The Royal Wardrobe: dazzling dresses

Queen Letizia in a fabulous new dress at an exhibition celebrating 40 years of El Pais

(photo casareal.es)

It was all about dresses in this week's Royal Wardrobe. There were lots of shades, there were lots of lengths, there was a lot of draping. But most of all, there were lots of dresses. And quite a few pairs of standout shoes. Settle back and enjoy the top five looks from the royal week - Letizia topped the poll to find the favourite look.

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Queen Letizia of Spain hit a total run of form this week with some great looks which culminated in this fabulous frock worn for an awards ceremony in Madrid.  What's not to love about this forties style dress with its beautifully draped top, perfectly cut skirt and fabulous flow?  Add in a pair of strappy shoes, a silver clutch and pretty, feathery earrings not to mention an updo with a bit of curl and you have a winner of a look every time. An exhibition class in dressing.

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The Duchess of Cambridge gave us two rewears in the week that are worth seeing time and time again. My favourite is this dove grey Roksanda Ilincic dress chosen for a lunch in London on a sunny day. The colour and cut of this are perfect for Kate and the draping details at the shoulder give it a whole extra layer of texture. It's picture perfect from the Duchess of Cambridge.

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Queen Rania stole the show at the Met Gala in New York this week in an evening dress of epic proportions. At first glance, this is just gorgeous and at second glance it becomes amazing. There is so much going on in this dress that it probably shouldn't work but it does and then some. From the black underlay to the sparkling skirt to the swan effect wrapping round the top half, this is radical fashion from Rania and her style statement has paid off. This really is a royal look to remember.

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There was a royal rival in the style stakes at the gala as Charlotte Casiraghi also decided to show us a standout look at the event. She's been trying some radical looks recently, some of them more successful than others (yes, we're talking the Elvis suit from the Rose Ball) but this foray into cutting edge fashion had a happy ending, Like Rania's dress, this one has a lot going on, mostly in the colour stakes, but it is pitched perfectly for the sunny spring weather and all those layers add plenty of texture and movement. Charlotte can smile with this fashion triumph.

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Queen Maxima had a good old glitter in gold this week as she attended the Liberation Day concert in Amsterdam. OK, we've seen this dress a lot since it was debuted in Paris just two months ago but it's worth a second look every day of the week. It shimmers, it sparkles and it stuns and there are extra marks for the hair which bounced its way through the whole evening. Admittedly, this dress goes into the Royal Wardrobe every time it is worn (which is quite a lot right now) but when a frock looks this fabulous, why not celebrate it?

The poll result saw Letizia crowned queen of style this week with Maxima in a very close second. Kate was at the bottom of the poll this time round.