WEDDING FLOWERS: Britain
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Showing posts with label Britain. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Britain. Show all posts

Sunday Tidbits for April 26: Three Queens and More...

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Let's get right to it, shall we? Your tidbits for the week:

--Events surrounding the centenary of the Gallipoli Campaign have been covered over at the Jewel Vault, from QEII and her gang to Crown Princess Mary. [Jewel Vault]

--Update on the state of Queen Silvia's fashionably injured shoulder: Scarf slings are hot this season, as displayed at the Silvia Home's Inspiration Day. [Expressen, Kungahuset]
Kungahuset.se

--Look who stopped by London just to be cute with some flowers: Princess Beatrix! (Multitasker that she is, she also managed to fit in celebrations of the 140th anniversary of the King Willem Fund between the cuteness.) [Getty]

--This dress on Hereditary Grand Duchess Stéphanie is good...from certain views. [Luxarazzi]

--Three pieces from the fascinating Devonshire Parure are on loan to Tate Britain in London for another month as part of the exhibit Sculpture Victorious: Art in an Age of Invention, 1837-1901. [Chatsworth House, with thanks to Joyce for the tip!]

--This week in Royals Striding with Purpose (that's the title of my next blog), Crown Princess Mary celebrated the jubilee of the Maternity Foundation. [Getty]

--Crown Prince Haakon and Crown Princess Mette-Marit visited a research ship which is frozen waaaay up north in the Arctic Ocean. Their trip included an icy camp out overnight, and gave us the headline (according to my browser's stilted translation) METTE-MARIT FROZEN IN ICE FIELDS: Will probably be taken out by helicopter later today. Much like a fine white wine, you want your M-M chilled to just the right temperature before you remove her. [Se og Hør]


Lots of stuff coming up this week, including some questionable outfits that require your verdict, and also the annual King's Day in the Netherlands (which will probably also yield some questionable outfits that require your verdict, let's be honest).

Photos: via Getty Images as indicated, Twitter, Kungahuset

Royal Style Twins of the Day: April 24

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Today, we're flashing back...way back...to a week ago, in Copenhagen, where the reception for Queen Margrethe's birthday at City Hall featured some style twin moments worthy of a closer look.

First up: Crown Princess Mette-Marit and Crown Princess Victoria and their twin appearances with, uh, themselves.
Above, in Copenhagen in 2010 for Margrethe's 70th birthday, and below, also in Copenhagen for Margrethe's birthday, five years on. Mette-Marit's even wearing the same gold headband, which (as the Royal Hats Blog points out) she's worn in several different ways.
"So, whaddya think...same thing this time, except different?" "AGREED."

For the same same thing, you need look no further than the Mexican state visit to the United Kingdom a month earlier.
Mexico's first lady, Angélica Rivera de Peña, sported Mette-Marit's Alexander McQueen coat first. It's an A-line crepe coat in ivory with a double lapel detail, and the only surprising thing about this is that one of the British royal McQueen fans didn't beat both ladies to it. (Perhaps they will join the party later on. I'd love to see this one belted, just to shake it up.) Unusually for one who loves the colorful accessories, I prefer the First Lady's black touches to the Crown Princess' gold/red/nude mix in this Who wore it best? battle.

Our other twin - nay, triplet! - moment from the City Hall event comes from Crown Princess Mary and the gray hat she paired with her Oscar de la Renta coat dress.
As soon as she emerged with this chapeau, I thought it looked familiar - Kate-esque, I said - and indeed it was. From favored royal milliner Jane Taylor, this is a hat we should know well by now.
Zara Phillips sported the same gray version to Cheltenham over a year ago. She paired it with a truly unfortunate outfit that I will pretend I did not see since baby Mia was just a few weeks old at the time. But the original royal example comes from the Countess of Wessex, who wore a version in a different color and material to Ascot in 2013, paired with an Emilia Wickstead outfit in gorgeous vibrant teal. (An outfit that would get a lookalike of its own when the Duchess of Cambridge wore a similar number in New Zealand last year. It's just a chain that never ends.)
Mary's got the lock on sophistication in accessory pairing, but Sophie's version is a welcome shot of color. I'll call this one a tie and I'll take both for myself, outfits and all, thanks very much.

Your turn: Which versions of these twin appearances are your faves?

Photos: via Getty Images as indicated, Net-a-Porter, ITN video

Sunday Tidbits for April 19: The Non-Danish Event Edition

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It's been a pretty big week for royal news outside of the recent Danish festivities, so I present a totally Dane-free tidbits for your enjoyment! Except for...the times when a reference or two slips in there. You can't expect a girl to go cold turkey.

--Tatiana Santo Domingo and Andrea Casiraghi welcomed their second child! The baby girl, born on April 12, is reportedly named India. [Hello]

--In other princely news, reports say the wedding of Pierre Casiraghi and Beatrice Borromeo will be in two parts: a civil wedding in Monaco at the end of July, and a religious wedding on Lake Maggiore (where her family has a private island) on August 1st. [Hello]

--The invitations for Prince Carl Philip and Sofia Hellqvist's wedding are out! They have an orange border and are tied with an orange ribbon, perhaps a clue to the upcoming color scheme. Aftonbladet published what they claimed was a list of the invitees, which was swiftly declared incorrect by the royal court. It wasn't anything you wouldn't have guessed based on the guest list for Princess Madeleine's wedding, really. Queen Margrethe said she received an invitation in her press conference this week; she's one of Carl Philip's godparents. The invites also confirmed what most were guessing regarding dress codes: tiaras will be worn by the guests that have them at the wedding itself, and the dinner the night before will be black tie (no tiaras). The wedding is on June 13. [Svenskdam, Aftonbladet]

--Brunei had a royal wedding of their own: Prince Abdul Malik, second son of the Sultan, and Dayangku Raabi’atul ‘Adawiyyah Pengiran Haji Bolkiah celebrated their wedding earlier this month in a typically lavish and sparkling ceremony. Below is a video from their wedding banquet, where the bride wore purple and a mahooosive ruby tiara that has also been worn by Queen Saleha. [Royalista]

--We missed Grand Duchess Maria Teresa at the Danish birthday dinner, but the Luxembourg couple did release a new set of official photographs to mark Grand Duke Henri's 60th birthday. That's a great outfit on MT, no? [Luxarazzi]
© 2015 Cour grand-ducale / Christian Aschman / tous droits réservés

--And we also missed Queen Sonja, so here she is in New York City, where she opened an exhibition and attended the American-Scandinavian Foundation Gala Dinner. The brooch hanging from her pearl necklace was one of Queen Maud's wedding gifts. [Zimbio]

--Over at the Jewel Vault: another new/new-to-us brooch for QEII!

--And finally... They've released pictures of Prince Harry at work in Australia, and it's good to see that they've followed the basic rules for any Harry publicity: uniforms and cute kids. And while you're in a punch-drunk Harry mood, the Fug Girls present "25 Reasons Harry Should Give You High Hopes for Royal Baby 2.0." [Telegraph, Cosmopolitan]

Photos: Cour grand-ducale and via Getty Images

Sunday Tidbits for April 12: All Your Birthday News, and More

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I have a reaaallly long edition of Sunday Tidbits for you today, starting off with all the pertinent details for this week's celebrations of a certain royal birthday. If you don't care about the Danish party, we can't be friends anymore then just scroll down past Margrethe's face for some jewels, a smattering of other royals, and a reading recommendation:

--What's coming up this week for the main celebrations of Queen Margrethe's 75th birthday? Here's your official schedule (Copenhagen times, via Kongehuset):
  • Monday, 13 April
    • Press conference at Fredensborg Palace, 14.30.
  • Wednesday, 15 April
    • Dinner at Christiansborg Palace, 20.00, for officials of Denmark (including visiting royal guests).
  • Thursday, 16 April (Her actual birthday, in case you've lost track in the midst of this party extravaganza.)
    • Morning wake-up at Fredensborg Palace, 9.00.
    • Queen and royal family appear on balconies at Christian VII's Palace, Amalienborg, 12.00.
    • Coach ride from Amalienborg to Copenhagen’s City Hall, 12.30.
    • Official reception at Copenhagen’s City Hall, 13.00, for official Danish representatives, visiting royal guests, and the royal family. The Queen and Prince Consort will appear on the balcony afterwards.
    • Dinner at Fredensborg Palace, 20.00.
--An official guest list has not been released as of this writing, but the presence of several guests has been confirmed via official schedules - this is an ongoing list, others may be present and are just not confirmed yet:
  • Belgium: King Philippe and Queen Mathilde for the 15th.
  • Luxembourg: Grand Duke Henri and Grand Duchess Maria Teresa for the 15th. (The 16th is actually the Grand Duke's birthday too, as well as the birthday of the couple's youngest child, Prince Sebastian.)
  • Netherlands: King Willem-Alexander and Queen Máxima will be present - not on their official schedules yet, but the King mentioned it in his state visit speech during last month's state visit to Denmark.
  • Norway: King Harald for the 15th and 16th, with Crown Prince Haakon and Crown Princess Mette-Marit joining on the 16th. (Queen Sonja will be in New York.)
  • Spain: King Felipe and Queen Letizia for the 15th.
  • Sweden: King Carl Gustaf and Queen Silvia for the 15th and 16th, with Crown Princess Victoria and Prince Daniel joining on the 16th.
  • Additionally, I'm sure we will see plenty of members of the extended Danish royal family, including the Greek royal family and the Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburgs.
--TV2 and DR1 in Denmark will broadcast events, and live streams should be running; links will probably be floating about at the time.

--As far as the blog schedule goes, yes, we will have an open post, and we'll be departing from our regularly scheduled programming starting Wednesday to cover these events.


--Moving on, Crown Princess Mary marked the 75th anniversary of the German occupation of Denmark, which occurred just a week before Queen Margrethe was born. [Royalista]

--Some sad news: Prince Kardam of Bulgaria, Prince of Turnovo, died this week. The son of the former Tsar of Bulgaria was 52 years old. His health never recovered after a serious car accident in 2008, and he had been in a coma for several years. Very sad, and my sincere condolences to the family. [Hello magazine]

--Monaco's princely family marked the 10th anniversary of the death of Prince Rainier III this week. Albert and Charlene also had another joint engagement, for which Char wore some saucy shades. [Palais Princier Facebook]

Video: The service for Rainier

--Here's your jewel auction update: Christie's is offering the "Maria Christina Royal Devant-de-Corsage Brooch" for sale, a huge diamond stomacher that was a wedding gift from King Alfonso XII of Spain to his bride, Archduchess Maria Christina of Austria, in 1879. Additionally, Sotheby's is offering the collection of the late Mary, Duchess of Roxburghe, which includes three tiaras. I'll take the lot, please and thank you. [Jewels du Jour, Art Daily, Sotheby's]
The three Roxburghe tiaras

--If only the outfits Queen Letizia has worn lately (see here or here) were half as interesting as this cheeky little glance... [Hola]

--Prince Harry arrived in Australia for a month's assignment with the Australian Defence Force, wore a uniform, charmed the crowds, and decried the scourge of selfies. All in a day's work, really. [News.com.au]

--What happened at the Jewel Vault this week? Luscious diamond demi-parures, among other things.

--And finally, The Royal We by Heather Cocks and Jessica Morgan (the Fug Girls of Go Fug Yourself fame) was released this week. I was lucky enough to get a copy from those lovely ladies, and I have to tell you, I loved it. Here's the blurb:
“I might be Cinderella today, but I dread who they’ll think I am tomorrow. I guess it depends on what I do next.” 
American Rebecca Porter was never one for fairy tales. Her twin sister, Lacey, has always been the romantic who fantasized about glamour and royalty, fame and fortune. Yet it’s Bex who seeks adventure at Oxford and finds herself living down the hall from Prince Nicholas, Great Britain’s future king. And when Bex can’t resist falling for Nick, the person behind the prince, it propels her into a world she did not expect to inhabit, under a spotlight she is not prepared to face.
Dating Nick immerses Bex in ritzy society, dazzling ski trips, and dinners at Kensington Palace with him and his charming, troublesome brother, Freddie. But the relationship also comes with unimaginable baggage: hysterical tabloids, Nick’s sparkling and far more suitable ex-girlfriends, and a royal family whose private life is much thornier and more tragic than anyone on the outside knows. The pressures are almost too much to bear, as Bex struggles to reconcile the man she loves with the monarch he’s fated to become.

Which is how she gets into trouble.

Now, on the eve of the wedding of the century, Bex is faced with whether everything she’s sacrificed for love-her career, her home, her family, maybe even herself-will have been for nothing.
I was so impressed with the balance they managed to hit in this novel. There are nods to the real life romance of William and Kate and enough real life details (with an impressive amount of research thrown in) to make royal watchers smile, but it's still a fictional universe that draws you in, keeps you guessing, and makes you laugh. One of the best books I've read so far this year. Do pick it up! [And here's an Amazon link for ya.]

Stay tuned for the week's fun. Birthday cake for everybody!

Photos: Kongehuset.dk, and via Getty Images as indicated

Royal Wedding Flashback of the Week, Part 2: April 8

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In honor of the 10th wedding anniversary of the Prince of Wales and Duchess of Cornwall, we've got part 2 of our celebration on tap for today. As I mentioned yesterday, we've touched on Camilla's wedding outfits in the past, but since I've added her jewels to my coverage at the Jewel Vault blog, you can find a feature on the jewelry she wore for the big day over there.

Video: The blessing service
Over here, we have more guests! Part two of our hat-filled extravaganza features the main members of the Windsor family, starting with the boss lady herself:

The Queen
She's dosed in butter and cream, and this is a gorgeous ensemble for Her Maj. Throw in one of her larger day brooches (the Australian Wattle Brooch), and you're set to go. (You can just see Prince Philip on the side there, who was of course with her. He wore a morning suit.)

A whole bunch of people
(Okay: Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie with Prince William and Prince Harry and Peter Phillips in the front, and the Duke of Gloucester, Duke of York, Prince Michael of Kent, Duke of Kent, the Princess Royal and more behind)
Here are the other men! They also wore morning suits. Also, we've got a pair of York sisters in...not their best coat-to-dress match ups.
Princess Eugenie
But call me crazy, I have always had a soft spot for this hat. Am I crazy?? It's okay, you can tell me.

The Earl and Countess of Wessex
Speaking of crazy hats. Remember when Sophie was in the throes of her love affair with super tall, scarcely brimmed hats? I'm glad that's (mostly) passed, but the rest of this outfit is still a winner.

The Princess Royal and Tim Laurence
On the other hand, Anne and her veiled pill boxes are a love affair that will never die. She's cute here, though, having a proper adventure on the bus like the common people do. Note her Grima earrings and her classic brooch, please.
Zara Phillips
And note her daughter, gallantly stepping up to ensure that no British royal wedding goes without a true head scratcher of an outfit for the scrapbooks. She's a hero for the ages, this one. 

Who are you crowning Best Dressed Guest at this wedding?

Photos: via Getty Images as indicated
Royal Wedding Flashback of the Week, Part 1: April 7

Royal Wedding Flashback of the Week, Part 1: April 7

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The Prince of Wales and Duchess of Cornwall are celebrating their 10th wedding anniversary this week, not that I need an excuse for a celebration. We've discussed Camilla's ensemble in depth in the past (see here or here). The guests, on the other hand, are still in need of our attention. And we've got enough of them to split this into two posts, so that's what I'm gonna do.

Our first hat-filled priority: selected foreign royalty and the beginnings of the extended Windsor clan.

The Crown Prince and Crown Princess of Norway
What better way to get us started than a hat that comes complete with its own tiny limb sticking right out the side, ready to punch when needed? (Watch out, Haakon.) If there's a time for a hat with froof to spare, that time is a British royal wedding, and Mette-Marit knows what's up.

Prince Constantijn and Princess Laurentien of the Netherlands
I want to call Laurentien's black and white a fun take on a Chanel-esque classic, but I can never decide if it's too flippy or just flippy enough.

King Constantine and Queen Anne-Marie of Greece
Greece's ex-royals, friends and relatives both, can always be counted on for an appearance. This is a seriously lovely suit for Anne-Marie, no? The lace trim is perfection.

Princess Alexandra of Kent and Princess Michael of Kent
Now we're on to the extended branches of the British royal family, and we have a supremely Edwardian Princess Alexandra (in my favorite color, bless) and an exuberant Princess Michael. I probably would have gone with one flower embellishment or the other on that jacket, but she's clearly digging her choice of accessories.

Viscount and Viscountess Linley, Lady Sarah Chatto and Daniel Chatto
We've got one with a floral arrangement for the skull in another shade of my favorite color and another whose style I am a sucker for in any color, so this group gets a happy pass from me.

The Duchesses of Kent and Gloucester (and others)
Here in this group, which also includes the Countess of Wessex (more on her in Part 2) and a full-length view of Queen Anne-Marie, we've got a double duchess treat: the Duchess of Kent, in a lovely spring floral, and the Duchess of Gloucester, in a light blue outfit that I believe is still in use today. Which is sort of the perfect summary of her style, really, classics and basics built to stand the test of time. And why not, really?

Coming up in Part 2: Windsors, the completed set! To be continued...

Photos: via Getty Images as indicated
Royal Fashion Awards: Easter 2015

Royal Fashion Awards: Easter 2015

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Easter has delivered many goodies for us: 1) chocolate, if you're doing it right, and 2) some fashion awards fun for our Monday. The royal families of Britain and Spain were out and about for Easter services, and we have sartorial matters to discuss...

Best in Queens, Part 1
Queen Sofia
Here are the Spains, doing their thing, business as usual. So I always end up giving the recognition to Queen Sofia, who reliably wears her Easter egg necklace for the occasion. And so it shall be yet again!
It's kitschy and also possibly something of great value (Fabergé does make pendants like these, I don't know if that's the precise make of her pendants - and good grief, she has an awful lot of them), which is sort of the best possible combination.

Best in Queens, Part 2
Queen Elizabeth II
And here's QEII, also doing her thing, also business as usual. She departed from her usual favorite brooches, though, so she gets her own best category for that. (It's the Sapphire Chrysanthemum Brooch, one of the early members of her collection, and you can read about that the Jewel Vault.)

Best of the Best
The Princess Royal
Is Anne truly the best dressed of the day, or is this just a knee jerk reaction caused by seeing her in something that appears to have been made in the current century? Discuss.

Best of the Rest
The Countess of Wessex, Autumn Phillips, Princess Beatrice
I'm also loving: Autumn's cape thing and floral skirt, Beatrice's whole silhouette, and Sophie's swing coat. All the things minus the dead animal on Sophie's head.

Best in Suits
The Gentlemen
The men were there. They wore suits. (Also: Heeeyyy Lady Sarah Chatto, lurking back there in gray and black.)

Who made your Easter best dressed list?

Photos: via Getty Images as indicated

Sunday Tidbits for April 5: Dizziness and More on Your Easter Sunday

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Happy Easter to all you Easter-celebratin' types! Just a few tidbits for your Sunday fun:

--Here's the official joint monogram for Prince Carl Philip and Sofia Hellqvist, designed in part by Carl Philip himself. It's very...swirly. Excessive scrutiny may cause dizziness. [Kungahuset]

--Speaking of dizziness: Here's Prince Harry, flying upside down in a Spitfire. [BBC]

--Dutch Princesses Margriet and Laurentien joined forces with Belgium's Princess Astrid and her daughter-in-law Elisabetta for the awarding of the Princess Margriet Award for Culture this week. [Paris Match, Telegraaf video]

--Says it all right in the title: The Violent, Royal Story of How Tartan Became Your Favorite Plaid. [Jezebel]

--Here's Luxarazzi on the details behind one of the most interesting (and big!) brooches worn in Luxembourg. [Luxarazzi]

--And finally, we had a corgi race, why not one with lambs too? The Prince of Wales and Duchess of Cornwall are celebrating their 10th wedding anniversary this week, and we will be (and have been already) celebrating over at the Jewel Vault. Stay tuned over there! [Express]

And stay tuned over here too, as we have Easter stuff and more coming your way this week! (The scoop on QEII's Easter gems can already be found at the Vault, as always...)

Photos: Kungahuset, Telegraaf video, via Getty Images
Royal Outfit of the Day: April 1

Royal Outfit of the Day: April 1

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Last week was the last expected public engagement for the Duchess of Cambridge before the baby arrives:
It's not like the Duchess of Coats was going to go out on anything but a coat note, so this repeated pink Mulberry number did the trick in standard fashion.

The end(-ish) of this particular maternity wear parade made me look back and search for my favorite thing she's worn this time around. As one does, you know. I think it might be this:
But I would also give honorable mentions to the St. Patrick's Day outfit, and the reappearance of one of my favorite Jenny Packham gowns. What's your nomination for best outfit from this second pregnancy?

Photos: via Getty Images as indicated

Sunday Tidbits for March 29: All Things Ceremonial, Historical, Etc.

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I've got your pomp and circumstance right here, kids. Several historical things went down this week and we have linkage for all that, plus a few other tidbits and a fun announcement...

--A coronation: The Sultan of Johor was officially crowned this week. I haven't written much here about the monarchy in Malaysia, but it is a fascinating system; nine states each have their own monarchy, and an overall king (the Yang di-Pertuan Agong) is chosen from among them every five years. (We did cover the state tiara worn by the queen here in the past, the Gandik Diraja.) Sultan Ibrahim came to the throne of Johor in 2010, but his official coronation wasn't until this week. And it actually was a coronation in the proper sense of the word, complete with crowns and robes. The Sultan of Brunei and his wife were in attendance, as well as some of the other Malaysian monarchs. Below is a video, and here is a blog covering everything in depth. [Malaysian Royalty]


--A reburial: King Richard III was returned to rest in proper somber fashion in Leicester this week, after his skeleton was located in a car park and finally identified, and 530 years after his death. The Countess of Wessex represented the Queen (the Countess of Wessex blog has more on that), the Duke and Duchess of Gloucester were also present (the British Monarchy's Facebook page has a shot of them), here is a look at his tomb, and below is a video of Benedict Cumberbatch reading a poem during the service. [Countess blog, Facebook, ITV, YouTube]


--A change for the Windsors: New rules governing succession to the crown are now in force. Male bias in the line of succession has ended, marriage to Catholics has been approved, and the number of people that need to ask for permission to marry has been reduced. Here's a BBC article, and here's a breakdown from Royal Central on what the changes mean. Oh, and on the day the change went into effect, the Queen wore one of Queen Victoria's brooches. Coincidence? I prefer to think not. [BBC, Royal Central, Jewel Vault]

--A dame: Did Dame Joan Collins wear the perfect thing to pick up her DBE, or did she wear the perfect thing?! (Answer: Yes.) This is also historical, people. [ITV]

--An exhibit: I mentioned a few Sundays ago that ten of Crown Princess Mary's dresses are going on exhibit in Denmark. Well, the exhibit is open, and some of my all-time favorite Mary gowns are on show (see here, or here). Between this and the Daisy exhibit, I've never been more furious that I don't live in Denmark. [Facebook, Royalista]

--A cutie: The Prince of Wales knows that everybody examines what else is in the room when we get a peek inside one of the palaces, so he got everybody to pay attention to his video message for the WWF (the World Wildlife Fund, not the other WWF) (although I would also like to see his message for the World Wrestling Federation) by giving us a glimpse of him holding his grandson Prince George. And it worked! While in the United States last week, he made reference to his environmental efforts and not failing his grandchildren, so it all ties together beyond the cuteness factor. [WWF]

--And finally, an announcement: I have decided to start covering Camilla's jewels at the Jewel Vault blog! Camilla's gems are fab-u-lous and I can't wait to share them with y'all. There's already a post up on her rings, and one on the first of her famous pearl choker collection. [Jewel Vault]

We have much to catch up with next week, including Danes on tour and a ball in Monaco and Kate's last hurrah, so stay tuned...

Photos: via Getty Images, and WWF video

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