Part 3 of our look back at the European royals in 2016 covers September through December.
September:
The month of September was very busy and had the christening of Prince Alexander of Sweden, Princess Madeleine and Queen Silvia making a young girl’s dream come true, the Norwegian royals hosting a garden party and viewing of the film The King’s Choice in Jubilee Park, various royals attending the general assembly of the UN, Princess Caroline of Monaco in the Congo, Prinsjesdag in the Netherlands, Princess Charlene attending an AIDS conference, and the Crown Prince Couple of Denmark on a trip to the USA.
The 1st of the month had the Norwegian Royal Family hosting a garden party for 1,500 guests from across the country in Palace Park. The King gave a passionate speech on diversity at the event. On the 21st, they would host a viewing of the film The King’s Choice in Jubilee Park.
The 9th of September saw Prince Alexander of Sweden be christened at the Royal Chapel of Drottningholm Palace. Our Europe Correspondent, Laura Dekkers, was at the event and wrote her account here.
The same day had Princess Charlene of Monaco in Geneva on World First Aid Day. While there Charlene, as Goodwill Ambassador for International Federation of Red Cross (IFRC), calls for children around the world to be trained in first aid during a press briefing on World First Aid Day.
On 12th of the month, Princess Madeleine made a seven-year-old girl named Enna’s dream come true through her patronage Min Stora Dag. Enna wanted to meet Madeleine and Queen Silvia at the Royal Palace.
From the 19th through the 24th, various royals from across the world were in New York City for the United Nations. Royals in attendance included King Felipe and Queen Letizia of Spain, Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden, Crown Princess Mary of Denmark, King Abdullah and Queen Rania of Jordan, and Princess Mabel of Orange-Nassau.
Prinsjesdag was celebrated on 20 September in the Netherlands. This occasion has the reigning monarch, King Willem-Alexander, address a joint session of Dutch Senate and House of Representatives in the Hall of Knights. Afterward, the King, Queen Máxima, Prince Constantijn and Princess Laurentien on the balcony at Noordeinde Palace.
The 27 September was the beginning of the Crown Prince Couple of Denmark’s four-day visit to the United States where they were in Washington D.C. and Boston, Massachusetts, as part of a trade delegation.
On 28th of the month, Princess Caroline of Monaco was in the Congo as part of her work with Association Nationale Monégasque des Amis De l’Enfance, or World Association of Children’s Friends in English.
October:
In October, the King and Queen of Sweden visited Germany, King Harald opened Norway’s Parliament, National Day for Spain was celebrated, Swedish royals opened their wedding dress exhibit, and Queen Máxima was in Argentina and opened an exhibition in Apeldoorn.
On the 3rd of October, King Harald of Norway and the Norwegian Royal Family attended the opening of the Norwegian Parliament.
The 5th of October had Queen Máxima opening an exhibition on her predecessor at the Loo Palace in Apeldoorn. It’s called the “Anna Pavlovna, Colourful Queen” and will run until 5 February 2017.
From the 5th through the 8th of October, King Carl XVI Gustaf and Queen Silvia of Sweden paid an official state visit to Germany.
The 12th of October is National Day in Spain, and the King and his family attended various celebrations to commemorate the day.
The same day had Queen Máxima returning to her home country of Argentina as part of her role as the UN Secretary-General’s Special Advocate for Inclusive Finance.
The 17th of the month had Queen Silvia, Crown Princess Victoria, and Princess Sofia touring the exclusive royal wedding dress exhibit at Stockholm Palace the day before its official opening. Princess Madeleine was due to attend, but she and her two children became ill with a stomach virus the night before.
November:
During November, Luxembourg got a new prince, Monaco celebrated their National Day, Princess Marie visited Myanmar, new photos of the three young Dutch princesses, King and Queen of Spain visited Portugal, Belgian state visit to the Netherlands, and Crown Prince Couple of Norway visited Canada.
At the beginning of the month, Princess Marie of Denmark travelled to Myanmar for poverty reduction.
From the 7th to the 10th of November, Crown Prince Haakon and Crown Princess Mette-Marit visited Canada for business, technology and innovation, cultural and creative industries and the Arctic. They also met Canadian officials.
The 17th of the month had the Royal House of the Netherlands releasing several new photographs of King Willem-Alexander and Queen Máxima’s three daughters: Princess Catharina-Amalia, Princess Alexia, and Princess Ariane.
On 19 November of each year, Monaco celebrates their national day called The Sovereign Prince’s Day. Prince Albert and Princess Charlene’s twins made a rare public appearance during the celebrations.
From the 28 – 30 November, King Philippe and Queen Mathilde of Belgium paid a state visit to the Netherlands.
On 28 November, Princess Claire of Luxembourg gave birth to her and Prince Félix’s second child, a son, in Geneva, Switzerland. His name was announced on 6 December as Prince Liam Henri Hartmut of Nassau with six photographs introducing the newborn royal to the world. They were taken by his grandmother, Grand Duchess Maria Teresa.
The same day saw the beginning of King Felipe and Queen Letizia of Spain’s three-day trip to Portugal. They visited their neighbouring country from 28 through the 30 of the month.
December:
The last month of 2016 saw royals releasing their Christmas photos, the Nobel Peace prizes awarded in Norway and Sweden, Crown Princess Couple of Sweden travelling to Italy, Queen Letizia in Italy for a nutrition symposium, Grand Duchess of Luxembourg meeting those who had been enslaved under IS, Monaco twins turning 2, and Christmas addresses from the monarchs.
Her Majesty Queen Letizia of Spain travelled to Rome, Italy, on 2 December for a nutrition symposium at the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) of the United Nations at their headquarters.
The 6th of December had Crown Princess Mary attending a Christmas reception for the partners of the Mary Foundation in Frederik VIII’s Palace.
On 10 December, the Nobel Peace Prize was awarded in Norway by King Harald to Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos. King Harald, Queen Sonja, Crown Prince Haakon, and Crown Princess Mette-Marit were all in attendance. Our Europe Correspondent, Oskar Aanmoen was at the day’s events.
Other Nobel Prizes were given out by King Carl XVI Gustaf in Stockholm. All members of the Swedish Royal Family were in attendance with the exception of the King’s sister, Princess Christina who is battling chronic leukaemia. The next evening, the King hosted a dinner for the Nobel laureates at the Royal Palace.
The Christmas card of the Spanish Royal Family was revealed on 13 December.
The next day Crown Princess Victoria and Princess Estelle accepted the Christmas trees at the Royal Palace. A Christmas lunch was held later that day, and Princess Madeleine shared a photo of Princesses Estelle and Leonore and Prince Nicolas.
On 15 December, Grand Duchess Maria Teresa met escapees of IS sexual slavery at the Grand Ducal Palace.
The same day began a three-day visit to Italy of Crown Princess Victoria and Prince Daniel. While there, the Crown Princess of Sweden attended a FAO seminar in Rome.
On 19 of the month, the Crown Princess Family of Sweden released their Christmas video, as they do every year.
Prince Albert and Princess Charlene of Monaco released their Christmas card and photos on 23 December. On Christmas Eve, the family released a behind-the-scenes video of the day the photographs were taken. The Prince and Princess of Monaco then wished everyone a Merry Christmas in both French and English. The video can be seen at the top of this article.
The Belgian Monarchy released their Christmas card photo on the same day in a tweet saying, “Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! Philippe, Mathilde, Elisabeth, Gabriel, Emmanuel and Eléonore.”
On Christmas Eve, Grand Duke Henri of Luxembourg, King Philippe of Belgium, and King Felipe of Spain gave their annual Christmas Eve addresses to their people.
Also on Christmas Eve, the Royal House of the Netherlands released their Christmas photo with the message, “Merry Christmas and a healthy and prosperous new year. – Willem-Alexander and Máxima.” The King gave his Christmas address the next day. The family travelled to Argentina to spend Christmas with Her Majesty’s family.
Queen Margrethe of Denmark, King Harald of Norway, and Prince Albert of Monaco addressed their people on the 31 December.
Wrong information in question awarding the Nobel Peace Prize. The prize is personally given to the winner by the CHAIRMAN of the Nobel Commitee (not the king). The commitee which is situated in Oslo, is an totally independant organization, with no political links to the Norwegian Gouvernement.