Untitled Document

Anything Goes

May/Jume 2005

Spain's future queen is pregnant

Princess Letizia, the future Queen of Spain, is three months pregnant with her first child, the Royal Palace has announced.

Letizia Ortiz, 32, married Crown Prince Felipe, 37, in May last year, shortly after the Madrid train bombings.

The baby, due in November, will be second in line to the throne after the prince, who is King Juan Carlos and Queen Sofia's only son.

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Vladimir Putin visits Russian Orthodox church mission in Jerusalem

on first ever visit by a Kremlin leader to Israel

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Princess Mary of Denmark expecting her first child

Frederik and Mary's baby is due at the end of October and will be second in line

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Dutch Queen celebrates 25 years on throne

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Pope Benedict XVI Greets king Juan Carlos and queen Sofia after celebrating inagural mass at Vatican

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Yulia Pinchuk crowned Miss Ukraine in Kieve

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Charles and Camilla married, at last!

While it was expected to be a low-key gathering, Saturday's service of prayer and dedication for the newly-wed Prince Charles and Duchess of Cornwall had all the hallmarks of a royal wedding.

In stark contrast to the small group of family members who attended the intimate civil ceremony, 700 guests, including dignitaries and celebrities from around the globe, made their way to historic St George's Chapel in the grounds of Windsor Castle for the blessing.

The mood was cheerful as invitees, including Charles' sons William and Harry – who were seen laughing animatedly and joking with each other – mingled before the blessing. It became clear the ceremony was about to begin when the Queen, who did not attend the earlier civil nuptials, took her place near the altar.

Well-wishers watched on big screens outside as the Dean of Windsor led Prince Charles and his new wife to the front of the church. Camilla, on the arm of her Prince and resplendent in a porcelain blue medieval-inspired gown, seemed to tremble on arriving at the altar, which had been decorated with glorious arrays of Banksian roses, Lily of the Valley, and Hyacinth flowers, the symbol of enduring love.

The couple bowed their heads and the Archbishop of Canterbury began the ceremony, which included a prayer in which the bride and groom, along with the rest of the congregation, asked forgiveness for their sins and "all that is past".

Having knelt for the prayer, Charles and Camilla sat down once again, their faces remaining solemn, while Lord Carey of Clifton began the first reading of the 45-minute blessing. After Lord Carey's recital, music soared throughout the 15th-century church, with a moving rendition of The Creed, set to music by Aleksandr Gretchanimov and sung in Russian by acclaimed vocalist Ekaterina Semenchuk.

It was then that Charles and Camilla stood before the Archbishop to recite vows similar to those which, hours earlier, had been made far away from the eyes of the world at their wedding.

Asked if it was their understanding that marriage is a union "for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, till parted by death", the royal couple replied in unison, "It is." Speaking for the second time during the blessing, the bride and groom vowed to be faithful to one another, and, the promises behind them, grasped each other's hands as Camilla broke into a nervous smile.

With slightly shaking hands, the Duchess seemed to lose her place in the order of service as the Archbishop once again addressed the congregation. A cool-headed Charles, however, calmly leaned over to assist his bride.

The couple kneeled together and, in words that reflected the culmination of their 30-year romance, recited: "Unite our wills in Thy will, that we may grow together in love and peace all the days of our life."

After declaring their commitment before friends, family, colleagues and the world, it was time for the couple to reflect upon the rest of the blessing, including a dramatic reading of Ode On Intimations Of Immortality by William Wordsworth, a tremendous performance of a piece by JS Bach, and a specially-written prayer by the Dean of Windsor David Connor.

A rendition of the national anthem marked the end of the prayer service, and a visibly more relaxed Duchess of Cornwall held on to her husband's arm as they bowed to the Queen. Smiling broadly, they walked down the blue carpet to the west door of St George's, and were met with applause when they emerged into the breezy afternoon.

Remaining composed though the wind threatened to whisk away her feather hat, Camilla took her place with the Royal Family on the steps of the church. And then, met by hundreds of cheering representatives from the couple's favourite charities, a radiant Duchess of Cornwall embarked on her first walkabout as the Prince of Wales' wife.

The very public blessing service behind them, the private post-wedding celebrations – a lavish party in the State Rooms of Windsor Castle – awaited the newlyweds and their hundreds of guests.

Crystal flutes filled with Krug champagne were the order of the day, the bubbly complementing a delicious menu of canapes, which appropriately featured some Cornish treats – including Cornish pasties and clotted cream – as well as Duchy strawberry jam.

Another sweet item was one of Charles' favourite indulgences, a boiled fruit cake made by Welsh grandmother Etta Richardson. Discovered by the Prince during a 2004 visit to a small exhibition in Llansteffan, Wales, 20 of the homemade confections were delivered to the reception.

And there was of course, a fantastic traditional wedding cake, tailor-made to the couple's preferences. Topped with the Crown Of The Heir Apparent, the single-layered organic cake consisted of a 24-inch square, decorated with detailed lattice work and roses, thistles and daffodils to represent England, Scotland and Wales, respectively. An octagonal dome made up of panels featuring royal crests and other symbols completed the cake.

After celebrating their nuptials – and cutting the wedding cake with the Prince's sword, which originally belonged to King George V – Prince Charles and the Duchess of Cornwall said goodbye to their guests and began their lives together on honeymoon. And, in a fun and romantic touch, the car in which they drove off was decked with balloons and emblazoned with painted hearts and the words "Just Married".

Charles and Camilla planned to jet off to the Birkhall estate, far above the River Muick in the Scottish Highlands. Once the home of Charles' beloved grandmother, the late Queen Mother, the ultra-private rural getaway is located on the Royal Family's 50,000-acre Balmoral estate – the perfect tranquil backdrop for their first days as husband and wife.

Prince Rainier of Monaco dies age 81

After years of battling poor health, Prince Rainier of Monaco has died aged 81.

Prince Rainier, who began his lengthy reign of the tiny principality in 1949, died at 6.45am on Wednesday in the Monaco Cardio-Thoracic Center after battling heart and breathing problems for several weeks.

Rainier, who was one of the world's longest-reigning monarchs, was hospitalised on March 7 with a chest infection. He was transferred to intensive care on March 23, after his condition took a sudden turn for the worse. "We were thinking that he was going to be out of the hospital by the middle of this week," admitted a palace spokesman at the time. "When you are in intensive care, it's always serious."

In the days before his death, the prince's children, Albert, Caroline and Stephanie, rushed to his bedside as his health began to deteriorate. Last week, the palace confirmed Rainier had been placed on a respirator in intensive care and was suffering from cardiac and kidney problems.

The octogenarian's failing health had kept him from a number of official occasions over the past months, including November's National Day celebrations and the annual Christmas gift handout for children at the palace. He made a difficult recovery, however, and in January was moved to tears after a huge crowd of his subjects honoured him with a prolonged round of applause at the opening of Monte Carlo Circus Festival.

Increasingly frail, Rainier had required numerous hospital stays over the past decade. The Monegasque royal, whose 1999 heart surgery was followed by two more operations in 2000, spent nearly a week in hospital suffering from flu symptoms in 2003. He was admitted to a clinic in early 2004 for general fatigue, and underwent treatment for a coronary lesion in February of that year.

Now, with Rainier's long battle with illness at an end, Monaco is preparing to say goodbye to their beloved ruler.

Prince Rainier is survived by his son, Prince Albert, daughters Princesses Caroline and Stephanie, and seven grandchildren. His wife, Princess Grace ne? Grace Kelly, died in a car crash in 1982.

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Prince Rainier once described himself as a person determined to go forward, to seek the best for his country?, reflecting: ?I think a lot has been achieved, although there is still a long way to go.? And now, the person charged with picking up where the longest reigning ruler in the world left off is his son, HSH Hereditary Prince Albert.

Though later in his life, Rainier was expected to vacate the throne in favour of Albert, he chose to remain at the helm until the very end. And though the bachelor is next in line to the throne, Monaco recently changed its inheritance law, enacting an amendment making the prince's other children ? and his grandchildren ? eligible to accede should Prince Albert remain childless.

Under Monaco?s previous constitution, should Albert die without heirs, the principality would have lost its independence and become a part of France, in line with a 1918 treaty between the two countries. However, since April 2002, in the case of Albert's death ? or should he decide to step down ? power would pass to his elder sister Princess Caroline, next in the order of succession, and then to her son, Andrea, third in line to the throne.

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Prince Ernst in intensive care
8 APRIL 2005

Princess Caroline's husband Prince Ernst-August of Hanover is in intensive care after being hospitalised in Monaco for acute pancreatitis, the royal palace has confirmed.

"He is under continuous surveillance. His condition is serious and requires permanent medical attention... Biological and radiological tests as well as a scan have been carried out to determine the scope of the ailment," said an official statement.

The 51-year-old royal was admitted to Princess Grace Hospital on Tuesday, a day before the death of his father-in-law, Prince Rainier, who was at that time fighting multiple organ failure in the nearby Monaco Cardio-Thoracic Centre.

Early Friday, citing medical sources in Monaco, news agencies Reuters and Agence France Presse had reported that Prince Ernst had fallen into a coma. However, a representative for Princess Caroline has refused to comment.

Widely known for his extroverted ways, Prince Ernst, a direct descendant of King George III, wed Princess Caroline in 1999.

The world bids farewell to John Paul II

Over 100,000 mourners erupted into applause as a simple wooden coffin, carrying the body of Pope John Paul II, was borne into St Peter's Square on Friday morning. The huge crowd then fell silent as the casket, which was marked with a simple cross and the letter "M" for Mary, was placed on an ornate carpet on the ground before the Basilica.

A sea of colour filled the square, with thousands of pilgrims from the pontiff's home country waving white and red Polish flags while the Cardinals, dressed in scarlet took their seats. Four kings, five queens and over 70 presidents and prime ministers also looked on as an open Book of the Gospels, it's pages ruffling in the light breeze, was placed atop the coffin.

Britain's Prince Charles and Tony Blair joined President George Bush and a host of other dignitaries for what was the largest funeral in the history of the Catholic Church. The service was led by 77-year-old Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, the conservative German prelate who was one of the Pope's closest advisors and is considered a candidate to succeed the late pontiff.

In a fitting tribute to the most travelled pontiff in Vatican history, people have journeyed from all over the world for the event. An estimated 115,000 converged on St Peter's Square, where they frequently broke into applause and chanted the late pontiff's name during the Mass. Two million more filled the streets of the Italian capital to watch on giant screens. In the Pope's Polish homeland the faithful also gathered to watch the proceedings by video link.

Before the service an upbeat and celebratory mood pervaded in St Peter's Square, reflecting changes made by the Second Vatican Council. "It used to be called the Mass of the Dead and at one time was celebrated by priests in black vestments," explained one expert. "Now it's celebrated in white, and the prayers, the songs, the readings are full of joy, full of hope. There's very little of lament or requiem in it. It's a Mass of hope – a Mass of celebration."

With a roll-call of the world's most important people gathered in one place, Italian authorities launched an enormous security operation involving thousands of police officers and soldiers. Nato spyplanes and helicopter gunships were also drafted in to keep watch over the event.

On the ground, meanwhile, political adversaries put their differences to one side for the day. President Bush found himself joining representatives from Iran, while Tony Blair and Zimbabwe's controversial leader Robert Mugabe were also brought together by the event.

The most pressing problem facing organisers, however, was the sheer numbers of people who came to bid farewell to the Catholic leader. Authorities even resorted to sending text messages to every Italian mobile phone in the country asking citizens to stay away from event.

At the end of the ceremony, which lasted three hours, the Pope was carried to his final resting palce in the crypt of St Peter's. After another private service, the wooden coffin was placed inside a zinc one, which in turn was sealed in a wooden casket, before being interred

ABC news broadcaster Peter Jennings, seen here with Hisashi Hieda, has been diagnosed with lung cancer