Royal Christening of the Day: June 9

Royal Christening of the Day: June 9

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Official photograph, Anna-Lena Ahlström/Kungahuset.se

Princess Leonore of Sweden (daughter of Princess Madeleine and Christopher O’Neill) was christened on her parents’ first wedding anniversary yesterday, and you know what that means: RETURN OF THE BABY SASH.

Yes, Leonore’s grandfather, King Carl Gustaf, gave her the Order of the Seraphim (Sweden’s highest order) and just as he did with Princess Estelle, he made it complete with a miniature sash and badge to add to the antique family christening gown. The most successful royal bid for extra cute points of our time, this is. Keep it up, Sweden.

Official photograph, Anna-Lena Ahlström/Kungahuset.se

Leonore’s entourage went with a coordinated pastel scheme. Both mother Madeleine and grandmother Silvia were in lace dresses from Valentino. A classic blue for Silvia with a Philip Treacy hat and a pink baby doll-type number for Madeleine with a piece of fishnet draped over her face for good measure. (Which I dislike primarily on the grounds that it would annoy me constantly if I wore it, so I’m full of logic as usual today.)

King Carl Gustaf and Prince Carl Philip were in uniform, and Chris and Daniel, like most of the male guests, wore morning suits. Bottom left above: with all the godparents.

Madeleine was radiant, veil and all, and Silvia was elegant, but aunt Victoria was my favorite for the day. She and her partner in crime Princess Estelle showed us that thing that Sweden does particularly well: providing throwbacks to their history without knocking you over the head with the sentimentality. In this case, Estelle was wearing a dress her mother wore back in 1980 and Victoria’s Philip Treacy headpiece was clearly designed to honor the one worn by Queen Silvia for the baptism of Prince Carl Philip in 1979. (Comparisons below.)

Victoria's Dolce & Gabbana dress (with detail) and Krueger Jewellery flower earrings. All royal ladies wore the King's portrait as well..

Truth be told, I like Victoria’s gesture more than the actual result, but her Dolce & Gabbana dress was enough to sell me on the win. Actually, Victoria didn’t have to sell me on it – the work was already done for her the day before, when Princess Marie-Chantal of Greece wore the very same dress to the Epsom Derby.

#450222618 / gettyimages.com

Memo to Victoria: try this one with a big hat next time. It's a good look.

For more on the christening: a link to the broadcast if you'd like to watch and more details from the weekend post, a big gallery and some video clips from Aftonbladet.


P.S.: It's a two post day! Keep scrolling.


Photos: As indicated and SVT/IBL/Lyst/Krueger Jewellery

Princess Leonore's Christening: Open Post and Information

Princess Leonore's Christening: Open Post and Information

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Hello, and a happy surprise weekend post to you.

Sweden's Princess Leonore, daughter of Princess Madeleine and Christopher O'Neill and second grandchild of King Carl Gustaf and Queen Silvia, will be christened on Sunday, June 8.

Several of you have requested an open post for comments if you want to watch live, so here you go. I will also include some information about the event here and we'll have a look at the fashion on Monday morning in our regular post.

Time: 12:00 PM (noon), local Swedish time. That's 6 AM EST. The SVT broadcast is supposed to begin at 11:15 AM local.

Live stream link from SVT:

CLICK HERE

The broadcast should remain available online after the event, at least for a limited time.

The christening will take place at the chapel at Drottningholm Palace. No foreign royal guests are expected. Leonore will have six godparents: Crown Princess Victoria (sister of Madeleine), Miss Louise Gottlieb (friend of Madeleine), Mr. Patrick Sommerlath (cousin of Madeleine, on her mother's side), Mrs. Tatjana d’Abo (half-sister of Chris), Count Ernst Abensperg und Traun (brother-in-law of Chris), and Miss Alice Bamford (friend of Chris).

Princess Leonore will wear the Bernadotte christening gown, first used in 1906 and most recently used for Princess Estelle's christening. Madeleine of course wore this gown when she was christened.

National Day was on Friday and Leonore got in the spirit, helping her mother and father open the palace dressed in a wee national costume. Dangerous levels of cuteness going on in Sweden right now, is what I'm telling you.

National dress for everybody! (Except the men. They never play along on National Day.) You can see video of the palace opening here, a gallery with Leonore here, and the whole National Day concert (including a carriage ride featuring Estelle) here.

And there you go! Enjoy the christening, and feel free to post about the christening and National Day here if you like.

Photos: Expressen video and SVT video and Kate Gabor/Kungahuset