The Royal Fanzine

Rania Al-Yassin aka  Queen Rania of Jordan,  was born on 31 August 1970 in Kuwait to Palestinian parents from Tulkarm. She attended the New English School in Jabriya, Kuwait, then received a degree in Business Administration from the American University in Cairo. Upon her graduation from American University, she worked briefly in marketing for Citibank, followed by a job with Apple Inc. in Amman. Even before becoming Queen of Jordan she was actively involved in some of it's affairs. Her first venture was the establishment of the  Jordan River Foundation  (JRF) in 1995. The Jordan River Children Program (JRCP) was developed by Queen Rania to place children’s welfare above political agendas and cultural taboos.This led to the launch, in 1998, of JRF’s Child Safety Program, which addresses the immediate needs of children at risk from abuse and initiated a long-term campaign to increase public awareness about violence against children. The deaths of two children in...

Princess Lilian, Duchess of Halland, who was born Lillian May Davies on 30 August 1915, was the wife of Prince Bertil, Duke of Halland (1912-1997). She is the aunt to the present King of Sweden, Carl XVI.  From 1940 to 1945 she was married to British actor Ivan Craig. In World War II, Lilian Craig worked at a factory that made radios for the Royal Navyand at a hospital for wounded soldiers. In 1943 she met the Swedish Prince Bertil, Duke of Halland, in London, reportedly at a cocktail party held in honor of her 28th birthday. Soon after their meeting they became lovers, although she was at that time married to her first husband. Bertil's older brother, Prince Gustaf Adolf, Duke of Vasterbotten, was the heir apparent to the Swedish throne, but in 1947 he died. As Gustaf Adolf's son, Carl Gustaf, was less than one year old, it seemed likely that when the king of Sweden died Bertil would have to serve as regent (other heirs having given up their places in the succession because...

His Highness Prince  Nikolai of Denmark, Count of Monpezat was born 28 August 1999, the elder of the two sons of Prince Joachim and Alexandra, Countess of Frederiksborg. His is the oldest of Queen Margarethe II and Henrik, Prince Consort's grandchildren. At present, he has one younger brother, one younger half brother and a younger half-sister, the half-siblings being from his father's second marriage to Princess Marie. His siblings are Prince Felix , Prince Henrik , and Princess Athena. Prince Nikolai was christened in chapel of Fredensborg Palace on 6 November 1999. At the christening the musical work Lys på din vej composed by Frederik Magle, dedicated to Prince Nikolai, was given its first performance. His godparents are:  Frederik, Crown Prince of Denmark (his paternal uncle) The Prince Edward, The Earl of Wessex Peter Steenstrup Nicola Baird (his maternal aunt) Camilla Flint He is named for: Nikolai : is after his maternal aunt and one of his godmothers, ...

Princess Maria Laura  Zita Beatrix Gerhard of Belgium, Archduchess of Austria-Este  was born 26 August 1988, the second child and oldest daughter of Prince Lorenz, Archduke of Austria-Este and Princess Astrid of Belgium. She was born at the University Clinic St. Luc,Woluwe-St-Lambert, Belgium and is currently eighth in line to the Belgian throne after her uncle, four cousins, mother and elder brother. She has one older brother, Prince Amedeo (b. 1986), one younger brother, Joachim (b. 1991) and two younger sisters: Princess Luisa Maria (b. 1995) and Princess Laetitia Maria (b. 2003). Her godparents are her paternal uncle Archduke Gerhard of Austria-Este and her elder paternal aunt Archduchess Maria Beatrix of Austria-Este, Countess von und zu Arco-Zinneberg. Until 1993, she resided in Basel, Switzerland, at which point her parents relocated to Belgium. She was educated at the Jesuit school College Sint Jan Berghmans in Brussels. She completed...

Belgium -Prince Gabriel  celebrated his 9th birthday on Monday. -Princess Maria-Laura, Archduchess of Austria-Este  celebrated her 24th birthday on Sunday. Denmark -Crown Prince Frederik  participated in Odense University Hospital's (OUH) "... 100th anniversary arrangement..."   on Tuesday { Photos }. On Friday, he was in Sweden to participate in the 2012 Nordic Championship Masters in Dragon sailing { Photos }. On Saturday, he  participate in the 2012 Nordic Championship Masters in Dragon sailing event { Photos } -Crown Princess Mary inaugurated a new campus of the Sjælland University College in Roskilde on Thursday { Photos }. On Friday, she visited Designmuseum Danmark to preside over the St. Loye Prize and Medals { Photos }. -Prince Christian  attended the 2012 Nordic Championship Masters in Dragon sailing in Sweden on Saturday to cheer his father on { Photos }. -Prince Joachim  attended the opening o...

Keith Sébastien Knecht de Massy was born the son of Christine Alix de Massy and Charles Wayne Knecht on 24 August 1971, in Philadelphia, PA. In addition to being a 1st cousin once removed of the present reigining Monégasque Princely Family, he is also a distant cousin of the family on their maternal side as his father was a cousin of Princess Grace (I believe Sébastien's grandfather was Princess Grace's uncle on her father's side). He is a member of his aunt Elisabeth-Anne de Massy’s organization, All-sports Country team (A.S.Co.T., Team Monaco captain of the tennis tournament. He also serves as founder and director of the board to his wife's organization, ConservationGuardians . After obtaining his BA in business, Sébastien moved to Lima, Peru to work for Grana y Montero Petrolera . After living in Peru he moved back to Monaco and started his shipping career with the V. Ships Group. This brought him to live in London, Singapore and Paris. In 2005 Sébastien foun...

Born Alexandre Éric Stéphane Tossoukpé in Paris, France on 24 August 2003,  Alexandre Éric Stéphane Coste is the son of Prince Albert of Monaco and Nicole Coste, which makes him the younger half-brother of Jazmin Grace Grimaldi . He also has two older half-brothers who live with their father, Nicole's ex-husband, in South America. He is also the step-son of Princess Charlene of Monaco , and nephew of Princess Caroline & Princess Stephanie of Monaco, Countess of Polinac . His mother Nicole changed their surname to Coste on 10 November 2004, a move in which is believe to be in homage to Prince Albert's lawyer, Thierry La Coste . His mother owns a villa just outside of Monaco in Villefranche-sur-Mer, France and has an apartment in Paris. It is believed that one of these is their primary residence and that Alexandre attends school in either Paris or Villefranche-sur-Mer. At present, Alexandre should be preparing to enter 9ème, this is eq...

Noor al-Hussein, Queen Dowager of Jordan was born Lisa Najeeb Halaby on 23 August 1951 the daughter of Najeeb Halaby and Doris Carlquist in Washington, DC, USA. She has two siblings, brother Christian and sister Alexa. She was educated National Cathedral School from fourth to eighth grade, before she briefly attended The Chapin School in New York City. She went on to graduate from Concord Academy in Massachusetts. She attended Princeton University with its first coeducational freshman class, and received a BA in Architecture and Urban Planning in 1973. After she graduated, Lisa Halaby moved to Australia, where she worked for a firm that specialized in planning new towns. She became increasingly interested in the Middle East and immediately accepted a job offer from a British architectural firm that had been employed to redesign the city of Tehran. In 1976, she moved back to the United States. She thought about earning a master's degree in journalism and starting a career in te...

Okay. It’s out there now. And if you've been a regular reader, you know I have something to say about it! As 90% of us are aware now, the press has caught Prince Henry Charles Albert David of Wales in Las Vegas out by a pool in his birthday suit. So, we all thought “What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas” right? Not when you are an international celebrity!  Especially a high profile royal like the British Royal Family. There are two sides of me wanting to respond to this. First there’s the royal fan-girl in me. Most of us know what that’s like, no? ;-) I say nothing more. Then there is the PR girl in me that bring out the logic in the situation.  As a member of the British Royal Family, no matter where or what they may be doing, all members of the family represent the United Kingdom as a whole. I cannot imagine that the British people are too thrilled with his actions as he represents them. Sure, he’s being a typical 20-something boy. And proving to me once again to me that...

To Our Readers: After months of neglect and focusing on our social media aspects of the blog, I finally got around to checking the email account. Some interesting emails, that’s for sure! Some looking for information, looking to contribute articles and even the son of Archduke Felix of Austria wanting to comment on the obituary I wrote for his father last year! ( NOT KIDDING. I went a little psycho when I read it. Nat & Aya-READ YOUR EMAIL NOW) Lesson learned: DO NOT neglect the blog email! In the future, I will  try  to check that account more often. However, If I don’t get back to you within a few days, contact me via twitter (@TheRoyalFanzine), or via our  Facebook  page.  Thank you! Marcia Editor-in-Cheif The Royal Fanzine

King Mohammed VI of Morocco  was born 21 August 1963 the son of King Hassan II and Lalla Latifa Hammou. He has one older sister, two younger sisters and a younger brother: HRH Princess Lalla Meryem (b.1962) HRH Princess Lalla Asma (b.1965) HRH Princess Lalla Hasna (b.1967) HRH Prince Moulay Rachid (b.1970) He completed his primary and secondary studies at Royal College and attained his Baccalaureate in 1981, before gaining a bachelor's degree in law at the Mohammed V University at Agdal in 1985. His research paper dealt with "the Arab-African Union and the Strategy of the Kingdom of Morocco in matters of International Relations". He has also frequented the Imperial College and University of Rabat. Also in 1985, he was appointed President of the Pan Arab Games, and was commissioned a Colonel Major of the Royal Moroccan Army on 26 November. He served as the Coordinator of the Offices and Services of the Royal Armed Forces until 1994. In 1987, Mohammed obtained his fi...

HRH Prince Gabriel Baudouin Charles Marie of Belgium was born 20 August 2003, the second child and first son of Prince Phillippe and Princess Mathilde. He has one older sister, Princess Elisabeth, and two younger siblings-Prince Emmanuel, and  Princess Eléonore. His godparents are Baroness Maria Christina von Freyberg and his maternal uncle Count Charles-Henri d'Udekem d'Acoz. His name comes from the following: Gabriel – Continues the tradition of El-/-el names in the family, and as previously mentioned, because of its religious symbolism.. Baudouin is for his great-uncle, King Baudouin of Belgium. Charles is for his maternal uncle and godfather, Count Charles-Henri d'Udekem d'Acoz Marie is for the Virgin Mary, as per tradition with Catholic royalty. Like his elder sister and younger brother, he likely attends  Sint-Jan Berchmanscollege.

Denmark -Crown Princess Mary  officially opened the 2012 Odense Blomsterfestival (Flower Show) on Wednesday { Source } Great Britain - Prince Philip, The Duke of Endinburgh  visited the Isle of Wight on Monday { Source }. On Wednesday, he was admitted to the hospital as a "precaution" { Source }. -Prince William, The Duke of Cambridge  particpated in a search and rescue of a bunch of teenage girls who were in danger after being caught on a riptide while body-boarding off the Anglesey coast on Thursday { Source }. -Princess Anne, The Princess Royal  celebrated her 62nd Birthday on Wednesday. -Peter Mark Andrew Phillips & Zara Anne Elizabeth Phillips Tindall attended the Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 launch party at One Mayfair in London on Wednesday { Photos } Japan -Emperor Akihito & Empress Michiko  attended a memorial service at Budokan Hall in Tokyo to "... honor the dead on the 67th anniversary of Japan's surrender thu...

Crown Princess Mette-Marit  of Norway (née Tjessem Høiby)  was born 18 August 1973, the daughter of daughter of Sven O. Høiby, who worked as a journalist in a local paper, and Marit Tjessem. Her parents divorced, and her father would later marry Renate Barsgård. She has a sister and two older brothers; her stepbrother Trond Bernsten—by her mother's 1994 marriage to Rolf Berntsen—died in the 2011 Norway attacks.  She grew up in Kristiansand in the southern part of Norway. She spent many weekends and holidays in the nearby valley of Setesdal and at the seaside, where she learned to sail. During her youth she was active in the local youth club Slettheia, where she was also an activity leader. As a teenager she played volleyball, qualifying as referee and coach. After starting at Oddernes upper secondary school in Kristiansand, Mette-Marit spent six months at Wangaratta High School located in North East Victoria in Australia, as an exchange student with the e...

Princess Lalla Amina of Morocco  was born 8 April 1954   in Madagascar, the daughter of Mohammed V from his third wife Lalla Bahia. She was the present King of Morocco's aunt and was the only Princess who was born during the family's exile.    She has two children that survive her: Lalla Soumaya and Moulay Idriss. She apparently died after suffering a long illness the last several months on Thursday. Per tradition, her funeral took place on Friday. She was very active in nuerous activities in her lifetime. She was President of the Fédération Royale Marocaine des Sports Equestres since 1999.  HRH Princess Lalla Amina was a devoted and accomplished equestrian. She was also an adovcate for children's rights as part of her role as President of the Moroccan league for Child Protection. She was a member of the honorary committee of the global movement of mothers, Honorary President of the Hadaf Association for the protection of disabled persons and also c...

Anne Elizabeth Alice Louise Mountbatten-Windsor   was born 15 August 1950, at the Clarence House, the second child and only daughter of Princess Elizabeth of York, The Duchess of Endinburgh and her husband, Phillip, The Duke of Endinburgh. She has one elder brother, Prince Charles of Wales and two younger brothers, Prince Andrew, Duke of York ; and Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex . She was baptised Anne Elizabeth Alice Louise Mountbatten-Windsor at Buckingham Palace on 21 October 1950. Her godparents were:  The Queen--later Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother (her maternal grandmother) (where Elizabeth likely comes from) The Hereditary Princess of Hohenlohe-Langenburg (her paternal aunt) (Princess Margarita) Princess Alice of Greece and Denmark (her paternal grandmother) (where Alice comes from likely) The Earl Mountbatten of Burma (her paternal granduncle) (Louis) The Hon. and Rev. Andrew Elphinstone (her mother's cousin, her 1st cousin once removed) She began her edu...

Denmark -Queen Margrethe II, Crown Prince Frederik,  Crown Princess Mary, Prince Christian, Princess Princess Isabella  attended the Men's Quarterfinals in Handball on Wednesday { Photos } -Queen Margrethe II, Crown Prince Frederik,  Crown Princess Mary, Prince Christian, Princess Princess Isabella, Princess Benedikte & Princess Nathalie of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg attended a reception aboard the royal yacht Dannebrog for various British and Danish personalities on Monday { Photos }. -Queen Margrethe II  & Crown Prince Frederik watched a handball match, on a giant screen at St. Katherine's Dock, between Team Denmark and Team South Korea on Monday { Video }. -Queen Margrethe II visited the Olympic Village located in Stratford, east London on Wednesday { Photos } -Crown Princess Mary, Prince Christan & Princess Isabella arrived in London Monday afternoon. { Photos }. -Princess Marie  visited the National Association fo...

HRH  Queen Sirikit of Thailand  was born 12 August 1932 the eldest daughter and the third child of Prince Nakkhatra Mangkala Kitiyakara, the son of Prince Kitiyakara Voralaksana, and Mom Luang Bua Sanidvongs. Her name, which was given by King Prajadhipok, means "the Greatness of Kitiyakhon". She had three siblings; two elder brothers and a younger sister: Prof. Mom Rajawongse Galyanakit Kitiyakara, M.D. (20 September 1929 – 15 May 1987) Mom Rajawongse Adulyakit Kitiyakara (2 November 1930 – 5 May 2004) Mom Rajawongse Busba Kitiyakara (born 2 August 1934) Sirikit was raised by her maternal grandparents for a year after her birth, as her father went to United States to work as the secretary of the Siamese Royal Embassy at Washington D.C. Her mother joined her husband three months later. When she was one year old, her parents returned to Thailand. Sirikit lived together with her family in Deves Palace, near Chao Phraya River, Bangkok. As a child, Sirikit often ...

Mabel Martine Wisse Smit, born Mabel Martine Los aka Princess Mabel of Orange-Nassu  was born 11 August 1968.   She is the daughter of   Hendrik Cornelis "Henk" Los and wife Florence Malde Gijsberdina "Flos" Kooman. Her father died when she was 9 years old; when her mother married Peter Wisse Smit  in 1984, Mabel and her sister took their stepfather's surname. Princess Mabel has two younger sisters, Nicoline Los, later Nicoline Wisse Smit (b. 1970) and Eveline Wisse Smit (b. 1982). She studied economics and political science at the University of Amsterdam, graduating summa cum laude in 1993. During her study she also finished internships at the United Nations, Shell, ABN AMRO and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. In addition to Dutch, she speaks fluent English,Spanish and French and also learned Slavic languages during her work in the Balkans. During her university years, she showed special interest in human rights situations around the world...

Princess Beatrice Elizabeth Mary of York  was born 8 August 1988, the elder of the two children of The Prince Andrew, Duke of York and Sarah, Duchess of York. She has a younger sister, Princess Eugenie . At present, she is the fifth in line for the throne of the United Kingdom & its commonwealth realms, and is the first female. She was baptized in the Chapel Royal at St. James's Palace on 20 December 1988, her godparents being: Viscount Linley (her father's cousin) The Duchess of Roxburghe (now Lady Jane Dawnay)  The Hon Mrs John Greenall Mrs Henry Cotterell She was named after The Princess Beatrice (youngest daughter of Queen Victoria), after Queen Mary (The Queen's grandmother) and after the Duchess' mother's second name. She began attending school in 1991, at the Upton House School. She then moved onto Coworth Park School, before attending St. George's School. She was diagnosed with dyslexia as a youngster, so she delyayed her GCSE Exa...