Jordan's King Abdullah II has visited the West Bank to hold talks in Ramallah with Mahmoud Abbas, the Palestinian president.

The rare visit came just days ahead of a key summit between the rival Palestinian movements Fatah and Hamas, which are looking to cement a stalled unity deal that has drawn fierce opposition from Israel and Washington.

It was the first time the monarch visited the West Bank's political capital since August 2000, and came just days before the Palestinian leader was due in Cairo to meet exiled Hamas chief Khaled Meshaal.

But officials said little about the reasons behind the high-level visit, which saw the Jordanian monarch flying in by helicopter for a brief stay of little more than two hours.

"This was an important and historic visit with a message of support," Abbas told reporters after the king's departure, without revealing what was discussed.

"We thank the king for his strong support for the Palestinian Authority and the Palestinian cause particularly at this time."

Speaking to reporters as the two leaders held closed-door talks, Nasser Judeh, the Jordanian foreign minister, expressed support for both the Palestinians' UN membership bid and for moves to cement a unity deal between Hamas and Fatah.

"The king has always said that strength comes from unity of the Palestinian front," he said.

"Jordan's goal is to support the Palestinian Authority and the Palestinian cause and we will make every effort for the Palestinian cause and the unity of the Palestinian front."

Standing beside him, Palestinian foreign minister Riyad al-Malki said reconciliation was of the greatest importance.

"For us there is no greater interest than the reconciliation and the end of the division," he said.

Earlier an Abbas adviser Nimr Hammad described the timing of the visit as "very important" and said they would discuss "all the political developments between us and the international community in order reach a common Palestinian-Jordanian understanding on the issues."

Talks had been expected to touch on the Palestinian bid to secure full state membership at the United Nations, and on the forthcoming Hamas-Fatah meeting in Cairo – both of which have met with strong US and Israeli opposition.

Under terms of their unity deal, Fatah and Hamas were to piece together an interim government of politically unaffiliated technocrats who would prepare for presidential and legislative elections within a year.

But the caretaker government was never formed, with the two sides bickering over its composition and over who would take up the role of premier.

However, the two sides appear to have reached some form of agreement which is likely to be made public after they meet in the Egyptian capital later this week, officials say.

King Abdullah paid his first visit to the Palestinian territories in May 1999 just months after being crowned king, meeting the late leader Yasser Arafat in Gaza.

In April 2000, he made his first visit to Ramallah and returned four months later, which was the last time he visited the city.

A senior Israeli official, who said they were not informed of Abdullah's plans, welcomed the West Bank visit.

"We have repeatedly called in the past for Arab leaders to travel to Ramallah in order to strengthen the peace process. Unfortunately, almost none of them have come," he said.

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[Swaziland] King Mswati III bans & kicks out wife # 12 after "affair".

The 12th wife of Swaziland's autocratic king, who allegedly had an affair with his justice minister, has been thrown out of the royal palace without her children.

Inkhosikati LaDube, 23, who married King Mswati III at the age of 16, says she has been kept under virtual house arrest in her official residence since she and Ndumiso Mamba were caught in a hotel in Mbabane, the capital, last year.

She told a South African newspaper that after more than a year in captivity, she was ordered "immediately to leave the palace" on November 12.

It followed a row with a security guard who blocked her from taking the youngest of her three children, a two-year-old boy, to hospital after he injured himself while playing, she said.

"He threatened to hit me, saying I am not going anywhere with my child, who was bleeding from a deep wound," she said.

An altercation ensued, she told South Africa's Sunday Times, and she was "physically prevented" from leaving the palace. "I had to protect myself, so I pepper-sprayed him in the eyes," she said.

The matter was reported to the Queen Mother, who shares power with her son and is known as the Indlovukazi, or Great She-Elephant. She is said to have decided that LaDube had been disrespectful and should be evicted from the royal household.

LaDube said she was forced to leave behind her children and her belongings.

The King, who is 43 and has 23 children by 13 wives, is on his annual period of seclusion. He has not seen LaDube for a year and, she alleges, knows almost nothing about the couple's children.

Swaziland Solidarity Network, a South Africa-based umbrella organisation of pro-democracy organisations, lambasted the king for his wife's "brutal eviction".

"The ill-treatment that LaDube has endured and the subsequent separation from her children is a very inhumane act," Lucky Lukhele, a spokesman, said. He said the king had "never forgiven" LaDube for embarrassing him with her alleged affair.

"Mswati has never again set foot in her house after the scandal. He further instructed her bodyguards to deliberately frustrate her to the point where she could no longer take it and then hopefully leave," he said. He added that without their mother, LaDube's children were at risk of being "terribly neglected" in the royal household.

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Crown Prince Frederik and Crown Princess Mary of Denmark - Day 1 in Australia (part 1)

On the one hand, Prince Frederik and Princess Mary of Denmark were on official duties as they began their tour of Australia.

But the royal couple, who are known for putting family first, were also busy entertaining twins Josephine and Vincent during the visit.

The Danish Royals have returned to Mary's homeland for a six day tour, and it seems the down-to-earth couple will be balancing work and family whilst on the road.

Joining them were their adorable 11-month old tots who were described by their father as "miracles times two" when they were born in January of this year.

And in a nod to their mum's roots, the twins were clutching a stuffed koala and kangaroo –a gift from Australia's Governor General, Quentin Bryce - who also attended their opening photo call.

There was no sign of the couple's other two children five-year-old Christian and Isabella, who is three.

They spent their first day in typical Aussie style, enjoying a beach stroll and a barbecue before zipping round the harbour on a boat.

With official duties and children taken care of, they got into the competitive spirit as they hopped onto some excercise bikes at the during the launch of an arts project.

Australian politician, Barry O'Farrell, was on hand to welcome Mary and her husband to Sydney and had glowing words for his guests .

"Like many Australians, we share in the royal romance and relationship that some have described as a fairytale'' he said.

This is the royals first official visit to Australia since 2008.

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and photos

Spotted: King Abdullah II of Jordan meets with British PM David Cameron at 10 Downing Street

British Prime Minister David Cameron welcomes King Abdullah of Jordan to 10 Downing Street on November 15, 2011 in London, England. His Majesty King Abdullah, who is currently on an official visit to the UK will meet Mr Cameron to discuss developments in the Arab region, and the continued efforts to sustain peace in the Middle East.

King Jigme of Bhutan proposed to his wife when she was... 7 years old!

The royal couple apparently met when aged seventeen and seven respectively at a family picnic in Thimphu.

The then-prince got down on his knees and said "when you grow up, if I am single and not married and if you are single and not married, I would like you to be my wife, provided we still feel the same," he told students in August of the current year.

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King Jigme of Bhutan and Queen Jetsun Pema's visit to Japan

Queen Jetsun of Bhutan and Princess Kiko

Her natural beauty and elegance and her colourful traditional outfits have helped Bhutan's Queen Jetsun Pema become the new fashion icon of the Orient.

And the 21-year-old royal, who has become an ambassador for the ethnic style of her tiny Himalayan state, did her people proud on an official visit to Japan.

Jesun and her husband King Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck were welcomed to Toyko's Imperial Palace by Crown Prince Naruhito.

The prince was stepping in for his absent father, Emperor Akihito, who has been hospitalised with bronchitis symptoms.

Also at the welcome ceremony was Empress Michiko and her younger son Prince Akishimo and his wife Princess Kiko.

Naruhito's wife, Crown Princess Masako, who has been affected by a stress-induced illness, was absent.

At a banquet in the evening, Naruhito praised the couple's state, saying Japan could learn a lot from the way it was governed.

He was referring to Bhutan's gross national happiness index – which requires the government to measure citizens' contentment rather their material wealth.

King Jigme and his wife, who wed in an elaborate marriage ceremony last October, promised to spend their honeymoon working, and that's exactly what they've done.

Their Japan trip marks pilot's daughter Jetsun's second major trip overseas as queen after the couple visited India.

They are the first state visitors to be welcomed to Japan since the March earthquakes and tsunami.

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Queen Jetsun with Empress Michiko and King Jigme

With Crown Prince Naruhito

Crown Prince Frederik and Crown Princess Mary of Denmark arrive to Australia

Crown Princess Mary and her husband Crown Prince Frederik have arrived Down Under with their brood. The royal couple will arrived in Sydney this morning and will kick off their two-day visit to the Harbour City on Sunday at the Sculpture by the Sea exhibition in Bondi, where they'll view a work by Danish sculptor Keld Moseholm.

They'll also present the People's Choice and Children's Choice awards.

Sculpture by the Sea holds a special significance for the royal couple, who visited it during their early courting days after Mary met her prince at a Sydney nightclub during the Sydney 2000 Olympics.

Their six-day visit to Australia will include stops at Canberra, Melbourne, western Victoria and Broken Hill in NSW.

They are also expected to have a private family visit with their children, Prince Christian, six; Princess Isabella, four; and twins Prince Vincent and Princess Josephine, 10 months.

Crown Princess Mary was born Mary Donaldson in Hobart and married Crown Prince Frederik in 2004 in Copenhagen. It is the royal family's first visit to Australia since August 2008.

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