Mentor Foundation Royal Gala

Princess Madeleine of Sweden attended the Mentor Foundation Royal Gala at the Waldorf Astoria in New York on Thursday.

The Mentor Foundation is an international non-government not for profit organisation with a focus on the prevention of drug misuse and the promotion of health and well-being of young people. Mentor aims to support the effective use of resources (human, financial and intellectual) to achieve its goals. Mentor's focus is to "help the helpers", by identifying the most promising and excellent practices for drug misuse prevention and by disseminating this experience and knowledge internationally.

The Mentor Foundation's Board of Trustees is drawn from a wide range of distinguished individuals from many countries, including members of royal families and celebrities. All of them are committed to Mentor's Mission Statement and are united by a deep concern for young people threatened by substance abuse, playing active roles in supporting Mentor's activities and contributing significant time and personal funds to the Foundation.

President of The Mentor Foundation is HM Queen Silvia of Sweden, and Honorary Trustees are HM Queen Noor of Jordan, TRH The Grand Duke Henry and Grand Duchess María Teresa of Luxembourg, HRH Crown Prince Felipe of Spain and HRH Prince Talal Bin Abdul Aziz of Saudi Arabia.

Synaxis of St Archangel Michael

Michael (Hebrew: מִיכָאֵל‎, Micha'el or Mîkhā'ēl; Greek: Μιχαήλ, Mikhaíl; Latin: Michael or Míchaël; Arabic: ميخائيل‎, Mikhā'īl) is an archangel, one of the principal angels in Christian and Islamic tradition. He is viewed as the field commander of the Army of God.

St Michael is the special patron of the Chosen People in the Old Testament and is guardian of the Church; it was thus not unusual for the angel to be revered by the military orders of knights during the Middle Ages. He is the supreme enemy of Satan and the fallen angels.

In the Roman Catholic and the Lutheran calendar of saints, his feast day, once widely known as Michaelmas, is celebrated September 29 and was one of the four quarter days on which accounts were settled and, in England, when terms began in universities. In the Eastern Orthodox Church his principal feast day is November 21, Synaxis of St Archangel Michael, when he is honored along with the rest of the "Bodiless Powers of Heaven" as their Supreme Commander.

St Michael is the patron saint of Messrs. Andreja and Borko Komnenovic, prominent Serbian monarchists and dear friends of mine. Happy Patron Saint's Day, sons!

Prince Charles celebrated the 60th birthday

Royals from around the globe gathered at Buckingham Palace to mark the 60th birthday of Britain’s Prince Charles. Queen Elizabeth II hosted a concert by the Philharmonic Orchestra and a dinner for her eldest son, who turned sixty on Friday.

Charles' sons William and Harry addressed the 450 guests, describing Charles as an inspiration - but also poked fun at their aging father, joking that an electric stair lift would be installed at his country home in Gloucestershire, to mark his birthday. Charles' wife Camilla is throwing a more private bash on Saturday at the prince's rural estate, complete with a performance by sexagenarian rocker Rod Stewart.

Since it was a private function, no guest list was provided. But royaltywatchers and photographers at the rainy gates of the palace spotted most of Charles’ royal colleagues in the stream of cars arriving at Buckingham Palace.

Some of the guest were:

• Prince Philippe and Princess Mathilde of Belgium
• Crown Prince Frederik and Crown Princess Mary of Denmark
• Prince Willem-Alexander and Princess Máxima of the Netherlands
• Crown Prince Haakon of Norway
• Crown Prince Alexander II and Crown Princess Katherine of Serbia
• Prince Felipe and Princess Letizia of Spain
• Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden

Other royal guests included:

• King Hamad bin Isa al Khalifa of Bahrain
• King Constantine and Queen Anne-Marie of the Hellenes.
• Queen Sonja of Norway
• King Carl Gustaf and Queen Silvia of Sweden

FIRST 5 EUROPEAN COUNTRIES IN DSL COVERAGE ARE MONARCHIES!

According to IDATE (Institut de l'Audiovisuel et des Télécommunications en Europe, www.idate.fr). Founded in 1977, it is one of Europe’s foremost market analysis and consulting firms, whose mission is to provide assistance in strategic decision-making for its clients in the Telecom, Internet and Media industries.

European countries DSL* coverage at the end of 2006

Bhutan crowns young king to guide young democracy

With mediaeval tradition and Buddhist spirituality, Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck a 28-year-old charismatic batchelor with an Oxford education assumed the Raven Crown of Bhutan, to guide the world's newest democracy as it emerges into the modern world.

As the chief abbot chanted sacred sutras to grant him wisdom, compassi- on and vision, the new King was given the red and black silk crown by his own 52-year-old father, who imposed democracy on Bhutan and then abdicated two years ago.

Dressed in a red and gold gho – the knee-length gown all Bhutanese men wear – he then sat cross-legged on the ornate Golden Throne, looking solemn but allowing himself one fleeting smile, as offerings were made to the new king and the gods.

This handsome young man, who also studied in the United States and India, embodies the changes sweeping the conservative Himalayan kingdom – a young country, a young democracy, with an eye on the outside world but one foot firmly planted in its past.

The crown, embroider- ed with images of white skulls and topped with a blue raven's head, represents Bhutan's supreme warrior deity and a monarchy that united this country 100 years ago and remains enormously popular.

Freed from the burden of government that his father bore, Wangchuck remains an important symbol of national unity and stability in a country of just 635,000 people undergoing a sometimes traumatic and divisive transition to the modern world.

„His Majesty the King will always play a very important role as a moral force in our country,“ said Prime Minister Jigmi Thinley, elected in the country's first elections last March.

„The king will be the force that will ensure the long-term sustainability and resilience of democracy in our country.“

The day-long ceremony took place in the massive white-walled dzong, both fortress and monastery, in the capital Thimphu. Monks stood on the roofs blowing on their long horns, clashing cymbals and beating drums at significant moments.

Thousands of people lined up outside to pay tribute to their new king, and each was given the chance to give him a ceremonial white scarf in the afternoon. Two more days of national celebration will follow.

At dawn, three vividly painted tapestries were unveiled inside the dzong, each four-storeys high, depicting Buddha and the gurus who brought his religion to Bhutan.

As the morning sun rose higher in the clear blue sky, the king arrived, led by a procession of red-robed monks, courtesans carrying colourful banners, immaculately dressed officials and soldiers in round helmets carrying swords and black shields.

The watching crowd included close ally India's ceremonial President Pratibha Patil, its most powerful politician Sonia Gandhi, and her two children Priyanka and Rahul – the Gandhis have long been close family friends of the Bhutanese royals.

Barefoot dancers pranced and twirled in ancient costumes, banging small drums, performing „The Dance of the Heroes“ before the ceremony began in the Supreme Chamber of the Golden Throne.

Five decades ago, Bhutan was a feudal, mediaeval place with no roads, proper schools or hospitals and scarcely any contact with the outside world. Today education and healthcare are free and life expectancy has risen to 66 years from less than 40.

For most Bhutanese, credit goes to the outgoing monarch, the Fourth King, Jigme Singye Wangchuck, who saw that his tiny country, perched precariously between India and China, had to be stronger to survive in a dangerous neighbourhood.

He was also the architect of Bhutan's widely admired national philosophy, Gross National Happiness, the idea that spiritual and mental well-being matter as much as money, that material gain should not come at the expense of the environment or culture.

The charming new king, with swept-back black hair and sideburns, has already won the hearts and minds of his subjects. He mingles freely with crowds and is enormously popular with the younger generation.

With drugs use, unemployment and crime all rising, and a more rebellious younger generation emerging, Bhutan's modernisation is not without its growing pains.

But the celebrations will help the country come together as a nation after a sometimes divisive general election, analysts say.

Arguments for the Kingdom of Serbia (8)

Quentin Langley

European monarchies have excellent records of democracy and preserving freedom. When Americans think of monarchy they are most likely to think first of Britain and Queen Elizabeth II. But Holland, Belgium, Spain, Luxembourg and the Scandinavian countries are all successful constitutional monarchies. Heredity is а common method for choosing a head of state in the European Union or NATO. And, of course, there are other successful parliamentary democracies which share Britain’s house of Windsor: Canada, New Zealand and Australia being the most prominent.

Virtually all the democracies of Western Europe are built on the parliamentary model. Republics such as Germany and Ireland have pseudo-monarchies where the President is constitutionally restricted to a purely ceremonial role. The French President has some additional powers, but is helpless in the face of parliament controlled by a different party. The US model of a strong executive president is not popular among democracies. Most countries which have switched from a parliamentary to a presidential system, including most former British territories in Africa, have gone on to severely restrict political freedoms soon afterwards.

The switch the other way, on the most notable occasion that it happened, was tremendously successful. Spain is a stable parliamentary democracy in no small measure because of the unifying effect of its popular King. He systematically dismantled the engines of Franco’s dictatorship and handed power to democratic civilian rulers. He stood firmly against an attempt by the military to restore fascist rule. When the military held parliament hostage, it was the King, as the symbol of Spain’s unity, who took charge and commanded the soldiers to lay down their arms.

The USA is a striking exception to a global rule: parliamentary systems are more stable, more effective, and better able to preserve freedom than executive presidencies, and some of the best examples of effective parliamentary democracies are constitutional monarchies.

Better governance is only one advantage of restoring the monarchy. If I were asked my advice as an experienced international public relations consultant I would recommend any of the new countries in Central and Eastern Europe seriously consider the option. As a host of new countries compete for the attention of international investors and tourists each will need a unique selling point. Perhaps in this sense Serbia, with its familiar name, would not benefit as much from a restored monarchy as would, say, Slovenia or Lithuania. But what better way for a newly liberated country to attract tourists than to advertise to Americans its long history, its museums and its palaces? Countries with names that the Soviets wiped from the map can make much of their links to the past by establishing monarchies once again. Monarchy establishes that these new states are being built by old nations.

The link with the distant past is reinforced my making a clear break with the immediate past. Monarchy separates politics from government: in that sense it is the opposite of totalitarianism which deliberately pretends that the interests of the ruling elite are those of the country. In a monarchy it is clear that you can be loyal to the state without being loyal to the government: a distinction which Communism does not recognize.

And what better ambassador could there be to garner foreign investment than a King or Queen? Would American investors rush to meet the President of country they could not place on a map? Would the networks report such a visit to American shores? But the Queen of some exotic European domain would attract far more interest.

Serbia is lucky. Like post-Franco Spain, it has a living royal family. Crown Prince Alexander, the heir of the pre-war Kings lives in Belgrade since 2001. Not all the emerging states of the former Communist empire have an obvious claimant if they should decide to take the monarchist route.

King Farouk once predicted that one day there would be only five Kings: England, Clubs, Spades, Hearts, and Diamonds. But he might just have been wrong.

Queen Rania UNICEF’s Advocate for Children

Named Eminent Advocate for Children at the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) in 2007, HM Queen Rania of Jordan plays an important part in calling the attention of the international community and of the media to the challenges that children and adolescents face, especially with regard to education.

Last week the Queen was accompanying her husband, King Abdullah II of Jordan, during his first official visit to Chile, Argentina and Brazil.

Visiting (October 21 2008) the Escuela Bisica El Salitre School which serves one of the most underprivileged communities in Santiago, Queen Rania was eager to hear about how the government has committed itself to education reform across the country. Her Majesty was briefed on the ENLACES program, which concentrates on providing schools with technology so that it becomes part of the curriculum and teaching tools.

The program, which focuses on language, science and math, aims to motivate students to learn in a more interactive style and to give teachers multiple resources to address the learning styles of different students.

Speaking about similar experiences in Jordan with the Jordan Educational Initiative, the Queen noted that “the challenge isn’t just putting technology in the classroom but using that technology to transform the learning experience of students“.

Children at a UNICEF-supported school in Buenos Aires, Argentina received a royal visitor on October 23, when Queen Rania dropped by at the Paula Albarracín de Sarmiento school. There she learned about a new programme that allows teachers, administrators and families to self-evaluate educational practices, and make quick changes when improvements are needed.

„The job of reforming education is one that never ends,“ said Queen Rania. „It is one that involves all partners. Teachers, students, families, communities, the government – even the private sector has to be involved in the process.“

Queen Rania also visited Vila Madalena neighbourhood, in São Paulo, on October 24. The queen learnt about the activities developed by the program, which proposes a „school for life“ and works to fulfil the needs of children, of the family and of the community, recognising that education is more than knowing how to read and write.

„Children do not only have the right to learn. They have the right to be prepared to become active and productive citizens.“


About UNICEF

UNICEF is on the ground in over 150 countries and territories to help children survive and thrive, from early childhood through adolescence. The world’s largest provider of vaccines for developing countries, UNICEF supports child health and nutrition, good water and sanitation, quality basic education for all boys and girls, and the protection of children from violence, exploitation, and AIDS. UNICEF is funded entirely by the voluntary contributions of individuals, businesses, foundations and governments.