[Luxembourg] Duke Henri had a health scare on February 4th

HRH Grand Duke Henri of Luxembourg was sent to the Centre Hospitalier de Luxembourg today after feeling “unwell”. He reportedly suffered a cardiac arrest and had an emergency angioplasty. The latest official news from the Palais is that the Grand Duke's condition is "not worrying.” He remains in the hospital, most likely for observation as the procedure was deemed a success. Both of the Grand Duke’s uncles King Baudouin of Belgium and Prince Charles of Luxembourg died young of heart problems, so Henri’s family has reason to be cautious. After having a similar balloon angioplasty procedure, HRH will most likely need to stay in the hospital for 2-3 days. After that he could need a significant period of rest, up to or even exceeding a month. It is possible, depending on what caused the issue that the Grand Duke had, he could need to be on medication for the foreseeable future. HRH the Grand Duke had been in reportedly good health, he is 55 years old.

from the Examiner.com

Royal Birthdays in February

February 14th (Valentine's Day)

Prince Hans-Adam II of Liechtenstein (1945)

Names of maid of honor, bridesmaids, best man and page boys confirmed for William and Kate's wedding

The lucky friends and relatives who will play their part in the royal wedding have been confirmed. Prince Harry has been asked to serve as best man during the wedding of his brother Prince William to Kate Middleton.

Meanwhile, Kate has asked her sister, Pippa Middleton, to be her maid of honour, leading the four bridesmaids.

A number of close friends and family are also serving as bridesmaids and page boys.

Seven-year-old Lady Louise Windsor is one of the lucky four, and it will be a rare public appearance for the Queen's youngest granddaughter and daughter of Prince Edward and Sophie.

Since birth Lady Louise has suffered from exotropia – a condition causing a severe squint – and her parents have reportedly wanted to protect her from media attention.

Joining Lady Louise will be Grace Van Custems, the daughter of the Van Custems who are close family friends from Norfolk and have known the Prince since childhood.

Third bridesmaid is the Duchess of Cornwall 's granddaughter Eliza Lopes, the daughter of Harry and Laura Lopes.

Viscount Linley's eight-year-old daughter Margarita, the second cousin of the Prince, will also feature as a bridesmaid. There will be two page boys, Billy Lowther-Pinkerton and Tom Pettifer.

Ten-year-old Billy is the son of Jamie Lowther-Pinkerton, who has been secretary to Prince William since 2005 and a very close friend.

Eight-year-old Tom is the Prince's godson and son of Tiggy Pettifer, née Legge-Bourke who was personal assistant to the Prince of Wales during the Nineties and also nanny to William.

Details about the bridesmaids' dresses and the page boys' uniforms will be made available on the day of the wedding.

from Hellomagazine.com

Queen Rania breaks two-week silence on Twitter

If you are on Twitter and follow Queen Rania, you might have noticed her silence in the past two weeks. These past days have been quite unquiet - to say the least - for her country and neighbors, that are surely living a crucial turning points in their Histories. Many have been asking themselves if the monarchy will survive in Jordan or if a change of government was enough to comply to people's needs.

Today, she tweeted about Egypt, where she studied at the American University of Cairo: 

"Egypt, where I spent my university years. May you be blessed with security & prosperity for all in this new era."

@QueenRania