Friday 31 July 2015

5 royal Valentino brides

There's much anticipation over who will design the wedding gown to be worn by Beatrice Borromeo for her religious marriage to Pierre Casiraghi, nephew of Prince Albert II of Monaco. But we already know that Beatrice has joined an exclusive list of royal brides dressed by Valentino after designer confirmed that his design house was responsible for the pink and gold creation chosen for the civil ceremony in Monaco last weekend. Here are 5 times that Valentino has given us unforgettable royal brides.

1.  Princess Madeleine of Sweden

This princess might be fourth in line to her country's throne and the baby of the family but she donned a truly spectacular wedding gown to wed Chris O' Neill in Stockholm on June 8th 2013. The white lace trimmed dress is one of the most famous royal marriage gowns ever and gets prettier with every viewing. Madeleine will never be a queen but thanks to Valentino, when it comes to royal weddings, she rules.


(photo kungahuset.se)


2.  Marie-Chantal of Greece


There was lots of lace on display in 1995 when Marie-Chantal Miller wore Valentino to marry Crown Prince Pavlos of Greece in a huge wedding in London. The dress is one of the most famous royal marriage gowns of the late 20th century. It also featured lots of heavy satin and was made in a sparkling white. A classic that has lasted over two decades.


 

 3. Queen Maxima of the Netherlands

There was more satin on show as Maxim Zorreguieta married her handsome prince in Amsterdam in February 2002 and became Princess of Orange. The simple design of this royal wedding dress hid a huge complexity of structure which results in a gown that looked as stunning from the moment the bride stepped out for her wedding as it did at the end of the day. A dress fit for a queen.


 

 4. Princess Sibilla of Luxembourg 

 One of Valentino's first royal brides was Sibilla of Luxembourg who wore one of his designs for her marriage to Guillaume of Luxembourg in 1994. All the hallmarks of a traditional Valentino royal wedding gown were there - the bright white, the lace details, the stunning veil. Sibilla's dress is still one of the prettiest worn to a regal marriage and looks as fresh now as it did in 1994.

 
 
 

5. Beatrice Borromeo 

 The latest Valentino royal bride bucked the bright white trend and went for palest pink with hints of gold for her summer wedding. Beatrice Borromeo sparkled in the Monaco sunshine for her civil ceremony to Pierre Casiraghi with Maison Valentino releasing an image via Twitter and Instagram hours later to confirm it had designed the dress. And now all eyes are on Princess Caroline's new daughter in law to see if she chooses Valentino again for her religious wedding.

Wednesday 29 July 2015

The future of their kingdoms

Amongst all the photos of a royal summer that have emerged so far, one stood out in particular. It showed Queen Margrethe II of Denmark with her grandson, Prince Christian, the boy who will one day rule her kingdom. It is a reminder of the span that royalty has across the generations and also of the special relationship that royal grandparents and grandchildren have. Because for ever monarch, somewhere amongst that second generation is the child who will grow up to wear a crown.


Margrethe and Christian of Denmark
Grasten,. July 2015

Just days earlier, we had seen the Queen with her only great grandson (so far) and the boy who will one day inherit the Monarchy which she has worked so hard to stabilise. The image of George of Cambridge with Elizabeth II outside a country church in Norfolk was a real photo for the history books - a little boy, not quite two, and his great grandmother, just shy of ninety, caught in a moment of family fun that also captured forever a ruler with her successor.



 
An image of a ruling monarch with the grandchild who will take their place one day can't help but be special. There is something spectacular, historic and poignant about it all at the same time. For the adult who is showing the way often won't see how their lessons have worked - the grandchild will often reach the height of their powers long after the grandparent is gone. But to see the foundation stones of another royal life being put in place is fascinating and the photo taken of King Carl XVI Gustaf with his granddaughter, Princess Estelle, on the balcony of the Royal Palace in Stockholm gave a sweeping view of the generations being spanned and the place of both royals in history.
King Harald V of Norway was on hand to help his granddaughter, and future queen, Ingrid Alexandra as she launched a boat for the first time. The photos were on a smaller scale than the Swedish images but still showed a touching scene of royal grandfather helping royal granddaughter to learn the ropes of the royal life they both share.
In the Netherlands, Belgium and Spain the ruling monarch has no grandchildren. The youth of these royal houses means that the children of the three kings concerned are still, mostly, too young to even be at senior school. But the role of the former Dutch queen, Princess Beatrix, in the life of the future regnant, Princess Catharina-Amalia, has been clear from early on and the photo of the newly abdicated monarch with the brand new heir at the handover of power is a real moment for the history books.
 


Likewise, the photo taken of King Juan Carlos I of Spain with his son, the future Felipe VI,and his granddaughter, Leonor, a year or so before the abdication provides another family photo with layers of history attached. This image, used on the front of the Casa Real webpage, is one of just a few of the three generations of rulers of Spain.
And the shy image of Princess Elisabeth of Belgium sitting on a bench with her father and grandfather while the older man was still the ruling king is another moment when the past and future were caught together perfectly. Albert II and the girl who will be the first queen regnant of her country posed in the fading sun of a late summer afternoon and although King Philippe is also in the image, it is the juxtaposition of grandparent and grandchild that makes the photo stand out. One more time that a monarch has been seen next to the future of their kingdom.

Tuesday 28 July 2015

Oh Baby, it's summer

The children are taking over. In the absence of major royal activity there's been a flurry of photos of the next royal generation. Just days after George sent the internet crazy in a photo he may well not even remember being taken, Prince Nicolas of Sweden has done the same. Pictured at around a month old in his mother's arms, the new photos of the Duke of Angermanland have proved to be another royal baby hit.


Nicolas Paul Gustaf, Prince of Sweden, sleeps in his mother's arms

It's just the second time we've seen Nicolas since his birth in June but he's already looking bigger and sporting a decent head of hair. And he's keeping with the latest royal trends as well - these photos were released to the world via Princess Madeleine's Facebook page.  Social media is fast becoming the royals' communication of choice.


Chris, Madeleine and Nicolas in a family portrait released on the princess' Facebook page

His next big appearance will come at his christening - if the family follow the pattern set for his big sister, Leonore, and his cousin, Estelle, then we can expect that by the time he's three months old. Which means this royal summer could well end the way it started - dominated by baby photos.

A Valentino bride

She's not the first bride to wed in a royal setting while wearing Valentino and but this weekend her golden pink gown was the only one in town. Beatrice Borromeo married Pierre Casiraghi, youngest son of Princess Caroline, at the Prince's Palace in Monaco at the weekend and her designer was among the first to share a photo of the event on Twitter.



The dress was a huge hit attracting over 60,000 likes in less than two days. The pale pink and gold chiffon gown, chosen for the civil ceremony, had been kept under wraps with only the briefest glimpse of the bride before the ceremony as she arrived in style but shrouded from view.  In an image of the couple on a balcony after the ceremony the long loveliness of the dress could be seen as could the flowers chosen by Beatrice to wear in her hair.







There's another gown to come as the couple's religious ceremony takes place in the coming days and the designer of that is still firmly under wraps. But for now Europe's latest royal wedding gown is pretty in pink and by a fashion house with a very regal pedigree when it comes to marriage gowns. Beatrice is a Valentino bride.

Monday 27 July 2015

The Royal Wardrobe: pale and very interesting

There wasn't much on display from the Royal Wardrobe this week but the few pieces we saw were pale and rather interesting. Queen Letizia won lots of praise for turning out in a favourite white outfit for her visit to Milan. The sleeveless top with sleek skirt was the perfect match for the sunshine as were the curls she added to the now famous bob.



She added another new favourite, her snakeskin strappy sandals for a summer look.


 


 
Also feeling summery this week was Crown Princess Mary of Denmark who went for a white blouse with a long navy skirt with an interesting split for her holiday photo call at Grasten.



 
 


 
 she was bright in the colours of her country's national flag the day before when she chose a red and white print mini skirt and top combo to watch the Changing of the Guard after the Royal Family's arrival at Grasten.


 
 

 
For her big appearance in the week, National Day in Belgium, Queen Mathilde picked a white dress with large sleeves and huge hat and scored a fashion win.


 
 


 For a concert the night before she had gone dark with a familiar looking dress in red and black. Very Mathilde.


 
 

 
On the evening of national day itself, she headed to the celebration in the park in a white dress with striking geometric print.


 
 

 
The Queen chose a favourite style, a print dress, in an unusual colour for her audience in the week. The turquoise outfit was unusual and rather chic.


 
 

 
Crown Princess Mette-Marit of Norway chose a print skirt for one of her outfits at the Saint Olav Festival in the week. She paired it with cosy navy jumper for a family day out.


 


She also wore traditional costume during her visit to Stiklestad although her hubby took a swerve on that one and stuck with his suit.


 
 

 
And during her time there with her family she also went for a white trouser, cream poncho look - very pale and very interesting.


 

Sunday 26 July 2015

Royals on social media

As summer takes over, royal social media is quietening down. But just when you think it's all but disappeared, a certain little prince turns two and the retweets start flying. This week has been all about Prince George but as well as celebrations we've had a bit of seaside fun and quite a lot of food. Here's the royal week on social media.

Princes in charge

He might have looked rather pensive in his sister's christening photos but in an image taken on the same day and released on the Kensington Palace Twitter account the day before he turned two, Prince George of Cambridge was all smiles. The portrait, taken by Mario Testino on July 5th, has already been retweeted almost 9,000 times.


Crown Prince Haakon Magnus, Crown Princess Mette-Marit and Princess Ingrid Alexandra of Norway all headed to a cultural day during the week but it was Prince Sverre Magnus who stole the show, starring in a photo with a bow and arrow that was shared on the official Facebook page.



Prince Charles spent the week in Cornwall on his annual visit to the South West and ended his stay by taking charge of birthday celebrations for one of the organisations of which he is patron, the Countryside Fund. The prince was photographed about to slice into a cake on the official Clarence House Twitter feed.





Food, glorious food

Queen Letizia of Spain, an ambassador for nutrition for the FAO, visited Expo 2015 at Milan to learn more about work going on to provide good food for all and to educate more people about healthy eating. She was snapped next to a rather striking food pyramid while there and the image was shared on the official Casa Real Twitter feed.





Back in Cornwall, the Prince of Wales and Camilla spent some time at the Island Fair on St Mary's in the Scilly Isles where they tried local produce as seen on the Clarence House Twitter feed.





Buckingham Palace opened its doors to the public this week for the summer season with a theme of a 'royal welcome' and the British Monarchy Twitter account shared images of how a State Banquet is prepared to mark the occasion.

 



Belgium's National Day

King Philippe of the Belgians marked the second anniversary of his reign on his country's National Day this week and images of the celebrations were shared on the official Twitter feed, @MonarchieBe.

His cousins in Luxembourg showed their pride in him by retweeting the messages about his speech on the eve of July 21st.

 
But the decision to make a photo of Philippe and his consort, Mathilde, into a banner for the official Belgian Royal Facebook page perhaps worked better as an idea - they are a golden couple but in this case they're barely visible


Saturday 25 July 2015

The start of the summer

It really is the start of the summer once the Danish Royal Family have posed for their traditional holiday photo. The press call took place this year in the park at Grasten Castle where Queen Margrethe II and her consort, Henrik, were joined by their eldest son and his wife and children. Three generations of monarchs together, one queen and two kings in waiting.


The Danish Royal Family
Grasten, July 25th 2015

Prince Henrik took centre stage in the group photo with his eldest son's two sons on either side of him. Margrethe sat slightly to the side and the whole family seemed somewhat subdued as they took part in this summer ritual.


The pensive royals - Margrethe II of Denmark and her family on their annual summer holiday

The younger members of the party had moments of high spirits as Christian, Isabella, Vincent and Josephine - still sporting her cast after having broken her arm earlier this summer - tried a little running and there were a few laughs. But the atmosphere was quiet and thoughtful. Perhaps it was the weather.


Prince Vince of Denmark gets in the holiday spirit during the family photo call at Grasten

The photo call marks the beginning of the summer break for the Danish royals. And it looks as if this year, it will be a quiet one as they almost smile for the cameras.


Walking into summer - Denmark's Royal Family

Friday 24 July 2015

5 queens called Matilda

As Belgium celebrates its national day and the second anniversary of the accession of King Philippe, it's also marking two years of having a home grown queen called Mathilde. The name was once a royal favourite but is rare in regal circles now. Here are 5 women who became queens called Matilda.

1. Mathilde of the Belgians

Mathilde Marie Christian Ghislaine was born the daughter of a baron in 1973. She worked as a speech therapist until her engagement to the the heir to the throne of Belgium was announced in 1999. Her marriage was the last royal wedding of the 20th century and following that she spent ten years building a reputation as a solid and reliable royal so by the time her husband became king in 2013 much of the focus on how well his reign would go was on Mathilde.



Since then she's proved herself an able consort and is working hard to bring her four children - Elisabeth, Gabriel, Emmanuel and Eleonore - into the world of royal engagements at a pace that suits them. Mathilde regularly tops approval ratings polls across the continent. This queen with one of the oldest royal names around is taking the concept of consort into the 21st century in style.


2.  Matilda of Flanders

For many the original and still the best. Matilda of Flanders had a pretty good opinion of herself and that confidence in her abilities has been shared by many over the centuries since she became a queen. The wife of William the Conqueror married him before he started conquering but her presence at his side helped consolidate his rule in Normandy and turn him from the illegitimate son of a duke with no time to marry and make legit babies into a bona fide powerhouse of Western Europe.



It's a shame that Matilda is often painted as a small woman who did a lovely job embroidering the Bayeux Tapestry. She was actually an active patron of the arts and had a sharp interest in politics herself as well as enough belief in her own abilities and the importance of her royal blood (her granddad was king of France) in William's rise to power to make sure no one forgot why she was special. The first Matilda made a template for queen consorts which remains today.


3.  The Lady of the English

Had things worked out slightly differently for this Matilda then the name might have ended up even more royal than it is now. This granddaughter of the Conqueror and his queen called Matilda came very close to being England's first queen regnant and had she managed that her name would have echoed through the centuries. She's still famous but as the queen that almost was.




This Matilda, daughter of Henry I, was just as confident as her granny but lacked some of her tact and diplomacy. She was able to manoevre herself into position to become queen of England while the Civil War of the 12th century raged but she alienated several of her supporters with her high handed manner at just the wrong moment and found herself without a strong enough power base. She ended up working to make her son, Henry, king and in so doing founded a fabulous royal dynasty that would rule for longer than any other. Not a bad legacy all in all.


4.  Caroline Matilda, the saucy consort


It's hard to believe that this queen with Matilda in her name only lived to be 23. She packed so much into her short life that it might have spanned a century. Instead, Queen Caroline Matilda of Denmark has carved her name in history as a lover, a reformer and a bit of a plotter.




She was the daughter of Frederick, Prince of Wales who died before she was born. At the age of 15 she married King Christian VII of Denmark who had suffered from mental health problems since childhood. The marriage was chaotic and played out against a background of political machinations as different factions at court tried to gain control of the king. The queen developed a secret relationship with Christian's adviser, Johann Friedrich Struensee, who ended up virtually running the country until a plot led to his and Caroline Matilda's arrests. He was executed, she ended up in exile and died in Hanover of scarlet fever at a very young age.


5.  Edith Matilda, the queen who changed her name


Think that PR is a modern game? Think again. Back in 1100 when the House of Norman was trying to establish the rule won for it at the Battle of Hastings,  a new king called Henry married a princess of an old Scottish house who went by the name of Edith. Not for long. England's new queen decided to call herself Matilda - like many of the women of the new ruling regime - and that is how history remembers her.



This Queen Matilda is another consort whose reputation was moulded by later historians into compliant wife with little to say for herself. She actually seems to have been rather a feisty individual who was given an exemplary education by her trail blazing mother, Margaret of Scotland, and who kicked against the traditions of the day by turning down a list of wealth suitors. Once a queen, she became an enthusiastic patron of architecture, books and music and established two hospitals to treat leprosy. Her early death left her husband devastated. She isn't just a great queen, she is a great 'what if' of history.

Springing to the Queen's defence

The result isn't really that much of a surprise. The poll this week asked if the Sun was right to publish childhood photos of the Queen appearing to show her giving a Nazi salute. The result was an overwhelming no.



In fact, 100% of respondents said that the images - taken in 1933 just after Hitler was elected Chancellor of Germany but before the full horrors of the Nazi regime were evident to anyone - should never have been put on the front page of the newspaper. General consensus seems to agree. A potentially damaging story for the Royal Family has been averted.

Thursday 23 July 2015

George's paper empire

It's not quite the blanket coverage he got for his birth or the almost universal front pages that greeted his first birthday but as he turned two, Prince George of Cambridge still made plenty of headlines. The official photo taken by Mario Testino stared out from several big name papers as the third in line to the throne celebrated his second birthday and his first as a big brother.


George, future king, dominates the front of the Daily Telegraph on his second birthday

There wasn't too much for the papers to say about the birthday - the details of the little prince's celebrations were being kept under wraps. But the new official photo certainly turned enough heads to make it on to a hat trick of front pages.


And although some writers put pen to paper to warn the Cambridges of the 'terrible twos' the general coverage was happy, light and photo centred.


Last year he hit more front pages with a bit more coverage but then turning one always makes more of a mark than turning two. But the interest shown in the second birthday of this global superstar of a toddler shows that as he starts to grow up even more, George is still big news.



Wednesday 22 July 2015

A tale of two birthdays

Two princes, two birthdays, two very different destinies. While Prince Felix of Denmark became a teenager today, the world was much more interested in a toddler who was turning two. George Alexander Louis of Cambridge and Felix Henrik Valdemar Christian of Denmark might both have July 22nd birthdays but with a crown only awaiting one of them the response to their celebrations is always going to be different.


Prince Felix of Denmark turns 13 on July 22nd 2015
(photo kongehuset.dk and Steen Brogaard)

Felix, second son of the second son of Queen Margrethe II of Denmark, is currently eighth in line to his country's throne - his highest position in the line of succession was fourth. He will probably never reign and as he grows older his royal role becomes more and more reduced. George, first son of the first son of the first son of Elizabeth II, was born to rule. From the moment he arrived - 4.24pm in case you'd forgotten - a crown, one of the most famous in history, awaited him. Two boys born eleven years and a whole destiny apart.


Prince George will have received a present from his sister, Charlotte, for the first time this year

To mark turning thirteen, Felix was the star of some new official photos released by the Royal Household where he looked very grown up and very like his daddy.


Big brothers always end up getting the best spot - Felix of Denmark grins and bears it as Nikolai takes the top branch

George also looked just like his papa in the already globally famous image of him taken by Mario Testino for the occasion. But there was plenty else going on to mark George's second birthday. More tweets from the Kensington Palace account came forth and the Grenadier Guards played Happy Birthday beneath the balcony of Buckingham Palace, the building which will one day be the centre of his reign.






The world was watching George's birthday, Denmark smiled happily for Felix's but the celebrations were contained while the party for toddler Cambridge was on a global scale. Two princes, two birthdays, two very different destinies.

It's party time for King Philippe

It's not every day you get to celebrate your second anniversary as a reigning monarch. In fact, the club of people who get to do this at all is fairly limited to say the least. But when your big day co-incides with a national day then the party is much easier to throw. Which is why Philippe of the Belgians had such a good time on July 21st.



King Philippe of the Belgians with a wellwisher on the second anniversary of his reign
July 21st 2015, Brussels


It was always the intention once his father, Albert II, surprised everyone by announcing his own abdication in 2013 that the handover would happen on Belgium's National Day so that the change of kings could be a national event with everyone already off work to join the celebrations. It also meant that Philippe's anniversary as king would always be a party as his fellow country men and women have that date in their diaries every year for a party. And in 2015, the plan went perfectly.




The celebrations began the night before when Philippe and his consort, Mathilde, headed to the Centre for Fine Arts in Brussels for a concert to mark the eve of National Day.





Alongside them were the king's sister, Princess Astrid, and her husband, Prince Lorenz. There was a striking absence of other members of the Royal Family this year - perhaps an indication that as the transition moves to history and the reign of the new king is firmly established the royal presence is slowly altering too.






The core of this new royal family was out in force early on the morning of Jul 21st itself as the king and queen, with their four children including heiress to the throne Princess Elisabeth, attended a Te Deum at the Cathedral of St Michael and St Gudula in Brussels.





The four young princesses and princes showed what a difference two years has made to them as they carried out a confident walkabout next to their parents. The decision of their grandfather to abdicate came when they were all still quite young - Elisabeth was 11 and the youngest of the family, Eleonore, had just turned five. But they have made plenty of public appearances since their father became a king and now the meet and greets seem to sit well with them.








The whole family also attended the military parade that took place in the centre of Brussels on the afternoon of July 21st. While Philippe kept his eye on the event, Mathilde kept her eye on the children often glancing across to make sure her little brood was coping with a long afternoon.




But there was no partying into the night for Elisabeth, Gabriel, Emmanuel and Eleonore as by the time the royals arrived at the 'fete au parc' which ended the celebrations mum and dad were by themselves. The royal couple spent several hours meeting people, listening to music and tucking into a rather spectacular cake.




Fireworks ended the day and, as they have been prone to do in their two year reign, the king and queen took to Twitter to thank the organisers for a very special national day. That popular touch, that determination to reach out to as many people as possible has stood Philippe and Mathilde in good stead in the years since they became a king and queen. And as they joined their country in a party that is all about Belgium they had their own reason to celebrate. Two successful years completed and a new way of marking anniversaries of reigns that will give them plenty of chance to reach out in years to come.

Tuesday 21 July 2015

8 times Kate has worn yellow

The Kate Effect has seen sales of yellow dresses soar by over 200%. The rise - 208% to be precise - came after the Duchess of Cambridge wore a yellow print Jenny Packham dress to present her daughter to the world just ten hours after giving birth to her. But it's not the first time that Kate has gone all sunshine on us. Here are eight times the duchess has worn yellow.

1.  Sunshine in Sydney

It's one of Kate's standout looks and it will take some beating. When she stepped off the plane in Australia in 2014, the Duchess of Cambridge was wearing a bright yellow Roksanda Ilincic dress and rather fabulous it looked too. The knee length dress, paired with nude shoes, was a stunner of a look and very modern and rather different from some of Kate's more traditional picks. A winner by a mile.



2. Sparkle in Scotland

Just after her first wedding anniversary, Kate attended the annual Thistle ceremony in Edinburgh where she donned a pale yellow coat dress. The outfit itself was rather lovely but the duchess's decision to add a beige hat, black shoes and a black bag hidden by the red Stathearn tartan left this yellow in peril.

 

 
3. Nauti and rather nice

Yellow became a colour of choice for Kate on her Diamond Jubilee tour of the Far East with William in the early autumn of 2012. And by far the best of the lot was a pretty yellow broderie anglaise dress worn for a visit to a primary school in Nauti in Tuvalu. It was summery and chic and still very smart and the perfect match for the garland of flowers she was given to wear in her hair. William had less luck matching his crown and clothes.


 
 

4. The laid back look 

 Less successful was the yellow sundress chosen for a visit to the Prime Minister of the Solomon Islands which looked, dare we say it, just too casual for a tour engagement. It was also ever so slightly dull despite its bright hue. A bit of a yellow miss here, sorry to say.

 
 
 

5. A Marilyn Moment

 The first 'Marilyn' dress Kate has had a few Marilyn moments in her time as a royal and the first and perhaps most famous came when she hopped off a plane at Calgary airport in Canada only to find her light yellow dress caught by a gust of breeze. The dress itself is pretty enough but perhaps wouldn't be quite so famous if it hadn't starred in this wind powered royal memory.

 

6.  Roller-tastic

It's a set of photos that the Duchess of Cambridge may choose to forget. In 2008, not long after her split from Prince William, Kate headed to a roller disco in London where she took to the floor in a sparkly green top and very yellow hot pants. She also fell over in a famous photo that showed how the then Miss Middleton could giggle over just about anything. She had the last laugh - two years later she was engaged to her handsome prince.


 

 
7. Butter yellow for a bump
Kate was no shrinking violet when it came to maternity wear. Dressing a bump in yellow is a pretty hard call but she managed it spectacularly at a garden party at Buckingham Palace just weeks before Prince George was born in 2013. The lightly patterned coat with its cream accessories was just about as yummy a pre-mummy outfit as you can get.


8.  Yummy mummy


But the most famous of all is surely the yellow print Jenny Packham dress worn to bring Princess Charlotte home from hospital just ten hours after her birth on May 2nd 2015. The pretty knee length dress worn, as we'd expect with those famous nude heels, was the perfect pick for a spring day and perhaps proved Kate didn't know the gender of her second baby as she'd gone for something neutral that would have said boy or girl. In the end, it was a princess in the arms of this duchess and perhaps the best time of all that Kate has worn yellow.