Royal Garden Party of the Day: June 11

Royal Garden Party of the Day: June 11

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At Buckingham Palace yesterday, the Queen hosted a garden party with several members of the royal family in attendance.

And who was the best dressed royal at the garden party, you ask?

The birthday boy, of course! The Duke of Edinburgh turned 93 yesterday, and he's still one of the most debonair royals around. Look at this coordinating tie/boutonnière/top hat game! And on a gray morning suit no less, a very sophisticated color palette. Yes, he takes the bite-sized garden party-appropriate cake here.

The Queen was my second best dressed pick, but that's what my other blog is for, so click here.

And after those two kids comes, well, everybody else. Line up, ladies!

#450385370 / gettyimages.com

Thank you, very helpful, let's work from left to right: We've got the Duchess of Gloucester, very understated but elegant by default. The Princess Royal seems to be wearing a hat purchased in the last decade for a change, always a delightful surprise, and she's got lovely aquamarine accessories (including a brooch that used to be the central part of her Aquamarine Pineflower Tiara). The Duchess of Cambridge is repeating an outfit I loved the first time around, but she removed the ribbon belt and changed up the hat and accessories. As much as I appreciate trying to shake it up for a repeat...I, uh, really miss the original belt and hat. Oh well. On the bright side, Princess Eugenie's got some shoe interest happening, and that will always cheer me up right quick. Well done.

For more: here's a gallery, plus photos at the Daily Mail (including the day's earlier engagement for Kate).

Photos: British Monarchy instagram and WPA Pool/Getty Images

Royal Outfit of the Day: April 4

Royal Outfit of the Day: April 4

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Crown Princess Victoria wore a custom Elie Saab gown in beige silk with embroidered and beaded details on the bust and sleeves to the Nobel Prize Awards Ceremony in 2010. She also wore the Cut Steel Tiara.

Bit of a dismal run from Victoria in the current events department lately. Dismal bordering on disastrous, occasionally. And I've had a few requests to pull something, anything, out of the archives to remind us of the full force of her sartorial power. So here we go, one of the all-time bests.

Video: Victoria at the Nobel dinner

It's the best outing of the Cut Steel Tiara I can think of, and it gives me an opportunity to once again post an enlightening video - you might not guess that a tiara with no diamonds or other gemstones could possess such sparkle. I can only imagine that the gown was made specifically to accompany the Cut Steel Tiara, because it is a perfect modern interpretation of the type of dress that was the fashion in the Napoleonic era, when the tiara was crafted. Victoria has worn this dress again, but this appearance remains the gold standard.

Photos: Getty Images/All Over Press/Kungahuset

Royal Outfit of the Day: March 26

Royal Outfit of the Day: March 26

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King Willem-Alexander and Queen Máxima hosted a dinner for participants of the 2014 Nuclear Security Summit, which was held this week in The Hague. Máxima wore a Natan beige dress with pearl and diamond jewelry.

It's a busy week in the Netherlands, so we're doubling up on our Máxima dosage. This may have been one of her more understated outfit selections, but it was one of the more important events for the couple - more than 50 world leaders present for the summit makes for an enormous international stage, and I think she played this just right. It's appropriately not a big attention-grabber; it's dressed up but not too dressed up, considering the guests were in regular suits and such; there's jewelry in the form of the always classy diamond and pearl combo, but she didn't pile it on. Well played, Queen Máx. (Also worth noting: this is basically the same dress as the infamous aqua one with sleeves that can walk on their own. What a stellar advertisement for chopping those sleeves right off...pleeeeeze...) For a video from this evening, click here.

Photos: Pool/NOS