Royalty Magazine Newsletter 2015-03-31

Denmark’s Crown Prince Couple tour Japan

Crown Prince Frederik and Crown Princess Mary concluded their brief tour of Japan with a visit to a fashion show promoting Danish fashion. The show was held by Danish haute couture designer Jesper Hovring at Tokyo’s popular shopping district, Shibuya. With Frederik and Mary seated in the front row the impromptu review highlight was a collection of sealskin wares.

Crown Prince Naruhito and the Crown Prince Couple pose for photos at the royal residence in Tokyo during TRH’s three-day visit.

TRH’s visit to Japan was a slightly unusual one as the objective was to promote Greenland (which is an autonomous country within the Kingdom of Denmark). The delegation accompanying the Crown Prince Couple appropriately included the Premier of the Government of Greenland Kim Kielsen and a business delegation of Greenlandic companies.

TRH are seen with their four children – Prince Christian, Princess Isabella, Prince Vincent and Princess Josephine – during the summer tour of Greenland in 2014.

Charles loses Supreme Court battle

The Supreme Court ruling that the Prince of Wales’ hitherto confidential letters written to government ministers can be made public may represent a watershed in the relations between the Royal Family, the government and the media. The Guardian newspaper views the ruling as vindication of a campaign that began with a request made under the Freedom of Information Act in 2005. A decade later twenty-seven letters are to be published once they have been redacted to exclude private material that is not part of the HRH’s advocacy on matters of public interest.

During his most recent trip to the USA the Prince of Wales accepted the ‘Teddy Roosevelt International Conservation Award’ at a reception hosted by the International Conservation Caucus Foundation (ICCF).

If the immediate impact is clear, the longer term ramifications are more complex as the ruling does not mean that all of Prince Charles’ handwritten ‘spider memos’ can be made public. Since The Guardian’s initial request in 2005, the Freedom of Information Act has been amended making material relating to the future king exempt. The Supreme Court ruling therefore does not open the floodgates.

Alan Rusbridger, right, editor of The Guardian, accepts the 2014 Pulitzer Prize for Public Service during an awards ceremony at Columbia University.

However, the amendments to the act do not apply in all areas – for example, environmental information, which is governed by a different law. As the environment is foremost amongst Charles’ concerns, in areas such as climate change and the controversy over genetically modified foods, future legal battles with the media and the courts seem all but certain.

Kate hints it could be a girl

Whilst the anticipation builds as the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge prepare for the birth of their second child, Kate has told friends that she knows the baby’s sex. But it was not quite the revelation that royal watchers had been hoping for as Kate’s reasoning was based on the old wives’ tale that when a mum to be develops a craving for sweet treats it is a sure sign of a girl. In Kate’s case she has acquired a liking for chocolate biscuits and sticky fruit loaves.

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge smile as they as they leave the Stephen Lawrence Centre in Deptford, London.

There was more substantive news on the other main speculation. During a visit to the Home-Start charity in South East London, Kate was asked when the country could expect the patter of tiny feet:”I’m due mid-April to the end of April. Not long to go now.” The best estimate doctors have offered is around April 25, which would mean the baby would be born under Taurus, the sign of the bull. With twenty-one month elder sibling Prince George already boasting the nickname of “bruiser” the new addition to the family is likely to be every bit as boisterous – boy or girl!

TRH’s talk with young people on the top deck of the XLP Mobile Recording Studio.