Showing posts with label Belgian Royalty.. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Belgian Royalty.. Show all posts

Tuesday, 8 March 2016

5 snowy highlights of the royal winter

As winter draws to an end and the first buds of spring appear, snow takes on a more romantic feel. When it's not threatening to disrupt your journey, turn your house into an ice block and stop the trains running it becomes rather welcome, a pretty backdrop to winter wonderland. As the spring begins to melt the last of the frozen flakes, here's a look back at five snowy highlights of the royal winter just gone.


As Norway celebrated the Silver Jubilee of King Harald and Queen Sonja, the Royal Palace was turned into a winter wonderland of games and fun. And Crown Princess Mette-Marit sped round a ski track as she got into the party spirit.




 The Dutch Royal Family spent a week in Lech where they posed for a huge group photo which showed Princess Beatrix with her two sons and all her grandchildren. Queen Maxima showed off some nifty moves on the slopes but it's the family photo that provided the magical memory.




King Philippe and Queen Mathilde of the Belgians hit the slopes with their four children as well where they had family fun in the snow of Verbier






The Cambridges are a late entry in the ski stakes this year and released a set of photos of them enjoying the snow in France as winter came to an end. It was the first family holiday as a four and the first time that George and Charlotte had played in the snow and they looked like they loved it



But the best image of royal sin the snow this winter came on January 17th when Harald and Sonja of Norway led their family to a celebratory concert to mark their Jubilee. This winter wonderland walk came at the end of a happy day filled with events to mark their 25 years on the throne and the King and Queen of Norway looked quite overwhelmed as they were cheered on their way by wellwishers. A happy, snowy ending.
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Sunday, 31 May 2015

The Royal Wardrobe

There was a rainbow of queens on display this week as the royal women of Europe took the lead at home and abroad. The Royal Wardrobe still had elements of the monochrome that had dominated the week before but as summer began to arrive, the outlook got much brighter. Here are the outfit from the last seven days that made up that Royal Wardrobe - starting with Queen Maxima who has worn some pretty eye catching pieces on her visit to Canada but this red dress chosen for an evening event in Ottawa is easily the most noticeable. Very eighties, very bright and just very, very Maxima.



The Dutch queen chose a full length red dress by Valentino for the concert that she and Willem-Alexander hosted as a thank you for their welcome in Ottawa. Maybe it was the slicked back hair or the fact that her husband seemed to have hit the hair gel as well but the overall look was very glamourous and ever so slightly Dynasty.


It was pretty hard to pick a stand out look for Maxima from her Canadian wardrobe because everything she wore was worthy of a fashion page all on its own. On day three there was a cream fitted dress with gold belt, gold shoes and straw hat that was a wow of an outfit all on its own.


 
And then there was the unusual but winning look she picked for her arrival outfit. A white dress dress with pink and black feature stripes hidden beneath a black lace coat with black straw hat, pink bag and very pink lipstick. It shouldn't have worked but somehow it did.

 
 
There was (a lot) more bright pink for the first gala outfit of the tour as the queen arrived for a dinner in honour of the royal couple in a cerise one shoulder evening dress with fringed skirt. It might have been a bit flamenco but Maxima turned it into a bit stunning.

 
 
And it was kind of the essence of what makes Maxima's royal wardrobe so special. Most of the outfits she's worn in Canada have been striking and sometimes stunning but only she could wear them. Imagining any of her fashion choices on anyone else just doesn't work because probably no one else could make them work. The only exception to that rule was the almost ordinary moss green outfit with statement hat she chose for day two of her tour. Still pretty it just lacked the make you stare factor of her other choices so far.

 

Another of Europe's new queens was on tour this week as Letizia of Spain headed to Honduras and El Salvador for a four day visit to see co-operation projects involving her own country there. Letizia's wardrobe was a mixture of monochrome and colour and many of the outfits were more casual as this was a working visit. Perhaps the most interesting of them was the white trouser, print top combo she topped with a bright green jacket as she carried out her final day of engagements in El Salvador.
As we've come to expect from Letizia, her royal wardrobe was bang on trend. Another of her day outfits on the tour - this time in Honduras - ticked the white with orange mix that's in the shops right now. The queen chose a white fitted top and trousers and a long orange jacket to make her statement - the jacket had to go, it was fashion conscious but far too hot for the conditions.
Letizia's other day outfits for the tour were based around more muted tones. There was a grey trouser suit for a visit to a market in El Salvador.




For a visit to a water and sanitation plant in El Salvador she chose a pair of black trousers, loose white top and navy jacket.


 
  
While for a series of meetings at the Spanish Embassy in Honduras, Queen Letizia gave us our major royal monochrome moment of the week with a pair of black trousers and print top that looked pretty much like an outfit every woman has in her holiday suitcase for those days when it's too hot to wear anything else.
Dare we say it but the usually sartorially unstoppable Letizia has had a few odd choices recently and while most of her clothes on this tour have made their way to the hits column, the debut look was another May miss for the queen. To step off the plane in Honduras she chose a white blouse with grey mix skirt that was perfect for a day at the office but seemed out of place for a consort on a major overseas milestone in her royal career. Add in a pair of strappy sandals that didn't match the outfit and were all but impossible to walk down airplane steps in and you have a rare fail for this queen of fashion.
 
You don't keep Letizia down for long. Hours later she was making her only gala appearance of the tour at a cultural event hosted in her honour by the President of Honduras and his wife. She stepped out in an off the shoulder black sequinned cocktail dress with bundles of wow factor.


And as she ended the tour she rewore her Hugo Boss pink and mauve print dress, first seen just about a year ago as she went solo as a queen for the first time, for a lunch with the President of El Salvador and his wife. It was a bit creased this time round but still catches the eye.


Meanwhile, Queen Sofia was doing was Queen Sofia does best - rocking a metallic effect two piece suit. A bit like the Queen Mother before her, she has settled on a style that works and bought it in just about every colour. This time round it was silver and looked super.



Sofia also opened the Madrid Book Fair in the week and went for a black and white mix that tapped into the monochrome madness that swept the Royal Wardrobe last week. It was quite a modern look for the queen and she looked very relaxed and happy as she talked books in the sizzling summer heat.



The Crown Princess of Norway was also coming over all bookish this week as she hit the Literature Train for 2015 to bring reading to a wider audience. Mette-Marit went for black jacket and skirt combos all the way through with a monochrome attempt the best of the lot.  





There was also a misty mauve pleated chiffon type skirt which looked striking but strange.



And to open the Norwegian Literature Festival, Mette-Marit went for a black and white printed dress with black jacket which was the plainest of the three looks and verging on the drab - not something that's often said about this particular princess.
Queen Sonja, in contrast, added a splash of colour for her engagement of the week, The Norwegian consort wore a bright pink coat with matching hat for the opening of the Bergen International Festival.
For an evening event at the festival, the Norwegian queen chose a fabulous pair of midnight blue wide leg trousers which then got mostly covered up by a massive black shawl type top which was a shame as the matching midnight blue evening shoes held the promise of a superstylish effect.
Princess Martha Louise of Norway made a rare official public appearance this week and was dressed all in cream for the event.   Her pretty lace dress with contrasting jacket looked fresh and spring like and really rather understated for a princess know to hit the bright and out there button sometimes when it comes to getting ready.

Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden's most striking outfit of the week was also an all white affair. The princess picked trousers, top, jacket, ballet pumps and trilby hat in the hue for a trip to sunny Gotland. The white look with the bright sunshine provided some of the most summery royal photos of the year so far and the outfit was so unusual it was a total scene stealer.


She lost the hat but kept the outfit for an audience with the Prime Minister of Estonia on her return from Gotland.  And it might just be the angle of the photograph and white trousers are notoriously unforgiving but is that the beginnings of a bump...
For her other appearance this week, a meeting ahead of the upcoming Indian State Visit, Victoria's tummy was out of sight as she perched at a table with her parents and husband while wearing a white top and beige jacket with oversize black buttons. Queen Silvia went for grey without the slightest hint of a blast of colour from one of her famous scarves. All very low key - maybe they're wardrobed out with wedding preparations going on...
Queen Silvia kept the jacket on for an audience she and King Carl XVI Gustaf had with the Patriarch of the Syrian Orthodox Church - a closer look revealed streaks of navy in the weave of the jacket.
Just to show that queens are really in the pink this week, Silvia chose a dress in a shade almost identical to the one worn by Sonja of Norway. The Swedish consort wore her cerise frock for a Children's Day event - somehow, Silvia even managed to make this super bright shade look understated and discreet.
Another queen looking bright and brilliant this week was Mathilde of the Belgians who chose a vibrant apple green dress for a visit to TV and radio studios. Admittedly, the leaves around the neckline were slightly odd but she and King Philippe did do everyone's favourite royal trick of matching his tie to her outfit and all ended well.
The decision of the King of the Belgians to do up his jacket at another engagement for the royal couple almost overshadowed Mathilde's outfit as everyone waited for Philippe to breathe out and send a button flying. He didn't and it didn't meaning UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon could breathe a sigh of relief and we all got a chance to enjoy a very Mathilde outfit of bright orange wrap top, grey and orange floral print skirt and orange shoes.

 
Mathilde went for a burnished orange bronze mix effect dress as she and her husband met the jury for the Queen Elisabeth Music Prize at the Royal Palace in the week.

 


For the big final, the Queen of the Belgians chose a simple white dress that came a close second as her best look of the week.
But Mathilde's top outfit was the deep pink shift dress worn to one of the finals of the music competition. It was a simple but effective look but got extra points for co-ordinating perfectly with the cardigan worn by her daughter, Elisabeth, whose pretty butterfly dress was a stylish, chic look perfect for a princess at the start of her teenage years.



There was an unusual burst of green for Denmark's queen in the week. Margrethe's suit was pretty similar to many she's worn, complete with matching hat, but the unusual shade set it apart.


Crown Princess Mary went for royal blue for a meeting in the week. The top of the dress was visible as she sat at a table and looked slimline and chic. There might have been a puffball skirt underneath for all we know but the look, what there was of it, was good.



There were navy blue suede wedges on display when Mary visited a school in the week. They were worn with grey mix cut off trousers, a white shirt and a dark grey jacket and if anyone is still counting points between Mary and Letizia then add some more to Denmark's column. As both women did smart casual in grey this week, Mary edged it.


You know how those Mary copies Kate copies Letizia copies Mary stories love doing the rounds. Well, this week Mary picked a Breton top with jeans for a sporty day out and only a certain duchess being no maternity leave prevented an immediate deluge of Mary copies Kate stories hitting the stands. 


There have been plenty of stories too about the similarity between Mary and her sister-in-law Marie with questions about who picks the looks they seem to share first. There was no danger of that this week as Marie also went to a sports event but went for a petrol green/ grey jacket with her jeans.


There was definitely no dressing down for the British Royal Family in the week. The State Opening of Parliament means full ceremonial and for the ladies that's a white dress and best jewels. Easy for The Queen who chose yet another perfect full length gown for the occasion and popped on the Imperial State Crown. The look was, as ever, breathtakingly splendid and stunning.


 
The dress without the Crown and the robes of state was equally magnificent and set off to perfection with what, on an ordinary day, would be a cracking set of diamonds but which at this special event is definitely overshadowed.

 
 
There wasn't quite so much success for the Duchess of Cornwall who went all white but ended up looking ever so slightly bridal and not in a good way. The dress should have been stunning but finished being a bit Miss Havisham.

 
 
But Camilla can wear diamonds and the bigger the tiara, the better it suits her. A close up of her on her way back to Buckingham Palace following the State Opening showed just how well this duchess does diamonds.

 

 
The Queen was also in pale shades for the third Buckingham Palace garden party of the season. She went for palest silver on a very grey day in London and looked suitably warm as the chilly weather took hold.

 
 
Princess Beatrice tried combining colour schemes at the same event and ended up like she'd put on one outfit with the accessories for another. Not the best.

 
 
Not that it mattered because everyone was looking at Princess Michael of Kent. Not only did she crack out a stunner of a cream and black outfit - Marie Christine remains super stylish - she wore an eye patch. It was a medical necessity rather than a sartorial choice and easily the most talked about royal fashion moment of the week.

 

The Queen chose a simple pale green dress for a series of audiences in the week.

 
 
 Her final outfit of the week, worn to a series of engagements in the Duchy of Lancaster, was a turquoise coat with contrasting hat designed by Angela Kelly who has become one of The Queen's favourites. On the strength of this outfit, it's not hard to see why - it's about as good as it gets in royal couture.

 
 

And The Duchess of Cornwall ended her week on a high as well as she chose a navy blue dress with huge white spots for the final of the BBC Radio Two #500words competition. She was handing out medals to young people who had won a story writing contest and Camilla went home safe in the knowledge she'd scored a win of her own with this look.


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Monday, 23 March 2015

Royals on social media


It's been a busy week for the royals with state visits and traditional trips all dominating the regal headlines. And there were lots of great images too.


A twitpic of the King and Queen of the Netherlands shared on the official Dutch Royal Household Twitter account as they headed to Denmark for a three day State Visit

To round the week up, here are some of the highlights from the images and messages shared on the official social media accounts of Europe's royal houses - it's royals on social media time.


A helping hand


The Duke of Cambridge attended one of the Queen's audiences for the first time in the week. The duke wanted to learn first hand some of the tricks of the trade and his granny was only too pleased to lend a helping hand. Images were shared on the British Monarchy Twitter account and retweeted by Kensington Palace.


The Queen of the Netherlands joined millions of others in watching the solar eclipse that took place on March 20th and the official Twitter account shared an image of her getting a bit of help in doing it safely with the aid of her special glasses.


Later in the week, the same Twitter account showed the Dutch royals joining in on the annual Volunteers Day which raises money for charity.



Just visiting



There were plenty of state visits going on in the week. The King and Queen of the Netherlands hopped over to Denmark for a three day tour. Images of all the events were shared on the Dutch Royal House's official Twitter feed including a photo from the gala dinner held on the first evening.


The King and Queen of Norway welcomed the President of Latvia, Anders Berzins, on a state visit to their country and images of the visit were shared on the official Facebook page. 


The Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall spent several days in America during the week where they carried out a string of engagements. Dozens of photos were shared on the Clarence House Instagram page including one of Prince Charles meeting President Barack Obama.



Four legged friends
The royals are known for their love of animals and there was plenty of evidence of that on official social media accounts in the week. The Queen paid a visit to Battersea Dogs and Cats Home in London and the images shared on the official British Monarchy Instagram account were of the animals at the centre and an archive shot of the Queen with a pet, Dookie, taken in 1936.



 The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge were in Aldershot on March 17th for the traditional St Patrick's Day parade where Kate handed over shamrocks to the Irish Guards and their mascot, Irish wolfhound Domhall. He starred in a close up on the Kensington Palace Instagram account and in photos shared on the official Twitter account as well.




 The Crown Princess of Norway visited a home for people with dementia in Asker in the week and took along her pet dog, Muffin. She heard about the beneficial effects that pets can have for people with dementia and an image of Mette-Marit during her trip was shared on the official Norwegian Royal Family Facebook page.


Getting arty


The Queen of Spain opened a major exhibition of modern art in Madrid in the week and the official Twitter account shared photos of Letizia looking at some of the works on display.


The King and Queen of the Belgians spent some time discovering another art form, journalism, on a visit to TV and radio station RTBF with images of their visit shared on the official Belgian Monarchy Twitter account.

The art of research was being celebrated by Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden in the week when she presented the prizes at the annual celebration for the Royal Academy in Stockholm. Pictures were shared on the Swedish Royal Family's Facebook page. 


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Monday, 12 January 2015

Royals on social media

In the cold days of January, things are slowly starting to warm up in the agendas of Europe's royal houses which means there has been a bit more to look at and learn from on their official social media channels. Here are the highlights of this week's royals on social media.


Diplomatic Relations


The King and Queen of the Belgians held a New Year Reception for the Diplomatic Corps at the Royal Palace in Brussels and shared photos of Philippe and Mathilde greeting guests on the official Twitter account.

Looking to the future

New Year is all about looking to the future as well and the Crown Prince and Princess of Norway invited the leaders of tomorrow to Skaugum for a day designed to help young people share their experiences. A photo of Haakon Magnus and Mette-Marit was shared on the official Facebook page.


King Felipe oversaw the traditional Pascua Militar as monarch for the first time in the week and the official Twitter account of Casa Real shared images of a new king in a new role.



In memoriam


The royal houses of Europe all showed their support for the people of France in the wake of the terror attacks during the week. And as the mourning continued, Clarence House shared an image of Prince Harry signing the condolence book at the French embassy in London on its official Twitter feed.




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Saturday, 15 November 2014

Tweeting the royals, November 15th

We got lunch and dinner from Europe's royals this week not to mention a few trips to meet the neighbours. There were also acts of remembrance and celebrations of peace and all of it shared on the official social media channels of the continent's courts. Here's how the royals tweeted the week that was..


Feeling hungry?


Crown Princess Mette-Marit has made no secret of her love of books and reading and this week she held a dinner to promote literacy with hubby Haakon coming along to lend a hand. There were pics of her meeting her guests on the Norwegian Royal Family's Facebook page.


The King and Queen of Spain made an introductory visit to Belgium in the week and after a welcome in the wind they went inside for a spot of lunch. And Felipe, Letizia, Philippe and Mathilde were shown about to tuck in on tweets featured on both the Spanish and Belgian royals' official Twitter accounts.


The Duke of Cambridge attended a dinner held by Skill Force UK in the week with a pretty impressive backdrop - as seen on the Clarence House Instagram account.



Testing times


The Duchess of Cambridge met young athletes who hope to represent their country at the Olympics in years to come on a visit to GSK in Essex in the week. While there, Kate tried an exercise to test her reflexes and Clarence House shared a video on its Instagram page.
King Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands has set himself a task - over the next year he will make a series of working visits to find out more about the work of different government ministers. First on the list was social affairs and that led to some striking images on the official Facebook page of the king in some unusual headgear.


Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden got the chance to test things of a different kind when she visited an exhibition about water and sanitation and saw some very unusual designs for new toilets - photos of the royal reactions were shared on the official Facebook page.



Popping in on the neighbours

King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia made two introductory visits in the week, popping into see the Grand Duke and Duchess of Luxembourg first of all with images shared on the official Twitter account of Casa Real.


Crown Prince Haakon Magnus of Norway spent part of November in Belgrade and in the week the Royal Household shared some images of the trip on the official Facebook page.




Remembering


Remembrance Day was marked in the week and the Queen led tributes on Remembrance Sunday in London.  The British Monarchy also shared an image of the family at the Festival of Remembrance at the Royal Albert Hall on its official Twitter account.



The Swedish Royal Family attended an event remembering 200 years of peace in the country and shared a video on the official You Tube channel.


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