Prince Willem-Alexander's 40th Birthday Celebrations: August 31-September 2, 2007

[Henri M.]

In April the Rijksvoorlichtingsdienst (the Netherlands State Information Agency) issued the following communiqué:

On Saturday 1 September 2007 His Royal Highness The Prince of Orange will host a festive reception for the occasion of his 40th birthday.
The event will be held at Palace Het Loo in Apeldoorn. See wonderful picture.

Besides family and friends also members of foreign Royal Houses and of royal dynasties have been invited for this celebration.

The reason for this late celebration lies in the birth of the Prince's third daughter, Her Royal Highness Princess Ariane of the Netherlands (April 10th). The Prince had his 40th birthday on 27 April. He celebrated it in familial surroundings.


From what we have understood, the event lasts a few days in private, with the event on Saturday September 1st as main day. The grand palace Het Loo will be a fairytale décor for many guests and also traditional fireworks will be organized in the grand park. See wonderful picture of the royal fireworks.

Now the question is: which guests will we see on Het Loo Palace? Will we finally see Prince William turning up at a major royal event? Will Prince Georg Friedrich von Hohenzollern, the 'other' Prince of Orange give acte de présence?

 

[TLLK]

My first guess is that the list will be made up by his fellow heir-to-the-throne peers or those who are closer in age ie: the UK's Earl of Wessex. (Pregnant Sophie may choose to sit this out.) Also, those who would be the heirs of Greece, Italy, etc...

 

[Henri M.]

The Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall ?

My first guess is that the list will be made up by his fellow heir-to-the-throne peers or those who are closer in age ie: the UK's Earl of Wessex. (Pregnant Sophie may choose to sit this out.) Also, those who would be the heirs of Greece, Italy, etc...

The Prince of Wales has for so far attended almost all major events in the Netherlands (investiture Queen Beatrix, 60th birthday party Queen Beatrix, wedding Prince of Orange, funeral Prince Claus, etc.). The Prince of Wales seems to know the Prince of Orange from early on since he has studied in Llantwit Major (Wales) and has visited the Prince and Princess of Wales regularly.

See this picture.

I hope to see the Prince of Wales bringing two people to make their début on a grand foreign royal event: The Duchess of Cornwall and Prince William!

 

[RachelD]

I hope to see the Prince of Wales bringing two people to make their début on a grand foreign royal event: The Duchess of Cornwall and Prince William!

That would be so awesome!!!

 

[lucien]

The Prince of Wales has for so far attended almost all major events in the Netherlands (investiture Queen Beatrix, 60th birthday party Queen Beatrix, wedding Prince of Orange, funeral Prince Claus, etc.). The Prince of Wales seems to know the Prince of Orange from early on since he has studied in Llantwit Major (Wales) and has visited the Prince and Princess of Wales regularly.

See this picture.

I hope to see the Prince of Wales bringing two people to make their début on a grand foreign royal event: The Duchess of Cornwall and Prince William!

Highly unlikely Henri,august 31st is the Memorial at Westminster Abbey the PoW and both sons attend,to be partying the next day would gave another "damned of he does,dammed if he doesn't" situation,so no.Hope this remains the "ONE" thread where this will not further be discussed ad nauseam.Or maybe he gives us all a thrill and shows up with dear Camilla on saturday the first,still,highly unlikely tho.

Don't think any of the Savoia's will be coming,apart from that I doubt they're invited at all,not so close relations i.e. not close friends.Hope for Felipe and Letizia,Fred and Mary and their Greek cousins,Haakon and Mette-Marit ofcourse,and Filip and Mathilde,the von Amsberg cousins,Sayn-Wittgenstein's,Waldburg-Zeil's,Oeyenhausen's,Bismarcks,and what have we not,it will be a fantastic gathering no doubt,and hope for the Weather Gods to have mercy upon us all,for a change,so we can all enjoy the Royal fireworks from the colonnades in the Palace gardens.

 

[dazzling]

will they release a list of other royals who would be attending? a programme?

 

[Empress]

Hi everyone, we've reopened this thread. Let's try and keep the speculation to a minimum shall we? Please only report facts.

 

[Princess Robijn]

- Fotographers will have the chance for a grouppicture outside and pictures of the arrival of the guests (only with good weather)
- Fotographers will have the chance for a grouppicture inside (only with bad weather)
- The Princes of Orange will take their daughters, with bad weather there will be a small fotoshoot inside.

 

[carlota]

will they release a list of other royals who would be attending? a programme?

just as dazzling asked, are there any confirmed guests or a programme just now? it's only a week until the party, so i guess they will be releasing it soon...

 

[Princess Robijn]

September 1: 18.45 The Princess of Orange and their daughters arrive at Paleis Het Loo. After that the guests will start to arrive. around 19.15 the grouppicture will be taken.

 

[Kelly]

Such wonderful news! We will be able to see the little princesses!

 

[Marengo]

Well, that is certainly more than I expected. We didn´t get a grouppicture during the Queens 60th birthday I believe, but I am looking forward to this one.

 

[lucien]

At present the agenda of the RH website is blank,maybe some more info is added in connection with the birthday events as otherwise there's never a blank when engagements/functions are added to it.
Het Koninklijk Huis

 

[Princess Robijn]

At present the agenda of the RH website is blank,maybe some more info is added in connection with the birthday events as otherwise there's never a blank when engagements/functions are added to it.
Het Koninklijk Huis

It's been blank for a few days now, maybe they are still waiting for the last responds

 

[Marengo]

Probably they are. Did other courts announce some representation on their websites? usually the scandinavians are quicker in those things than the Dutch. I recall that they had their presence at the wedding of WA and Maxima listed on their public sheduele long before the Dutch announced the guestlist, for example.

 

[Avalon]

Highly unlikely Henri,august 31st is the Memorial at Westminster Abbey the PoW and both sons attend,to be partying the next day would gave another "damned of he does,dammed if he doesn't" situation,so no.Hope this remains the "ONE" thread where this will not further be discussed ad nauseam.Or maybe he gives us all a thrill and shows up with dear Camilla on saturday the first,still,highly unlikely tho.

For the same reason I doubt The Earl and Countess of Wessex will attend: they are both going to the memorial service. Princess Anne, on the other hand, doesn't have any engagements untill September 3 (highly unusual for her), she is not listed among those, who are going the the memorial as well, so I find it likely she will represent the British Royal Family.

I'm very exited by the event, especially the group picture - I didn't expect there would be one.

 

[norwegianne]

Probably they are. Did other courts announce some representation on their websites? usually the scandinavians are quicker in those things than the Dutch. I recall that they had their presence at the wedding of WA and Maxima listed on their public sheduele long before the Dutch announced the guestlist, for example.

Nothing on the calendar in Denmark - the Norwegian one hasn't yet been update to include events in September, and the Swedish one is usually just updated for a week at the time.

 

[Henri M.]

Public vs private

The Royal House has always been unclear in their information policy.

Somewhere I can imagine that they consider this event as a private event, to mark the 40th birthday of HRH The Prince of Orange. This means no information is given on the website of the Royal House, which is -in essence- instrumental to the constititional and official duties of the members of the Royal House.

At the other hand, even the annual Address from the Throne is never scheduled in the agenda of the Royal House, while I can not imagine too many more official and constitutional than this. (Article 65 Constitution: A statement of the policy to be pursued by the Government shall be given by or on behalf of The King before a joint assembly of the two Chambers of the States-General, which shall be held every year on the third Tuesday in September or on such earlier date as may be prescribed by Act.)

Experiences with the Royal House website have learned that they are very restraint in giving information on beforehand. Not seldom just the day before or on the day itself an incomplete guestlist will be issued, to be completed áfter the event.... I don't know the reason for this.

Let me take the official guestlist to the wedding of The Prince of Orange. We may assume it will be a sort of subdued version of it (no Sovereigns but Heirs).

This would result in a list more or less like this:

The Duke and Duchess of Brabant
The Prince and Princess Laurent of Belgium née Coombs
The Archduke and Archduchess Lorenz of Austria-Este, Prince and Princess of Belgium

The Crown Prince and -Princess of Denmark
The Prince and Princess zu Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg née Princess of Denmark and Greece
The Count and Countess Jefferson-Friedrich von Pfeil und Klein-Ellguth née Princess zu Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg

The Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall
The Earl and Countess of Wessex

The Hereditary Prince and -Princess Aloïs von und zu Liechtenstein née Duchess of Bavaria

The Grand Duke and -Duchess of Luxembourg, Duke and Duchess of Nassau
Grand Duke Jean of Luxembourg, Prince of Nassau
The Hereditary Grand Duke of Luxembourg, Prince of Nassau
The Prince and Princess Guillaume of Luxembourg née Weiller, Prince and Princess of Nassau

The Prince of Monaco
The Prince and Princess of Hannover née Princess of Monaco

The Crown Prince and -Princess of Norway
Princess Märtha Louise and mr. Ari Behn

The Prince and Princess of Asturias
The Duke and Duchess of Palma de Mallorca

The Crown Princess of Sweden, Duchess of Västergötland
Prince Carl Philip of Sweden, Duke of Värmland
Princess Madeleine of Sweden, Duchess of Hälsingland and Gästrikland

The Crown Prince and -Princess of Japan

Prince and Princess Hamzah bin Al Hussein of Jordan née Princess of Jordan
Prince and Princess Hassan bin Talal of Jordan née Sarvath Ikramullah

The Prince and Princess Kardam of Bulgaria, Prince and Princess of Tirnovo, Duke and Duchess of Saxony née Ungria y López

The Prince and Princess Pavlos of the Hellenes, Prince and Princess of Greece and Denmark née Miller
Prince Nicolaos of the Hellenes, Prince of Greece and Denmark

The Prince and Princess von Bismarck née Countess Lippens
The Count and Countess Carl-Eduard von Bismarck

The Count and Countess Franz-Clemens zu Waldburg-Zeil-Hohenems née Countess zu Blanckenstein

The Aga and the Begum Khan

Jonkheer and mrs. Michiel Alting von Geusau née Von Perjès Dömölky

The Prince and Princess Georg zu Sayn-Wittgenstein-Hohenstein née Baroness von Maydell

Etc......

 

[Duke of Marmalade]

The Aga and the Begum Khan

First casualty maybe the Aga Khan but I highly doubt the woman by his side will be the Begum.

 

[Charlotte1]

House.
Let me take the official guestlist to the wedding of The Prince of Orange. We may assume it will be a sort of subdued version of it (no Sovereigns but Heirs).

This would result in a list more or less like this:

The Duke and Duchess of Brabant
The Prince and Princess Laurent of Belgium née Coombs
The Archduke and Archduchess Lorenz of Austria-Este, Prince and Princess of Belgium

The Crown Prince and -Princess of Denmark
The Prince and Princess zu Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg née Princess of Denmark and Greece
The Count and Countess Jefferson-Friedrich von Pfeil und Klein-Ellguth née Princess zu Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg

The Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall
The Earl and Countess of Wessex

The Hereditary Prince and -Princess Aloïs von und zu Liechtenstein née Duchess of Bavaria

The Grand Duke and -Duchess of Luxembourg, Duke and Duchess of Nassau
Grand Duke Jean of Luxembourg, Prince of Nassau
The Hereditary Grand Duke of Luxembourg, Prince of Nassau
The Prince and Princess Guillaume of Luxembourg née Weiller, Prince and Princess of Nassau

The Prince of Monaco
The Prince and Princess of Hannover née Princess of Monaco

The Crown Prince and -Princess of Norway
Princess Märtha Louise and mr. Ari Behn

The Prince and Princess of Asturias
The Duke and Duchess of Palma de Mallorca

The Crown Princess of Sweden, Duchess of Västergötland
Prince Carl Philip of Sweden, Duke of Värmland
Princess Madeleine of Sweden, Duchess of Hälsingland and Gästrikland

The Crown Prince and -Princess of Japan

Prince and Princess Hamzah bin Al Hussein of Jordan née Princess of Jordan
Prince and Princess Hassan bin Talal of Jordan née Sarvath Ikramullah

The Prince and Princess Kardam of Bulgaria, Prince and Princess of Tirnovo, Duke and Duchess of Saxony née Ungria y López

The Prince and Princess Pavlos of the Hellenes, Prince and Princess of Greece and Denmark née Miller
Prince Nicolaos of the Hellenes, Prince of Greece and Denmark

The Prince and Princess von Bismarck née Countess Lippens
The Count and Countess Carl-Eduard von Bismarck

The Count and Countess Franz-Clemens zu Waldburg-Zeil-Hohenems née Countess zu Blanckenstein

The Aga and the Begum Khan

Jonkheer and mrs. Michiel Alting von Geusau née Von Perjès Dömölky

The Prince and Princess Georg zu Sayn-Wittgenstein-Hohenstein née Baroness von Maydell

Etc......

Charles has an official engagement on Sept 1st ( listed on his official site) that would most likely cancel out his and Camilla's potential attendance.

The Japanese royals don't attend birthday celebrations, (they do weddings and funerals) so the Japanese crown prince and princess aren't likely to attend.

 

[Marengo]

I would be surprised if there is any British royal present anyway. As Edward, Sophie and Charles are otherwise engaged. The Prince of Orange doesn´t seem to have a lot of contact with the Duke of York or the Princess Royal, so their presence is unlikely (to me).

 

[carlota]

perhaps they may not even invitate all royal houses or specific roles (heirs) in representation, but those who are personal friends of the prince and princess. we don't really know what kind of celebration it may be, but perhaps we are expecting every heir to be there in representation as a very official event, while it can be more laid back and be just a mere meeting of friends, royal and non-royal. i do hope it's a royal affair, but until we know what kind of celebration it may be, we can't really be certain on the guests who will be there...

of course, the fact that they announced a group photo means that some royals will be present for our delight (who would be interested in seeing a personal picture of just the couple's friends?)...

 

[acdc1]

By the daughters, does it mean just Princesses Amalia and Alexia, or will Ariane be there as well?

 

[Princess Maxima]

By the daughters, does it mean just Princesses Amalia and Alexia, or will Ariane be there as well?

I guess Ariane will be there too (Máxima has to breast feed her)

 

[Marengo]

The royal website still doesn´t have any info about this event, apart from the vague remark that the prince will host a birthday party at het Loo on saturday. But no information on the arrival of guests etc, because heaven forbid there will be any spectators! This is a private event and Johan Friso probably threatened not to come if he had to wave and smile.

 

[Princess Luna]

The royal website still doesn´t have any info about this event, apart from the vague remark that the prince will host a birthday party at het Loo on saturday. But no information on the arrival of guests etc, because heaven forbid there will be any spectators! This is a private event and Johan Friso probably threatened not to come if he had to wave and smile.

I have to ask, isn`t Johan Friso popular in Netherland?

 

[Maxie]

Well, let's put it this way: there are royals who are more popular than Friso is.

I agree, Marengo. They could be a little bit more open about this. The real fanatics are going to show up at the gates anyway.

 

[norwegianne]

The royal website still doesn´t have any info about this event, apart from the vague remark that the prince will host a birthday party at het Loo on saturday. But no information on the arrival of guests etc, because heaven forbid there will be any spectators! This is a private event and Johan Friso probably threatened not to come if he had to wave and smile.

None of the Scandinavian calendars have anything about attendance at this party yet either, which suggests that it either they're not invited, or of they are, they're treating it as a very private matter. (Perhaps following the birthday boy's lead?)

 

[lucien]

None of the Scandinavian calendars have anything about attendance at this party yet either, which suggests that it either they're not invited, or of they are, they're treating it as a very private matter. (Perhaps following the birthday boy's lead?)

My guess is the latter Norwegienne,they've all been invited.

 

[Marengo]

My guess is the latter Norwegienne,they've all been invited.

Well Frederiks agenda says he is sailing on a saturday...