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

Sunday Tidbits for May 10: Commemorations, an Enthronement, and Bonus Cuteness

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Lots going on out there! Tomorrow, we'll be attending to princely christening business; meanwhile, ceremonies marking the 70th anniversary of VE (Victory in Europe) Day are ongoing, and several royals in several countries have been participating in several ways. Just a few of those appearances kick off today's tidbits edition:

--Today's VE Day anniversary service in London is covered at the Jewel Vault, and so is Queen Elizabeth II kicking things off on Friday, together with a unique recording of her memories of that historic day. [Jewel Vault]

--The Countess of Wessex, looking stunning in a green dress from Suzannah, visited the Channel Islands to mark the 70th anniversary of their liberation. Here's a great entry at the Countess of Wessex blog, where eagle-eyed Anna gave me the heads up that Sophie was wearing earrings on loan from her mother-in-law. Her latest loan from the master jewel vault is a pair of ruby and diamond earrings I have previously covered at ye olde Vault blog. That red and green combo isn't any accident, by the way: green is for Guernsey, red for Jersey. [HRH Countess of Wessex Blog]

-- The Hereditary Grand Duke and Hereditary Grand Duchess of Luxembourg were in Paris for the VE Day anniversary events, and I like this color on Stéphanie. [Luxarazzi]

--In other news, the enthronement of the Sultan of Perak, hereditary ruler of one of the states of Malaysia, happened this week. The Sultan came to the throne last year. Below is a video of one of the ceremonies this week, featuring quite a nice tiara on the Sultan's wife, Tuanku Zara Salim. (You may recall that the Sultan of Johor, another Malaysian state, had a coronation earlier this year.) [YouTube]


--Gotta love it when royal hats join forces: Queen Sonja and Princess Beatrix jointly opened the exhibit Van Gogh+Munch at the Munch Museum in Oslo this week. [Dagbladet]
 See also this NRK video.

--And finally, spring greetings for you from Princess Estelle and Haga Palace! [Kungahuset]
Kate Gabor/Kungahuset.se

Stay tuned this week for Monaco and Harry and more...

Royal Outfit Grab Bag of the Day: May 7 (Plus a Programming Note!)

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I've got a big fat grab bag of outfits from our regulars for you today, and then we're off until Sunday. To the clothes!

Princess Elisabeth of Belgium christened a ship yesterday with her parents, King Philippe and Queen Mathilde, in attendance. 
Is it, like, international week of ship christening for future sovereigns, or what? First Ingrid Alexandra, now Elisabeth. Anyway, I'm liking her little starter "hat" and her mother can't go wrong with that repeated Dior.

Crown Princess Mette-Marit opened the Nordic Pavilion at the Venice Biennale yesterday in a peony floral dress from the Pia Tjelta by Ti Mo collection.
I think this could just as easily have been worn by Princess Elisabeth above, and I'm not sure that's a good thing.

Queen Letizia held audiences at Zarzuela Palace last week wearing a Felipe Varela dress repeated from March's trip to France.
Is this one of those Magic Eye things? Is a dolphin going to leap out from the middle if I stare long enough?

Daniel wore a suit that wasn't black or blue! Write it on the calendar! It's so sad that that's worthy of note! But you take what you can get when it comes to the royal men! (Also, apropos of nothing: Victoria, Daniel, Haakon, and Mette-Marit went on a ski trip in Norway together recently. Which is super cute.)

King Willem-Alexander and Queen Máxima attended a ceremony for Remembrance Day in Amsterdam this week.
I do not usually comment on things like this, but I can't help but note how lovely Máx looked here. I like it when events like this warrant a little extra effort.

They also attended the Liberation Day Concert.
And finally, if I focus hard enough on the emeralds - earrings and a butterfly brooch from the family collection - I can pretend that dress that stole feathers from a Big Bird gone goth didn't make a reappearance.

Photos: via Getty Images and Twitter as indicated; Kongehuset Facebook and By Ti Mo

Royal Trips of the Day: May 4

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Well, if anyone was going to dress up like any part of the fruit basket...
The Dutch King and Queen visited Bonaire for Dia de Rincon.
Shoulda just changed that button jewelry into some little plastic fruits and went the whole Carmen Miranda while she was at it. Missed opportunity.
I'll say this for Queen Máxima: She knows exactly when to let her full CAPS LOCK potential fly. Because her royal banana impression was actually the perfect thing to fit right in with this colorful occasion, while still making sure she stood out as a queen should.

This was a speedy trip for the royal couple to the Dutch Caribbean, who headed for Aruba after their day in Bonaire.
Firstly, where is my tropical drink, hmm? And secondly, this is a hybrid of Mathilde's white Zara dress and Victoria's white L.K.Bennett, and I'm in love. Add this one to the list of frontrunners for my 2015 favorites, because it is perfection.

Wax n' Máx weren't the only ones who decided the time was right to check on the sunnier parts of the kingdom: Princess Beatrix visited Curaçao for an exhibit opening. I like that she adds a little tail to the back of her outfit, like she's throwing a little bone of sartorial interest to those stuck standing behind her.
She also kind of sparkles in the sunshine on video, which is officially the greatest achievement a royal outfit can hope for.

Photos: via Getty Images and Twitter as indicated, NOS video screencaps

Royal Fashion Awards: King's Day, 2015

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Yesterday was Koningsdag, or King's Day, in the Netherlands - a national holiday and King Willem-Alexander's birthday. The party was already rolling from events in the previous days: a palace reception (video link), and the King Games for schoolchildren.

The King is putting his own spin on the celebration, just as his mother and grandmother did before him. So they visited one town (Dordrecht) instead of two as they did in the Beatrix days and the events were a little different. The King and Queen brought their three daughters along (Catharina-Amalia, Alexia, and Ariane), and they were joined by Prince Constantijn (Willem-Alexander's brother) and his wife Princess Laurentien, as well as three of their cousins and their respective wives (Prince Maurits and Princess Marilène, Prince Bernhard and Princess Annette, and Prince Pieter-Christiaan and Princess Anita).

We had a big royal party, and thus we have a big round of royal fashion awards to give out. Settle in...

Most in Need of a Cape
King Willem-Alexander
Everybody gets a cape except the birthday boy (Princess Alexia had a little wrap for herself later on). Oh well. He seems content enough to just manage the Caped Crusaders for now.


Most Efficient Accessory
Queen Máxima
Máxima looks pretty, no? She's my best dressed for the day, slightly wrinkly dress and all. And as a special bonus, her hat served dual purposes: 1) hatpin weapon storage, as always, and 2) probably a fair bit of confetti storage too. You know, for the after party. She's always thinking, that Máx.


Most in the Spirit
Princess Laurentien
Somebody has to wear orange, right? I'm pretty sure it's in the rules. The rest of this look is entirely random, but that's par for the Laurentien course.


Most in the Season
Princesses Marilène and Anita
A pretty floral on a sunny April day is always right in my books, and I'm loving both of these (that's Marilène above and Anita below). Carry on, ladies.


Most Princess Proper
Princess Annette
Slap a hat on this and she could compete with Máx for the queenliest of them all. But the hat game is not one in which you want to tangle with the Caps Lock Queen, so it's probably smart of everyone else to leave her to it.


Oh yes, and while we're going Dutch...and speaking of caps lock hats...

Most Eccentric Accessories, Other Birthday Division
Queen Máxima
You ever notice how, the crazier the hat gets, the bigger the Queen's expressions get? She knows what she's done. On Saturday, the royal couple continued the celebrations of the kingdom's 200th birthday (not to be confused with the King's birthday, okay, he's only 48) and Máxima repeated a turban she's worn a few times. But it doesn't get any less eye-popping, no matter how many times she sports it.
Didn't your mother ever warn you not to take cake from strangers with teddy bear pelts on their heads??


Photos: RVD/Het Koninklijk Huis, and Getty Images as indicated

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 Color Scheme of the Day: April 22

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The King and Queen of the Belgians visited Strasbourg, France yesterday, and Mathilde wore something a little bit familiar...
...but not really, because it's new. Apparently the pleated red dress, jacket, and hat worn when the couple made their introductory visit to Germany in 2014 weren't enough to fill the "folded effects/red division" portion of the royal wardrobe, because now we have a slightly darker and slightly simpler red dress with similar details hat. The dress detailing is confined to just one side of the skirrt, which is both an interesting detail and possibly not an interesting enough detail for a fairly basic outfit.
Dior shoes (worn by Mathilde in a different color)
The primary point of interest can't be seen on the above photo, I'm afraid (click here for a gallery, though, or here for a video). Floral shoes! They are (per ModeKoninginMathilde) from Dior, but instead of the green version above, they are pink/red. And they are possibly the best pair of shoes Mathilde's ever worn. WANT. Oh, and P.S.: Look, Ma! Heels and no crutches! Queen Robocop has left the building.

Since we're on Red Queens from Benelux Countries - Mathilde has her specific wardrobe sections, we have our specific coverage sections - Queen Máxima headed from Denmark to Washington, D.C. last week as part of her work in financial inclusion. She repeated a red Natan frock that I thought was a hit originally, and I think is a hit on the second go too.
Who knew talking about finance was such a kick, huh?

Photos: via Getty Images as indicated, RTL video, Dior

Royal Fashion Awards: Queen Margrethe’s Christiansborg Birthday Dinner

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Queen Margrethe and the Danish royal family were joined for an official dinner for her 75th birthday by fellow European sovereigns, and: YAY. That's all I have to say. Well, I have quite a lot more to say, as you will see from this lengthy and picture-laden entry, but that's the gist of it.

A couple notes: If we’ve covered these jewels in the past (and we usually have!), there will be a link. Most of these people are wearing the light blue Order of the Elephant from Denmark, which is usually given to sovereigns and their spouses, plus those in the Danish family. If foreign royals are wearing a different sash, it’s because they haven’t had a chance to receive the Order of the Elephant yet (they’re usually given at state visits, and occasionally at other times; here's my explainer post on that).

Now, to the awards:

Best in Coincidences
Queen Margrethe
Tuesday’s post featured a flashback to an epic Margrethe outfit using the Floral Aigrette Tiara and pieces of the ruby, diamond, and pearl set from the crown jewels – and that’s precisely what she gave us again! And in a flowing red dress, because why not? She is the birthday girl, after all. (And she flew solo, because Henrik is out with the flu.)


Best in Repeats
Crown Princess Mary
You saw me die over this Birgit Hallstein gown when Mary wore it previously. And then you saw me die over it in another format when Prime Minister Helle Thorning-Schmidt wore something similar to the New Year’s Court in 2014. And here we go again! Mary paired it this time with the tiara, small earrings, bracelet, and hair clips from the Danish Ruby Parure. This is both stunning and understated – in other words, the perfect choice. And in an inadvertent twin episode, PM Helle wore her version again, too!
Helle Thorning-Schmidt on the right

Best in Old Favorites, Part 1
Princess Marie
Marie loves a good peplum gown and she loves her Diamond Floral Tiara (which is her only solid option for an event like this, having just one other tiara at her disposal which is much more informal), so this navy lace peplum and tiara combo was entirely expected. But it’s also entirely lovely! She's also wearing a brooch from Queen Alexandrine as a pendant, so she's fully loaded with her family heirlooms.

Best in Old Favorites, Part 2
Queen Anne-Marie
I almost did another flashback to the birthday celebrations in 2010 today, which would have featured this exact same gown and Greek Emerald Parure pairing on Anne-Marie. She wears the heck out of her gowns and she wears the heck out of those emeralds, and I can’t say I blame her on either count.

Best in Beach Cover-Up Gravitas
Princess Benedikte
On anyone else, this floaty top layer would be a swimsuit cover-up, tossed on as they flew in from a day at the beach. But Princess B. can carry anything off, and now it's magically part of a gala gown (mind you, the Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg Fringe Tiara and a solid smattering of diamonds doesn't hurt, either!).

Best in Extended Tiaras
Countess Sussie and Princess Elisabeth
Married to Count Ingolf of Rosenborg, cousin to the Queen, Countess Sussie (on the left) usually brings us a sighting of Queen Alexandrine’s Fringe Tiara, and so it is here. Also a cousin of Queen Margrethe, Princess Elisabeth (on the right) usually brings us a sighting of Princess Thyra’s Sapphire Tiara, and so it was yet again. File both these tiaras under "not a fave, but lovely to see."

Best in Solo Gentlemen
King Harald and Grand Duke Henri
I make no excuses for paying more attention to the ladies around here, but a little love for the gents in attendance without their better halves: Harald and Henri! Dashing in their uniforms all on their own (and I love Harald completing the Scandinavian Sovereign Trio there, which should be the name of their a cappella group). An engagement in New York is occupying Queen Sonja, and I'm not sure what happened to Grand Duchess Maria Teresa.

Best in Splendor Dedication
Queen Silvia
Silvia injured her shoulder a while back, and it appeared she had some sort of support fashioned out of her dress material for her bad arm, not for one second risking her sartorial splendor for some random injury. THIS IS TRUE DEDICATION, PEOPLE. All the applause to you, Queen Sil. (And to your fabulous Leuchtenberg Sapphires too!)

Best in Big Guns
Queen Mathilde
Together with her almost unbearably shiny repeated Armani Privé gown, Mathilde gave us a tiara debut: the full version of the Nine Provinces Tiara! She's worn the bandeau, but this was the first time she's added the top arches in. I think this might be the first time I've actually liked this pointy wall of diamonds, so credit to Mathilde for making that happen.

Most Meh in Understated
Queen Máxima
Well, she can’t bear full responsibility for bringing the jumpy claps every single time, I suppose. And leave it to Máxima to wear a tiki hut skirt and still make my understated list, eh? She went standard with the Diamond Bandeau Tiara, her favorite, but she did pin the brooch from the Stuart Tiara parure to her waist. She's just teasing us, at this point, keeping us waiting for an appearance of the elusive beast itself.

Best in NEW TIARAS!
Queen Letizia
Never mind that Máx went standard, Letizia picked up the slack with an elusive tiara of her own! Made by Ansorena and reportedly a gift from Felipe, we've been waiting years to see this one in action. The center brooch has been seen, but not the tiara. It was nearing apocryphal status, for heaven’s sake, but a foreign tiara engagement proved the perfect place to finally bring it out of hiding.
We will have to give this one the full Tiara Thursday treatment later on (a couple Spanish articles about the tiara: one, two).
I'm reserving judgement until then. But for now, for simply showing us something I had completely given up on, she wins all the jumpy claps!

Stay tuned...the festivities continue with a full day of events tomorrow and another dinner tomorrow. For now:

Who was your best dressed at this dinner?

Photos: Julian Parker/UK Press via Getty Images, DR1 video, Ansorena

Royal Outfit Grab Bag of the Day: April 15

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Look!
Queen Letizia attended the 2nd Congress of Rare Childhood Diseases yesterday.
See, I haven't forgotten that people exist outside of Denmark.
She also visited the Artillery Military Academy this week.
I'm just holding on because the promise of a big royal gathering is a lot more interesting than some of the other stuff that's been going on, see. This Hugo Boss red coat is the highlight of Letizia's recent outings, all of which have been perfectly fine but not much else.

Sofia Hellqvist, Queen Silvia, King Carl Gustaf, and Crown Princess Victoria attended the Global Child Forum Partners' Day.
Over in Sweden, I spy one of my favorite current Victoria outfits, a rainbow-licious Preen dress, but it's all covered up. So the most notable thing here is simply that this is Sofia's first royal event without Prince Carl Philip at her side.

King Willem-Alexander and Queen Máxima attended the Koningsdag Concert yesterday.
And here's Máxima in a lovely blue houndstooth dress from Michael Kors, but yet again, the clothes aren't the highlight. Watch the video. Could Willem-Alexander be any cuter here? He could not, I tell you.

We'll be back later with an open post for those that want to chat about the Danish festivities, so stay tuned!

Photos: via Getty Images as indicated, Kungahuset.se
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

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

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