The Royal Fanzine

Felipe Juan Pablo Alfonso de Todos los Santos (aka Felipe, Prince of Asturias ) is the only son of King Juan Carlos and Queen Sofia of Spain. He was born 30 January 1968 in Madrid, Spain, the only son and middle child. He was named for his grandfathers on both sides of his family (Juan of Spain and Pablo aka Paul of Greece), his paternal great grandfather (Aflonso) and the Bourbon traditonal name, Todos los Santos. At his birth, since his father was not yet King nor he heir apparent, he was titled Infante of Spain. Upon his father's succession when he was seven years old, he became His Royal Highness The Prince of Austrias. He swore allegiance to the Constitution and to the King in the Spanish Parliament, fully accepting his institutional role as successor to the Crown on his 18th birthday on 30 January 1986. Felipe started school at Santa Maria de los Rosales (the same institution now attended by his daughter, Leonor). For his high school, he attended Lakefield College Scho...

Belgium - King Albert II, Queen Paola,Prince Philippe, Princess Mathilde, Princess Astrid, Prince Lorenz, Princess Claire &Prince Laurent hosted a luncheon for members of the federal government at Château de Laeken on Tuesday { Photos } Denmark -Queen Margrethe II participated in a press conference regarding an exhibit that showcases Her Majesty’s artwork entitled, Farvens Sjæl: Dronning Margrethe II’s Kunst (The Essence of Color: The Art of Queen Margrethe II). -Crown Prince Frederik & Crown Princess Mary visited Brussels, Belgium on Thursday to attend the Danish take over of the Presidency of the Council of the European Union { Video } { Video }{ Photos }{ Photos }. -Princess Marie  gave birth to the couple's second child, a girl, who weighed 6.45 pounds (2.930 kilograms) and measured 19.6 inches (49 centimeters) long { Source } at 8:27am CET on Tuesday. The new born is 10th in line for the Danish throne. She joins the ranks after her three older broth...

Charlene Lynette Wittstock-Grimaldi (aka Princess Charlene Lynette of Monaco ) was born in January of 1978, in in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe, Africa. Born a commoner to two hard working parents-her father Mike Wittstock is a salesman, her mother Lynette was a former competitive diver and swimming coach. It wasn’t long before Charlene was joined by younger brothers-Gareth in 1980 and Sean in 1983. It was in 1989 that Mike and Lynette made the big move with their family from Bulawayo, Zimbabwe to Benoni, South Africa. Charlene was 11 years, Gareth 9 years and Sean was only 6 years. Having a mother who was a former competitive diver and swimming coach turned out to be useful for Charlene, she developed a passion for swimming at a very early age. When she was six years, she told her mother that she would get into the Olympics someday. And sure enough, she did. In 1996, at 18, she won the South African Championship. In 2000, her team came in fifth at the Sydney Olympic Games. That same year, she ...

Caroline Louise Marguerite Grimaldi (aka HRH Princess Caroline Louise Marguerite of Hanover, Heiress presumptive of Monaco)   is the eldest of three children of Prince Rainier and Princess Grace of Monaco and is presently first in line for the throne of Monaco after her brother, Prince Albert of Monaco. She was born on 23 January 1957 at the Princely Palace in Monte Carlo, Monaco, just nine months and 4 days after her parents got married in April 1956. From her birth to the birth of her brother she was heiress presumptive of Monaco, and again after her father’s death in April 2005 until present day, Caroline resumed her role as heiress presumptive of Monaco.She was educated at St Mary's School Ascot, and continued her studies at the University of Paris in Paris, where she received a diploma in Philosophy and minors in Psychology and Biology. She is fluent in French, English, Spanish, German and Italian. Her first of three marriages was to Parisian banker Phillpe Junot, who was n...

Princess Ingrid Alexandra  was born 21 January 2004 at 9:13am  in Rikshospitalet University Hospital in Oslo, Norway, the only daughter and oldest child of Crown Prince Haakon and Crown Princess Mette-Marit. She has one older half-brother from her mother,  Marius Borg Høiby and one full brother,    Prince Sverre Magnus.  She is presently 2nd in line for the throne of Norway (thus it's future Queen. When her father takes the role as King of Norway, she will become Crown Princess of Norway). She is also distantly in line for the British throne as a descendant of Edward VII of the United Kingdom (his youngest daughter Princess Maud was her great-great grandmother). She was christened on 14 April 2004, where he godparents were King Harald V of Norway, Crown Prince Frederik of Denmark, Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden; Felipe, Prince of Asturias, Princess Märtha Louise of Norway and her maternal grandmother, Marit Tjessem. She served as a b...

Belgium -Queen Paola & Crown Princess Matilde  attended a gala concert at Palais des Beaux-Arts on Tuesday in Brussels, Belgium { Photos } -Princess Mathilde attended the Bien Vivre avec Alzheimer dans sa ville et son Environnement (Living Well with Alzheimer’s in the city and its Environment) Awards in Brussels on Monday { Photo }. -Princess Astrid  Participates in a Symposium and Attends the 57th Annual Brussels Antiques and Fine Arts Fair on Thursday { Source }. Denmark -Prince Nikolai  along with two other Danish school children, participated in the 2012 Winter Youth Olympics Torch race through it's route in Denmark on Friday { Source } -Princess Benedikte  hosted a New Year’s reception for her patronage, the  Olave Baden-Powell Society , held in the Great Hall at Christians VIIs Palace, Amalienborg on Wednesday { Source } Great  Britain - Queen Elizabeth  attended a meeting with members of the Women’s Institute ...

Between royal duties, events, official visits and all of the other things royals do, they hardly have time to breathe or for themselves, so who would think that they  personally  have time to respond to the literally thousands of fan mail, e-mails, or social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter? That's right-they don't. They employ personal assistants, secretaries, and palace staff to do it for them.  Same as any other celebrity does, however some celebrities manage to occasionally tweet or post on themselves, but not on a regular basis. It's beyond obsudably ridiculous to believe that twitter sites such as @ palaismonaco ,  @ClarenceHouse , @QueenNoor , @QueenRania ,  @HHShkMohd ,  @CrownPrincessMM  and  @Kronprinsparet  are personally maintained by the royals themselves. As stated previously- they do not have the time for such trivial things,  any royal or even celebrity watcher would know that f...

Antoine de Massy is the grandson of Princess Antoinette de Massy, thus the nephew of Baroness Elisabeth-Anne de Massy , and is second cousin to Monaco's reigning Prince. He is the son of Christian-Louis de Massy and Cecile de Massy, and was born on 15 January 1997, making him fifteen years old as of 2012. Like his grandfather, Alexandre “Aleco” Noghes, Antoine is a tennis champion with his eyes on the Summer Olympics in 2016 in Rio de Janerio, Brazil. He has been playing the sport since he was a toddler, when his father would toss him a tennis ball in their living room. When he was four years old, his father began teaching him the sport of tennis, until he was five years old. When he turned five, he began to practice with various coaches at the Monte Carlo Country Club , where he  caught the eye of Bob Brett, Boris Becker’s and Goran Ivanisevic’s world renowned coach who gave him a few lessons. In September 2008, he moved to the United States where he attended  Ni...

Baroness Elisabeth Anne de Massy (aka Elisabeth-Anne Grimaldi)  was born 13 January 1947 the daughter of Princess Antointte of Monaco, thus the niece of Prince Rainier and first cousin of reigning Prince Albert of Monaco. Her father was Alexandre-Athenase Noghès, who was a reigning tennis champion. Her paternal great-great grandfather, Alexandre was the founder of the Monte Carlo Automobile Club and former general treasurer of Monaco's state finances, and his father    Anthony (1890–1978), created the first Grand Prix ever raced in a city, the world famous Grand Prix de Monaco. At the time of her birth, her parents were not married; they subquently married in 1951, placing her and her two younger siblings in line for the throne of Monaco. She and her two siblings were originally given the surname Grimaldi , but when her mother received the Barony of Massy in 1951, as a wedding present from her brother, then Princess Antoinette changed her children's last n...

Sophie Helen Rhys-Jones  was born on 20 January 1964 the daughter of Christopher Bournes Rhys-Jones and his wife, Mary (née O'Sullivan; 1934–2005). She was the second of their children and first daughter. Sophie has an older brother, David. Sophie was named after her father's sister, Helen, who died in a riding accident more than a decade before Sophie was born. Her godfather is actor Thane Bettany who is her father's stepbrother. In her early life, her family moved to Brenchley, Kent, where she began to attend school at the Dulwich Preparatory School, before moving on to Kent College, Pembury where she was friends with Sarah Sienesi. She then trained as a secretary at West Kent College, Tonbridge. Sophie started working in the field of Public Relations for a varitey of firms, including four years at Capital Radio. She also worked as a ski representative in Switzerland and spent a year travelling and working in Australia. In 1996, with enough experience behind her, R...

It's that time of year again in Monaco: The time for Lions, Tigers, and Bears...Oh, My!...Nah, just the 2012 36th annual Circus Festival in Monaco.  It's typically the only time we see Princess Stephanie's three children attending a "Royal Duty". With that said, here is a breif history of the annual event. The event was started in 1974 by then reigning Prince Rainier to celebrate his love for the circusamd order to support Circus arts and Circus families. The family-Prince Rainier's wife and three children all share his love for the circus. The first Festival was held from December 26 to 30, 1974 under the big top of the French circus Bouglione, installed on what was then the Esplanade de Fontvielle. In the foreword he wrote for the program, Prince Rainier said, "This International Circus Festival was created thinking of the circus community, of this family of underestimated people, so that you, attentive spectators of their efforts and of their work, ...

Every family has a cousin or two that the majority of the family may wonder about. Royals are no exception. Here's a list of the Royals you'll probably recognize from the Spanish Royal Family: King Juan Carlos I is the patriarch of the clan, being the King of Spain.  Queen Silvia, family matriarch, and former Princess of Greece. The King & Queen have Three Children, two of which are presently married: Prince Felipe of Austrias , heir apparent to the King Princess Letizia of Austrias , wife to the heir apparent of the King The Infanta Elena , Duchess of Lugo (The King's eldest daughter) The Infanta Cristina , Duchess of  Palma de Mallorca Iñaki Urdangarín Liebaert , Duke of Palma de Mallorca The King & Queen also have eight grandchildren: Don Felipe de Marichalar de Borbón (Age 14), Son of Infanta Elena Don Juan Valentín de Todos los Santos Urdangarín y de Borbón , Grandee of Spain, son of Infanta Cristina (age 12) Doña Victoria de Marichalar de Borbó...

Belgium -King Albert II  announced that he will use part of his taxpayer-paid salary for the upkeep for his palaces. His Majesty also explained he wants to freeze the €10.8 million he gets from the state and use an automatic 2012 salary inflation adjustment of some 3 percent — about €350,000 — for his royal properties { Source }. -King Albert II, Queen Paola,   Prince Philippe & Princess Mathilde  attended a New Year reception at their palace on Thursday for  leaders of diplomatic missions accredited in Brussels { Photos }. -Prince Philippe attended the 90th edition of the International Motor Show held at the Brussels Expo in Brussels on Thursday. -Princess Mathilde was in Leuven this afternoon to met with volunteers from the Médiation de quartier par des bénévoles held at the Provincial House { Source }. Denmark -Queen Margrethe II  held a press conference in honor of her 40th anniversary on the throne on Tuesday { Video } { Vi...

The year 2012 has MANY major events, many of which are royal-related. There are TWO major Jubilees in 2012: Queen Elizabeth II and Queen Margrethe II. Queen Elizabeth is celebrating 60 years on the throne and Queen Margrethe is celebrating 40 years as Ruler. There are also several major wedding anniversaries in 2012: Queen Elizabeth and Prince Phillip are celebrating #65, and Queen Margarethe and Prince Henrik are celebrating their 45th, and the Spanish King & Queen are celebrating their 50th. Great Britain: Of all of the Royals that are discussed here at The Royal Fanzine the British are probably the most well known. Many of our readers are probably well aware that Queen Elizabeth is celebrating her Diamond Jubilee this year (60 years) on 6 February (1952). Another known fact is that she and Prince Phillip are celebrating their 65 th wedding anniversary on 20 November (1947). In birthdays, it's the year Prince William (and hi...

In honor of her 30th birthday, here are 30 facts about Great Britain's future Queen: Catherine Elizabeth Middleton was born at the Royal Berkshire Hospital in Reading on January 9, 1982. Her parents are Michael and Carole Middleton. She is the oldest of 3 children. Her siblings are Philippa Charlotte "Pippa" Middleton and James William Middleton. As a youngster, she lived with her family in Jordan in the mid-1980s. After attending an English Language nursey school in Jordan, she attended    St Andrew's School, then briefly Downe House before attending Marlborough College. At the age of 13, in 1995, she went to the £15,000-a-year Marlborough College in Wiltshire. In 2001, the Duchess enrolled at the University of St Andrews, Fife, from where she graduated in 2005 with a 2:1 in History of Art. Her full title and style is: Her Royal Highness The Princess William Arthur Phillip Louis, Duchess of Cambridge,  Countess of Strathearn, Baroness Ca...

Denmark - Queen Margrethe II Prince Henrik Crown Prince Frederik &Crown Princess Mary celebrated Nytårskur 2012 on Tuesday { Photos } { Photos } { Photos } { Photos }{ Photos } { Photos }{ Video }{ Video }. -Crown Prince Frederik attended the 2012 DIF Sports Gala in Herning, Denmark on Friday evening { video } { photos } - Prince Vincent & Princess  Josephine  celebrated their first birthday on Sunday. Great Britian -Prince William, Duke of Cambridge & Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge  attended the U.K. film première of Steven Spielberg’s WWI drama  War Horse , held at Odeon Leicester Square in London on Sunday { Photos } { Photos } { Photos } { Video } -Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge  announced her patronages this week, ahead of her 30th birthday next Monday. The Duchess will be patron of the following:  Action on Addiction National Portrait Gallery East Anglia's Children's Hospices  The Art Room In additi...