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ROYAL HONOURS FOR BEAUTIFUL MINDS AT NOBEL GALAS

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11 DECEMBER 2006

Crown Princess Victoria and her father King Carl Gustav are both accustomed to being the centre of attention when they turn out for a public event. The two royals were more than happy to let their guests soak up most of the glory when the brightest lights of literature and science were honoured in their home country, though.

The monarch offered words of praise to a series of the world's most brilliant minds as he presided over the Nobel awards ceremony on Sunday afternoon. Turkish novelist Orhan Pamuk, chemist Roger Kornberg and physicists George Smooth and John Mather all received medals from the sovereign when the prestigious prizes were handed out in Stockholm Concert Hall.

Afterwards the laureates were joined by the entire royal family, along with some 1,600 guests, for a lavish banquet in Stockholm City Hall. And the Crown Princess seemed to be thoroughly enjoying the occasion, beaming from ear to ear as she chatted with the winners at the table of honour.

Across the border in Norway, meanwhile, Tinseltown siren Sharon Stone joined Crown Prince Haakon and his wife Mette-Marit at a reception for peace prize winner Muhammad Yunus. Blonde bombshell Sharon was seen wiping tears from her eyes as she heard testimonies praising the economist, whose "Bank of the Poor" has helped millions of people in Bangladesh lift themselves out of grinding poverty.