News about the royals in the GALA ticker: Princess Mette-Marit tells where she would have liked to move +++ Does Princess Leonor have a boyfriend? +++ Does Princess Madeleine get wistful with these photos?
Royal News 2022 in the GALA ticker
April 22, 2022
Princess Mette-Marit reveals her place of longing
The Norwegian crown prince couple Haakon and Mette-Marit, both 48, are currently visiting Svalbard. During this journey, the princess surprises with a special declaration of love to the archipelago, which lies far north between mainland Norway and the North Pole. “There is always a good reason to travel to Svalbard,” she says on site, as reported by “Dana Press”. By that she means, among other things, the incredibly beautiful and romantic nature with glaciers, northern lights, snow and in summer the sun that never sets.
In the summer of 2008, Mette-Marit spent three weeks on vacation with her husband and children in an old hut in Fredheim on Spitsbergen, as the NTB agency quotes the 48-year-old as saying. Apparently she fell in love with this place. Haakon adds that Mette-Marit would have preferred to move to Spitsbergen. She was already convinced of that before they left their home town of Skaugum. “We didn’t do that then, but it was a summer that made an impression on all of us,” says Haakon.
The impact of that trip 14 years ago is still bearing fruit today. Because it was only in 2018 that the royal family spent their summer holidays on Spitsbergen and since then they have obviously been happy to come back there.
He celebrates the ski festival with the entire royal family
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Is Princess Leonor newly in love?
Princess Leonor, 16, traveled to her native Spain last week for the Easter holidays. The students at UWC Atlantic College in Wales are still on vacation until April 24, 2022. The 16-year-old will certainly have been looking forward to spending time with her family – especially because she is said to have had a mysterious companion.
On Friday, April 15, there was said to have been a surprise 70th birthday party for María de la Paloma Rocasolano Rodríguez, mother of Queen Letizia, 49. The celebration took place at the villa of Letizia’s sister Telma Ortiz, 48, in Soto de la Moraleja, Madrid, and was secretly organized by Paloma’s partner Marcus Tokuaboh Brandler, Spanish media reports. Of course, King Felipe, 54, Queen Letizia, Crown Princess Leonor and Princess Sofía, 14, could not be missing, they arrived together in a minibus. But they were not alone. “The family was accompanied by an unidentified young man who may be one of Leonor’s classmates, although we have no confirmation of this,” writes the Spanish newspaper Hola!. When asked by various media, the Spanish palace did not want to comment on the “unknown young man”. So it remains exciting what exactly is behind Leonor’s secret companionship.
Stylish! She is the center of attention in the new photo
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April 21, 2022
Princess Madeleine: Sister-in-law Sofia actively supports her family
Princess Sofia, 37, is back from baby break after the birth of Prince Julian, 1, and is busy taking appointments again. So she couldn’t be absent from the first representation dinner of the year on April 6, 2022 in the castle. A special occasion that Sofia even honored with an extra post on Instagram.
But that should upset a family member badly. Princess Madeleine, 39, lives in Florida with her family and is unable to attend many important appointments. A gap that is now to be closed by Princess Sofia. According to the “Svensk Damtidning” illustration, Queen Silvia should be particularly happy about this. The 78-year-old is happy to have her daughter-in-law around again on such occasions, while Madeleine wistfully observes the goings-on of her family from afar.
Princess Sofia, Andrii Plakhotniuk (Ambassador of Ukraine) and Queen Silvia during the Representationsmidday at the Palace in Stockholm, Sweden, on April 6, 2022.
© Dana Press
April 20, 2022
Prince Christian triggers half a state affair with his scarf
Oh dear, if Prince Christian, 16, had guessed that, he certainly wouldn’t have had the fan scarf dangling around his neck – because it caused quite a stir on social media…
Last Monday, April 18, the son of the Danish Crown Prince and his friends attended a football match between Brøndby Idrætsforening and FC København. His scarf marked him quite clearly as a fan of the Copenhagen club. This fact caused a number of negative reactions on Twitter – on the one hand to the palace, on the other hand to Christian himself, because as the future king he must be neutral and not allowed to take sides. When it comes to their royal family, the Danes have high standards and pretty clear ideas.
At first, the court did not want to comment on the matter because it was a “private matter”, reports the Danish tabloid “BT”. Was the pressure from the Danish people increasing?
The Danish royal celebrates her 15th birthday in such a stylish way
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In the course of the day, the communications department of the royal family then spoke to the “Ritzau” news agency. “Like all other football-loving Danes, Prince Christian should also be allowed to go to a football match without experiencing a media frenzy afterwards,” says Head of Communications Lena Balleby, backing Christian. He wouldn’t have brought the scarf himself, either. In fact, the fan articles are said to have been distributed in the area where the prince was sitting. Balleby is even more protective of the prince and explains that at his age he cannot yet assess the consequences of wearing a fan scarf. Either way, Prince Christian will certainly think very carefully about whether he wants to express his fan love again.
April 19, 2022
Do ex-princess Mako and Kei Komuro now have to leave the USA?
For ex-princess Mako, who is now called Mako Komuro, and her husband Kei Komuro, both 30, their stay in the New York exile home is becoming more and more of a nail-biter. After being expelled from Japan’s imperial family for marrying her middle-class college friend at the end of October 2021, she wanted to start a new life in Manhattan. There she is said to have recently landed a volunteer job as a curator at the Metropolitan Museum of Art (MET). But now Kei has failed his bar exam for the second time.
All photos of probably the saddest royal wedding in the world
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Last Thursday, the New York State Board of Law Examiners published a list of those who passed the difficult test. Again, Kei Komuro’s name was not on it. According to the “Japan Times” and the Japanese television service “Nippon Hōsō Kyōkai”, he reported his results to the head of the law firm Lowenstein Sandler, where Kei has been working as a legal trainee since his law studies at Fordham University. “Unfortunately, I didn’t pass the exam. I would have needed five points more to pass,” Komuro is quoted as saying. “I will take the next exam in July and I will try very hard.”
In the state of New York, trainee lawyers can repeat the bar exam as often as they like, but according to the international news agency “Reuters”, many US law firms do not tolerate a second failure. It looks like Kei can make a third – and probably last – try this summer. If he fails the exam again, he has to leave the country. Because without a job there is no work visa, which Kei urgently needs to stay in the USA.
April 18, 2022
Princess Märtha Louise: Private pictures from the ski vacation
Princess Märtha Louise, 50, is looking for Easter eggs in the snow this year! She is enjoying her skiing holiday with friends and her daughters Leah Isadora, 17, and Emma Tallulah Behn, 13. The Norwegian princess shares several snaps showing her and her companions against a picturesque backdrop.
She also recorded a video of an excursion where she first films her own skis. She then pans the camera to her face and grins happily as she suddenly loses her balance. While only shaky snow shots can be seen, you can hear the 50-year-old laughing at herself. “Happy Easter”, Märtha Louise finally wishes her followers.
Royal news from the past week
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Sources used: bt.dk, ritzau.com, Dana Press, instagram.com, japantimes.co.jp, nhk.or.jp, nybarexam.org, hola.com