Bright Young Royals (11 page)

HER:
Born September 15, 1972, Letizia comes from a very normal family—her father worked as a journalist and her mother as a hospital nurse. She graduated from Complutense University of Madrid, before earning her master’s degree from the Institute for Studies in Audiovisual Journalism and eventually became an award-winning television reporter—working for CNN, ABC, and Bloomberg, among others. Prior to meeting her prince, Letizia reported from some of the world’s most hostile environments. She covered the 2000 U.S. presidential election, broadcast live from Ground Zero after the September 11, 2001, attacks, and reported from the front lines of the Iraq War. Letizia fell in love with the handsome Prince Felipe in 2002, when she was sent to northern Spain to cover the ecological disaster caused by a sinking oil tanker.

THEIR REGAL ROMANCE:
Prince Felipe always insisted that when he ultimately chose his princess, it would be “a relationship based on love, respect and kindness.” He seems to have met his match in the beautiful, thoroughly modern Letizia, who is independent, cultured, and exceedingly accomplished. Although the couple had met once before at a dinner party, during their second meeting they couldn’t keep their eyes off each other and began secretly dating almost immediately. The public was none the wiser until their official engagement was announced. Although Letizia was a divorcée (something that would not have been tolerated for a royal bride in the past), the public were delighted that their country would have a Spanish queen for the first time since 1879. Letizia quickly overcame any controversy and was openly embraced by the Spanish people, who happily view her as the figurehead of a new era and a “queen for the twenty-first century.” Felipe and Letizia married in Madrid on the morning of May 22, 2004.

HEIRS AND SPARES:
Princess Leonor (born October 31, 2005) and Princess Sofia (born April 29, 2007)

PHILANTHROPY OF THE PRINCE AND PRINCESS:

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The Codespa Foundation
Helps poor communities with health, educational, and vocational training programs in Asia, Africa, and the Americas. Founded in 1985 and based in Spain, Crown Prince Felipe is the honorary president.
http://www.codespa.org/

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The Príncipe de Asturias Foundation
Promotes scientific, cultural, and humanistic values. Each year the foundation bestows the prestigious Prince of Asturias Awards, rewarding technical and social achievements. Crown Prince Felipe is the honorary president.
http://www.fpa.es/en/

CROWN PRINCE HAAKON AND CROWN PRINCESS METTE-MARIT OF NORWAY

HIM:
Born July 20, 1973, Prince Haakon’s parents are King Harald V and Queen Sonja. He was educated at the University of California at Berkeley, the University of Oslo, and the London School of Economics, where he studied International Politics, Law, and Social Science. Handsome and athletically built, Haakon loves to sail, ski, surf, and cycle. He is also an avid patron of the arts with a deep passion for theater, music, and literature. Haakon became Crown Prince of Norway on the death of his grandfather in 1991. When he married Mette-Marit in 2001, Crown Prince Frederik of Denmark served as his best man.

HER:
Born August 19, 1973, Mette-Marit has no royal heritage—her father was a journalist and her mother worked in a bank. Like Haakon, she adores anything to do with sailing. In her wild youth, this Gwyneth Paltrow look-alike frequented raves and enjoyed dancing to house music. (“I certainly didn’t have any ball gowns before I met Haakon!” she says.
⁹
) This party girl already had a three-year-old son (out of wedlock) when she met the crown prince through mutual friends, but despite the initial scrutiny, Norwegians were soon bowled over by her Nordic beauty, graceful intelligence, and unassuming demeanor.

THEIR REGAL ROMANCE:
A single-mother princess with a child fathered by a man who has been linked to drug dealing? How could it possibly be? Well, when Crown Prince Haakon set eyes on this elegant Hitchcock blonde at a rock concert, he didn’t think twice about her lessthan-perfect past. Totally smitten, the prince shocked the world by welcoming Mette-Marit and her son Marius into his home, and within months he proposed to her.

At first there was public backlash to such an unconventional royal match (and the fact that the couple were “living in sin”), but Norway’s king and queen remained supportive, and Mette-Marit won praise for her courage when she made a public statement expressing regret for her past. Haakon married Mette-Marit on August 25, 2001, at Oslo Cathedral, and the title of crown princess was bestowed upon her. She is now fervently adored by her subjects.

HEIRS AND SPARES:
Princess Ingrid (born January 21, 2004) and Prince Sverre (born December 3, 2005). Marius Borg Høiby (born January 13, 1997) is not in the line of succession, but is very much part of the Norwegian royal family.

PHILANTHROPY OF THE PRINCE AND PRINCESS:

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The Crown Prince and Crown Princess’ Humanitarian Fund
enables Haakon and Mette-Marit to focus efforts on humanitarian causes of special interest to them. In Norway, grants are allocated to projects aimed at improving conditions for children and young people. In countries abroad, the fund targets projects related to health and education.
http://www.kongehuset.no/c28624/liste/vis.html?strukt_tid=28624

HRH CROWN PRINCE HAAKON IS ALSO THE PATRON OF:

◆ 4H Norge—Norwegian 4H Organisation

◆ The Christian Radich Sail Training Foundation

◆ The Ibsen Stage Festival

◆ Nordland Music Festival

◆ The Northern Light Festival

◆ The Norwegian Association Against Substance Abuse

◆ The Norwegian Asthma and Allergy Association

◆ The Norwegian Band Federation

◆ The Norwegian Festival of International Literature

◆ The Norwegian International Film Festival

◆ The Norwegian Lifesaving Society

◆ Stavanger Symphony Orchestra

◆ Ultima Oslo Contemporary Music Festival

HRH CROWN PRINCESS METTE-MARIT IS ALSO PATRON OF:

◆ Amandus Film Festival

◆ FOKUS—Forum for Women and Development

◆ Kristians and International Children’s Film Festival

◆ Risør Festival of Chamber Music

◆ The Norwegian Design Council

◆ The Norwegian Guide and Scout Association

◆ The Norwegian Red Cross

◆ The Norwegian Council for Mental Health

◆ Oslo International Church Music Festival

CROWN PRINCE FREDERIK AND CROWN PRINCESS MARY OF DENMARK

HIM:
Born May 26, 1968, Frederik is the elder son of Queen Margrethe II and Prince Henrik of Denmark and heir to the Danish throne (Europe’s oldest monarchy). He studied political science at Harvard University, worked with the Danish UN mission in New York and later the Danish embassy in Paris, before eventually earning his MSc from the University of Aarhus. The dashing prince has also completed training with all three military services, most notably with the elite Royal Frogmen Corps (the naval Special Forces). Frederik once said, “I want to be a good ambassador for my country. But I will not shut myself away in a castle. I will be myself. I will be a human being.”
¹⁰
Easygoing, fun-loving, and incredibly popular with the Danish people, Prince Frederik has a well-known penchant for adventure (including polar dog sledding and jungle treks) and has run marathons in Copenhagen, New York, and Paris.

HER:
Born February 5, 1972, Mary is the youngest of four children. Incredibly down-to-earth, she was raised by her Scottish parents in Australia, where her father worked as a mathematics professor and her mother as a secretary. After graduating from university, the ravenhaired beauty moved swiftly into a dazzling advertising career, including stints with high-flying companies like Young & Rubicam and Microsoft. Simple and chic, Mary is known for her classic-yet-modern taste, causing many observers to draw comparisons to Jackie Kennedy and Audrey Hepburn. Mary once said of her girlhood dreams, “I don’t recall ever wishing to become a princess. I wanted to be a veterinarian!” But her ordinary life was forever changed one night in a pub, when she met a young man who introduced himself as “Fred.”

THEIR REGAL ROMANCE:
Crown Prince Frederik of Denmark met Mary at the Slip Inn during the 2000 Sydney Olympics. Never mind that she was a commoner; Frederik knew instantly that he had met the princess of his dreams. Not only was Mary undeniably beautiful, she was natural, relaxed, stylish, and sensible. She also loved horseback riding and all outdoor sports, just as he did. The prince was smitten. The starry-eyed couple embarked upon a discreet long-distance relationship until their engagement was officially announced in October 2003. They married on May 14, 2004, in Copenhagen Cathedral.

HEIRS AND SPARES:
Prince Christian (born October 15, 2005) and Princess Isabella (born April 21, 2007). On January 8, 2011, Denmark rejoiced when Mary gave birth to twins, Prince Vincent and Princess Josephine.

PHILANTHROPY OF THE PRINCE AND PRINCESS:

◆
The Mary Foundation
aims to advance the understanding of cultural diversity, prevent social isolation, and encourage tolerance, with a focus on bullying, well-being, and domestic violence. It was established in 2007 by HRH Crown Princess Mary of Denmark, who is the acting chairman.
http://www.maryfonden.dk/Home.aspx

HRH THE CROWN PRINCESS IS ALSO THE PATRON OF THE FOLLOWING:

◆ The Children’s Choir of the Royal Danish Academy of Music

◆ The Danish Arts and Crafts Association

◆ The Danish Cultural Institute

◆ Copenhagen International Fashion Fair

◆ Designers Nest

◆ The Danish Refugee Council (DRC)

◆ The Danish Youth Association of Science

◆ Research Day

◆ Children’s Aid Foundation

◆ Danish Association for Mental Health

◆ LOKK (a nationwide organization of shelters for battered women)

◆ Maternity Worldwide

◆ Mothers Help

◆ Rare Disorders Denmark

◆ The Alannah & Madeline Foundation

◆ The Christmas Seal Foundation

◆ The Danish Brain Injury Association

◆ The Danish Heart Association

◆ The Danish Kidney Association

◆ The Danish Mental Health Fund

◆ The Danish Stroke Association

◆ World Health Organization

◆ The Danish Golf Union

◆ The Danish Swimming Federation

HRH THE CROWN PRINCE IS THE PATRON OF THE FOLLOWING ORGANIZATIONS:

◆ Aarhus University Male Choir

◆ The Anders Lassen Foundation

◆ The Association of Fine Arts

◆ The Associations of the Guard Hussars

◆ The Blood Donors in Denmark

◆ The Commission for Scientific Research in Greenland

◆ Copenhagen International Furniture Fair

◆ The Danish Association of the Hard of Hearing

◆ Danish Deaf Association

◆ Danish Design Center

◆ The Danish Dyslexia Organisation

◆ The Danish Military Sports Association

◆ The Danish National Committee of United World Colleges

◆ The Danish Naval Officers’ Club

◆ The Danish Pleasure Crafts Safety Board

◆ Danish Railway Museum in Odense

◆ The Danish Tennis Association

◆ The Foreign Policy Society

◆ The Georg Jensen Prize

◆ The Greenlandic Society

◆ The Greenlandic Christmas-Seal Foundation

◆ The Naval-Lieutenant-Society