Everything you should know about King Charles III’s Hungarian relative

Hungarian relative King Charles III Count Tibor Kálnoky

Count Tibor Kálnoky is not only the relative of the new British king but also a distant ancestor of Bram Stoker’s famous Dracula, Vlad Țepeș. The Hungarian count regularly welcomed the late Prince of Wales in Zalánpatak (Valea Zălanului), in Transylvania, Romania. Charles always said he loved to experience how nature and village people could live in a harmony. Here is what you should know about count Kálnoky.

“Well, I’m related to Dracula. Luckily, only very, very, very distantly“, Count Tibor Kálnoky told The Telegraph when he was interviewed about the regular visits of Charles III to the Transylvanian village of Zalánpatak.

The Kálnoky family received its title from the Habsburg emperor and Hungarian king Leopold I (1657-1705) in 1697. However, Tibor Kálnoky was not born in their renaissance castle in Miklósvár because the family had to flee after the communist takeover in Romania (1945). He was born as the third child of Silesian German Marianne Kernbach and Count Farkas Kálnoky. He was only six months old when they emigrated to the USA and one year old when they moved back to Europe.

He grew up in Germany, went to kindergarten in the Netherlands and started school in South France. At 11, they moved to Paris, where he started a “bird hospital” when he was only 16. He graduated as a veterinarian in Hannover and München, muvelodes.net wrote.

Charles III
Charles III. Photo: MTI/AP/PA Pool/Victoria Jones

In 1987, when he was only 21 years old, they paid a visit to Sepsikőröspatak with his father, from where his father had to flee at the age of 8 more than half a century earlier. They saw that the building they once called home was devastated.

Interestingly, Tibor Kálnoky did not speak Hungarian then, so he started to learn the language enthusiastically. He wanted to understand his family heritage, so he skimmed through old diplomas.

First, he moved to Budapest and worked for a French pharmaceutical company. He met his wife, Anna Boga, in the Hungarian capital. They organised their wedding in 1995 in the ruinous castle of Miklósvár, his family’s ancestral home. Three children were born from their happy union: Mátyás (1994), Vince (1996) and Miklós (2000).

Count Kálnoky
Tibor Kálnoky. Photo: PrtScr/Youtube

They later moved to Bucharest, where he worked for a German pharmaceutical company and regularly visited Miklósvár, Zalánpatak and Kőröspatak, where he wanted to start a new life.

In 2014, he won an application from the Norwegian Fund, so he could start rebuilding the castle. “I would work for the count until my hands and legs fray”, one of the locals working on the project said. Kálnoky built a museum (The Museum of Transylvanian Life) and opened a store selling local products. Soon, Zalánpatak and Miklósvár became well-known worldwide: The New York Times, The Guardian, CNN Travel and Duna World all reported about his place. And he invited Charles III to the village, where the British monarch bought a small peasant house lately.

He organized equestrian tours, started rural tourism and even a school program with the help of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta.

Here is a video of his castle in Miklósvár:

III. Charles
Read alsoHis Hungarian relative sent a message to King Charles III

President to head Hungarian delegation at UN assembly

President Katalin Novák scholarship

President Katalin Novák will head Hungary’s delegation at the 77th session of the General Assembly of the United Nations, the presidential office told MTI in a statement on Thursday.

Novák is scheduled to fly to New York directly from London, after attending the funeral service of Queen Elizabeth II.

The Hungarian delegation will include Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó and State Secretary Péter Sztáray, as well as other government officials.

The session is held between September 13 and 27, with Novák addressing the assembly on September 21, the statement said.

Europan Commission Ursula von der Leyen
Read alsoThe debate on the rule of law has begun: Hungary is no longer a democracy

His Hungarian relative sent a message to King Charles III

III. Charles

At 7.30 PM Hungarian time on Thursday, Buckingham Palace announced the death of Queen Elizabeth II. Since then, King Charles III has taken the throne. Although not many know about it, the new king has a Hungarian relative who has sent a message to him!

King Charles III fell in love with Transylvania

As borsonline reports, the king visited Transylvania for the first time in 1998, 8 months after the tragic death of Princess Diana. At that time, his distant relative, Count Tibor Kálnoky hosted him in his castle. The idyllic environment had a great impact on Charles, he completely fell in love with the countryside. “We have been regularly hosting him for over 20 years. He has even bought some of the old buildings of our family’s glass hut in Zalánpatak, founded in the 1600s, as a guest house, which we renovated for him.”- said Count Kálnoky earlier. He also said that they both love nature and are fond of simple, rural life.

Hungarian relative King Charles III Count Tibor Kálnoky
Read alsoEverything you should know about King Charles III’s Hungarian relative

The king drank pálinka with the locals

King Charles III loves Transylvania not only for its untouched nature but also because there he is not bothered by the press. Not even Camilla Queen Consort has been to the king’s secret refuge. King Charles III enjoyed meeting residents and even drank pálinka, the famous Hungarian alcohol with them. “He’s a good, upright man. I’ll never forget how he drank pálinka with me. It will be eternal memory for us.” – said Uncle Misi.

Charles III visiting Transylvania
Read alsoVIDEOS: King Charles III visits a small Transylvanian village populated by Hungarians every year

His Hungarian relative sent a message

Tibor Kálnoky’s family, after leaving the aristocratic circles of Western Europe and returning home to Transylvania, runs a tourist business. He also purchases and renovates simple farmhouses, keeping their authentic charm. – writes sokszinuvidek.24.hu. Now, the Hungarian relative has sent a message via borsonline. In addition to expressing his condolences for the loss, he said that he hoped that they would see each other again soon. “We hope that His Highness Charles, as king, will continue to give us the opportunity to greet him with the same respectful familiarity with which we see him crossing our blooming meadows and friendly villages and stopping to talk to the residents of the villages. Long live III. King Charles!” – said the count.

Hungarian President Novák to attend Queen Elizabeth’s funeral

london british flag

President Katalin Novák will attend the funeral of Queen Elizabeth on 19 September, the president’s office said.

Novák and her husband have received an invitation to attend the ceremony, the website said.

Queen Elizabeth passed away last Thursday, at the age of 96. The funeral service will be held in Westminster Abbey in London, where Elizabeth married and was crowned queen.

queen elizabeth ii in hungary
Read alsoVIDEO, PHOTOS: This is what Queen Elizabeth II did when she visited Hungary

King Charles
Read alsoVIDEO: King Charles III greeted Hungarians partly in Hungarian

Have you ever heard about the Hungarian Martians?

When speaking about certain prolific figures in Hungarian science in the early 1900s, some of their western colleagues suggested that they might as well be from Mars with their heavily accented English and superhuman intellect.

A running joke in scientific circles at the time was that Martians had landed in Hungary sometime around 1900 but soon departed after finding the planet unsuitable. However, these higher beings stayed just long enough to leave behind offspring, which turned into exceptionally brainy scientists, later nicknamed ‘The Martians.’ The moniker included five scientists, all Hungarian Jews, all born between 1881 and 1908: Theodore von Kármán, John von Neumann, Leó Szilárd, Edward Teller, and Eugene Wigner.

Martians from Hungary

It was a nickname fully embraced by this motley crew of scientists. Hungarian physicist György Marx recounts in his book “The Voice of the Martians” that a question was posed in a discussion as to how higher beings from distant galaxies could overlook such an amazing place as our Earth. “It was Leó Szilárd, a man with an impish sense of humor, who supplied the perfect reply…: “They are among us,” he said, “but they call themselves Hungarians.” Dutch physicist Fritz Houtermans, who knew the pack in the 1930s, later quipped that “they were really visitors from Mars,” solidifying this opinion among their peers.

When you study their collective biography, they were obviously in good company. One name that pops up is Albert Einstein, the most notable revolutionary in physics at a time when the field of physics was full of revolutionary thinkers. Another is Robert Oppenheimer, the lead inventor of the nuclear bomb, who would afterward call himself “Death, the destroyer of worlds.” There’s no coincidence here: ‘the Martians’ were a rat pack of scientists with an all-new approach to interwar science. They were thinkers who found hidden connections between disciplines and creatively solved problems, leading to developments like the nuclear bomb.

Take John von Neumann: a chemical engineer with a Ph.D. in mathematics (from two different universities, no less – ETH in Zurich and the University of Budapest, respectively). With his contributions to electronic computing, he may be the missing link between the 19th-century pioneers of programming and the computer revolution ignited by Alan Turing.

Hungarian science in Manhattan Project

There’s also Theodore von Kármán, an expert in aerodynamics for the German Air Force in WWI. The all-new aerial warfare on display during the war was essentially thanks to his efforts. Forced to flee to the USA, even the Nazis realized what they had lost as he was invited back to Nazi Germany by Herman Göring himself. “I decide who is a Jew,” Göring is said to have remarked. (*Though it must be noted that this was an offer von Kármán declined.

Leó Szilárd, another brilliant mind, audaciously introduced himself to Albert Einstein, a partnership that later resulted in, among others, a patent application on silent electromagnetic refrigeration. He fled Germany only one day before the borders closed, half-miraculously avoiding persecution as a Jew. He learned from this situation to be ready to flee at any time – which is why he kept a suitcase packed and ready. It was he who persuaded Albert Einstein to inform President Roosevelt about the concept of the nuclear bomb in a letter, which, though signed by Einstein, was dictated by Szilárd. Later he became a die-hard ethical advocate for the regulation of atomic weapons.

And lastly, Edward Teller, who became an essential part of the Manhattan Project and whose ultimate goal was just the opposite of Silárd’s: to create the ultimate thermonuclear weapon, contrary to Oppenheimer’s reservations.

Experts in different areas and alumni of various universities, ‘the Martians’ were connected by their Hungarian Jewish roots and their complicated paths to American science after fleeing Nazism. With their heavy Bela Lugosi vampire-style accents and off-the-charts intelligence, they proved that they really were on another level.

VIDEO, PHOTOS: This is what Queen Elizabeth II did when she visited Hungary

queen elizabeth ii in hungary

Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II has died at the age of 96 on Thursday, 8 September. The Queen has only been to Hungary once during her reign. Despite that, she said she had always wanted to visit our country. In this article, we will tell you the story of Elizabeth’s visit to Hungary in 1993.

A tight four-day schedule

queen elizabeth ii in hungary
Queen Elizabeth II during her visit in 1993. Source: PrtSc/YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LFAHDMXWA-0&t=229s)

Queen Elizabeth II visited Hungary only once, in 1993, recalls 444.hu. The news programme of the public TV station at the time points out that the trip was special because she only undertook four such trips a year.

The Queen and her husband, Philip, had a tight four-day schedule. After being greeted by the then-Foreign Minister Géza Jeszenszky and then-President Árpád Göncz, they had the following programme:

  • she received a military salute on Kossuth Square;
  • they visited the Buda Castle and the National Gallery;
  • then they visited the National Széchényi Library, where she was treated to a personal exhibition (she had a Hungarian ancestor: her great-grandmother was Countess Klaudia Rhédey, who lived in the early 19th century);
  • she was given a dinner at the Parliament. There, she made two speeches during her stay: one at the banquet and the other the next day in the Chamber.

“I have always wanted to come to Hungary, so it is a special moment for me to be here in Budapest,” the Queen said at the dinner.

Her time spent in Bugac

queen elizabeth ii in hungary
Queen Elizabeth II during her visit in 1993. Source: PrtSc/YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LFAHDMXWA-0&t=229s)

The Queen was not bored before her second speech either. She went to Bugac, where she was hosted by the Bács-Kiskun County Municipality and Bugac Tours, who treated her to a white table wine and scones. There, she was also treated to a show “put together by the Kalocsa Children’s Troupe, based on old wedding customs”.

Then, still in Bugac, she received a “naive painting”, a canteen and a “folk carving”. Then she was given lunch: a starter of cold roast duck and goose, followed by goulash soup, roast ox, home-made cakes and fruit, and good Hungarian wines. These were spent with prominent representatives of Hungarian equestrian life. From there, they went by carriage to the wilderness, where they saw grey cattle and a horse parade. Philip was a great friend of Hungarian horsemen.

The Queen’s second speech

Queen Elizabeth II during her visit in 1993. Source: PrtSc/YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LFAHDMXWA-0&t=229s)

Finally came the second speech in the Parliament. The British press highlighted from Elizabeth’s “unusually strong” speech that she welcomed Hungary’s plans to join the European Community and that she understood the concerns about the fate of Hungarians beyond the border.

“You have the right to reclaim your place in the mainstream of European history and culture,” she said.

Elizabeth’s last day in Hungary

queen elizabeth ii in hungary
Queen Elizabeth II during her visit in 1993. Source: PrtSc/YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LFAHDMXWA-0&t=229s)

On their last day in Hungary, the royal couple bid farewell to Árpád Göncz at the Béla Road guesthouse, and then went to Heroes’ Square. They visited the Henry Moore exhibition at the Museum of Fine Arts. From Jászai Mari Square, they strolled down to the Vigadó, after which they took a short walk downtown in the Gerbeaud district.

There, Mayor Gábor Demszky “greeted the Queen with words”, introduced his deputies and handed over the keys to Budapest. They also dropped in at the British Embassy, as is customary on royal trips. At half past noon, their plane left Budapest Airport.

The video about the Queen’s stay

Below, you may watch the video about the Queen’s 1993 visit to Hungary.

Charles III visiting Transylvania
Read alsoVIDEOS: King Charles III visits a small Transylvanian village populated by Hungarians every year

London-based news agency V4NA allegedly operates in Budapest

Palace of Westminster

The V4NA news agency, allegedly based in London might be deceptive. According to Átlátszó.hu’s own research, based on various sources, the agency could not be found anywhere in the UK. Árpád Habony, the unofficial main advisor of the prime minister, and the defense minister Kristóf Szalay Bobrovniczky both have interests in the agency. V4NA “international” agency delivered thousands of news for government-friendly media sources over the years, while in the meantime it was located in Óbuda the whole time.

Even the official site of the agency states that it is located at Kingsway, London. This is important because the agency advertised itself as an “international news agency”. Supposedly they worked with an apparatus of fifty correspondents who processed and sold international news items. V4Na promotes itself as having correspondents in most major cities full-time. The account of an ex-employee of the agency states that the central office was not in London but in Óbuda, Átlátszó wrote. The mentioned journalist says:

“they never experienced any sign of existence of a European correspondent network.”

Many government-friendly media used V4NA as a trustworthy “international” source, where the information allegedly came right from the ground. It is said that the agency had moved its headquarters from the previous office but it was confirmed that it still operates in Budapest, probably located at the headquarters of Mediaworks. More than 3000 articles have been published that referred to the agency as a source just in the past year. Experts say the operation of the agency raises ethical and legal concerns.

The name of the agency itself may be unfamiliar to many as it likes to wrap itself in secrecy. The main narrative of the news agency supports the statements of the Hungarian government. Regarding Western Europe, they say it is gripped in terror by “immigrants crimes” and “gender mania”, while in Hungary everything is fine and the prime minister is doing a great job.

The agency might have gotten an address in London through a company register named Your Company Formations for an insignificant amount of money. In accordance with the ex-employee, only around 20 people worked at the agency back then. The content is rather made of translations than real reporting. It is questionable whether it is a real agency or just some shady business practice.

Update: According to one of our readers, the address of V4NA’s registered office is 125 Kingsway, London WC2. The building is known as Aviation House and all 10 floors are occupied by an international company called “We Work”. They provide co-working space and office facilities which can be rented for a day or longer by any company. These virtual offices, as they are known, can be used as a registered office under current UK law even if only rented for one day.

truss
Read alsoOrbán sends a message to new British PM Truss

VIDEO: King Charles III greeted Hungarians partly in Hungarian

King Charles

The Hungarian language is usually regarded as difficult for a foreigner. There are a lot of personal confessions and videos about that circulating on social media. Therefore, it is rare that, apart from some words of greeting, a foreign celebrity, politician or member of a royal family, learned more in Hungarian. However, King Charles III made a struggle and succeeded. Here is a video from 2021 testifying that.

Hungary and the United Kingdom celebrated the 100th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the two countries. The two countries celebrated, and the Prince of Wales sent a video greeting not only the President of Hungary but also the Hungarian people.

“We are especially delighted to hear some Hungarian words in the video”, the embassy of Hungary in London wrote then. The later King Charles III not only begins his thoughts in Hungarian, but he also concludes them in our language.

In his address to the president and the Hungarian people, Charles cleared that there was a deep friendship between the two nations. He also expressed his belief that Hungary will be an ally of the United Kingdom in struggling against climate change and biodiversity loss.

King Charles III addresses the nation
Photo: YT/The Telegraph

He also said that the United Kingdom hosts the largest Hungarian-born population outside the Carpathian Basin. They make the most extraordinary and much-valued contribution to all walks of British life.

He also talked about the Chain Bridge, a beautiful emblem of Budapest designed by the British William Tierney Clark and constructed under the supervision of the Scottish engineer Adam Clark. He mentioned Count István Széchenyi, who visited England 200 years ago and introduced horseracing in Hungary following the English tradition.

Charles also mentioned that his father, the Duke of Edinburgh, visited Hungary three times between 1973 and 1984 to attend equestrian championships. He returned to Hungary in 1993 with Her Majesty the Queen.

He himself visited Hungary two times: in 1990 and 2010. Furthermore, he had two birthday parties, the 60th and the 70th, at which Szalonna és bandája performed in Buckingham Palace. We wrote about the king’s favourite Hungarian song in THIS article.

Below, you may watch the full video. You should pay attention, especially on the first and last sentence, which the king says in Hungarian:

 

Read also“Shaken and saddened”: Hungarian politicians’ condolences to royal family, UK

“Shaken and saddened”: Hungarian politicians’ condolences to royal family, UK

“We bid farewell to a woman, a mother, the Queen and a European head of state,” Hungarian President Katalin Novák wrote on Thursday in response to news of the death of Queen Elizabeth II.

Novák wrote on Facebook that she was “deeply shocked” to learn of the death of Queen Elizabeth, and she expressed her heart-felt condolences to members of the royal family. “It is with heavy heart and respect that we bid farewell to one of the 20th century’s most decisive figures in British and European history. We Hungarians learned much from Elizabeth II, who stood for the nation and the family,” Novak wrote. “We will keep the memory of Elizabeth in our hearts!”

The Queen died peacefully in the 97th year of her life in the 71st year of her reign at her summer residence of Balmoral Castle in Scotland. Her eldest son, Charles, assumes the throne.

  • Read also: 

Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has sent a telegram to his UK counterpart, Liz Truss, expressing his sympathies to her and the people of the United Kingdom over the death of Queen Elizabeth II, the PM’s press chief said on Friday.

Orbán said he was “shaken and saddened” to hear of Queen Elizabeth’s passing.

“Her commitment and service sets an example to us all,” Bertalan Havasi cited Orban as saying. The Queen’s visit to Hungary (in 1993) “remains a fond memory which further strengthened ties between our countries,” Orban said.

“Our thoughts and prayers are with you and the people of the United Kingdom,” he said.

Speaker of Parliament László Kövér has expressed his condolences to the speakers of the United Kingdom’s Houses of Commons and Lords over the death of Queen Elizabeth II. “It was with deep sadness that I learned of the death of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II,” Kövér wrote in his messages to House of Commons Speaker Lindsay Hoyle and House of Lords Speaker Lord McFall of Alcluith.

The queen’s entire life, “which she dedicated to the service of her people, is an example to us all”, Kover said, highlighting the queen’s commitment “to the importance of tradition and enduring values in the modern world”. “Let me avail myself of this opportunity to express the deep condolences of the Hungarian National Assembly and the Hungarian people to the Royal Family and the people of the United Kingdom,” Kövér said. “Please accept the assurances of my highest consideration,” he said, concluding his message.

Leader of the opposition Democratic Coalition (DK) Ferenc Gyurcsány and his wife, MEP Klara Dobrev, on Thursday expressed their condolences over the death of Queen Elizabeth II. Gyurcsany called the Queen “an epochal monarch of a historic era” whom he respected “from very far, from what seems to be a completely different world”.

It was during her reign that the British Empire collapsed and it was she who led her country to a new era with “staggering humility” but with confidence nevertheless, Gyurcsány said on Facebook. Dobrev said that in the course of Elizabeth II’s reign the British empire had segued into a country, “but a proud, strong, successful country. One of the strongest and most successful countries in the world.”

Elizabeth II did not yield to hatred and did not let lamentation over the past consume the future, Dobrev said on Facebook.

Below are some further Facebook posts expressing condolences:

 

 

Gergely Karácsony, the mayor of Budapest, said Queen Elizabeth understood the changing times and could connect to the different generations of politicians surrounding her:

 

János Csák, Hungary’s minister of culture and innovation, could even post a photo with Her Majesty since he served as the ambassador of Hungary in London:

 

Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II dies aged 96

Hungary Queen Elizabeth II

Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II has died at the age of 96.

At 7.30 PM Hungarian time, Buckingham Palace said in a statement “the Queen passed away peacefully this afternoon”.  The statement said the new King Charles, with his wife Camilla, will stay in Balmoral, Scotland, until Thursday and return to London on Friday.

Buckingham Palace announced earlier in the day that Elizabeth II is under medical supervision at her Scottish estate, Balmoral Castle. Following the announcement, Prince Charles travelled there, along with the Queen’s other three children, Princess Anne, Prince Andrew and Edward, Count of Wessex.

Two days earlier, in a break with tradition, the Queen had appointed the new British Prime Minister, Liz Truss, at Balmoral Castle rather than in London.

The Queen also visited Hungary in 1993. The royal couple was received by President Árpád Göncz. Elisabeth II gave a speech in the Parliament and visited the National Széchényi Library.

Queen Elizabeth II
Read alsoPresident Novák greets Elizabeth II on Platinum Jubilee – VIDEO

Orbán sends a message to new British PM Truss

truss

Prime Minister Viktor Orbán on Tuesday congratulated Liz Truss on becoming the new British prime minister.

Relations between Hungary and the UK are based on firm foundations, characterised by mutual respect, common interests and goals, Orbán said in his message to Truss.

Current challenges make international partnership more important than ever, Orbán wrote, adding that

the Hungarian government is dedicated to further strengthening cooperation with the UK. Hungary will remain a loyal ally to the UK,

the prime minister said.

Foreign Minister Szijjártó also congratulates Truss on becoming British PM

Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó has congratulated Liz Truss on being elected the leader of the Conservative Party and hence the next British prime minister, wishing her every success.

Szijjártó said on Facebook on Monday that the former foreign minister had been “a colleague with whom I was able to work very well”, and a fair negotiating partner.

Szijjártó
Read alsoForeign minister Szijjártó hails post-Brexit Hungary-UK cooperation

judge crime law sentence jury
Read alsoThe Guardian: Viktor Orbán threatens the rule of law

Hungarian Wizz Air is the worst airline in terms of delays in the UK

wizz air plane

Evidently, we cannot expect an airline to be perfect and always be on time (or maybe we should?), but Wizz Air has been exceeding even our worst expectations recently. Huge delays, flight cancellations, leaving passengers abroad without any information – the results are inevitable, Wizz Air has just topped a list it never wished to. Read our article for more information!

Wizz Air’s bumpy road – or passengers’ bumpy road with Wizz Air

We often write about new flights that Wizz Air launches or plans to launch – for example, you can find our article about the Budapest-Saudi Arabia flights in 2023 here. However, we also share passengers’ stories about their negative experiences with Wizz Air. Just like a few days ago, when the Hungarian low-cost airline left almost 200 passengers in Madrid for more than 24 hours.

Now, as the end of summer is approaching, a new report has revealed the worst airlines in the UK for flight delays in last year, 2021. The airline to top the podium is none other than Wizz Air, thenationalnews.com reports.

The worst airline in terms of delay

“The Hungarian airline recorded an average delay of 14 minutes and 24 seconds on flights from UK airports, according to an analysis of data from the Civil Aviation Authority by the PA news agency,” reads the article. The low-cost airline operates an A320 fleet to 10 airports in the UK, including London Gatwick, Edinburgh and Birmingham.

According to the report, flights usually departed 5 minutes later than the average delay time for United Kingdom flights, which was 8 and a half minutes. Even though Wizz Air had huge delays, it was not the only airline to do so: Tui Airways had the second-highest UK flight delays last year, with an average delay of 13 minutes and 18 seconds.

As the article writes, the study considered all scheduled and chartered departures from United Kingdom airports by airlines with more than 2,500 flights. It did not take cancelled flights into consideration.

Budapest Airport Wizz Air travel bus
Read alsoWizz Air suspends lots of flights from September!

President greeted Hungarians studying at the world’s best universities

President Katalin Novák scholarship

President Katalin Novák handed over Stipendium Peregrinum scholarship certificates to Hungarian students who have applied to the world’s best universities, at the presidential Sándor Palace in Budapest on Friday.

In her speech at the ceremony, Novák noted that one of the goals she had set for her term in office was to support talented young people. This was why, she said, the Stipendium Peregrinum is set to become a presidential programme in the future.

Novák called the Stipendium Peregrinum “the scholarship of young people who open doors”. She said that while Hungary did not have an abundance of natural resources, it was rich in human resources, which included the country’s talented youth.

The president asked the scholarship recipients to repatriate the knowledge, skills and experience they acquire and gain abroad.

Novák also noted Hungary’s ongoing university development scheme aimed at making Hungarian higher-education institutions more competitive. She called the scholarship a “globally unique” scheme that contributed to covering the finances of students studying at the world’s top universities.

“I’m convinced that the financial support allocated towards Stipendium isn’t an expenditure but an investment,” she told the scholarship recipients. “It’s an investment in the Hungarian future which I’m sure will pay dividends, but this depends only on you.”

A total of 58 Hungarian students will continue or begin their university studies in Europe, the United Kingdom and the United States this coming autumn,

Novák said.

Novák Katalin president
Read alsoOpen letter to the Hungarian President from a Syrian-Hungarian man: am I mixed race?

The Guardian: Viktor Orbán threatens the rule of law

judge crime law sentence jury

The Guardian reports on the state of justice in Hungary. The British paper believes that the Hungarian government has too much influence over the judiciary, which is adding to concerns about the rule of law in Hungary. The Guardian cites a statement by a Hungarian judge as it examines the Hungarian court system.

Guardian article on the Hungarian judiciary

The British newspaper Guardian wrote an article on the impact of the Hungarian government on the judiciary. The Guardian Observer, citing a statement by a Hungarian judge, evaluates the Hungarian court system.

Csaba Vasvári has been a judge for 18 years. He is the spokesman for the National Council for the Judiciary. This organisation fights to defend the independence of judges. Vasvári told The Tap that he and his colleagues “have been witnessing external and internal influence attempts” for years.

Vasvári believes that political excesses come from all sides of the political spectrum. But Prime Minister Viktor Orbán and his party Fidesz have ruled with a majority government for 12 years. Vasvári also mentioned a specific case. It involved a conversation between senior court officials with a key suspect in a corruption case, according to redacted secret documents leaked to the Hungarian media.

At the centre of the case was Pál Völner, a Fidesz MEP and former Deputy Minister of Justice. Völner was accused of accepting bribes, but he denies the charges. The judge appointed by the Fidesz-controlled parliament made a strange decision. The judicial inquiry into the case remains secret, not only from the public but also from fellow judges.

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Read also Government took entire streets and squares from the Budapest city council

Judge Vasvári also complains that the President of the National Office for the Judiciary (NCOJ) does not make judicial appointments transparent. The President of the Court is responsible, among other things, for the management of the Hungarian court system. This is too much power, according to the European Commission and the European Council.

It is also worrying that relatively unqualified friends and family members of politicians hold senior positions in the court system, the article says.

Sensitive issues, many enemies

One judge, who did not want to be named, said the majority of cases are fair. But politically sensitive cases are handled in court by a “loyal panel of judges who will make decisions in favour of the government.”

“In the normal court [as a judge] you can struggle, you can try to be independent, you can do your best, but you know there is a leak in the system where there is water coming out,” the judge said. Asylum seekers, LGBTQ+ people, NGOs and independent media are the enemies of the Orbán government. That is why they are often put on the spot in the legislature, Index.hu writes.

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Read also Hungary was successful: Russia delivers more gas!

Wizz Air suspends lots of flights from September!

Budapest Airport Wizz Air travel bus

The Hungarian low-cost airline, Wizz Air, announced that it would suspend flights to nine popular destinations from September. These include Corfu, Sharm-el-Sheikh and Tenerife. The flights may resume next spring, the company said. They made that decision due to profitability reasons. Read more details on the issue below.

No longer profitable for Wizz Air

According to Daily Mail, a British newspaper, Wizz Air is to suspend flights from Cardiff, United Kingdom, to nine popular winter sun resorts. From 19 September on, no Wizz flights will take off to those destinations because they are no longer commercially viable. The nine destinations are the following: Alicante (Spain), Corfu (Grece), Heraklion (Greece), Faro (Portugal), Larnaca (Cyprus), Lanzarote (Spain), Palma de Mallorca (Spain), Sharm el-Sheikh (Egypt) and Tenerife (Spain).

Ticket holders concerned will be informed by email and will get compensation, the company said. They will either be able to rebook their flight and go on their trip from London Gatwick or Luton airports or book “comparable flights to go next summer from Cardiff”. Furthermore, people will get a full cash refund or 120% of their ticket cost in airline credit.

Flights to return next spring

Meanwhile, the Hungarian airline confirmed they would fly to Milan (Italy) and Bucharest (Romania) in the winter. The tickets to those two destinations will be available from October. Planes from the Cardiff base will fly to the nine winter resorts only from April 2023. The company will offer the staff in the Welsh capital to continue their work at other UK airports and return in the spring.

Managing director of Wizz Air UK Marion Geoffrey said: “We are very disappointed to have to suspend several routes from Cardiff Airport for the winter season. Though these routes have proved popular through the summer season, it would not be commercially viable to continue to operate them through this coming winter due to the challenging macro-economic environment”. “It takes time to build up sustainable operations at any base, and we are prepared to build up operations at Cardiff over the long term”, he added.

The company’s Cardiff airbase started operation in December 2020. They aimed to increase the airport’s yearly seat capacity by 350,000.

Ways to buy/sell stocks from the UK 

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Have you ever wondered how to buy and sell stocks from the UK and the best platform to do so? Well, this work has answered just that question for you and further provided a list of the best platforms to buy and sell stocks in the UK today. 

Introduction

The high cost of establishing a company in the UK has prevented many desiring citizens and residents from owning a company in the UK today. Well, stock trading seems to have compensated a little for this lack as it provides investors the opportunity to participate in driving the affairs of a company; influencing its price, when they become shareholders in the company. This has become one of the driving forces why a lot of people are attracted to stock trading today. A second category of people known as investors seem attracted to stock trading in the UK just to make profits alongside its proprietors. Nevertheless, irrespective of the reason why you may have been attracted to stock trading for the first time, this work is here to help you push this desire to the next level. Hence, we have exposed in this work, useful guides on how to buy and sell stocks in the UK. You will also find in this work the list of our recommended brokers for stock trading in the UK. This will make it easy for you to make your choice and begin trading. This work has therefore provided an answer to many of the frequently asked questions in the UK regarding stock trading. 

What is stock trading in the UK? 

Stock trading is an investment package for making profits through buying promising company’s shares in the UK at lower prices and selling them at higher prices. Stock trading enables individuals to participate in the ownership of a company by investing in its shares.  Often, stock trading enables companies to seek public funds for running the company by listing their shares through an initial offering for the public to invest in. Here, investors hope to receive dividends from buying a company’s stock while others hope to sell them off to new buyers when the price rises in the future. 

Meaning of Stock Brokers 

Stock Brokers are intermediary financial service providers; linking the individual to the stock exchange market. Often stock brokers list various approved stocks on their platforms, making it possible for traders to come together to buy and sell their preferred stocks. Without stock brokers coming to bridge the gap between the individual and the stock market, it would have been very difficult for the individual to trade stocks from the comfort of their homes today. 

 

Role of stock brokers in the UK

Stock Brokers in the UK play an indispensable role for citizens and other residents in the UK. Thus, they link the traders through their platform to the London Stock Exchange (LSE), where they can buy and sell their preferred stocks.  They also facilitate over-the-counter (OTC) transactions for private stocks.  Added to this, stock brokers in the UK provide market information regarding various stocks listed on their platforms which assists investors in making decisions on which stock to either buy or sell. 

Types of stock brokers in the UK today 

There are three main types of stock brokers in the UK today. We have discussed them below:

  • General Service Brokers: A general service broker does virtually everything for the trader. They are often known as account management brokers. This is because they undertake the management of the clients’ portfolios and deliver returns over time. Also, they provide a monthly summary of all the activities undertaken on behalf of the trader on his account.
  • Online Stock Brokers: This type of broker is used by traders who wish to manage their portfolios themselves.  This is in contrast to the general service broker that does everything for the client. Here, the trader decides by himself which stocks to buy and when to buy and sell them. The only aid given to the trader by this type of broker is providing rich educational contents on their platforms to assist the trader in making his decisions.
  • Advisory Brokers: This type of broker executes orders only at the trader’s request.  They do not perform any extra task outside the orders placed by the client on their platform. However, they often provided useful tips and relevant market news to guide the traders in making decisions. 

List of best ten stock brokers in the UK 

To make stock trading easy for beginners residing in the UK, we have provided the list of the ten best stock brokers in the UK today. They include:

  • eToro
  • Saxo Bank
  • Interactive Brokers 
  • Markets.com
  • City Index
  • CMC Markets
  • Degiro
  • XTB
  • Plus500
  • Robinhood 

Step-by-step guide on how to buy stocks from UK stock brokers 

There are five major steps for buying and selling stocks in the UK today. They are discussed below:

  1. Select a broker: The first step to follow for anyone seeking to trade stocks in the UK, is to select a licensed broker in the UK who provides the platform for buying and selling different stocks listed on the LSE. 
  2. Sign up an account with the broker: The next step after one has chosen the broker to trade stocks on their platform in the UK, is to sign up for an account with the broker. The trader here will be required to provide relevant data such as: Correct Name, Email address, Valid ID, Phone Number, and National Insurance number. 
  3. Choose the type of account to trade: There are three types of stock accounts provided by stock brokers for the trader to choose from. They are: 
  • Standard Account 
  • Robo-advisor Account 
  • Human Managed account. 

The trader is therefore expected to choose one out of the three types of accounts listed above. 

  1. Fund your account: After creating one’s account,  the next step is to fund it. Often brokers provided multiple options for account funding to make it easy for the trader to deposit and withdraw his money. The most common way of funding is through bank transfer.
  2. Choose your desired stock and place your order: The final step after one’s account has been funded is to select his desired stock and place a buy order.  However, placing orders for a given stock requires a little calculation.  Here, the trader needs to decide the number of shares he wants to buy. Also, in a case where one’s capital does not match the amount he wishes to buy, he can divide his available capital by the share price per stock which he wishes to buy in order to see how many shares his capital can carry. Once the buy order is successfully placed, the broker usually sends a preview of the order to the investor before proceeding to execute them.

Ways of Buying and selling stocks in the UK 

There are three major ways of buying and selling stocks in the UK today. We have discussed them below:

  • Buying Individual Company’s shares: This is the most popular form of stock trading in the UK; which allows the individual to buy a certain amount of a company’s share listed on the LSE and hold it on a spot trading platform with the broker, in the hope of selling them when the price rises higher in the future. Buying a Company’s share grants the buyer a stake in the company’s assets and makes him liable to receive dividends or other rewards offered by the company. Nevertheless, he reserves the right to sell his shares at any point in time he desires to do so. 
  • Share-based Exchange Traded Funds (ETF): Another way of buying and selling stocks in the UK is by investing in the share-based Exchange Traded Funds.  ETF comprises a pool of funds used to track the performance of an underlying asset. Very often, ETFs are used to track the changing prices of a group of stocks. Hence they are regarded as stock indexes. 
  • Buying Stocks as CFDs: Trading stocks as CFD is a very lucrative way of buying and selling stocks in the UK which offers the trader a high leverage;  enabling him to maximize his profits using a    little capital.  Often, there is no legal ownership of stocks traded as CFDs. The major advantage of trading stocks as CFDs is that; it affords the investor an opportunity to either go long or short depending on the market trend, thereby making steady profits during the different seasons of the market. While CFD trading has some juicy attractions for the trader, it has its inherent disadvantages too. Of course, the investor’s capital is always staked and can be lost entirely in cases of high market volatility depending on the lot size chosen by the investor. 

What stocks are offered by UK stock brokers today?

Below is the list of the best twenty stocks offered by the UK brokers today:

  • AstraZeneca (AZN)
  • HSBC Holdings (HSBA)
  • Unilever Group (ULVR)
  • British American Tobacco (BATS)
  • Rio Tinto Group (RIO)
  • Reckitt Benckiser Group (RKT)
  • National Grid (NG.)
  • London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG)
  • Anglo-American (AAL)
  • Compass Group (CPG)
  • Lloyd’s Banking Group (LLOY)
  • BAE Systems (BA.)
  • Barclays (BARC)
  • NatWest Group (NWG)
  • Standard Chartered (STAN)
  • Imperial Brands (IMB)
  • Ashtead Group (AHT)
  • Legal & General Group (LGEN)
  • Flutter Entertainment (FLTR)
  • Associated British Foods (ABF)

Do stock traders in the UK pay tax?

It is an existing law in the UK for all stock traders to pay tax for all investments made in buying stocks, especially when they are not made from the personal saving accounts or pension accounts of the investor. For each share purchased from a broker, the trader is charged a tax of 0.5% on the total transaction carried out. These charges applied for trading stocks electronically in the UK are called Stamp Duty Reserve Tax (SDRT). However, this stamp duty does not apply when one purchases smaller AIM-listed UK shares from an exchange. 

Is stock trading a lucrative business in the UK?

Stock trading no doubt is a very lucrative business in the UK today; which offers investors an opportunity to make profits from their investments, especially when they buy promising company’s shares, at lower offering prices in the exchange market, and wait to sell them at higher prices. Averagely, stock traders in the UK made 10-15% profits annually from their stocks investments. Others could make  lower or higher depending on the success rate of the stocks they have purchased. It is therefore very necessary for UK stock traders in the UK to make proper research and investigations about a particular stock, before proceeding to buy or sell them through a broker. 

Factors to consider while choosing a stockbroker in the UK today

There are some important factors to consider while choosing a stock broker for trading in the UK today. We have discussed them below:

  • Regulation: Before any broker can legally function in the UK, it must be registered with the regulatory body in the UK known as FCA. Any broker operating in the UK without obtaining approval from this body must be avoided and seen as scam brokers. 
  • Number of stocks provided: One of the attractive features of an exchange is its ability to provide multiple stocks for the trader to choose from.  Brokers with only a few stocks listed on their platforms are not recommended for trading. 
  • Speed of order executions: Brokers with fast  execution for all trader’s orders are often the best broker to trade with. Fast order execution reduces the slippage and increases the traders profit margin. 
  • Rich Educational Contents: Brokers that provide rich educational contents on their platforms, including news, and market analysis are considered the trader’s friend. They are no doubt the most recommendable broker for stock trading in the UK today. 
  • Service Charge: The charge placed by brokers for using their platform should always be considered while choosing a stock broker.  Good stock Brokers charge lower fees to support the traders using their platforms.

Guide on how to legally trade stocks in the UK without taxation

The only legal way to avoid taxation while trading stocks in the UK, is to invest in the UK stock market using a ‘tax wrapper’.  A tax wrapper is a government exemption from paying tax when the individual wraps his money around his saving and investment accounts. Thus, tax exemptions are given to investments into stocks shielded under tax wrappers.

Generally, there are two main tax wrapper accounts that could be used for tax-free  stock trading in the UK today. We have discussed them below: 

  • Stocks and Shares Individual Saving Accounts (ISA): This type of account, allows the individual to buy and sell shares of any company listed on the London exchange market and found on the broker’s platform without any form of taxation. However, one can only add a maximum of £20,000 to the ISA account in a year. 
  • Self Investment Personal Pension (SIPP) Account: The SIPP account is tax-free for stock trading in the UK.  However,   only £40,000 can be added to the SIPP account in a year. One major challenge associated with using the SIPP stock trading account is that; one cannot withdraw from the account until the owner attains a minimum of 55 years.

Above all, apart from using the tax wrappers to reduce tax payments, one can also use a general investment account to trade stocks. A general investment account permits you to invest up to £12,300 without having to pay taxes on your returns. 

Advantages of stock trading in the UK

  • Leverage: Often some online stock brokers in the UK provide good leverage to traders for trading stocks as CFDs on their platforms. This helps the trader to maximize his profit with little capital investment. 
  • Account Management: Often general service brokers make trading easy for investors by carrying out the trading on  their behalf. This makes stock trading a better investment with less risk involved. 
  • Diversification of Portfolio: Stock Trading enables traders in the UK to diversify their portfolios. This is seen as an efficient risk management technique, providing traders with multiple sources of income against unforeseen loss from a single investment package. 

Disadvantages of Stock trading in the UK

  • Involves Risk: There is no guarantee of profit for stock investment over any given period.  While brokers do their best to provide the most promising stocks on their platforms, there is no assurance that the prices of the stocks provided by the brokers will be worth a higher amount in the future. This is especially so as companies could collapse over time leading to a massive decline in their share value. 
  • Commissions are charged: Virtually all stock brokers in the UK charge some percentage as commission for using their platforms.  This reduces the trader’s profit margin.
  • Taxation: The government is known to charge a 0.5% on all stock purchased from brokers. This increases the cost of stock trading and reduces the traders profits. 

Cruel murderer of 20-year-old Hungarian girl in London sentenced to life imprisonment

Agnes Akom lost murdered

A 64-year-old Romanian man killed the young girl with extreme cruelty in London last May. The case has just been judged in court. The perpetrator was sentenced to life imprisonment. In case of good behaviour, he could be released in 22 years at the earliest.

The body of the 20-year-old Hungarian girl was found by local police in May last year. The perpetrator had killed the victim with extreme cruelty. As BBC reports, Neculai Paizan struck Agnes at least 20 times over the head with the electric jigsaw tool and buried the body in a north London park. It is believed that the man may have attacked the 20-year-old Hungarian girl because she did not want to sex with him. According to the local police, the level of violence was truly horrific. Her remains were finally found and identified on 14 June 2021. Based on the clues, the 64-year-old Romanian man was arrested as a suspect, but later denied his guilt in court in August last year.

The judgment was handed down in July this year. According to the London police, the man was found guilty by the court on 19 July. At the time, the sentence had not been decided, but was handed down a week later. The perpetrator, Neculai Paizan was sentenced to life imprisonment.

The verdict also stipulated that the man could be released after 22 years at the earliest, even if he was of good behaviour, reports the Hungarian news portal Index.

At the trial, the Detective Chief Inspector said he felt for the family and friends of the Hungarian girl, who “not only had to bear the loss, but also had to deal with the details of the murder at the trial”.

Although the motive for the murder is unclear, investigators say the man had planned the murder in advance. This is inferred from the way he tried to hide the crime scene after the crime was committed.

The victim’s ex-partner revealed that Ágnes had left Hungary for England in the hope of a new life and that they had a child together who was currently in foster care. She wrote him a letter shortly before her death, but the reply was left unfinished. „She was my love, my son’s mother, my partner and my best friend. How can I finish this letter without her?”, said the grieving man.

The 64-year-old Romanian killer was living in a run-down container house in London’s Brent district (where he committed the murder). The perpatrator claimed he found Ágnes dead after she drugged him. Although, the killer is known to have worked as a concrete-mixer driver on construction sites, he owned a property worth £700,000 (~ EUR 682,224) in Notting Hill, also in London, reports DailyMail.

new york hungarian woman murdered david bonola
Read alsoFormer handyman arrested as suspect in the case of the Hungarian woman murdered in New York

What do Hungarian expats miss the most about home?

What do Hungarian expats miss the most about home?

Leaving the familiar behind and building a new life in a foreign country – either by yourself or with a family – can be both an enchanting idea and a stressful process. We have asked five of our readers, Hungarian expats, what they miss the most, apart from their loved ones of course, while living abroad.

Kata – Greece

“I could go on and on about the things I miss from Hungary. Once, I have even compiled a list of 43 reasons why Hungary beats Greece a hundred times in my blog. Here are some of them.. Firstly, the clean and well-kept pedestrian roads, which are basically non-existent in Athens. One can easily sprain an ankle or break a bone while trying to bypass a giant gap or a tree erecting out of the concrete in the middle of the road. Secondly, the instant hot water and the gas heating system – we have to switch on the boiler half an hour before taking a shower in Athens. Winters in Greece feel like an expedition to the North Pole. In Hungary, there is proper heating all day around while oil radiators operate only for two hours in the morning and two hours in the evening here. Apart from these, I miss the four seasons, Hungarian architecture, and cosmetic stores such as Muller or Rossmann.”

Orsolya – United Kingdom 

“Food – definitely the food! Even though, there is an abundance of places with international flavours here it still does not stop me from craving those delicious and heavy Hungarian dishes – chicken paprikash with homemade noodles, my mum’s goulash soup, lángos with sour cream topping at Lake Velencei. I’ve tried to make some of them for my husband, but the ingredients just do not taste the same – probably due to the lack of sun. Also two things, I just can not track down are túró (cottage cheese or curd cheese) and tejföl (sour cream). Some days I am dreaming about a huge plate of cottage cheese dumplings or crepe filled with cottage cheese. Another aspect of living in the UK that I can not get used to is the weather. I miss warm summers and those balmy evenings when you can be out all night wearing just a pair of shorts, flip-flops and a light top. I wish I could just stuff my leather jacket at the bottom of my wardrobe.”

What do Hungarian expats miss the most about home? cottage cheese crepe
Source: canva.com

Read more: Why am I a proud Hungarian? The honest confession of an Argentinian Hungarian

Zsuzsanna – South of France

“I can list a bunch of things that do not exist in France but I wish they did. First of all, as a new mum, I miss Hungary’s well-designed family support scheme. There is no other country in the EU that allows mothers to stay at home with their toddlers for 2 years after giving birth. Besides that, I also miss the organised transportation system back at home. Here in Nice, the time schedule of the buses is just a myth, no vehicle comes on time. Another thing I miss is the rich variety of cultural programs in Budapest, whether it’s art, music, sport or concerts. Unless you live in a big city in France, which is not the case for me, you are kind of deprived of that. At home, there is always some interesting event to look forward to, regardless of the season. In the South of France, once the tourist season is over, there is not much to do other than dining in some fancy spot or visiting the nearby village for the 100th time.”

Réka – Netherlands

“Well, apart from friends and family.. I don’t really miss much. Perhaps, some services such as hair salon or manicurist. They cost way more in Eindhoven than in my town in Hungary and you do not get the same quality of service either. I also miss Lake Balaton sometimes but mostly because of my memories from childhood. Where I really experience a striking difference though is the healthcare system. Although I cannot say anything good about Hungarian healthcare, it is a reassuring thought that whenever I have some issues I can get an appointment within one week at a private clinic in Hungary, unlike in the Netherlands where it takes quite some time. Also, if you are lucky you pay 50 euros at most, and you can explain to the doctor what is the matter exactly in your own language. They already know your medical history while a Dutch doctor only makes a wild guess and may send you to the wrong department. The professional knowledge of Hungarian doctors is exceptional in the whole of Europe.”

Bálint – Sweden 

“Sweden was an alluring destination for me and my family to relocate to 15 years ago for its high standards of living and many job opportunities. Even though we are blessed with stunning landscapes and modern cities, what I really miss from Hungary are the thermal baths. Of course, we have the sauna culture here, but visiting a thermal spa in Budapest is a completely different experience. People are friendlier than the Swedish, and it is easier to strike up a conversation. We also miss real good authentic Hungarian flavours, especially when it comes to pastries. Luckily, a few years ago, a Hungarian supermarket opened in our town so we do not have to ask our relatives anymore to send us parcels from Hungary, filled with products that are hard to find here.”

What do Hungarian expats miss the most about home? Szechenyi Bath
Source: canva.com

Read more: 5 famous people you would never guess had Hungarian ancestors – VIDEOS