HRH Prince Johan Friso of Orange-Nassau (1968-2013)

Today HRH Prince Johan Friso Bernhard Christiaan David Prince of Orange-Nassau brother to King Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands sadly passed away.

The Prince had been in a coma since 17th February 2012 when he was in an avalanche that had buried him causing significant brain damage due to lack of oxygen.

After initial treatment in Austria he was sent to Wellington Hospital in London and on the 9th July 2013 he was moved to Huis ten Bosch Palace in the Netherlands were passed away following compactions.

My thoughts are with his family at this sad time.

KCVO for Lord Lieutenant of North Yorkshire

Charles James Dugdale, The Lord Crathorne was appointed Knight Commander of the Royal Victorian Order (KCVO) for his service as Lord Lieutenant of North Yorkshire.

Peerage for Archbishop of Canterbury

Her Majesty the Queen granted a peerage for life to the Most Reverend and Right Honourable Dr Rowan Williams Lord Archbishop of Canterbury he will be styled and titled Baron Williams of Oystermouth in the City and County of Swansea.

Queen Appoints New Deputy Press Secretary

Her Majesty the Queen has appointed Mr James Roscoe as her deputy press secretary and head of news. Mr Roscoe currently works for the Foreign office as a diplomat in the United Nations.

Happy Holidays

I would like to wish you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year in 2013.

New Vice Lord Lieutenant of Norfolk

Richard Jewson JP, Lord Lieutenant of Norfolk has appointed The Countess of Romney DL Vice Lord Lieutenant of the County of Norfolk.

New Deputy Lieutenants of Midlothian

Patrick Prenter CBE, Lord-Lieutenant of Midlothian commissioned the following to become Deputy Lieutenants of Midlothian.
Mrs Sarah Barron
Mrs Daphne Farquharson

New Lord Lieutenant of Durham

On the 18th of December 2012, Mrs Susan Snowdon was appointed by the Queen to become Lord-Lieutenant of Durham when Sir Paul Nicholson KCVO retires on the 7th of March 2013.

The Queen’s Piper Honoured

Her Majesty the Queen awarded Pipe Major Derek Potter the Royal Victorian Medal in Silver for his service as the Queen’s Piper.

New Deputy Lieutenants of the County of East Sussex

Peter Field, Lord-Lieutenant of East Sussex commissioned the following to become Deputy Lieutenants of the County of East Sussex.
Mr Julian R Avery
Mr Geoffrey T Bush
Professor Julian M Crampton
Mr James R May
Colonel Nick Richards
Mrs Chantal Wilson

New Deputy Lieutenants of the County of Isle of Wight

Major General Martin White CB CBE JP, Lord-Lieutenant of the Isle of Wight commissioned the following to become Deputy Lieutenants of the County of Isle of Wight.
Mrs Susie Sheldon
Dr Nicholas John England MA DPhil

Queen Appoints Pages of Honour

Her Majesty the Queen has appointed Viscount Aithrie and Hugo Bertie as her pages of honour in succession to Lord Stanley of Bickerstaffe and Andrew Leeming.
Charles Adrian Bristow Hope, Viscount Aithrie is the grandson of Adrian John Charles Hope, 4th Marquess of Linlithgow and is second in line to his grandfather’s title.
Hugo Bertie is the great-great grandson of Lady Mary Bowes-Lyon sister to Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother making Hugo the Queen's 1st cousin 3x removed.

Prince Félix of Luxembourg to Marry

On the 13th December 2012, the court of Luxembourg announced that His Royal Highness Prince Félix of Luxembourg is engaged to Miss Claire Lademacher. The Grand Duke and Grand Duchess are delighted by the announcement.

Succession to the Crown Bill Presented to the British Parliament

Today the Succession to the Crown bill was put before the House of Commons by the Deputy Prime Minster Nick Clegg. The Bill outlines the biggest change to the royal succession since the Act of Settlement in 1701, allowing only the descendants of Sophia of Hanover to inherit the British throne. The first point of the bill changes the succession law from Male-Preference Primogeniture to Equal Primogeniture meaning whoever is eldest will inherit the throne regardless of their gender. The practice of Equal Primogeniture is not uncommon adopted by Sweden in 1980, Netherlands in 1983, Norway in 1990, Belgium in 1991, Denmark in 2009 and in Luxembourg in 2011.The proposed change regarding gender will be back dated to the 28th of October 2011 when all 16 commonwealth realms agreed to change the laws of succession, this means royals born before the 28th will follow the old rules of succession.

The second point of the bill is concerning the rules about royals marring someone of the Roman Catholic faith. The law currently states that if a person in the royal succession marries a person who is of the Roman Catholic faith at the time of their marriage, they are disqualified from the succession. Under the proposed bill royals who marry Roman Catholics will not lose their place in the line of succession. The bill will also be retrospective to living royals who married Roman Catholics before this bill was presented meaning royals like Prince Michael of Kent, who married his Roman Catholic wife in 1978 will regain his entitlement to a place in line to the throne. However the bill does not repel the law that disqualifies a royal who becomes Roman Catholic from inheriting the throne.

The Third point of the bill regards the sovereign giving consent to a royal marriage under the Royal Marriages Act 1772. The law currently states that no descendant of George II other than the issue of Princesses who married or may marry into “foreign families” shall be capable of contracting matrimony without the previous consent of the sovereign signified under the great seal, declared in council, and entered in the Privy Council books. Every Marriage of any such descendant, without such consent, shall be null and void. Under the Proposed bill, the first six people in line to the throne will need the consent of the Sovereign signified under the great seal, declared in council, and entered in the Privy Council books. The failure to comply will result in that person and their descendants being disqualified from succeeding to the Crown. The current six people in line to the throne are:
1. Prince Charles, Prince of Wales
2. Prince William, Duke of Cambridge
3. Prince Henry of Wales
4. Prince Andrew, Duke of York
5. Princess Beatrice of York
6. Princess Eugenie of York

The fourth point of the bill is to repel the Royal Marriages Act 1772.

The fifth point of the bill concerns the Royal Marriages Act 1772 all marriages voided under act will be treated as never having been voided.

The proposed bill will make amendments to the Bill of Rights, Act of Settlement 1701, Act of Union with Scotland 1706, Act of Union with England 1707, Act of Union with Ireland 1800 and the Act of Union (Ireland) 1800.

If the proposed bill becomes law it will be known as the Succession to the Crown Act 2013.

Similar legislation will need to be passed in the Parliaments of the other 15 commonwealth realms listed below.
Antigua and Barbuda
Australia
The Bahamas
Barbados
Belize
Canada
Grenada
Jamaica
New Zealand
Papua New Guinea
Saint Kitts and Nevis
Saint Lucia
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
Solomon Islands
Tuvalu

This bill, if passed will change the face of the Royal Family forever. By bringing the Monarchy in to the 21st Century we change an institution at the heart of our nation. My personnel opinion is how do you change an institution that has stood for a thousand years? I worry that this bill may break the dam and allow a flood of bills that may change the monarchy into something we won’t recognise and make the monarchy seem unneeded in the 21st Century, leading one day to a British republic. I hope not.

New Privy Councillors of the United Kingdom

Her Majesty the Queen approved the following people members of Her Majesty’s most Honourable Privy Council.
Lord Ashcroft KCMG
Paul Burstow MP
Andrew Stunell OBE MP
Lord Wallace of Saltaire

New Deputy Lieutenants of the County of Devon

Eric Dancer CBE JP, Lord-Lieutenant of Devon commissioned the following to become Deputy Lieutenants of the County of Devon.
Mr Richard Dion Bayly
Mrs Patricia Southby-Tailyour
Wing Commander Brian Wills-Pope MBE MCGI FloD RAFVR(T)
Brigadier Simon Young CBE

Queen Honours Archbishop of Canterbury

Her Majesty the Queen invested The Most Revd and Rt Hon Dr Rowan Williams, Archbishop of Canterbury with the Royal Victorian Chain for his service as Primate of All England. The Royal Victorian Chain is a personal award from the monarch; there are only 14 living recipients.

The Duchess of Cambridge is Pregnant

On the 3rd of December 2012 Clarence House announced Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge is Pregnant. The Queen, Prince Philip, The Prince of Wales and Prince Harry have been informed and are delighted with the news. The Duchess is reported to be in the early stages of pregnancy and has been admitted to the King Edward VII Hospital in London suffering with acute morning sickness. The Duchess is expected to stay in hospital for several days for rest and further tests.

GCB for Amir of Kuwait

Her Majesty the Queen presented Sabah Al-Ahmad AL-Jaber Al-Sabah, Amir of Kuwait with an honorary Knight Grand Cross of the Civil Division of the Most Honourable Order of the Bath (GCB).

New Member of the United Kingdom Privy Council

On the 28th of November 2012, Her Majesty the Queen approved the following person member of Her Majesty’s most Honourable Privy Council.
Sir Richard George Bramwell McCombe