December 22, 2001. Queen Elizabeth II agreed to exhibit her personal Christmas cards of previous years.

December 21, 2001. Lucian Freud's new portrait of HM the Queen is not exactly flattering.
BBC News article and feedback
Two Saudi princes spoke out against the Western media's negative portrayal of their country.
New York Times article

December 20, 2001. The British monarchy's enemies are far from idle as Jubilee Year approaches.
Electronic Telegraph article
Guardian article
Yesterday's walk in Green Park was the latest in a series of joint public appearances by the Prince of Wales and Mrs. Parker Bowles.
Electronic Telegraph article
Queen Elizabeth II acquired a new Bentley limousine.
Electronic Telegraph article
BBC News article
Princess Sikhanyiso of Swaziland, 14, announced her support for her father King Mswati III's controversial anti-sex decree.
Electronic Telegraph article

December 19, 2001. Prince Charles and Camilla Parker Bowles were seen walking together in London's Green Park.
BBC News article
Kevin McNamara's assault on the throne continues.
Guardian article
BBC News article
Princess Anne's daughter Zara Phillips and her boyfriend Richard Johnson opened their home to Hello! magazine.
Electronic Telegraph article
The Queen Mother's wedding dress was unveiled to promote the new exhibition, A Century of Royal Wedding Dresses.
Electronic Telegraph article
St. Andrews, Prince William's university, has been accused of "elitism" in its selection process.
BBC News article
Maoist rebels in Nepal are committed to destroying the monarchy.
BBC News article
Interim leader Karzai was endorsed by Afghanistan's former king.
New York Times article
More on the Saudi princess arrest:
BBC News article

December 18, 2001. The anti-royalist punk group Sex Pistols may reunite on Golden Jubilee weekend.
A Saudi princess was charged with beating her maid in Florida.
Labour MP Kevin McNamara is determined to abolish the parliamentary oath to the Queen.
The oath is regarded very differently by Britons depending on their political and religious beliefs.
BBC News article
Princess Anne represented the Queen at the Sandhurst military academy's Sovereign's Parade.
Afghanistan's new interim leader, Hamid Karzai, arrived in Rome for talks with exiled King Zahir Shah.
BBC News article
Princess Anne will visit Antarctica in February.
BBC News article
The Indonesian island of Bali observed the cremation of its last king.
BBC News article
The Prince of Wales, who rarely carries cash, demonstrated his continuing concern for pubs, buying a snack at the Craven Heifer Hotel in Stainforth.

December 17, 2001. Prince Charles hopes to help reverse the trend of closing pubs in England and Wales.
href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/uk/england/newsid_1711000/1711881.stm">BBC News article

December 16, 2001. Prince Hans Adam II of Liechtenstein has threatened to abdicate if his constitutional reform proposals are rejected.
BBC News article
Earl Spencer remarried as his famous nephews went shooting with their grandfather.

December 15, 2001. The end of Prince Felipe's romance with Eva Sannun has been received with mixed reactions by Spaniards.
Electronic Telegraph article

December 14, 2001. Norwegians are preparing for their second controversial royal wedding.
BBC News article
Crown Prince Felipe of Spain confirmed that his relationship with model Eva Sannun is over.
Hola! article (in Spanish)
Latvia dropped criminal charges against the teenaged girl who hit Prince Charles with a flower.
BBC News article
A Colombian boy dying of cancer has appealed to the King and Queen of Spain to free his captive father.
BBC News article
Labour MP Kevin McNamara hopes to overturn the Act of Settlement.
Guardian article

December 13, 2001. HRH Princess Alice, Duchess of Gloucester, who will be 100 on Christmas, enjoyed an early celebration of her birthday.
Hello! article
HRH Princess Martha Louise of Norway announced her engagement to author Ari Behn.
HM Tuanku Syed Sirajuddin, Raja of Perlis, was sworn in as the new King of Malaysia.
BBC News article
The Queen's future Christmas messages may be broadcast to mobile phones.
Newly auctioned old photographs of Prince Charles and Princess Anne evoke a happy childhood.

December 12, 2001. HRH the Prince of Wales accused skyscraper planners of "adolescent lunacy."
Electronic Telegraph article
Guardian article

December 11, 2001. The Countess of Wessex is feeling tired but "much beter."
Electronic Telegraph article

December 10, 2001. Crown Prince Felipe of Spain has moved out of the palace and set up his own residence, but not with his Norwegian girlfriend Eva Sannun.
The Countess of Wessex left the hospital.
BBC News article
Buckingham Palace has made it clear that the Queen was asked not to visit her recuperating daughter-in-law in the hospital.
Guardian article

December 9, 2001. TRH the Earl and Countess of Wessex have decided to give up their business careers to concentrate on royal and charity duties.
Electronic Telegraph article
Some of Britain's royal palaces will begin accepting the euro next year--but not Buckingham Palace and Windsor Castle.
Japanese women hope that Crown Princess Masako's giving birth at the age of 37 will remove the stigma of late childbearing.
New York Times article
The King of Thailand rebuked his Prime Minister for "arrogance."
New York Times article

December 8, 2001. The Japanese people got their first glimpse of Princess Aiko.
BBC News article
CNN article
The Countess of Wessex is saddened by the loss of her baby but confident that "there will be other chances."
BBC News article
Electronic Telegraph article
Former royal employee Elizabeth Burgess's claims of racism at Highgrove were rejected by a tribunal.
Electronic Telegraph article
The Queen and Prince Philip saved a good deal of money by traveling on a regular train.
Electronic Telegraph article
Londoners may claim to be uninterested in the royal family, but they're not anxious to abolish the monarchy either.
Electronic Telegraph article
The Saudi monarchy could be in trouble.
Electronic Telegraph article
More on little Princess Aiko of Japan:
Electronic Telegraph article

December 7, 2001. Japan's new princess has been named Aiko, "one who loves others."
BBC News article
Sophie, Countess of Wessex, is recovering from her operation.
Electronic Telegraph article
BBC News article
HRH the Princess Royal hopes to reverse the closures of nursing homes.
Electronic Telegraph interview
A former employee of the Prince of Wales has accused the Highgrove staff of racism.
Electronic Telegraph article
HRH Prince Ernst August of Hanover received a suspended sentence for various transgressions.
Electronic Telegraph article
BBC News article

December 6, 2001. HRH the Countess of Wessex had to undergo emergency surgery for an ectopic pregnancy.
The birth of a princess has given the Japanese much to discuss.
The controversy over Mark Bolland has pitted two royalist papers, The Daily Telegraph and The Daily Mail, against each other.
Guardian article
A new informal portrait by David Cobley depicts a relaxed Princess Royal.

December 5, 2001. HRH Princess Maria of Savoy, Princess Louis of Bourbon-Parma, the last surviving child of King Vittorio Emanuele III of Italy, died yesterday in Mandelieu, France.
Queen Elizabeth II invited a Roman Catholic cardinal to preach to the royal family for the first time.
Electronic Telegraph article

December 3, 2001. The birth of a princess is a welcome occasion for rejoicing in Japan.
Electronic Telegraph article
BBC News article
Prince Charles and Camilla Parker Bowles attended church together for the first time in public.
Electronic Telegraph article
Tensions between Buckingham and St. James Palaces are apparently undermining Golden Jubilee preparations.
Guardian article

December 2, 2001. The birth of a princess may prompt a change in Japan's law of succession.
Electronic Telegraph article
New York Times article
Michelle Lutken de Massy, ex-wife of the nephew of Prince Rainier III of Monaco, has died at 41.
Prince Charles has no intention of firing controversial PR guru Mark Bolland.

December 1, 2001. Crown Princess Masako gave birth to a girl, raising questions about succession to Japan's Chrysanthemum Throne.
BBC News article
New York Times article
Prince Charles expressed sympathy to the parents of his Latvian teenage assailant.
Electronic Telegraph article
Deputy Private Secretary Mark Bolland may have helped improve the Prince of Wales' image, but he has also made enemies.
Electronic Telegraph article
Burhanuddin Rabbani, the last President of Afghanistan before the Taliban took over, opposes any role for former King Zahir Shah in convening a national assembly.

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