Sovereign Prince at Windsor for Jubilee

Their Serene Highnesses Prince Albert II and Princess Charlene were at Windsor Castle for the "Sovereigns' Lunch" to celebrate the Diamond Jubilee of HM Queen Elizabeth II of the U.K. and etc. In a truly historic photo, here we see the assembled crowned heads of the world (reigning and some non-reigning) including our own Albie. Those present are, from left to right, starting with the front row: HIM the Emperor of Japan, HM Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands, HM Queen Margrethe II of Denmark, HM King Constantine II of the Hellenes, HM King Michael I of Romania, HM Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom, HM Simeon II King of Bulgarians, HM Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah of Brunei, HM King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden, HM King Mswati III of Swaziland and HSH Prince Hans-Adam II of Liechtenstein.

In the second row, left to right, are: HSH Prince Albert II of Monaco, HRH Grand Duke Henri of Luxembourg, HM King Letsie III of Lesotho, HM King Albert II of the Belgians, HM King Harald V of Norway, HH Emir Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani of Qatar, HM King Abdullah II of Jordan, HM King Hamad bin Isa Al-Khalifa of Bahrain and HM Abdul Halim the Yong di-Pertuan Agong of Malaysia.

Finally, in the third row, left to right, we have: HH Prince Nasser Mohamed of Kuwait, HH Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed of Abu Dhabi, HRH Crown Prince Alexander II of Yugoslavia, HM King Tupou VI of Tonga, HRH Crown Prince Maha Vajiralongkorn of Thailand, HRH Princess Lalla Meryem of Morocco and HRH Prince Mohammed bin Nayaf of Saudi Arabia.

Quite a royal gathering, there had been some concern over whether King Constantine would attend, thankfully he made it. And, it is also true that when such an historic gathering as this takes place, one feels all the more those not present. I am particularly distressed not to see HM King Juan Carlos I of Spain or HRH the Prince of the Asturias. One also has to wonder why certain non-reigning royals are invited and others are not. My assumption is that only those who had formerly been reigning monarchs were invited, otherwise the list would be too long and one would get into all sorts of trouble in choosing between feuding royal claimants. Does one invite Prince Georg Friedrich of Prussia but not the heirs of the other German states? Does one invite Prince Vittorio Emanuele or Prince Amedeo? The Duke of Anjou or the Count of Paris? It would obviously cause problems. I also cannot help but regret that such a gathering includes no member of the Hapsburg family. Of course, the Crown Prince of Yugoslavia was sure to attend due to his close friendship with the British Royal Family even though he has never been a reigning monarch. He was an actual heir to the throne for a time, but then so was Prince Vittorio Emanuele who one could not imagine getting an invitation. Anyway, I wonder, if he were still with us, HIRH Crown Prince Otto of Austria-Hungary might have been included in the royal ranks above?

A great and historic royal gathering in any event, and it gave a chance for HSH Princess Charlene of Monaco and HRH the Duchess of Cambridge to have a little chat, perhaps discussing how they find their new lives as princesses...