royal rich famous

Shift of Power - Jordanian Harem

2010-09-07T13:05:00.000-07:00

A picture says a thosand words!! And indeed this one does!

King Hussein had just died. Fortunes of those closest to him had changed dramatically over night. Queen Noor the beautiful ambitious lebanese/american wife of the King and de facto ruler of his heart ( it was she who called the shots where family, succession and importance was concerned) now had to gracefully (or otherwise ) give way to another Queen. Its never easy the shift of power, and especially not so in a middle eastern harem !! Now we know how the legendary Empress Nurjehan might have looked when her niece Arjumand Banu preceded as the new Empress upon Jehangirs death.

I'd say this picture qualifies for a historic archival picture - it tells us a tale.

Ascendancy was on the cards for Rania though, from being the daughter of the Palestinian doctor and wife of the Kings eldest but 'not in line for succession' son Abdallah, she overnight went onto become Queen of the land , the court and the harem including Queen Noor!

If Queen Noor and the son groomed for succession Prince Hamzah were sidelined so were the officially designated Crown prince and princess Prince Hasan and princess Sarvath, the dusky Pakistani princess.... the play of fate is clear - no one can imagine in their wildest imagination tell what tommorrow will hold, who will be king and who beggar?

Thai coronation - royal gathering

2010-03-22T02:09:00.000-07:00

Pic 1: Lalla Salma of Morrocco curtesies to Queen Sirikit; other members of Thai royal family look on.

Pic 2: King Letsie III of Lesotho with his Queen karabo.

Pic 3: Tuanka Nur Zahirah - the Queen of Malaysia arrives

Pic 4: Sheikh Khalifa of Qatar with his 'amazonian' wife sheikha Mozza! greeting the King Bhumibol and Queen Sirikit.

Pic 5: CP Vajiralongkorn and CPrincess Srirasmi welcome HIM the Empeor Akhito of Japan.

Pic 6: The King and Queen of Swaziland

Pic 7: Queen Sophia of Spain and Princess Mathilde of Belgium, Duchess of Brabant which is an equivalent to crown princess.

Pic 8: The handsome young King of bhutan - Jigme Khesar Namgyal Wangchuck

Pic 9: CP Haakon and CPrincess Mette-marit greet King Bhumibol and Q Sirikit

Pic 10: The much respected princess Sirindhorn of thailand receives Kinf Abdallah of Jordan.

King Bhumibol's 60 years on the Ananda throne

2010-03-22T01:42:00.000-07:00

King Bhumibol Adyuladej of Thailand is the worlds longest reigning monarch, second longest reign would be that of Her Majesty the Queen of England. Both for whom i have the greatest regard. Perhaps if they were not the staunch,dutiful monarchs that they are they would not have reigned so long!

Anyways just posting some fabulous colorful pictures that archive this great occassion that took place in 2006. Long Live the King! for God alone knows what happens after him....

Pic 1: Thai's celebrating on the streets of BKK their Kins long reign
Pics 2 & 3: Official pictures of the coronation gathering of royal heads from across the globe - a real treat for royal watchers.

Sara - crown princess of brunei

2010-03-12T11:59:00.000-08:00

In pictures Crown princess Sara's life - begin with pic 5 - sara with her family swiss mother and bruneian father.

Pic 4 : marriage to CP Billah son and heir to the Sultan of brunei - which is an absolute monarchy today like its Middle eastern counterparts. Sara was chosen by CP billah and his mother Queen Saleha.

Pic 3: At her wedding reception with her in laws Sultan Bolkhiah and Queen Saleha.

Pic 2: With her only son -delightful pic :)

Pic 1: Pretty as a picture in traditional bruneian finery - Sara is no wall flower and attends to many welfare programmes in brunei.

Royal Portraits in B & W

2009-08-22T11:58:00.000-07:00

SOmehow pictures in B&W always look better than their color counterparts and pictures of the yesteryears look far better then what we have today - i dunno why that is so; perhaps the ladies ( and gentlemen ) dressed better, had more grace, more manners and i more personality than todays gen.

Pic 1: Princess Margaret, sister to Queen Elizabeth II.

Pic 2: Lee Radziwell nee Bouvier on her wedding day with her more famous sister Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis. Lee married a Polish prince thats she's here :)

Pic 3: Princess Indira of Kapurthala (India)

Pic 4: Princess Grace of Monaco - the most beautiful lady ever - imo no one has ever looked better!

Pic 5: Princess Andree Aga Khan (1898-1976) the 3rd wife of the then Aga Khan

note - all the pictures expect that of princess Grace are taken by NPG (National Portrait Gallery) of London.

Love the beard :)

2009-08-22T11:49:00.000-07:00

Why didnt he grow it earlier? does nt he look much much better with that beard? Not that he can compare with bro Harry - atleast in my books;

And his choice in women sure sucks!

Feast your eyes....

2009-08-22T11:46:00.000-07:00

The late princess Diana was never one of my favorite people but a beautiful picture ought to find its place here.

Feast your eyes on this fantastic portrait of the princess by artist Nelson Shanks.

My Travels....

2009-08-22T11:17:00.000-07:00

I have visited two great monarchies in the last five months, both have been fantastic experiences! I intend to write long posts on both these great rulers but not now ... im feeling lazy so im just posting some very wonderful royal pictures in my following posts.

Dubai is a dream (albeit the dream is supposedly crumbling ) but its amazing what this one man done , has tried to do - truly the Sheikh is very innovative. I was there to see the Dubai World cup 2009 - it was a fantastic experience to see it live, and though i saw the men of the royal family pretty close up i didnt manage to see Princess Haya even though she was very much there somewhere in a beige outfit :)

Thailand is extraordinary as well, the thai people their culture and most of all their sincere devotion to the King is unparalled. I do not thing anywhere in the world there exists such devotion for one man. Its amazing, every thai person you meet is so devoted to their king, my best friend who is a non thai - thai citizen is crazy about him as well. What a fascinating status the king commands its almost unreal to be worshipped by so many across all boundaries of class, creed and religion. South Thailand is inhabitated by Muslim thai's but too feel no different from their Buddhist counterparts. The more i learn about this great king the more i seem to become his admirer as well :)

More posts on these two great men later.

Maoist Priest! What next?

2009-01-19T07:44:00.000-08:00

Pic 1: King Gyanendra blessing a holy man.

Pic 2: The king and his wife blessing nepalese people. Around 5000 people gathered outside the former kings residence on a holy day to be blessed. This was in October 2008 and around early jan 2009 Maoist priests were given positions in the most ancient shrine of Nepal - Pashupathinath.
It is clear Prachanda did not approve of Gyanendra's religious head status.

Beware King Gyanendra.

When the Maoists abolished the 240 year old monarchy and discharged the king from his royal residence i was scared for what would happen to the royal family. All revolutions throughout the world have resulted in a compete annhilation of the royals. Why was this so? Succeeding leaders have always always considered those of the royal blood their biggest threat. It is not a million Koirala's that Prachanda is afraid of. It is the unpopular King Gyanendra that he considers his biggest threat. It has always been so throughout history. Prachanda fears because he realises that popularity is just a bubble, a man who is loved today can be hated tomorrow and vice versa.

I had initially thought that some drastic action would be taken against the King and his family, when nothing happened my friends laughed at my pessimistic predictions. I hope what i say will never come true yet i am not so blind as to assume that Prachanda and his band of Maoists are going to let King Gyanendra live in peace for the rest of his life. Prachanda has fought for this all his life and now that he finally wears the crown he is especially worried that none should steal it from him. The saying 'uneasy lies the crowned head' is true for all rulers yet it is more true for those who have fought their way upto their crown. Those who have merely inherited it without a fight usually take it for granted. But those who have finally won it after many privations take especial care that there is no harm from any quarter whether real or imagined. And it is these latter types that can and will be ruthless.

Why didnt Prachanda act?

Because he still wasnt sure he was in full control. The army! Were they all his men? No, clearly no. There are two factions that generally decide the leadership of a country. The obvious one is the army - until Prachanda has not fully infiltrated his maoist army into the Nepalese army he dare not risk harming the king and his family. I am certain the slowly and surely he is replacing all those in high commands in the army with his own people.

The other thing that decides the status of a rulers crown is the socio-economic-religious factors. Prachanda is well aware that it was Nepals acute poverty that was the real reason for the revolution against the monarchy. When people are starving they just want to believe that a change in leadership will blow away all their sufferings , however if that new leadership also fails then they quickly revert back. Now since the economy of Nepal is in shambles and there's nothing much he can do about it quick, he knows people will begin 'liking' the hated Gyanendra again. When they realise that their children are still sick, their women still without cloth and themselves still starving they will begin to believe that maybe it is Prachanda who is the bad guy and maybe Gyanendra was not so bad after all.

To add to Prachanda's worries Gyanendra is regarded as an incarnation of Lord Vishnu by the devout. And remember the poor are generally devout and of great faith. He realised that this would be a great great threat to him. The ancient temples of Nepal and India still hold the hindu monarch in high esteem. And all men somewhere fear the Gods. Whether they be in the army or the temple.

Therefore Prachanda has astutely realised that this has to be cut from its roots, Gyanendra must have no influence in the temple's. Well his men are now governing in the temples, soon they will be ruling the armed forces. Then when he is in a relatively safer position he will eradicate his main rival - King Gyanendra.

I hope and pray that this does not happen.

So much in love..!

2009-01-19T07:06:00.000-08:00

OMG!! They are so much in love and it shows in the pics!! How cute:) and whats so fascinating is that he is perhaps the first and only (?) Sheikh who is seen in such a public display of affection for his wife. For those who have not yet placed them (duh! thats a lack of GK really) he is Sheikh Mohammed Al Maktoum, the ruler and co creator of modern Dubai. She is his wife (not his chief wife - that salvo belongs to his first wife Sheikha Hind), Princess Haya of Jordan; Step sister to the current king Abdallah and daughter of the late king Hussein of Jordan. Last year the princess gave birth to their first child Princess Aljalilah (ive got pics of her too, she's a carbon copy of Sheikh Mo). Nice name there!

It was an out an out love marriage between the two who share an immense passion for thoroughbred horses. And it was horses that brought them together. Haya used to show jump and has been passionately involved with these beautiful animals since forever. The Sheikh who claims it is in his blood to love these beautiful arabians (check out his website :www.godolphin.com ) has been perhaps the biggest promoters of horse racing around the world. That reminds me - i am going for the Dubai carnival this year - Yayyyyyy!! (God willing)

I just saw the Queen...

2008-09-26T10:32:00.000-07:00

That is the movie of course!:) (though mind you i have had the very good fortune of seeing her majesty in person as well!). About the movie "The Queen" well its brilliant, helen mirren does an absolutely fabulous job and you think its actually the Queen herself. I think every charactor whether it is of Mr. Blair or Prince Phillip , its remarkable how accurately the director has been able to portray them. It shows prince Phillip who lives in his own royal fairyland - he hasnt an inklink about what the reality is. It shows the late Queen Mother as the good humored but tough stanced lady that she always was and it shows Prince Charles as the eager to please and scared to displease heir apparent in the wait.

It also shows the marked difference between people like Cherrie Blair, the Labour party members and the new breed of the "english' people (who are perhaps more immigrants rather than good ol ENglish stock) who are all for 'modernization' and more 'democratization' and their sarcastic stance on what they feel is an outdated antiquated system - the monarchy. Oppossed to them in thought are the very members of the Old Nobility, the various Lords and Earls, who hold offices which are primarily offices in name to fulfill some duty for the royal household (Like Lord Airlie in the movie), these are the people who respect and abide by the old hierarchical societal laws.

Somewhere in between are Mr. Blair and Her Majesty. Mr. Blair is the man of the moment (then that is), England cheers him and so does the rest of the world. Diana is dead, England is baying for someones blood. Charles is trying to act according to what he gauges is popular with the public. It is here that the Queen shows her greatness. The ability to do what she believes in. She is the Queen of England, the sovereign of this most wonderful country, not some hungry vote seeking all appeasing politician.

It is here again that Tony Blair surprises not only his party, but also his anti monarchist wife. There are party demands to pass a bill to change or abolish the monarchy. Tony Blair is popular as ever, the Queen has never been more unpopular, he could have pushed for that bill, having party and public support.

Yet Mr. Blair does what one of his predessecors Mr. Disraeli did a long long time ago with another Queen (Victoria) who had fallen to unpopularity. My personal respect for Mr. Blair grew leaps and bounds when i saw the decision he made. The correct decision inspite of the mood of the moment. He decided the Queen was way too valueable to allow herself to become unpopular, so he tried unceasingly to request her and request her again when the plea fell on uncompromising ears. It worked finally and the Queen once again ruled the hearts of her people. May Her Majesty always do so - God willing.

My favorite scene in the movie is when Blair lashes out at his party mates for attacking the Queen and taking up for Diana instead. He says what i have always thought and upheld. He says how can people think that it is the Queens fault, all this remarkable woman has ever done is to do her duty uncompromisingly, unfailingly and yet everybody prefers a drama queen like Diana who tries to shred the very instituition the Queen has nurtured for all her life. Of course he doesnt use the words i use here, but the gist is the same.

I just felt sad

2008-04-13T13:12:00.000-07:00

I was going through all the news regarding the Nepalalese elections and i came across a link which had been cut off and somehow it really saddened me

(THE OFFICIAL SITE OF THE ROYAL COURT OF NEPAL http://www.nepalmonarchy.gov.np has been cut off )

The official results arent out as yet, no bill has passed regarding the status of King Gyanendra and his family - yet the website link has already been cut off. What will be the future of the King and his family i wonder, like many of the blue blooded before them will they also be assasinated or exiled or worse made to live like the last chinese Emperor - a monarch made to work as a gardner with the communist govternment letting the public view this humiliation to assert their newly empowered rights?

Pic: look at the caption of the picture taken!

Why do i feel sad? I have always felt sad when i read about the french and the bolshevik revolutions - the Nepal one is happening right here in front of my eyes. Lets see how it goes. The onloy hope for the royal family is if America and other non communist countries interfere. If that doesnt happen then i fear the Maoists will tear them appart.

Dubai World Cup 2008

2008-04-13T12:25:00.000-07:00

This is a little late in the day - the dubai world cup was run on the 29th of march but ive been lazzy!
Anyways lots of action - the star was obviously Curlin! - he looked like a champ and he won like a champ! Sheikh Mohammed was at the centre of it all - confident (look at pic 2), firm and yet happy as this is his baby. he announced that the year 2010 would be the year of a fabulous announcement , an upgrade to the stakes money as well as the grander fair. He told the reporter that "it will be the best in the world", the bewildered reporter said "but it already is"... to which the Sheikh just said it will be much much more! well we just have to wait n see in 2 years!

Haya looked gorgeous in a pale blue dress. She is such a natural so much at ease with all the crowd, she wasnt sitting in the box, no woman from the royal family was, actually no woman ever sits there ever, and thats why i was shocked to see one this time. i kept looking until it struck me that this might be Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden! and sure it was. She was on her official trip to the UAE. And there she was sitting with Sheikh Mo and some other sheikh maybe Nahyan. She was natural as ever , as she always is.... unperturbed by all the emirati royal men about her!

Caught a glimpse of Prince Hamdan as well ! The crowds were superbly dressed - look at pic 3 - these aint models - these are the regular race goers - imagine - women were so fancily dressed - doesnt compare to the classy dressing at the Ascot neither does the DWC have the ambience of the Ascot or the Epsom (how can it as the Queen graces those events!) but still its a great place to visit.

Pic1 and Pic3 show the comfort level that haya and sheikh Mo clearly share. He does seem to be much in love with her. Its quite an unimaginable thing though, catch any other sheikh walking like that with his wife! But then i guess sheikh Mo is all out to modernize! But its onloy this wife, we never see Sheikha Hind or his other wives (?) out at public events.

RoyalNepal - in pictures

2007-08-30T13:48:00.000-07:00

Pic 1 : In happier times, Prince Gyanendra his wife Princess Komal with their children prince Paras and Princess Prerna.

Pic 2 : A young little Prince Paras.

Pic 3 : The coronation of late King Mahendra of Nepal. King Gyanendra's father.

Pic 4 : Queen Elizabeth II of England on a state visit with King Mahendra and Queen Ratna.

Pic 5: The coronation of late King Birendra. The King who was killed in the 2001 massacre.

The Last Hindu Kingdom

2007-08-30T13:11:00.000-07:00

Nepal has the rare distinction of being the last surviving Hindu Kingdom and the Only kingdom never to have been held under foreign domination. Nopes not even under the British when they occupied neighbouring India. In many ancient Hindu temples in India even today the King of Nepal is given a prime place of importance.

i consider it a sad sad day in the history of the world when the Nepalese Monarch is humiliated by the puppet democratic nepalese government at the behest of the Maoists. Strange indeed that this very Koirala (prime minister) who supported the Monarchy should today be so against it. He who lived for years on the support of the Royal Family, wined and dined with them , gave them every homage has today found it convenient to change color!! What a true politician you Mr. Koirala and what a fool!

You do it for your own hide - by sacrificing the Kings palace and other properties you seek to appease the powerful Maoists so that they may spare your own vast riches which you have accumalated at the cost of the poor people of Nepal. But sure enough and soon enough it will be your turn to go as the tide has turned so completely in favor of the Maoists who will soon kick the pseudo democrats ot of power.

But this post is not about the scur Koirala. It is about His Majesty the King. I wonder why did the King not leave - go away in exile - he could have when he had the power with billions to some safe haven like geneva and live his life peacefully? Was he a fool to think he would get the power back and life would go on as before or was he a die hard patriot who could not leave his beloved Nepal?

He should have left - i wish he had.

I have no personal affection for the King, yet i wish him well. Now everyday all we hear his humiliation upon humiliation for the King. Shall a day come soon when he and his family shall be murdered as many of the royal blood in different nations have been. Mercilessly and cruelly murdered? The russians didnt even spare the royal dog!!

Such is the fear and the sheer hatred of these Communist scurs.

And the poor people of Nepal! How they cried when their King Birendra died, they even cried for the Murderous prince Dipendra. These were the same poorest of the poor who are recruited to the Maoist forces!

All i can hope for is that they let the King and his family live with dignity, but its a fast fading hope the way things are proceeding nowadays.

Moroccan Monarchy - the last king?

2007-06-03T07:15:00.000-07:00

Pic 1: a collage of the heir - crown prince Moulay Hassan.

Pic 2: King Mohammed VI and Lalla Salma.

Pic 3:Lalla salma

Does the young boy in the first picture have it in his fate to be the King of Morocco someday? I sincerely hope he does, but then im a monarchist at all costs. The situation in Morocco perhaps suggests otherwise.

When King Mohammed VI became King after the death of his father King Hassan II, there was hope in Morocco, people hoped this young handsome new King would be different from the old one who was authoritarian, autocratic and spent on his various luxuries despite the slow economic growth of his country (0.1%).

Mohammed had the hype then of being this young King who had come to change the way things were in Morocco. Just how he would perform this miraculous feat did not concern anybody - people just felt the times would change and obviously for the better. He was deemed the 'King of the Poor' - that was then. It was rumoured that the young King went about the streets of Morocco dressed incognito to discover the problems of his poor subjects. All this imaginative hype did much to put him on a pedestal.

However the hype cannot always go on. Facts ultimately look you in the face sooner or later.

He did not have a magic wand to wave away everyones miseries. But i guess he did try to what he thought would be the best course in todays modern age. He did suceed to some extent - for instance economic growth grew to almost 6 %.

He did what his counterpart in Jordan, King Abdallah did, what years ago the Shah of Iran had attempted to do (and very sadly it had gone absolutely wrong for him) - he sought to modernize his State, ally with the western world super powers of USA and UK. In trying to create a modern (perhaps his more traditional subjects would term it western rather than modern) , secular, tolerant State perhaps he has opened a hornets nest.

The successful mixing of the west and the east has always been a turbulent transmission. More so this is much more than just a cultural exchange. If you are adapting the western system of education, healthcare, freedom of press, freedom for women etc etc. then can radical thinking be far behind? Can the idea of perhaps a different more egalitarian political system and the right to decide your leadership be far behind?

In becoming modern he only has succeeded in making the old traditionalists of Morocco disatisfied - His wife is a public figure, she does not wear the hijab , previously no one ever saw any lady member of the royal family in public, now their pictures in western clothes are splashed all over the print media, especially in foreign magazines like Hello who give them a more celebrity status rather than a traditional royal one.

Perhaps they think it is better to turn to the Islamic fundamentalists who would protect their own islamic identity from merging into a western one - this is what happened to the Shah of Iran years ago!

On the Other hand the younger generation of educated westernized Moroccans are also disatisfied with their lot. They are educated and they want more, far more then the 6% growth the King has managed to establish - they want more freedom, more growth, more earning power - for which Morocco has not the infrastructure!

The poverty is great in Morocco, the royal family's luxurious life is perhaps then condemned. People are now speaking out as they would have never dared to during King Hassan II's reign.

I wish the Royal family of Morocco all the best - but they are walking on a tight rope, they are neither absolutely constitutional as their western counterparts or like Bhutan where the King has voluntarily renounced his absolute authority.

And neither are they absolute monarchs as the other muslim monarchies of Saudi, UAE, Brunei.

I personally believe that this sitting on the fence policy does not serve any purpose - The king is trying to make everyone happy as well as himself - its just not possible.

Morocco's Royal Stork

2007-06-03T06:52:00.000-07:00

I missed out this one in my previous post. The royal family of Morocco has also been blessed this spring with a princess - Lalla Khadija.

Here she is with her parents their Highnesses King Mohammad VI and Lalla Salma with the young crown prince Moulay Hassan.

Another royal baby birth is that of Prince Ali of Jordan and his wife Rym Brahimi's second child, a boy this time. They have a older child princess Jalilah.

The Muslim monarchies have really witnessed a baby boom this summer!!

Royal baby boom in April

2007-05-29T07:17:00.000-07:00

Pic 1 - CP Billah and CP Sarah of Brunei

Pic 2 - P Hamzah and P Nur of Jordan

Pic 3 - P Hashem and P Fahdah of Jordan

The Muslim Monarchies of Jordan and Brunei have seen happy additions to their family! Everybody was long expecting prince Hamzah and princess Nurs baby to arrive but few were aware that the newly wed couple prince Hashem and princess Fahdah (Fawdah?!) would surprise with a baby of their own. All in all two delightful princesses for the Royal House of Jordan. Prince Hamzahs daughter born on the 18th of April was named Haya. Probably after his step sister and wife of Sheikh Mo, 'The' original princess Haya. Prince Hashems daughter who was born earlier in the month was named Hala.

BTW that picture of prince Hashem and his wife is the ONLY one available anywhere. For those interested she belongs to a very wealthy and noted family of Saudi Arabia (not a part of the Al-Saud royal family though). Looks quite pretty, but nothing to compare with princess Nur, but then in my eyes even the handsome Hashem is no patch on the rhett butler :) like prince Hamzah!

Im being biased here!!

The kingdom of Brunei also saw celebrations as the Crown Princess Sarah gave birth to a baby boy. This baby shall some day hopefully be the Sultan. And hope for everybody's sake the baby takes after (in both looks and disposition) his very lovely mother and not Crown Prince Billah!!

William, Charles, Harry!!

2007-04-22T07:30:00.000-07:00

William Windsor - what a heritage the young man has to inherit! and with it all its exacting pressures. Now who would even blink a bloddy eyelid had some 24 year old english bloke broken off with his girlfriend? But this is no ordinary 24 year old - he will someday God willing be proclaimed King William II of England. That is if he chooses to retain his christian name.

I think he should. Its a lucky name, the only other William in the history of England was William the First - Duke of Normandy - and there is no other greater English Monarch that William could possibly be the namesake of. After all William I conquered England and retained Normandy as well!!

Charles is rather an unfortuanate name in the scheme of British history, the only other two Charles' - Charles I who lost his throne and his head, the first ever English monarch to be beheaded. And Charles II (my favourite King! well :)) exiled since he was a boy, living on the pity of his French cousins and his Dutch brother-in-law in the most penurious circumstances.

I sincerely hope King Charles III will have a better inning. I like him some how despite all his faux pas'

Harry - well the name Henry is perhaps the most common name for an English king. I am not saying he will be king - no thats for William. But just since am writing about names well there was the notorius Henry VIII. The clever Henry the VII. the first two Henry's were also great Kings in their own right. And of course Henry the V, the warrior King of England.

The Princess Aiko!!

2007-04-09T08:18:00.000-07:00

This is the cutest princess on the planet. Whats the status quo on her future does anybody know? Is she still in the race to become Empress someday or has she been sadly sidelined in the face of Japan's sexist old liners to give way to prince hisahito?

In Pic 1 - she is accompanied by her parents in a ceremony that includes her formally into the Imperial Family of Japan. In both pictures crown princess Masako looks better to me, hope her health has improved and i guess for her daughter's sake she is exerting herself to be out there in the public eye.

The Dubai World Cup 2007

2007-04-01T12:40:00.000-07:00

It was yesterday! I saw it on television and it was quite nice, i was trying to get a glimpse of the royal family. Sure enough Sheikh Mohammed Al Maktoum was at the center of it all wearing a navy blue arab dress (i know what they are called but have forgotten), all the other men were dressed in white, i guess he has to stand out thats why the different colour.

I was straining my eyes to get a glimpse of Princess Haya, or any of the royal ladies. Did'nt think Sheikha Hind would be there of course, but maybe some of the princesses.

Finally i did see Haya, not in the box (only the men sat in the box) no women of the Maktoum family sat with the men!! She was wearing a blue outfit with some kinda gold work on it - a traditional type of a outfit. She looked quite sweet, not chic as she usually looks when she attends the ascot or some international race. She was with Sheikh Mo and they were checking out the favourite Invasor (owned by the Sheikhs brother Sheikh Hamdan) , Invasor finally went on to win it and Sheikh Mo's Godolphin owned horse who was second favorite on the totes Discreet Cat came a dismal last. Also the prize money is a whopping $6 million!!!!!!!!

BTW this pic here is of their highnesses attending the 2006 Ascot. She's looking real chic and even he is looking smarter!! im trying to find a pic of theirs at dubai world cup, will put that up when i find it.

Sheikh MO

2006-12-04T10:39:00.000-08:00

The lil girl is Sheikha Shamma and the lil boy is.... well her father Sheikh Mohammad bin Maktoum, ruler of Dubai.

I had to post this pic, its sooooooooooo cute.

That makes me wonder why havent i posted on the Maktoums previously?!! Sheikh Mo is a fabulous ruler. He was chiefly the architect (along with his late father and brother) of modern prosperous Dubai.

One cannot compare him with other monarchs around the world for the simple reason that he is an Absolute ruler while most of the other royals are (sadly) only constituitional or figuritive. Even so Sheikh Mo can be called even more praiseworthy as he is a hands on active hard working ruler. If he wanted he could just sit back and relax and lead a horrible indolent life (what with his wealth and power, he cud do anything he liked ) , but Sheikh Mo rules the state with an iron hand.

That brings me back to my belief that monarchies are grrrreat for a nation if the ruler is an enlightened one. No democracy, republic , socialist state etc etc can compare. Of course if the ruler is a weak puppet or an indolent fool then nothing could be worse. But history gives us example 's of marvellous rulers. I guess i like to romanticise history, and that can be achieved only in a kingly era, one just doesnt get the same feel about communist or socialist leaders!

Princesses Mako & Kako

2006-12-03T11:31:00.000-08:00

Im just trying to figure out what these young adolescent princesses must be feeling. They were never the centre of attention with princess Aiko getting it all, and now their newly born young baby brother is the apple of all Japan, including their parents. I hate the idea of criticising any culture but the Japanese have really ought to grow up as sexist ideas and gender inequality is so prominent.

In a poll taken it seems the people dont really mind Aiko suceeding as Empress, but the old foggy conservatives have a problem with a female ruling them.

Over here the first pic has Princesses Mako and Kako, all very well behaved. The second one is of Princess Mako's birth with their lovely mother Princess Kiko and dad Akishino (i dont like him much - but his family is lovely)

And i sincerely hope the IHA has dropped their ridiculous idea of Prince Hisahito being adopted by Crown Prince Naruhito and C Princess Masako!

Indian Royal Feud

2006-11-10T07:21:00.000-08:00

The gentleman on the left is HH Maharaja of Gwalior, but since he does not appreciate his royal titles we will call him just Jyotiraditya Scindia, scion of the royal house of Gwalior (India).
The lady seen here is his paternal aunt 'Shrimant' Yashodhara Raje Scindia.

And im writing here to inform you about the latest feud between the two. First a little background information on the two - Both are politicians in India's democratic government, albeit in different political parties. He is young and savvy, with everything life has to offer, his wife is the beautiful Priyadarshini Scindia. She is his aunt, a politician with little else then her glorious name.

Now she had got it into her head that she must be addressed (that too officially) as 'Shrimant' i think the word means Highness. So she went a step further and had the state government of Madhya Pradesh (where gwalior is) make an official gazette that she is to be addressed by that royal title!

Of course India is a democracy, so not everybody took this lying down. There were some protests at this breach of democratic conduct. So she justified her claim saying that the royals of Europe also use their titles!

Now 'Shrimant' Scindia, i have no p-roblems with you using your title - i just think your extremely foolish to have made it official. People would have addressed you with your title anyways, now what you have done is made a politically incorrect statement. Really i wish the woman had more brains!

Her nephew Jyotiraditya Scindia also did a foolish thing in trying to play the savvy young democratic politician. He went all out and oppossed her action, saying something stupid like 'in a democratic country all are equal and she has no rights to these royal titles'.......

Now now Mr. Scindia, who do ya think is gonna buy your democratic bullshit? Incase Mr. Scindia has forgotten , let us remind him that the ONLY reason why he is elected and re-elected to his position of power is beacuse he belongs to the illustrious royal family of the Gwalior. If he were just plain jane "Mr." Scindia who would vote for him. There are many educated, politically concsious young men in India. It is his royal lineage that separates him.

And why all the hypocrisy Mr. Scindia? His family run school uses all the royal titles, like Maharaja, Maharani and Rajmata, when they mention his, his wife's or his mothers names!

SO Mr. Scindia first clean up the title mess in your own backyard before attacking your aunt. (who is by no means a clever woman - thats all i can fathom - she is rather silly - and how the hell is she going to survive amongst these sharky politicians)

I wish Shrimant some more brains!! and Mr. Scindia less hypocrisy!

Japans Future Emperor?

2006-10-07T09:08:00.000-07:00

Heres Prince akishino (with the shaggy doggy kinda hair cut) with his very lovely wife Princess Kako and their new born son and most probably next in line , Prince Hisahito. (His name means serene prince i think)

The second pic is with his daughter Princess Mako. he has two daughters, and now after years and years has had a son. i beleive Princess kako was 41/42 when she delivered the newborn prince. Why did they have the child so late?

There are two theories - One the IHA of the japanese royal family, who are a bunch of conservative egoistic jerks, thought it rather impossible that the next in line after CP Naruhito would be his daughter princess Aiko. So they pressurized CPrincess masako to have more children. With all that worry and stress the CPrincess changed from the intelligent capable woman she was to a someone with severe stress problems.

Now when she couldnt produce the 'male' heir so necessary as according to the IHA and some conservative members of parliament (the rest of the country seems pretty ok with Aiko becoming Empress, i think 72% in favour) CP Naruhito blasted at the IHA for making his wife into a shivering piece of anxiety. I guess they didnt like that and turned their attention to his younger brother Prince Akishino.

Akishino, now was always the spare to naruhito's heir! So here was his chance to do his 'duty' for the nation. Also his way of getting back to elder brother Naruhito, for whom at times he has said unfavorable things. So here was his chance of upstaging him. It suceeded. A prince was finally born into the Imperial household after 42 years!!

But now there is another controversy, with the young prince supposedly to be adopted by CP Naruhito. Thats bad. I feel real bad for Princess kako, she 's going to get caught up in all this sibling rivalry between Akishino and Naruhito, and the the CP and the IHA.

But seriously japan shold realise the modern day and age they live in. Why not equal rights to women? Grow up.

Lovely Pic! Aiko!

2006-10-07T08:46:00.000-07:00

What a lovely picture! I had to post this. In the centre are Crown Prince Naruhito and CP Masako with their little cutie Princess Aiko. She would have been Empress one day, but now that has changed due a silly law! (more on that later)

Anyways here they are on a state visit to the Netherlands, with Queen beatrix, CP William-Alexander and CP Maxima.And of course their cuties. I dunno their names as yet. Anybody know?

What i like about this pic is that they are all so well color co-ordinated. babies in light blue, the rest in beiges. Blend real well.

Now Princess Pragyashree

2006-10-07T08:30:00.000-07:00

Somehow i really like this girl. Pragyashree thapa, now pragyashree gaekwad. She is pretty, but thats ok as most royals are pretty in any case. But she 's also a doctor and was a lietenant in the Royal Nepalese Army.

Of course her dad was then the general in the army. Here she is with her parents. Only recently her in-laws the Gaekwads held a reception in Mumbai, India. She looked absolutely ravishing. Her groom well looked rather old - but lucky him to have gotten such a lovely bride! He has a lovely sister too, my fav - Priyadarshini Scindia.

The situation in Nepal saddens me. I beleive the Maoists are in actual control, with all those stupid useless and corrupt politicians like Koirala and gang being just the puppets. Also i believe they have kept the King due to American pressure. I guess America doesnt want China's communist policies to spread.

But really sad about the King and his family. I really d think that Crown princess Himani is a good lady. cant say the same about her husband though. Anyways wish them luck.

Princess Anne Marie of Denmark.

2006-09-17T08:16:00.000-07:00

Born as princess of Denmark, Annie Marie went on to marry her greek cousin, who later on became King Constantine II. However fate had other plans, sadder plans for her. I realy feel bad as i really like her. She and her sister Queen Margherite of Denmark are real classy ladies.

Her husbands attempted coup failed in 1973/74
and they had to flee in exile to Italy. Since then the Greek government has deposed them and removed all titles, yet the other reigning European houses continue to address them with their titles much to the chargrin of the Greek government.

On a personal note id like to add that my admiration of the Greek Royal family is pretty much limited to her, and yes even it extends very much to her sister-in-law Queen Sofia of Spain. But i am not particularly fond of King Constantine, nor Prince Pavlos nor Marie Chantal.

But Anne Marie is classy alright! She has the birth,upbringing and grace to attract respect even through the sad turn of events in her life.

May God bless her.

Greek Royals

2006-09-16T12:27:00.000-07:00

Its a little sad if your Mother-in-law looks better than you. And if she has a larger fan following and despite the fact that you spend thousands of pounds in trying to look good (coz you can afford it, your dads the rich Mr. Miller). I dont mean to be bitchy but Marie Chantal should stop getting herself photographed with her mother-in-law, the very elegant, very beautiful, very royal (and really royal not pseudo celebrity type) Queen Anne Marie of Greece,

MC looks haggard compared to the ever graceful Anne Marie , princess of Denmark and Queen of Greece.

In the first pic, MC's behind the Queen. And in the 2nd one we have a family photo with King Constantine and CP Pavlos, as well as Princess Theodora (next to the queen) and i think the gentleman on the far right is prince Nikolaus.

Regent Prince Hamzah!

2006-09-16T11:56:00.000-07:00

Well, well well! After all the hue and cry about demoting Prince Hamzah from the status of Crown Prince to just plain prince, and all the wild talk about how King Abdullah was insecure about Hamzahs rising popularity and all the negative blood within the royal jordanian family.

This seems like a refreshing breather! Recently when King Abdullah was out of the country, he had Prince hamzah be sworn as regent!

I like that because i like Prince Hamzah (who doesnt - except maybe Rania - hee haa hee)

But its obvious why King Abdullah took this step. He did it to show all his detractors as well as hamzahs supporters that he still respects and regards Hamzah. A lot of his following are the heads of the different tribes, now they loved the late King Hussein and they were loyal to him.

Abdullah has to remember that, if he wants their support. Afcourse they love him but they also remember it was the Late Kings wish to have Hamzah as crown prince. So i guess Abdullah is playing it safe!

Not that i blame King Abdullah. IMO he is a nice man, intelligent and good hearted. Yet he has to safeguard his own and his childrens interests. He did just that. I applaud that.

All in all good to see Hamzah having more say in the royal duties. He is a lovely young man, looks so sincere!

Queen Saleha

2006-09-16T11:29:00.000-07:00

The first picture dates back to 1965, of the now Queen Saleha. The second pic is a family photo, gosh doesnt the Sultan look different! I would never think him the Sultan by just looking at this pic. Infact he looks better now, his latest pics has him looking fit. the little boy is afcourse current crown prince Billah of Brunei. He looks pretty much the same now - i mean a grown up version obviously. I do not know the names of the princesses, but the younger one looks cute.:)

The third pic is the wedding pic of the Sultan of Brunei and his first wife Queen Saleha. They must be really young then. The Sultan is unrecognisable and Queen Saleha has that chubbiness even then.

One more thing i am wondering why has'nt the Queen covered her head in these old photo's. I mean now in every photo her head and ears are covered, as our Crown princess Sarahs. Only YTM Azrinaz (his second wife) goes around with her head uncovered.

A Dream Life

2006-08-15T10:11:00.000-07:00

A dream life! Its the life of Maharani Gayatri Devi Of Jaipur. Born as a princess of the royal house Cooch Behar, blessed with imense beauty she caught the eye of the charming and immensly wealthy Maharajah of Jaipur ( One of the largest and richest state in princley India) .They had a secret romance, as the Maharajah was already twice married.

The first picture is with her husband, the handsome jai (Man Singh ll) and her son Jagat. The second pic is her wedding pic. The third pic is at a polo party. Gayatri devi was one of the first maharanis to shed the purdah and go to parties and polo matches with her husband. Her life was a dream, a fairy tale depicted in her book ... "A Princess Remembers..." .

Now however, the story is different, the fairytale has become sour. (scroll down for the previous post on the Rajmata)

Princess Nurs sisters!

2006-08-15T09:30:00.000-07:00

If you think Princess Nur of Jordan is charming (afcourse she is!) then just have a look at her sisters.

The blonde princess is princess Yasmin, her real sister. And the beautiful brunette, is princess Saleha, princess Nurs half sister.

Very beautiful!

Im trying to think of good royal matches for them, maybe Sheikh Mohammads sons!

Gayatri Devi - young at 85!

2006-08-15T08:58:00.000-07:00

The beautiful lady here is Rajmata Gayatri Devi of the Royal House of Jaipur (India). afcourse she doesnt look like this now, she is 85 years old, though a good looking 85. she still has great skin.

I guess God just blessed her with awesome beauty. And unbelievable wealth. And the most eligible prince in those days when she got married. And power.And fame.And prestige.

And basically got whatever she wanted. Wow what a lucky woman!

Yet she doesnt think so.

Today she is fighting with her grandkids - Her only sons kids for money. Not her money. It is said that a huge chunk of her late Husband Sawai Man singh II's wealth went to her. apart from this huge amount of wealth that she possesses, her late son Jagat SIngh, was also given considerable wealth (far less then what she has).

Jagat died.

Without a will.

So obviously his children are the succesors!

But no the Rajmata wants to keep it all. After all she is only 85! probably she s found a way to take it with her.

Harry & Chelsy

2006-08-15T04:42:00.000-07:00

Oh look at Harrry!!! Who ever thought years back that he would grow upto be such a charming prince? It was all William william and william. But now the 'spare' has definitly grown out of the shadow of the 'heir'.

CHelsy. ahhh well...... a lot people are unhappy with her , well i dunt understand why? shes a nice bubbly girl, yeah shes very very insecure about the relationship with harry. But well any girl would be if she were dating a prince on England! And shes just more transparent than kate, kates rather fake if i may say so. Shes equally insecure but kate hides it better. Oh chelsys much much better.

Yeah shes bohemian alright, with all the things a to be princess shouldnt be doing, but then she leads her life and so does Harry. apparently in an interview he said something to the effect of that he WAS going to do what he was going to do, and if some people didnt like it - that was their bad luck.

If harry likes chelsy its none of anyones business to tell him 'oh you should like a better behaved girl.'

best wishes prince Harry. he's growing handsomer day by day. gosh!!

YEs and these pics were taken at a recent polo match in ENgland.

Favorite Royal Couple!

2006-08-04T12:52:00.000-07:00

Prince Hamzah of Jordan and his wonderful young wife Princess Nur. I think they are my favorite royal couple. There are a lot of other young royals i can think of where i like either the groom or the bride, but as a couple i think they are really cool!

I saw a picture of Prince Hashim (Hamzahs younger, more american looking but trying to look more arab brother) and his wife fahdah. ill post that soon. But Prince Hamzah has this sensitivity which the other royal men lack. I have a strong feeling that someday he is destined to be King of Jordan.

Here the first and third pictures have princess Nur patronising arab children conferences, in the first picture she looks so young! The middle picture is of the lovely couple sharing a laugh! I do think that Queen Rania is rather jealous of Nur, its rather apparent in the wedding photos of Hamzah and Nur. Rania face is rather transparent. I guess she fears that they might become more popular. Shortly after Prince Hamzah was demoted from the status of Crown Prince and heir to the Jordanian crown to just a prince.

Well i think any women in Ranias place would probably be as cautious. They got the crown only when Prince hasan was stripped of his titlle, so i guess uneasy lies the head that wears the crown!!

Prince Ali's Wedding

2006-06-27T11:12:00.000-07:00

This is the gathering of the Royal Jordanian clan. It is to celebrate the wedding of Prince Ali to journalist Rym Brahimi ( Scroll down there is also a previous post on them) Prince Ali is the son of the Late King Hussein and his second wife Queen Alia. His is the full brother of Princess Haya of Jordan and the half brother of current King Abdallah II.

To the far right is Queen Rania - For Gods sake why does Rania look so artificially happy in family photo;s? really people, this photo isnt as obvious but i saw the ones taken during Prince Hamzah ( at that time he was crown prince) and Princess Nurs wedding, and beleieve me Rania looks so unconfortable , and so envious of i dunno what - probably the new bride Nur and also the fact that at that time Hamzah was still Crown Prince. Ill put up those pics if i find them.

Princess Haya is second from the left - now look at her she is always so happy - touchwood. She s so natural - Rania should learn something from her!!

Sorry to say but the bride looks positively old and haggard - no beauty she!

Queen Noors two boys look handsome as always - prince Hashem looking dashing ( far right seated) and Prince Hamzah seated next to him is my favorite - he is just wonderful. He has such a wonderful personality - somewhat like Haya's - so natural , unassuming, and noble.

The Aga Khan

2006-06-27T10:50:00.000-07:00

His Highness Karim Aga Khan IV is the Imam of the Shi'a Imami Ismaili sect of Shia muslimss. On July 11th at the age of 20 he suceeded his grandfather, Sir Sultan Mahomed Shah Aga Khan (Aga Khan III). He is the 49th hereditary Imam of the Shi'a Imami Ismaili Muslims and a direct descendant of the Prophet Muhammad through his cousin and son-in-law, Ali, the first Imam, and his wife Fatima, the Prophet's daughter. The title His Highness was granted by Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom in 1957, and His Royal Highness by the Shah of Iran in 1959.

Here he is seen with his daughter Princess Zahra. Besides doing various philanthropic work His Highness is also an emminent race horse breeder and owner. He owns the Aga khan studs which have produced world class thouroughbred horses - he has had four Epsom Derby winners which is a record in itself and many other winners of group races throughout Europe. He was in the game long before the Maktoums of Dubai came in. He live s in France now.

Priya Scindia in NY!

2006-06-25T12:03:00.000-07:00

I had wanted to post on Priya Scindia long back , well now is better then never. She is Maharani Priyadarshini Of Gwalior. ( Gwalior is a big Maratha princely state in India - it was one of the biggest princely states before India gained its independence from the British yoke) She is the wife of Jyotiraditya Scindia, the young and dashing current Maharaja of Gwalior. I think they make a wonderful couple - ill soon add a pic of his too!

She was born a princess in the royal house of Baroda (that was also a big princely state before indian independence) and she is to be found in my first post in this blog - thats coz i think she is simply marvellous!

Over here she is in New York, its some kind of social do thats talks about Gwaliors collection of crystal! i beleieve they have wonderful crystal, a whole staircase made of crystal!!! imagine !!

Fawzia of Iran

2006-06-25T11:39:00.000-07:00

Doesnt she look like vivien leigh of Gone With The Wind? Well she is no actress, Fawzia was born princess of Egypt and went on to become the Empress of Iran. Sadly fate had different plans, Egypt would cease to be a monarchy during the reign of her brother King Farouk who would be exiled, although his son was named King Fuad II. And she would have an unhappy marriage with the Shah of Iran, what a wonderful man and what a great prince. Unhappily Irans destiny was also doomed when they overthrew the most benevolent monarch and brought in khomeni!! imagine who would do that????????

Anyways, Fawzia was Empress of Iran for nine years. She had a daughter with the Shah named Princess Shahnaz. But their marriage soured and ended in divorce. I was just thinking how unpredictable life is , fate , you are born great but that is no guarantee for the future years. Who ever thought when Fawzia was born that both Egypt and Iran would cease to be monarchies, their royals who had absolute power, who had absolute wealth and splendour would now have to live without all that. But that is life ........ Turn,turn thy wheel oh fortune.....!

The wheel of fortune turns and turns and none know what tommorrow holds!

Future Queen of Norway

2006-06-25T11:16:00.000-07:00

Yes the little baby girl there is no ordinary baby girl. She is Ingrid of Norway, one day she shall God willing be the Queen of that country. Well one must admit she looks like a real regal baby. Now i know you will think how royalist am i? haha... but really all the pictures i have seen of princess ingrid are all very regal. The baby has this aristocratic look and attitude that just shows in all her pictures. None of the other royal babies have that look. Her Father crown prince haakon and her mother crown princess mette marit certainly dont have the royal look. Sorry to say but they do look rather common.

Dunno what the norwegians feel about their crown princess, i mean have they really accepted her? with her past. See theres nothing wrong in the past, most european girls have relationships and even babies out of wedlock , but hello this is going to be your next queen??

Anyways, this write up is on her lovely daughter, who looks every inch the future monarch. Best wishes princess ingrid.

Harry's Blushing

2006-06-19T12:14:00.000-07:00

This ones a real funny pic. The Queen checks out the Sandhurst guards.......... and oh My God look who it is!! What a genuine blush prince harry's got there. Must say he looks real cute. Ive always liked the two boys , but always considered Prince William far more handsome. But now it seems Harry is giving him competition!!

Both the princes seem really well brought up, with no airs and no fuss. Despite their great tragedy, of losing their mother at such a young age, they have managed to grow up into fine men. May God bless them. And i hope Wills becomes King someday, after Charles that is. I like Charles , despite all the nonsense about his divorce and then his lady love Camilla. He is still a fine man and his kids are great and they love him to bits. So long live the Queen! And the British Monarchy!

Kyril Of Bulgaria

2006-06-15T12:40:00.000-07:00

What a handsome prince!! Kyril of bulgaria is hot! He is the namesake of his unfortuanate ancestor, the Last King Kyril of Bulgaria (correct me if im wrong) was shot in the head by the soviets when they took over Bulgaria. I think after that there was disasterous communist soviet rule over Bulgaria.

I do not know as yet much about the couple, ill post more when i find out what he does now, and their family details.

But for now all i say is that they are good looking couple, especially Prince Kyril.His wife Rosario is the one in purple in the second picture also seen are their 3 kids. This is at her sisters wedding.

Azrinaz Brunei's Ex!

2006-06-08T11:15:00.000-07:00

Rumours are always there to haunt the rich and famous. The very handsome young man here is a malaysian gentleman called khairy, YTM azrinaz( the sultan of brunei's second wife) is supposedly to have been married to him.

Look at their destinies - once they were together, now she is the wife of the middle aged sultan. And khairy - he is suppossed to have married nori - only daughter of the malaysian prime minister Badawi, and is considered very influential in political circles. Its the stuff fairy tales are made off........ i wonder whether the two still love each other or not. Im sure both are extrememly practical minded individuals. There can be no doubt about it atleast where Azrinaz is concerned. But i believe they split long time before the sultan came into her life.

I wonder what women feel when they marry older richer men after they have been in relationships with younger attractive men in the past. Im sure azrinaz does not regret anything.

Young Royals Partying Away!

2006-05-27T12:06:00.000-07:00

These are some lovely pictures of three young royals and one very rich heiress! In the red is the very lovely Princess elisabeth von Thurn Und Taxis; she 's a thorough natural. I think she looks great in all her pictures - very natural. Her sister the princess Maria Therisia is also beautiful but i think a little conscious in front of the camera. She is in the second picture in that colourful top!

The handsome young man is Andrea Casiraghi, he may well be the Ruler of Monaco. He is the son of HRH Princess Caroline of Monaco (Daughter of late Prince Rainer and Princess Grace of Monaco) and the late Stefano Casiraghi( an italian industrialist scion). Andrea Casiraghi as well as his siblings who are as good looking are well known on the international social circuit.

The young lady in the grey green dress is tatiana sandomingo, a very rich heiress and girl friend of Andrea Casiraghi. They are all having a blast at Maxims here!

Way to go!

Just a thought - i think the Casiraghi Trio and the Thurn Und Taxis Trio would make a lovely match - they should marry each other - purrrfect. No offence to tatiana, i think she is a lovely girl. Its just that i love the idea of royals marrying royals!

Sultan of Brunei's Divorce....

2006-05-26T12:47:00.000-07:00

Yes they are just like us,sultans also have marital problems and get divorced. Divorces have rocked most royal families around the world. The muslim monarchies are more conservative in this regard i think. They can get married four times without having to divorce.

This is a picture of The Sultan of Brunei (one of the wealthiest men in the world) and thats his second wife (now divorced) Mariam. I do not know what her titles are now, therefore am not using any.

Mariam was a air hostess before she married the sultan. they have four children, and i think she and her children live in london.

Now afcourse the Sultans second wife is the young Azrinaz.

Queen Rania - Really Beautiful Picture

2006-05-22T11:18:00.000-07:00

Lovely isnt it? Its one of my favorite pictures of Rania. Dont know when it was taken, must be a while ago i think. Rania i feel is quite concerned about the way she looks, which is good, a good looking queen is always better than a sloppy one.

However a royal has something else about them, isnt it? it s not all just about beauty and great clothes and jewels. Nor about how much money they possess. These things even the common folk have, so there has to be something regal, royal about them.

Rania looks more like a model than a queen, i think Princess Nur , Prince Hamzahs wife looks very regal and royal. Much more than Rania. I like Rania, but i like Nur even more.I like Hamzah too. More on that royal couple later. King Abdullahs a nice guy too. I definitly like him. I think there are whispers in Jordan that it is Rania who advises him, especially about the derecognition of Hamzah as Crown Prince. But then she's only doing it for her son. Obviously she loves her son more than she loves Hamzah. Most of us would have done the same.

The Prince gets it all!!

2006-05-19T10:54:00.000-07:00

ok!! my worst fears are confirmed - the thurn und taxis kids do not get equal shares in the extensive family fortune! how sexist is that - ridiculous in todays modern era!

The following is quoted from forbes.com:

The youngest man on Forbes Billionaires list. This prince inherited a fortune on his eighteenth birthday in June 2001. His assets include extensive real estate holdings, a valuable art collection and a tech company. His 30,000 hectares of woodland in Germany is considered one of the largest forestry holdings in Europe. Lives in one of the family's castles, Schloss Emmeram, with his mother Gloria and older sisters Maria Theresia and Elisabeth.

On the right is the richie rich prince Albert, in the middle is the eldest princess maria therisia and on the left is princess Elisabeth who in my opinion the cutest (they are all very cute but... she is terribly cute) ...........

Anybody know anything on their personal lives? who they are dating and stuff?

Maria Therisia - Princess Von Thurn Und Taxis

2006-05-19T10:37:00.000-07:00

Ok while surfing i found this absolutely beautiful royal princess! i had never heard of her until now, afcourse i have heard about her forbes list billionaire brother albert and her mother the countess gloria, but never anything about her! im surprised as she is simply gorgeous, anybody know anything more on her please do mail.

MARIA THERESIA PRINCESS VON THURN UND TAXIS

Full name: Maria Theresia Ludowika Klothilde Helene Alexandra
Title: Princess von Thurn und Taxis (Her Serene Highness)
Born: Regensburg, Germany, November 28th 1980
Parents: Johannes Prince von Thurn und Taxis (1926-1990) and 1980, Gloria Countess and Lady von Schönburg-Glauchau (1960)
Brother: Albert (1983)
Sister: Elisabeth (1982)
Education and work: Primary and secondary school (gymnasium), Regensburg, Germany; finished secondary school in England. Studies in London (summer 2004)
Further facts: Since 2002 she lived in Madrid, Spain.

Just wondering does she also get a part of those billions, or do they go entirely to her younger brother Albert. If so then dont you think its terribly unfair!

Pretty Pragyashree

2006-05-14T12:06:00.000-07:00

Ok the lovely girl in white is Pragyashree Thapa, now Gaekwad, as she is married already to Pratap gaekwad. Anybody have any pictyures of her or her wedding plz do inform me.
Oh yes and she is sister in law to one of my favorite royals, Priyadarshini Scindia, the maharani of Gwalior ( Pratap is her brother).........

Heres wishing her all the best!

Wedding in Turmoil.

2006-05-14T11:47:00.000-07:00

A powerfully packed wedding, with Indian royalty and Nepalese nobility, as well as the social hi-fi crowd of Indias financial capital Mumbai took place on the 14th of may, 2006., in Nepal!!

Nepal has just about come to some kind of stabilisation, and here theres a lavish wedding amidst it. The bride is Pragyashree Thapa, daughter of the RNA general pyar jung thapa....... what a contradictory time in the generals life, on one side his daughter is marrying and on the other side he is being removed from his respective duties by the newly formed congress because he is viewed as one of the kings strongmen.

It is to be noted that the royal family of nepal did not attend the wedding, i suppose it was too soon for King Gyanendra to make a public appearance.... i agree with him, it would have just gotten more bad publicity for the wedding.!

In this picture you can see the lovely bride pragyashree thapa - i like her a lot already, and her groom Pratap sinh gaekwad, he is a descendent of the royal family of Baroda, a big and prominent state during princley india.

Just some facts:

How did Prataps mom condescend to this match? she is of 'the snobby Rana' family brigade, and the lovely bride is not a royal, nor a noble, then?? ahaaa but her father is rich and powerful (the power may be curtailed now) so i suppose its ok.

The bride is very lovely - she is a doctor, was a liutenent in the Royal Nepalese Army, 10 years younger than her grey haired husband......... well why did she marry him? i suppose the general is too much in awe of royalty , even ex royalty....

have you noticed how men in important powerful position and loads of wealth seek to marry into impoverished royal houses...... i suppose it gives them a high! Blood marries money, and money marries blood!!.........

i can think of Napoleon bonaparte , who divorced his wife to marry a hapsburg princess!, so mnay american scions and heiresses seek noble/royal partners........... the charm is always there!

Azrinaz of Brunei

2006-05-13T11:17:00.000-07:00

The young lady on the left is Azrinaz, the Sultan of Brunei's new wife, and the lady on the right is HM Queen Saleha the sultans first wife. They are both entertaining a state guest!.

Really im amazed, does the sultan really think his first wife the queen has no feelings that she must not only this new addition, but must seem as though they are one united happy family, especially when Azrinaz is younger than the oldest two of the sultans children! Besides Azrinaz is of common stock. She was a news presenter in malaysia, before she managed to catch the richy rich sultan....

although she is pretty , something about her is not right, i mean she doesnt look royal or dignified, like say for example the crown princess Sarah. Sarah is wonderfully dignified and every inch a queen in the making (more on sarah later)

My point here is that how can the sultan be such an inconsiderate man?? well he must really be in love with Azrinaz, otherwise why on earth would he have married her?

Azrinaz of Brunei

2006-05-10T12:56:00.000-07:00

The beautiful lady on the left is Azrinaz, the second wife of the Sultan of Brunei. The lady on your right is the first wife and Queen of Brunei, HRH Queen Saleha of Brunei.

Strange isnt it to see them both together entertaining a state guest. Azrinaz used to be a Malaysian News presenter before she caught the eye of the Sultan. She is younger than the Sultans son and daughter!!

I feel bad for the Queen, common she had to sacrifice her dignity, how embarrasing for her to share the spotlight with this 26 year old upstart, just because the Sultan fell in love with a younger woman.

Did he really have to marry her? Why did he marry her? i dont understand, maybe he really fell in love with her, after all even Sultans fall in love!

But cant these rich and relatively old men see why these younger beautiful women wanna marry them, isnt it obvious................ i mean its apparent to all of us.

He cannot really believe that she loves him for himself, and not his money, power and tittle!!

But the Queen has behaved with great dignity, as most of these royal ladies do, she has done her duty well, kept up the facade her husband likes to believe in, that its one happy family even though he has gone and brought a young woman as his wife inti the household. A mistress or girlfriend is different, but a wife, gosh thats affecting everyone, from the wife to the kids ... everyone.,.........

So he must definetly love her!

I guess love is in no ones hands, God alone decides who is going to attached to who, God alone decides all relationships.

Jewels of Thurn n Taxis....

2006-05-09T10:36:00.000-07:00

This beautiful piece of pearls and diamonds is (or was) owned by the royal family of Thurn n Taxis. They live in Germany, and im not sure , but think they are of both hanoverian and hapsburg descent!! Wow what a pedigree.... blue to the core....

The present Prince is a young man in his early twenties, more on him later. But hows the tiara?

Hamzah & Nur of Jordan

2006-05-05T12:33:00.000-07:00

This is perhaps one of the lovliest royal couples....... , they are young, in love and so good looking......

I was saddened to hear the derecognition of this wonderful prince as jordans crown prince. Look at his popularity,the throng of people that collected for his wedding!!

His wife is so lovely, and he looks like such a tough guy, u know the protective sorts... wishing them all the best!

Queen Rania... what a body

2006-05-05T12:18:00.000-07:00

Would anyone say she is the mother of four children!!! isnt it shocking..... what a lovely figure the lady has...........way to go rania!

For those not in the know, she is HRH the Queen of Jordan, she was born an ordinary palestinian, but after King Abdullah married her she has become the queen.

There are quite a few controversies surrounding her, as to how much she influences the King. I think she influences him a lot......... especially the case of de recognizing his half brother Prince Hamzah as the crown prince, they havent named their son as yet as the crown prince , but obviously will some time in the future.....

something to be noticed here, the late King Hussein derecognized his brother, Prince Hasan, and now the same thing is happening..........History repeats itself always......... Abdullah has done exactly what King Hussein did....

But all in all she does have a great body, but her face has quite a hard look , u know i personally prefer Haya's more friendly face!

More of Princess Haya....

2006-05-02T10:33:00.000-07:00

Here are some lovely pics of the beautiful princess, shes always smiling in all her pictures........... good goin princess, ur smiles real lovely!

these pictures were of course taken before she married HH sheikh maktoum.

royal moppets...

2006-05-02T10:18:00.000-07:00

The baby prince is amazzzzingly cute..... dont you think so too!

i hope for his sake the monarchy in Nepal lasts. What a cute Nep baby!!

His lil sister princess Purnika is quite chubby n cute too........... shes looks a lot like her father HRH crown prince Paras, while the lil prince looks like his wonderful mother HRH crown princess Himani Devi.

Crown Princess Himani of Nepal.....

2006-05-02T10:04:00.000-07:00

Well is this really a time to write about them? when the maoists and the nepalese people (i dunno there are conflicting reports, my cousins from nepal say that the locals from Katmandu itself are not against the king, and these mobs shown on tv are goons of gotten from outside by the political parties to pressurize the king!! - dunno whats true) are seemingly up in arms against the monarchy.

But i like the crown princess Himani devi, she is the quiet , modest kind of a women who is always there in the background, she seems to be a quality person, no airs, no extravagance, only doing her duty by the family she married into, quietly attending to her charitable fucntions etc. looking after her kids and her silly errant husband. Even a die hard royalist like mw doesnt like prince paras too much........... but she is nice, even the people of nepal love her, as she unobtrusively does her thing.

hope for her sake and her childrens sake that all works out fine for the monarchy there....!!

Their Majesties... (late) King Hussein Queen Alia

2006-04-30T12:48:00.000-07:00

Ok here are some wonderful pics of their late Majesties. Btw prince Ali and princess Haya are children of the lovely queen alia.

infact princess haya resembles her a lot.......... they are not only beautiful , but exude some kind of a charm........ hehe sheikh maktoum would know..lol

Queen Alia was the daughter of a palestinian diplomat, and she died tragically in a helicopter crash......ever wondered why so many of the rich and famous die in helicopter crashes, or airplane crashes, or even car accidents..........!!!!

Prince Ali of Jordan and Fiancee

2006-04-30T12:39:00.000-07:00

This are pictures of princess Haya's real brother Prince Ali and his journalist fiancee Rym Brahimi (i think thats her name)..........

Well i suppose men are attracted to brains, as in the looks or pedigree department Rym Brahimi doesnt seem to have much!! (sorry i like the idea of royals marrying royals )

And she looks much older than him..... alas! anyways he loves her (obviously, why else wud he marry her)...........

anybody know anything more on her please update me too...

Haya of Jordan

2006-04-30T07:10:00.000-07:00

Heres the lovely Princess Haya of Jordan. She is the daughter of the late kIng Hussain and his wife Alia. The princess is a keen equestrian, and her love for horses is well known.

It is believed that it is this love for everything equine is what got her in touch with her husband H.H. Sheikh Maktoum of Dubai.

I believe there is a 25 year age gap between the two, as the Sheikh has earlier wives (wife ... i dunno how many wives he has) , as he has 16 children!

But they seem much in love, atleast i think the sheikh is in love with her, nice pics of them attending various racing events in england on the princeses official site.

I wonder sometimes was it love. Or ONLY love that created this match. I mean the ruler of dubai is flush with money, power, wealth prestige.... you name it, so im sure it helped. Jordans royal family is not really known for its riches...... and haya has many siblings, her step brother is the King. So now she is more important than all of them!!

Was it love again on the Sheikhs part? well what else, what could he possibly want from Haya? ummm ,......... well throughout history it is known that money loves blood and blood loves money. Hmmm the princess is after all of old royal arab blood, belonging to the Hashemite dynasty, the sheikhs own dynasty is pretty new, i think his father began it! Nice to marry a princess of a old royal house!!

Anyways im happy, i believe royals should marry royals!! (told ya im a hardcore royalist) and so my views arent very egalitarian.

Crown Prince Dipendra Nepal

2006-04-30T06:53:00.000-07:00

This a lovely picture of the late crown Prince of Nepal, even King of Nepal for a short while (while he was in coma).........

I still love the guy (im real hardcore royalist) , can u believe he would do something as ghastly as killing his own family...?

Something in me still wonders , look at this picture is it of a deranged man out to kill?

All in the name of love...hahh , well his lady love Devyani Rana seems to have moved on in life ( and why not, dipendra is dead, the crown gone) , rumours are doing rounds of her having attached herself to a grandson of an indian Union minister.
Good Going Girl!! - You only love at the top rite?

The charming Priya Scindia

2006-04-30T06:45:00.000-07:00

Ok I start with one of my favourite royals , the maharani of Gwalior (India) . Here she is seen with her father who is a prince of the Indian princely state of Baroda, Sangram Sinh Gaekwad.......... and her cute lil son Aryamaan Scindia.

introduction....

2006-04-30T06:18:00.000-07:00

Hello this ones for all u around the world who share my interests about the lives of the royal the rich and the famous....... i think there are many of u out there...:)