The two Spanish Princesses

Danish Queen with Mary her daughter in law.

Mary from Tasmania originally, with three of her four children.

Dutch King and Queen with their three daughters.

Prince Frederick of Denmark with his family.

 

The Spanish princesses are certainly getting taller than mum!  Here they are with their parents on holiday.

Letizia's young ladies! Queen of Spain co-ordinates with her teenage daughters in breezy summer dresses and espadrilles as the family enjoys a summer break in Escora 

Queen Letizia of Spain looked effortlessly chic today as she joined her family out an outing in Mallorca. Keeping it cool in a light blue shade, the royal, 48, sported a V-neck wrap dress with an A-line skirt and cinched waist.  She was joined by her husband King Felipe VI, 53,  who coordinated in a navy suit trouser and relaxed summer shirt with delicate grey and blue polka dots. Their daughters, Princess Leonor, 15, and Infanta Sofía, 14, also joined them on the day out to a pilgrimage site in Escorca during their summer holidays in the Balearic Islands.

 

Queen felt she was 'saved' by Tony Blair who convinced her to ditch 'stiff upper lip' after Princess Diana's death to satisfy the public - but she 'didn't like being in his debt', says Dominic Sandbrook 

The claim is made in an upcoming Channel 4 documentary The Queen and Her Prime Ministers, airing on Saturday, which charts the relationships over her 69-year reign.

 

 

Australia's Mary's little boy is becoming a young man it is nice to see.

First day! Princess Mary and Crown Prince Frederick look proud as punch as they join Prince Christian, 15, as he starts at Denmark's oldest boarding school

Crown Princess Mary of Denmark looked in good spirits as she joined her husband Crown Prince Frederick to move their eldest son Prince Christian into his new boarding school. The 15-year-old (pictured right), who is second in line to the throne, is starting at Denmark's oldest boarding school Herlufsholm, today. He was joined by his parents Princess Mary, 49, and Prince Frederick (pictured left), 53, yesterday as he adjusted to his new surroundings and met his classmates at the private day and boarding school by the River Suså in Næstved, located south of Copenhagen.

 

 Prince Andrew and Virginia Roberts at Ghislaine Maxwell's townhouse in London, Britain on March 13, 2001 Picture: Florida Southern District Court/Supplied  

Court documents filed by alleged sexual abuse victim Virginia Giuffre claim Prince Andrew repeatedly refused to assist US authorities with their investigation into disgraced sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell.

Ms Giuffre, nee Roberts, filed a lawsuit in New York on Monday accusing the royal of sexually abusing her when she was under the age of 18.

The now 38-year-old has been outspoken with accusations of being sex trafficked by Epstein and Ms Maxwell, and in the lawsuit claims she was “lent out to other powerful men for sexual purposes”, naming Prince Andrew as one of these men.

She has accused him of sexually abusing her at Epstein’s mansion in Manhattan and at other locations in 2001, when she was under the age of 18.

The Duke of York has previously denied all allegations.

 

 

The royals get up to no good. 

Andrew is not the only royal consorting with notorious sexual abusers. Charles had a 30-year friendship with Jimmy Savile, whose OBE for “charitable services” was not revoked even with Savile’s 214 confirmed sexual offences. Despite multiple public allegations before Savile died, Charles “led tributes” sending public condolences after his death. They  should all be barred from royal life. Disgraceful and disgusting.

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© Provided by ABC NEWS The Prince and Princess of Wales, Charles and Diana, ride the Big Pineapple train during their visit to the Sunshine Coast in 1983. (Supplied: Queensland State Archives)

The Big Pineapple began as an agricultural showpiece, designed to display the fruits and other produce that flourished in the tropics — but it grew into something entirely different. 

At its peak, the Pineapple, which opened 50 years ago tomorrow as Sunshine Plantation, developed such pulling power it became a destination for royalty.

Patsy Flint, 92, was at the official opening and there again more than 10 years later when Prince Charles and Princess Diana came to visit in 1983.

The royal pair famously hopped aboard the rumbling green and yellow carriages that shuttled visitors around the park on an 11-minute round-trip.

"They spoke to everybody, all the workers, which was so lovely for all the people here," Ms Flint said.

Trevor Loats drove the train that day, and had to make sure their visit didn't go off the rails.

"I've got my special photo that I carry with myself, Charles and Di on the train platform together," he said.

"A lot of people say I keep bragging — my wife keeps saying, 'Will you stop showing people that photo'."

But beyond the brush with royalty, what both Ms Flint and Mr Loats remember most about the tourist attraction is the huge number of excited visitors descending on the Pineapple and its surrounds.

Mr Loats describes watching 52 buses filled with visitors pulling up in a single day after he started in 1982.

"You just basically went flat out all day," he said.

At its peak in the 1980s, about one million people would visit a year — enough to match the visitor numbers of Dreamworld on the Gold Coast even now.

Mr Loats said much of the appeal to visitors, both local and from abroad, was the pineapple farm that spanned the grounds.

"They would climb up the top of the Big Pineapple and look over the whole farm from there," he said.

"I grew up in a southern state so I didn't have pineapples growing at my doorstep.

"People had no idea how a pineapple grew — in a tree, or underground? No, just on top of the ground."

Can't keep a good pineapple down

Decades after its hey-day, the Big Pineapple went into receivership in 2009, closed in 2010 and the famous Nutmobile was sold off and moved to the macadamia-growing town of Bauple, north of Gympie.

But just as pineapple plants can die back then produce another generation, the Big Pineapple returned after being purchased by a consortium in 2011.

It's now been home to the Big Pineapple Music Festival since 2013.

The festival was one of the few to go ahead in 2021, as much of the country bounced in and out of lockdowns as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The property has also grown to include a high-ropes and zipline course, and the relocation of the Alma Park Zoo, which has been recreated as Wildlife HQ.

On top of that, it's home to a yoghurt producer and the Diablo Ginger Beer Distillery.

Carriage fit for a princess

It was distillery owner Dimitris Limnatitis's love of Princess Diana and local history that led to a crucial piece of Big Pineapple memorabilia being unearthed ahead of its 50th anniversary.

After watching a documentary on the princess, which featured a snippet of her 1983 visit to the site and her trip on Mr Loats' train, Mr Limnatitis suspected the royal carriage had to be on the grounds somewhere.

After a bit of sleuthing, he found it,  under cover but long forgotten and surrounded by bush.

"I didn't realise it was a particular [carriage] until I actually found the plaque," he said.

"When I read the plaque, it seriously gave me goosebumps —  it still does."

The carriage has been cleaned up, the plaque polished, and it now sits proudly on display.

"The Big Pineapple is an historical place — not just for the Sunshine Coast or for Queensland, but the whole country and the whole world knows about the Big Pineapple," Mr Limnatitis said.

"I don't think I've met a person in this country that hasn't been to the Big Pineapple, and everyone's got a memory to tell."

The Big Pineapple will mark its 50th anniversary on Sunday with a country music event on the grounds.

 

Princess Anne's incredible birthday throwbacks (msn.com)

 

by Are Media Pty Ltd Princess Anne has just celebrated her 71st birthday and the British royal family are honouring her online. Royals including the Queen and Prince Charles took to social media to share their well wishes on the Princess Royal's special day. 

 

 

 

One's summer holiday will not be stopped! Queen is 'carrying on at Balmoral as normal' after a staff member tested positive for Covid, source claims

The Queen is to remain at Balmoral for summer, despite staff member at estate testing positive for Covid  Her Majesty, 95, decided to stay at the Aberdeenshire retreat where employee was sent home on Saturday Monarch has been double-vaccinated and once described the virus as a 'plague' sweeping the planet Sources insisted that all the staff at Balmoral are tested for Covid daily and are wearing facemasks But insiders suggested the Queen and her family may be waiting for the results of their own PCR tests 

 

 

       

Her Majesty during an inspection of the Balaklava Company, 5 Battalion The Royal Regiment of Scotland at the gate

 

[Looks like HM is giving up a large part of her holiday while Charles sorts out the mess his little brother seems to have on his hands!]