Sorry

I’m sorry I haven’t posted any Wedding Wednesdays. I promise (cross my heart) that there will be a British Royal Wedding dress next Wednesday!

Tiara Tuesday: Boucheron Honeycomb Tiara

The tiara I just posted was from last week, my computer was being stupid and it wouldn’t post so, we have a double tiara day.

This tiara was made by Boucheron for the Hon. Mrs. Greville (a well-known society maven) in 1921 out of stones salvaged from another tiara. Having no heirs of her own, she left her considerable jewel collection to Queen Elizabeth (the future Queen Mother) when she died in 1942. King George VI was a little uncertain about accepting the jewels.

She had Cartier make it bigger, by adding a little variation to the top line and finishing it off with a marquis-shaped diamond in the center. A change for the better, if you ask me: it needed some pizazz to take it from "giant wall of diamonds" to "giant wall of diamonds with decorations on top".

The Boucheron was destined to become one of her favorites. Indeed, in the Queen Mother's later years, it was one of only two from her collection that she wore publicly.

When the Queen Mother died, her jewels passed to Queen Elizabeth as a sovereign to sovereign inheritance. The Queen has now doled this tiara out to the Duchess of Cornwall, which is a nice nod to the grandmother Prince Charles loved so much. She first wore it for her third tiara appearance, in 2006, and it's been the only one she's worn since.

I wasn't a big fan of this tiara until Camilla started wearing it. It does have a bit of a basket feel to it, and it's one of those pieces that's surprisingly modern for its time. The Queen Mother had a tendency to wear it alongside more traditional pieces, such as Queen Alexandra's pearl and diamond wedding necklace (center photo, Queen Mother collage above).

Tiara Tuesday: Oriental Circlet

Following the Diamond Jubilee celebrations – we have the Oriental Circlet.

Prince Albert made this tiara for Queen Victoria, this piece made by Garrard in 1853 for around £860. It's a big tiara: the original diadem consisted of more than 2,600 diamonds with opal accents, all set in gold. Opals were one of Albert's favourite stones, and after receiving this tiara Victoria commissioned an opal necklace, earrings, and brooch to go with. The opals have since been replaced with rubies (and you will accordingly sometimes see this referred to as the Indian Ruby Tiara or even just the Indian Tiara).

Many changes have occurred since the tiara was created. For the initial design, Victoria supplied around half of the diamonds from her existing collection. The Hanover diamonds were removed in 1858 and replaced by a mix of diamonds taken out of other royal jewels and new ones from Garrard.

Queen Victoria left this set to the Crown in her will, and when Queen Alexandra inherited it after Victoria's death she changed it again. Apparently believing opals to be unlucky, she replaced them with rubies from a necklace given to Queen Victoria by the ruler of Nepal. She also reduced the size of the tiara: there were originally 17 opals and arches, but only 11 rubies and corresponding arches exist on the piece today. For all the changes she made, the tiara doesn't seem to have been a favourite of Queen Alexandra - well, at least enough of a favourite to wear for portraits and the like - and the same goes for Queen Mary. It passed to Queen Elizabeth (the future Queen Mother) when her husband inherited the throne, and she finally made good use of the revised tiara.

Despite having multiple tiaras to choose from, the Queen Mother used only two in her later years. She often paired it with the magnificent set of huge rubies which was once set with opals, just like the tiara, and was also left to the Crown by Queen Victoria.When the Queen Mother died in March of 2002, the tiara passed to her daughter, Queen Elizabeth, along with the rest of her estate. This is one of the pieces that she technically could have asked for earlier - after all, it was left to the Crown, and she's been in charge of the Crown since 1952 - but she let it be, supposedly saying "Mummy will give them back."

Queen Elizabeth debuted the tiara during a state visit to Malta in 2005 - and we've not seen it publicly since (despite my fervent wishes that she'd swap in this one and swap out the Burmese Ruby Tiara in her regular tiara rota).

Royal Fashion Awards: Princess Estelle’s Christening

In Sweden today, Princess Estelle was christened.

Best Dressed in Pink

Crown Princess Victoria

 

Let’s start in my favourite colour, Pink! I love that Prince Carl Philip’s girlfriend Sofia Hellqvist, this is one of her first official outings as a Royal girlfriend. I say she looks good. Princess Märtha Louise of  Norway looked better than she does, a satin jacket, a ruffled dress and opened toe shoes, she looked OK. Queen Silvia looks good, a very odd hat, a lace shirt and a satin dress. Crown Princess Victoria won the prize, a detailed top and a very nice dress, well done!

Best Dressed in White/Brown

Anna Westring

one of the godmothers, Crown Princess Mary, partly disappointed me, a yellow printed dress,a white coat and a repeat hat. Estelle’s aunt, looked very nice in a satin coat, a detailed dress, gray accessories, and a purple hat. Prince Guillaume’s fiancée played the part as a future hereditary princess, wearing a tweed jacket, a (very) short dress, gray accessories, and a hat from her soon to be mother-in-law. Princess Mathilde wore her usual outfit. the one that got my vote was Daniel’s mother, Anna. I don’t hate anything from her outfit.

Best in Look at Me!

Princess Maxima of the Netherlands

We have a queen and a future queen in a battle. Maxima, wore her usual bright clothing. And Margrethe wore a printed jacket and dress.I dislike print, Maxima won.

Best Hat

Crown Princess Victoria

Best in hats – boy, do I love hats! Anna Westring wore a very small fascinator – I like it. Sofia Hellqvist wore a beige version of it – Good as well. Princess Maxima wore a red turban – it’s ok. Princess Madeleine wore a purple feather and veil. Princess Märtha Louise wore a big pink hat – Nice. Princess Mathilde, wore like nothing – BAD! Queen Margrethe wore a big blue hat – Good. Countess Stephanie de Lannoy wore a hat from her future mother-in-law – good. Crown Princess Mary wore a repeat sparkly hat – Great. Queen Silvia  wore a big pearl, feathery mess – BAD! Crown Princess Victoria wore a flower and a fasinator – Double Win!

Cutest of the Day

Princess Estelle of Sweden

Estelle, was a very cute, quiet girl at the christening. Look how cute she is! She looks like her mom and dad. Also – she has her first sash!

Royal Fashion Awards: Danish Christening

Today, was the christening of Prince Joachim and Princess Marie’s daughter. I watched the christening live, it was very beautiful. The princess’s name is Athena Marguerite Françoise Marie, she is so very cute.

Best Dressed Gentleman

Prince Joachim

I had to give this award to Prince Joachim for obvious reasons, he is beaming a giant grin, he is wearing a pink tie, he looks very dapper, and he made a beautiful child. Frederik would come in 2nd, he had a very nice tie, and he looks very happy to have a niece. Henrik looks good as well, for going to many christenings, he looks very good.

Best Dressed Women

Princess Marie

Princess Marie was pretty much given this award, a pale pink dress and shoes, a very colourful brooch and a very cute baby. Crown Princess Mary would come 2nd, I hate prints, but I love this outfit; I love Mary’s hair, aquamarine earrings, blue clutch and shoes. It was a tie for last with Carina Axelsson (the long-term girlfriend of Prince Gustav of Berleburg) and Queen Margrethe for obvious reasons.

Best dressed in Little Ones

Princess Athena

Princess Athena was a very cute girl at the ceremony, she put a smile on my face a lot – that’s why she’s first. Princess Isabella came in second with a repeat dress, a cute hairstyle and shoes. All the guys tied with 3rd, they all look great, especially Henrik, he looks very, very cute. And Nikolai and Felix, your father has taught you well. :)

A BIG Week of Posts!

May 20 – Danish Royal Christening of the little daughter of Princess Marie and Prince Joachim.

May 20-23 – Official Visit to Canada by the Prince of Wales and Duchess of Cornwall

May 22 – Swedish Royal Christening of Princess Estelle, daughter of Crown Princess Victoria and Prince Daniel.

May 24-27 – Formula 1 Grand Prix in Monaco, plenty of fashion.

May 24 – Princess Martha Louise and Ari Behn’s 10th Wedding Anniversary.

Royal Fashion Awards: Diamond Jubilee Celebrations Part 1- Greet

Best of the Day

Queen Elizabeth II

I have to give this award to Elizabeth, with 60 years of good service to England, she has to be awarded this.

Best in Beatrix

Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands

To tell you the truth, I actually like this one. It has an oversized shirt (Not a big fan) and pointy shoes (Yuck!) but, Beatrix looks good in it.

Best in Traditional

Empress Michiko of Japan

I would be hard wearing traditional clothing all the time. And with Japan with their wooden shoes, I would not survive. I have to give Michiko credit!

Worst in Usual

Queen Paola of Belgium

Purple over here, a ruffle over there. It was the normal Paola at the greet. But, they way it looks isn’t terrible.

Best in Great!

ex-Queen Anne-Marie of Greece

For a queen being 65 years old, she looks fantastic! I love the dress style and the accessories she wore too.

Worst in Shinny

Grand Duchess Maria Teresa of Luxembourg

Maria Teresa looks ok. But it looked better the first time around.

Worst in Margrethe

Queen Margrethe of Denmark

Margrethe chose the usual outfit, a suit in a ugly colour. And with a odd material.

Best in Smiley

Queen Silvia of Sweden

Silvia looks very happy, and why shouldn't she? Her first granddaughter, Estelle is getting christened in 4 days.

Best in Fabulous!

Queen Rania of Jordan

Queen Rania looks good as she usually does. I want to have that shirt it looks great!

Best in her Usual self

Duchess of Cambridge

Catherine wowed, as usual. And in a very pretty colour!

Worst in White

Countess of Wessex

Sophie looks good, as she always does. But her jacket is un-flattering. And the waist of her dress looks very odd.

What a Wonderful Surprise!

Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie

I was very happy when I saw the pictures of Beatrice and Eugenie here. They look great especially Beatrice!

Wedding Wednesday: A German Wedding

Another royal wedding was held over the weekend in Germany: Princess Felipa of Bavaria married Christian Dienst at the fantastic Pilgrimmage Church of Wies (or Wieskirche). Thanks to Royal Order of Satorial Splendor for the pictures!

Felipa is one of the children of Prince Leopold of Bavaria and his wife, Princess Ursula. We see his royal side at some of the larger gatherings (such as the Prince and Princess of Monaco's wedding).

The princess married her film producer beau in a gown from Natascha Müllerschön. It featured a white strapless base with a lace overlay and a cathedral veil. She arrived with the veil drawn up and over her family's tall diamond sunburst-style tiara. The tiara is usually worn by the bride's mother and has also been spotted on her sister-in-law Princess Anna.

Royal Fashion Awards: Norwegian National Day 2012

Today, in Norway was National Day. The Queen, King, Crown Prince, Crown Princess, Princess Ingrid Alexandra, Prince Sverre Magnus, and Mette-Marit’s son Marius was also in attendance.

Best in National Wear

Crown Princess Mette-Marit

 

I know it Tradition wear and Mette-Marit was the only one that really pulled it off. But Mette-Marit looks great in Tradition Wear and would always win in the category.

Best in Cutness

Princess Ingrid Alexandra and Prince Sverre Magnus

 

These two, always makes me smile. They are so cute! Ingrid has such a big personality as well as Sverre.

Best in Glad you came!

Marius Borg Høiby

 

You really don’t see Marius at Royal Norwegian events, he comes to Christmas but that only means 2 appearances a year. So, I am very happy he came.

Best on the Balcony

Queen Sonja

Queen Sonja brought out a red version of the Nobel Prize awards hat. But even though she did just change the colour, she looks great!

Worst on the Balcony

Crown Princess Mette-Marit

Mette-Marit brought out a Princess Maxima turban style hat. Which I am not fond of.

Tiara Tuesday: Burmese Ruby Tiara

The Queen received the rubies from the people of Burma as a Coronation gift. She sent the rubies to Garrad’s to create a new tiara in 1973. She selected a design where the rubies were arranged in clusters like the Rose Of England surrounded by diamonds. The Queen wears the crown often with her many ruby necklaces and bracelets. Since the passing of the Queen Mother, she has worn the magnificent ruby necklace, The State Rubies, left to the Crown by Queen Victoria.

Fashion Friday: Diamond Jubilee tour of Scandinavia

This was not the first tour of the Diamond Jubilee. I just like this one better, there was so much style in this tour than other tours. The next tour the couple will take together, will be to my Nation, Canada. Also, they are coming to my Province’s Capital! Regina, Saskatchewan. I am busy, so I will not be able to see them.

The Royal Couple started their journey in Norway where they meet the Crown Prince, Princess, King and Queen. The Queen and King and the royal couple participated in a wreath laying ceremony. In the evening, they attended a reception, with Mette-Marit, Haakon, Sonja, Martha Louise, Haakon, and Harald. In the afternoon, Charles, Camilla, Sonja and Harald visited Bergen. Sonja and Camilla visited a nature kindergarten. There was a concert and reception at Håkon’s Hall. The royal couple, queen and king took a tour of the Bryggen wharf. And finally, Sonja and Camilla visited Troldhaugen in Bergen.

Mette-Marit appeared twice through out the visit, Mette-Marit’s favourite appearance was the evening, well one the hair and the diamond and pearl earrings. Martha Louise, appeared once, wearing a repeat dress. Sonja looked great in this tour, better than she has before.

Sweden wasn’t a great hit for Camilla but she does look good. Rocking the plaid! hey couple were greeted by Prince Carl Philip at the Stockholm Airport. The whole Royal Family was in attendance (minus little Estelle). Silvia and Camilla visited a Pre-school in Solna. While, Charles and Carl  XVI Gustaf toured the residential area in Stockholm.

I say, the Swedish ladies rocked this tour! I want to say, I LOVE Silvia’s suit, I LOVE the little bow in the back! And I adore Victoria coming, and she did not disappoint me. And I was very happy that Princess Madeleine came. I just didn’t like the neckline on her Victoria Beckham dress.

Camilla kicked off her tour of Denmark at the airport, being welcomed by the Crown Prince and Princess. On Sunday, the royal couple were in attendance at the Service of the Holy Communion, afterward, the royal couple planted a tree at the Churchill Park. The day started with a visit to Kastellet, with the Crown Prince and Princess. The Royal couple then, went to have a tour of the Old Town and St. Mary’s Church, the then visited Kronborg Palace. The Royal Couple attended a Gala at Christians VIIs Palace. Camilla and Mary visited the film set of, ‘The Killing’. Where they met the cast, played with toy guns and had a great time. Later, the ladies were in Ballerup where they toured the Center for Clinical and Basic Research.

Crown Princess Mary was the best dressed Royal on the tour to Denmark. Princess Marie was a close second (with one outfit) and just after giving birth. And Queen Margrethe was in dead last.