The Cambridge Children Ask David Attenborough

The children of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge asked David Attenborough about animal extinction, spiders and favourite animals.

Queen Rania Lights Tree at Fuheis Christmas Festival

Queen Rania of Jordan lit the Christmas tree at the official opening of the Fuheis Christmas Festival on Monday. The event will end on December 24th. Besides attending the festival, the queen visited the Orthodox Secondary School which housed a temporary bake and Christmas decoration sale. As Rania mingled with the community, she expressed her happiness with the time she spent uplifting the children and hoped that the holiday cheer would continue to spread throughout Jordan.

Photo: Petra

Marie-Chantal Working on Motherhood, Stores and Website

Fans of Marie-Chantal’s children clothing designs will be delighted to know that two more retail stores will be opening in the Fall. One clothing store will be in Los Angeles; the other will be located on Sloane Street in London. Besides the openings of the new stores, Marie-Chantal will be launching her new website in October.

She is the mother of five children; she gave birth to a son on June 29th.

Prince Maurits and Princess Marilène Open Ronald McDonald Kinderstad in Amsterdam

Prince Maurits and Princess Marilène attended the opening ceremony of the VU Medical Center’s Ronald McDonald Kinderstad in Amsterdam yesterday. The children with long term illnesses can enjoy recreational activities with their families in a specially built play facility located on the 9th and 10th floors of the medical center. From a social development aspect, the Ronald McDonald Kinderstad helps the children cope with their isolation from the outside world whilst undergoing treatment at the medical center.

Photo: ANP

Queen Rania Embraces Our Stories Program

A partnership between UNICEF, Google and One Laptop per Child has formed to launch the initiative, Our Stories. The objective of the program is “to preserve and share the histories and identities of cultures around the world.” Through an audio broadcast, Queen Rania of Jordan, UNICEF’s first Eminent Advocate for Children, encourages children to share their stories with the world.

The initiative, Our Stories, is utilizing the ingenuity of Dave Isay, who founded a non-profit organization called StoryCorps in 2003. Isay’s initial program only contained stories from the United States. Our Stories is expanding the concept by embracing the global network.

Queen Rania summed up her belief in the program, and said: “The message of this project is that every human being has a story that deserves to be heard.”

Rania Cites Work of Operation Smile

As Honorary Chairperson of Operation Smile Jordan, Queen Rania visited Jamil Toutanji Hospital in Sahab on Monday to bring good cheer to the children and praise the surgeons for their work in Operation Smile. She cited the work of these health care workers by saying: “These life changing surgeries are only made possible through the selfless contributions of surgeons and health professionals from around the world.” The organization is celebrating its 25th anniversary of non profit medical services revolving around childhood facial deformities.

Photo: Petra

Queen Rania Promotes the Health Benefits of Breastfeeding Infants

As UNICEF’s eminent advocate for children, Queen Rania of Jordan released the following statement regarding World Breastfeeding Week 2007.

“There's nothing more natural, nothing more instinctive, and nothing more effective than breastfeeding. Protecting her baby is a mother's first instinct and a mother's milk is the most powerful vaccine there is against infectious and non-infectious disease.”

“That is why I am proud of UNICEF's efforts to raise awareness about the benefits of breast-feeding. As a mother of four, I know, firsthand, that breast milk is the best defense system and the best start in life I could have given my children.”

“Parents in the developing world have a right to this knowledge and to the support that they need to initiate and sustain breastfeeding. Exclusive breast-feeding provides their newborns with essential proteins and irreplaceable immunity, it decreases the risk of diarrhea and respiratory infections, and it offers growth and nutrition factors that enhance their babies’ health and overall odds for survival beyond their first year.”

“The fact is: breast-feeding can save lives. Exclusive breast-feeding for up to six months can reduce child mortality by 13 per cent. Early initiation within the first hour of birth can prevent 22 per cent of all neonatal deaths. These are not statistics any mother wants to gamble with.”

“Help us save lives. Join UNICEF and other partners on World Breast-feeding Week and help us spread the word to make exclusive breastfeeding an absolute priority.”

Queen Sonja of Norway Celebrates Her 70th Birthday with 300 Children

On July 5th, Queen Sonja of Norway visited the park pavilion located in Rektorhagen at Kongsgård to join 300 children from the local kindergartens in a party complete with songs, balloons and paper crowns. The queen elicited a laugh from her husband King Harald of Norway when she placed a paper crown on her head and it fell over her eyes. She had been receiving many wonderful gifts including a floral tribute arranged like the painting of her by Andy Warhol.

Midday, Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg presented the queen an exhibition of children’s art called “For the Queen.” The exhibition of art will be displayed from July 19th to August at the Sølvberget cultural centre.

In the evening, Queen Sonja attended a dinner at the Flor og Fjære restaurant.