British Royals: December Events

PRINCE WILLIAM DID NOT SPEND CHRISTMAS WITH HIS FIANCEE

December 18, 2010

Prince William and Catherine Middleton attended a fund-raising gala of the Teenage Cancer Trust in Norfolk, England on December 18, 2010. This is the first joint event they have attended since the announcement of their engagement in November 16, 2010.

Contrary to the earlier rumor that Miss Middleton might be invited by the Queen to join the royal family at Sandringham Estate in time for the Christmas holiday celebration, after all she is already engaged to a royal family member, the latest buzz stated that Middleton  was not invited and she spent Christmas with her family at Berkshire county. Prince William was not on her side also as the young military officer choose to spend Christmas with his comrades at his barracks at the Royal Armed Force in North Wales where he is currently a search-and-rescue operation pilot.

PRINCE HARRY'S CHARITY WORK 

December 19, 2010 

Prince Harry, third-in-line to the British throne and the youngest son of the Prince of Wales has recently received a “Golden Heart Award” during a visit to Berlin, Germany. Golden Heart Award is a prestigious German award given to people who work tirelessly in the promotion of humanity. The award was handed to him by Bettina Wulff, wife of German President, Christian Wulff, the Prince felt “hugely humble” with the award, he also emphasized that his charity will focused more on “care, health and education”.

Prince Harry, a patron to many charities, and one of these leading charities is Sentebale, a charity he co-founded with a friend from Lesotho which aims to help young people affected with AIDS and provides support to children who lost their parents.

The young Prince, a lieutenant in the British Armed Forces, deeply involved himself in charity works, a crusade made famous by his late mother, Diana, Princess of Wales. During an interview with the BBC news on the occasion of the 10^th death anniversary of the late Princess of Wales, Harry and his older brother, Prince William, expressed their intentions to continue the crusade left by their mother and to keep her legacy alive.

ZARA PHILLIPS, finally engaged! 

December 21, 2010

Zara and Mike Tindall had been in a relationship for seven years and had purchased a home together near Gatcombe Park, a family estate of Zara's mother Princess Anne. Early this year, the champion equestrianne had purchased a property in Portugal and now start constructing her dream villa. Finally, the hunky rugby captain proposed marriage to the Queen's eldest granddaughter on December 20, 2010 and the next day, the Princess Royal and Captain Mark Phillips announced the official engagement of their daughter. No wedding date is finalized yet. Zara, just like her closest cousin Prince William, did not spend at the royal family's traditional gathering at Christmas in Sandringham, she chose to spend the holiday with Tindall at their home.

THE QUEEN'S CHRISTMAS 2010 MESSAGE

December 25, 2010

Every Christmas day at 3:00 pm, the ruling British monarch gave a special Christmas message on television for her subjects. This year her speech focused on religion and sports as ways of building communities and unity among her people. The speech received mixed reactions from viewers, but as a non-British subject (I saw her Christmas broadcast 2010 and her 1957 file video Christmas message)I would not dwell so much on Her Majesty's speech but more on how this wonderful monarch draws so much admiration and respect. Her tone and voice did not change as years go by, she still spoke with softness and humbleness, her careful selection of words and enigmatic facial expression reveal a simple and conservative woman deep inside. Her dedication and devotion to her role made her, at 84, still physically active doing duties to the commonwealth and the Kingdom.