The Formerly Secret 1963 CIA Report On The Greek Royal Family

Over the decades, the Central Intelligence Agency of the United States has compiled many reports and dossiers on various royal families around the world. In 1963, the CIA was focused on the Royal Family of Greece: in particular, on King Paul, his wife Queen Frederica, and their son Crown Prince Constantine. The report, which is available at the link below, offers fascinating insight into how a foreign intelligence agency viewed the actions of these three key members of the Greek Royal Family, and how the royals' actions were consequential in the Greek political scene at the time. Link: The Monarchy and Stability in Greece

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King Juan Carlos of Spain To Undergo Heart Surgery On Saturday

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HM King Juan Carlos of Spain will undergo heart surgery on Saturday, 24 August. The announcement was made today by the royal palace. It is reported that doctors noticed the need for the operation during a routine check up in June: the exact cause for this surgery has not been released, understandably.

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King Juan Carlos has had a plethora of operations over the decades to deal with various ailments. In 1954, the then-Infante Juan Carlos underwent an appendectomy after being diagnosed with appendicitis. In 1981, the king required surgery after injuries he sustained while colliding with a glass door. In 1985, Juan Carlos had surgery on his right knee. In 2001, the king underwent a procedure to correct varicose veins on his right left. In 2010, Juan Carlos was in hospital for an operation to remove a benign tumour on his right lung. In 2011, the king had surgery on the Achilles tendon of his left foot as well as having a right knee replacement. In 2012, Juan Carlos had a right hip replacement after suffering a dislocation in that hip; he then underwent a left hip replacement as well. In 2013, the king had back surgery after experiencing a herniated disc; he also had a further operation on his left hip. Last year, King Juan Carlos had an additional surgery on his right knee.

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Due to these health problems, it is no wonder that King Juan Carlos made the decision to withdraw from public duties earlier this year. For quite some years, the Juan Carlos has required a cane to walk - with extra assistance being necessary at times. The heart surgery of the eighty-one year-old king emeritus will take place at a private hospital in a suburb of Madrid.

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70th Birthday of the Head of the House of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg

HH Duke Christoph of Schleswig-Holstein was born on 22 August 1949 at Schloß Louisenlund, Eckernförde, Schleswig-Holstein. Christoph was the second child and first son of Duke Peter of Schleswig-Holstein (1922-1980) and Princess Marie Alix of Schaumburg-Lippe (b.1923). Christoph had joined an older sister, Princess Marita (b.1948), and was followed by a younger brother, Prince Alexander (b.1953), and a younger sister, Princess Ingeborg (b.1956).

Duke Christoph and Duchess Elisabeth

In 1981, Duke Christoph married Princess Elisabeth of Lippe-Weissenfeld (b.1957), the second daughter of Prince Dr Alfred of Lippe-Weissenfeld (b.1922) and his wife Irmgard (b.1929; née Baroness Wagner von Wehrborn). The Duke and Duchess of Schleswig-Holstein have four children: Princess Sophie (b.1983), Hereditary Prince Friedrich Ferdinand (b.1985), Prince Constantin (b.1986), and Prince Leopold (b.1991). 

Duke Christoph of Schleswig-Holstein

Christoph of Schleswig-Holstein studied agricultural engineering and obtained a degree in that field. Since 1980, Christoph heads the board of the family foundation that owns the dynasty's ancestral home, Glücksburg Castle. The duke resides in Grünholz near Schwansen where he has business interests in agriculture, forestry and real estate. Christoph is the owner of the Grünholz and Bienebek estates and is one of the largest landowners of Schleswig-Holstein.

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Princess Kalina of Bulgaria And Family Considering Move To Bulgaria

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Princess Kalina of Bulgaria and her husband Kitín Muñoz are weighing a move from their home in Morroco to the home of the princess's father, King Simeon II.

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Along with their son Simeon Hassan, Princess Kalina and Mr Muñoz have made their home in Morocco for the past ten years. Among the reasons that the couple have reportedly cited for a prospective relocation to Bulgaria is to allow the princess and her son to be closer to their father and grandfather, respectively. King Simeon and Queen Margarita have a residence in Sofia.

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Kalina of Bulgaria and Kitín Muñoz were married at Tsarska Bistritsa in the Rila Mountains of Bulgaria on 26 October 2002. Almost five years later, on 14 March 2007, the pair welcomed their only child Simeon Hassan, who was born at Sofia, Bulgaria.

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Crown Prince Alexander and Crown Princess Katherine of Serbia Interviewed by California News Station

The Crown Prince and Princess of Serbia were interviewed by KTVU Channel 2 recently during a visit to Oakland, California. Alexander and Katherine were invited to the area by Steve Wozniak, one of the co-founders of Apple, after Mr Wozniak had paid a trip to Belgrade. During their stay, Crown Prince Alexander and his wife attended Comic-Con.

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The Death of Princess Christina of The Netherlands (1947 - 2019)

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Aged seventy-two, Princess Christina of The Netherlands died on Friday, 16 August 2019, at Noordeinde Palace, Den Haag, The Netherlands. She had been suffering from bone cancer. In June 2018, it was announced that the princess had been diagnosed with the illness in November 2017.

 

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Princess Christina, known then as Princess Marijke, was born on 18 February 1947, at Soestdijk Palace, Baarn, The Netherlands. Her mother was the then Princess Juliana, only child and heir presumptive of Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands. At the time of her birth, she was fifth in the line of succession to her grandmother, Queen Wilhelmina. Her father was Prince Bernhard of Lippe-Biesterfeld, a son of Prince Bernhard of Lippe and his wife, Baroness Armgard von Cramm.

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Christina has three older sisters: Princess Beatrix, Princess Irene and Princess Margriet. At the age of twenty-one, Christina moved to Canada to study classical music in Montreal. After a few years, she accepted a teaching position at a Montessori school in New York City. It was there that she met her future husband.

 

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Princess Christina and Jorge Pérez y Guillermo were married on 28 June 1975. Their civil wedding took place at Baarn and was followed by a religious ecumenical ceremony in the Cathedral of Saint Martin, Utrecht. Jorge Guillermo was a Roman Catholic and an exile from Cuba. Christina gave up her dynastic rights upon her marriage. 

 

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The couple had three children: Bernardo Federico Tomas Guillermo (b.1977), Nicolás Daniel Mauricio Guillermo (b.1979), and Juliana Edina Antonia Guillermo (b.1981). Christina and Jorge divorced in 1996. Princess Christina retained a residence in Italy as well as in The Netherlands. Per her wishes, she will be cremated.

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The 80th Birthday of Princess Irene of The Netherlands

Crown Princess Juliana with her daughter Princess Irene

 

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On 5 August 1939, Crown Princess Juliana of the Netherlands gave birth to her second daughter at Soestdijk Palace. Crown Princess Juliana had married Prince Bernhard of Lippe-Biesterfeld in 1937. The little princess was named Irene Emma Elisabeth, and at her birth she was third in the line of succession to the Dutch throne after her mother and her elder sister Princess Beatrix (b.1938). Irene was joined by two younger sisters, Princess Margriet (b.1943) and Princess Christina (b.1947).

 

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During the Second World War, the Dutch Royal Family, with Irene's maternal grandmother Queen Wilhelmina at the forefront, was compelled to leave their country for the United Kingdom in the face of Nazi occupation. Princess Irene was christened at Buckingham Palace, where one of her godmothers was Queen Elizabeth, The Queen Mother. As the London Blitz began to take place, it was decided that the Dutch royals would be safer in the Americas, and they duly took up residence in Canada. After the end of the war, the Royal Family returned to The Netherlands.

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Princess Irene went on to attend the University of Utrecht. Thereafter, she moved to Madrid to study Spanish. The princess became proficient enough in the language to become an interpreter. It was during her studies in Madrid that Irene met her future husband, Prince Carlos Hugo of Bourbon-Parma. In 1963, Irene left the Dutch Reformed Church and became a Roman Catholic. In February 1964, the engagement between the princess and Carlos Hugo of Bourbon-Parma became known. The match was heavily opposed by the bride's parents and the Dutch government. Concerned about the situation, Queen Juliana did her utmost to deter the union from taking place; however, the queen's efforts were not successful. Irene gave up her right of succession to the throne of The Netherlands before her marriage.

 

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On 29 April 1964, Princess Irene of the Netherlands married Prince Carlos Hugo of Bourbon-Parma at the Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore in Rome. No member of Irene's family attended the ceremony, although they did watch the event at the home of Princess Irene's paternal grandmother Armgard - a power outage in the country prevented the Dutch royals from seeing the end of the service. 

 

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The baptism of Prince Carlos, the first child of Prince Carlos Hugo and Princess Irene

Carlos Hugo and Irene of Bourbon-Parma with their four children

Princess Irene of Bourbon-Parma

Carlos Hugo and Irene would eventually have four children: Prince Carlos (b.1970), the twins Prince Jaime and Princess Margarita (b.1972), and Princess Carolina (b.1974). Irene and Carlos Hugo became intensely involved in the Carlist movement in Spain; however, once Franco died in 1975 and Juan Carlos became King, the movement rather fractured and so did the couple's married. They divorced in 1981.

 

 

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Princess Irene has for some decades been an advocate for nature conservation. Through her four children, she is now a grandmother of ten. Her ex-husband Carlos Hugo passed away in 2010.