Some of the latest news on the royal families this week:

• Prince Harry’s godfather Gerald Ward dies on golf course (via Telegraph)
• Queen Elizabeth to mark Blue Peter birthday (via BBC)
• Spain’s Queen Sofia not afraid to kiss the donkeys (via Royal Blog)
• Unseen footage of Queen Elizabeth found (via BBC)
• Letters of Diana and Wallis up for auction (via Royal Blog)
• Father of Princess Mathilde of Belgium passes away (via Royal Blog)
• Queen Elizabeth asks Parliament for millions of extra funding (via Telegraph)
• Prince Charles set to visit haunted castle (via Press and Journal)
• Denmark Princess Marie opens her heart on babies and married life (via Hello Magazine)
• Sweden’s Queen Silvia opens World Forum Against Drugs and Council of Europe´s children´s conference (via Royal Court of Sweden)

Here are some links to some other great Royal news this week:

• Prince Harry gets motorbike license (via Telegraph)
• Prince William and Prince Harry want Diana car crash disposed of ‘privately and discreetly’ (via Hello)
• Prince Charles: Schools should have farms (via PA)
• Queen Elizabeth to visit Slovenia and Slovakia (via PA)
• Denmark’s Princess Mary to have an airplane named after her (via M&C)
• Woolly mammoth fossils found at Queen Elizabeth’s Balmoral estate (via Telegraph)
• Hu Jintao welcomes Spain’s Infanta Elena to Beijing (via Royal Blog)

The royal birthdays, anniversaries and and special events for the month of September 2008 are:

Birthdays:

1 - Crown Prince Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands
3 - Prince Franz Wilhelm of Prussia
5 - Pierre Rainier Stefano Casiraghi
6 - Prince Hisahito of Japan
7 - Prince Rudolf Ferdinand of Liechtenstein
8 - Duke Paul Marie of Oldenburg
11 - Princess Kiko of Japan
11 - Queen Paola of Belgium
11 - Prince Talal of Jordan
11 - Princess Iman of Iran
12 - Prince Mohammed of Jordan

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* British restaurant host three royal families in one night (via M&C)

* Slice of Charles and Diana wedding cake sells for £1,000 (via Telegraph)

* Queen Elizabeth’s guards dismissed after drug test (via M&C)

* Sweden’s Princess Victoria gives award to Finnish President (via Royal Blog)

* Queen Elizabeth falls 35 places on Forbes list of most powerful women (via Telegraph)

* Norway’s Crown Couple funds AIDS charity in Nicaragua (via Aftenposten)

* Bahrain’s Crown Prince interviewed by CNN Marketplace Middle East (via TradeArabia)

Prince Harry and some of his mates board a ferry for Robben Island

Prince Harry’s tour of Africa is almost over. The British prince has been spending time with members of his Blues and Royals regiment. While in Africa, they have helped with various projects at a community school in Lesotho. This project is supported by Sentebale, Prince Harry’s charity dedicated to helping AIDS orphans in Lesotho.

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Denmark’s Crown Prince Frederik and Crown Princess Mary, with Iceland’s President Olafur Ragnar Grimsson and his wife Dorrit Moussaieff, on a visit in May 2008

Another princess which I missed on my first list of Vanity Fair’s Best-Dressed Women was Princess Mary of Denmark. Princess Mary is one of my favorite royals. In the list, she is Number 16, though I think she should be higher.

Here are a couple more of her recent fashion statements:

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I feel like such a dork. I posted about Kate Middleton and a number of royals making it to Vanity Fair’s International Best-Dressed List this year. I didn’t realize, until Frank pointed it out, that I missed several other royals. I was looking at this list, instead of this one.

In the complete list, Princess Letizia of Spain is Number 2 among the best-dressed women of the world. She really does deserve to be in this list. Princes Letizia is always impeccably dressed, no matter what the occasion is.

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Kate Middleton is not (yet) a royal. But she is as well-dressed as any of them, according to Vanity Fair’s 2008 International Best-Dressed List. Kate joins the following blue-bloods who are being recognized for their fashion choices:

Crown Princess Mathilde of Belgium (shown on the right), with her tailored dresses and suits.

Prince Heinrich von Und Zu Furstenberg of Germany, whose personal style is labeled timeless.

Count Manfredi Della Gherardesca, whose favorite clothing purchase of 2008 was a batik-inspired J. Crew jacket.

Rafael Medina, The Duke of Feria, along with his brother Don Luis Medina of Spain.

Crown Prince Pavlos of Greece, who favors business attire.

UPDATE:  Also on the list of Best-Dressed Men and Women were Crown Princess Letizia of Spain, Crown Princess Mary of Denmark, Princess Alexandra of Greece, Monaco’s Charlotte Casiraghi, Princess Olga of Greece, Princess Elisabeth von Thurn und Taxis, Britain’s Prince William and Prince Harry, and Viscount David Linley.

Prince William’s girlfriend Kate Middleton is one of today’s fashion icons. She made the 2008 International Best-Dressed List compiled by Vanity Fair. Joining her in the fashion list are Ivanka Trump, Carla Bruni-Sarkozy, Sarah Jessica Parker, Daniel Craig, Matt Lauer, David Beckham (without Victoria!), Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie and a number of aristocrats.

Kate Middleton (center) with two unidentified guests at the wedding of Lady Rose Windsor and George Gilman.

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The Spanish royals have been enjoying the sun and the water off Palma de Mallorca in Spain. Their visit coincides with the 27th Copa del Rey Mapfre Audi Sailing Cup, also known as the King’s Cup.

King Juan Carlos skippered the royal yacht Bribon for the event, one of the most popular among the elite international yachting community. His granddaughters, Princess Leonor and Princess Sofia, were in the thick of the action, as were their parents Crown Prince Felipe and Princess Letizia.

The week was not all play and holiday from King Juan Carlos. He also met with several dignitaries in Mallorca. Among those he hosted were Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, President of Kazakhstan Nursultan Nazarbayev and Spain’s own Prime Minister Jose Luis Zapatero.