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

Sunday Tidbits for January 25: From Farewells to Fashion Shows

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Seems we have an awful lot of royal deaths lately. That can stop anytime soon. But for the moment, that's where we must begin:

--Johan Martin Ferner, husband of Princess Astrid of Norway, passed away on Saturday. He was 87 years old. Ferner, a businessman, married Princess Astrid in 1961, and the couple had five children together. [Royal Court of Norway]
In 2012, celebrating Princess Astrid's 80th birthday: Princess Astrid and Mr. Ferner, center, the late Princess Ragnhild and husband Erling Lorentzen, left, and King Harald and Queen Sonja, right.
Photo: Sven Gj. Gjeruldsen / Det kongelige hoff

--The King of Saudi Arabia, Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, also passed away late last week. He was 90 years old and came to the throne in 2005, though he had been the country's de facto ruler since 1995. The Prince of Wales, the Crown Prince of Norway, and the Kings of Spain, the Netherlands, Sweden, and Jordan are among the dignitaries who traveled to Saudi Arabia to pay their respects and greet the new sovereign, King Salman. Salman was half-brother to the late king and served as crown prince; the throne currently passes between the sons of the first King of Saudi Arabia and a council exists within the large family to vote on the succession. [NY Times, Washington Post]

--With Abdullah's passing, Queen Elizabeth II is now the world's oldest living monarch. [ITV]

--On a lighter note, an excellent anecdote told by a former British ambassador to Saudi Arabia has been flying around: King Abdullah, while still crown prince, visited the Queen at Balmoral and was treated to a tour of the estate. Much to his surprise (and slight terror), the Queen took the wheel of the Land Rover herself. And that's how you welcome the ruler of a country where women aren't allowed to drive, kids. [Twitter]

--Continuing to lighten things up a bit here: Princess Athena of Denmark, daughter of Prince Joachim and Princess Marie, turned three years old this week. Berlingske has some of her new photos plus a little gallery of her little life so far. [Berlingske]

--At the Danish monarchy's site, you'll find the latest engagement of Crown Princess Mary, in black and gray basics. [Kongehuset]

--Luxarazzi is shining a spotlight on the diamond and ruby necklace belonging to the lovely Princess Sibilla of Luxembourg. [Luxarazzi]

--Are you in need of a wearable portrait of the Prince of Wales? Sure you are! Vivienne Westwood's got you covered. Her recent menswear collection featured nods to the Prince's style and pictures of both Charles and the Queen. [Hello]

Stay tuned for Monday, we have matters of a Belgian sort to discuss. Prep your waffle maker for the occasion.

Sunday Tidbits for January 12: The Monday Edition

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A day late and a dollar short, as they say, but here we are with your weekly tidbits/your weekly open thread:

--King Abdullah and Queen Rania of Jordan were among the world leaders joining the Paris unity rally this weekend following the tragic attacks at Charlie Hebdo last week. Many other sovereigns sent condolences to the French president; Grand Duchess Maria Teresa joined Luxembourg's anti-terror rally. [CNN, Luxarazzi]

--Crown Prince Haakon and Crown Princess Mette-Marit are back in action, with events including their annual Day of the Wise Men conference for young leaders at their home this week. [Kongehuset Facebook]

--Go behind the scenes with the annual documentary Året med kungafamiljen (The Year with the Royal Family) (the Swedish royal family, specifically). [SVT]

--Prince Vincent and Princess Josephine of Denmark turned four this week, and new photographs were released to mark the occasion. The pictures were taken during the family's visit to Greenland last year, as was their Christmas card photo. [Kongehuset.dk, Twitter]

--PBS aired ITV's The Queen's Garden, a documentary about (you'll never guess) the Buckingham Palace gardens, last night. The episode is streaming on the PBS website if you missed it. You can also still stream it on ITV's player. (Links may not be viewable everywhere.) [PBS, ITV]

--The Japanese imperial family got all done up court dress-style to listen to the New Year's lectures, an annual event which leaves me in awe of the family's ability to stay awake and focused at all times. [Imperial Family of Japan Blog]

--And finally, Zara Phillips has been in Australia, wearing a boatload of jewelry and a hat like a carnival game come to life, just aim your bean bag through the top and you could win 50 points and a pink stuffed panda bear. I think headgear that encourages people to toss things at you should probably be discouraged, right? [Hello]

Photos: Thierry Chesnot via Getty Images, SVT video, @HelloCanada, FNNNewsCH video, Matt Roberts via Getty Images

Sunday Tidbits for January 4: The Holiday Greetings Roll On

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Queen Elizabeth II's annual Christmas broadcast is pretty well known around the world, but many of her sovereign colleagues have a similar speech to offer this time of the year. I've thrown several of them together in today's tidbits, because they're quite interesting in comparison. Just a snippet tells you something about that monarch, I think, from their levels of expression down to their choices of teleprompters and editing vs. none of that fancy business. Also included below are other greetings for the new year and random news bits, so read on...

--King Philippe does a version of his message for the season in each of Belgium's three official languages, and this year he started off with a tribute to the late Queen Fabiola. Here's an article with some highlights in English and a video. [Deredactie]
Deredactie video
The Belgian royal family also published some new family photos for the holiday:

--Queen Elizabeth II's Christmas message was covered at the Jewel Vault along with the jewels she wore to deliver it. Also covered over there in the past week was my annual round up of her year in jewels, where we recall what was new (a ton!) and count up what was worn most often (did you know that QEII wore close to 70 brooches this year? True story). [Jewel Vault]
British monarchy video

--Queen Margrethe II looked smashing in purple for her annual New Year's speech, and needless to say it delights me that both queens regnant opted for my favorite color. You can watch the speech here, or read the text in English here. And here's a gallery of her changing looks during this speech over the years, always a fun walk through time. [YouTube, Kongehuset, BT]
Kongehuset video

--Grand Duke Henri was one of many to make note of this year of commemoration in his Christmas speech. Here's video and English text. [Wort]
Wort video

--Prince Albert II highlighted the birth of the new twins in his New Year message, video below and English translation here. [YouTube, Royal Correspondent]


--King Willem-Alexander joined Queen Máxima's side of the family in Argentina for Christmas, while his speech played at home. Here's video, the full text, or an article in English. The family also posed for a pre-holiday photocall while in Argentina. [Het Koninklijk Huis and YouTube, Dutchnews.nl, NOS]
RVD/Frank van Beek

--King Harald V gets points from me for a New Year's Eve speech delivered in a tux, though reading note cards while standing does give me some unpleasant flashbacks to high school speech class. You can view the speech here, or read excerpts in English here. [Kongehuset YouTube, The Norway Post]
Kongehuset video

--King Carl XVI Gustaf is bit of a hand talker, compared to his colleagues, isn't he? Formulate your own deep thoughts on the matter by viewing his Christmas message or reading it (in Swedish) here. [Kungahuset]
SVT video
The family also released a new photo for the new year, taken last July. And the court recently confirmed that Princess Madeleine and her family have moved from New York City back to Sweden for the time being. [The Local]
Anna-Lena Ahlström / Kungahuset.se

--King Felipe VI's first Christmas message as king was a bit more political than most, dealing with some of the big issues on his plate right now (corruption, Catalonian separation). Made for an interesting contrast, the informal family photos displayed beside him and a serious message, I thought. You can see it here or read an article in English here. [CasarealTV YouTube, BBC]
CasarealTV video

--Emperor Akihito continues greeting the new year in Japan, joining the family to greet thousands of well-wishers at the Imperial Palace. Click here for pictures. The imperial couple also releases poems for the occasion. [Japan Today, Imperial Family of Japan blog]


--And finally, the Jordanian royal family sends us greetings for 2015 via social media, naturally. [Queen Rania Instagram]


Stay tuned for Monday, we have British business to attend to...

Sunday Tidbits for December 21: Christmas Time Is Here...

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...and the tidbits this week are jam-packed with holiday treats guaranteed to give you a warm fuzzy feeling. Cute kids! Uniforms! Miniature horses! Scandinavian interiors! We've got something for everyone:

--The Swedish royal court announced that Princess Madeleine and Chris O'Neill are expecting their second baby, due in Summer 2015. Congrats! [Kungahuset]

--It's not Christmas until the Norwegian royal family does their annual photoshoot around the Christmas tree. You know how I love it when they break out the traditional dress. [TV2, Hello]

--And it's also not Christmas until we get an adorable little video greeting from Haga Palace and Crown Princess Victoria, Prince Daniel, and Princess Estelle:
Cuteness and another look at Haga's interiors, which I find to be the perfect mix of palace chic and modern comfort.[Kungahuset YouTube]

--They also released a few new Estelle pictures. She's wearing a Ralph Lauren dress and Livly shoes, I know you needed to know that. [Svenskdam]
Kate Gabor/kungahuset.se

--And in even more Estelle news, she joined her mom to accept the Christmas trees for their home this week. [Kungahuset]
kungahuset.se

--Hey, Sweden's not the only country with cute royal kids! Belgium's in the game too. King Philippe and Queen Mathilde brought the whole family along for the annual palace Christmas concert. [Belgian Monarchy, Le Soir]

--I know how much some of you love King Felipe with his beard, and apparently so does the Spanish court - they've provided an early holiday present in the form of new official pics in uniform. (The portraits with Letizia and in a suit are older.) [Patrimonio Nacional]

--Prince Harry doing good works while in the presence of adorable kids in Lesotho, what more could you ask for? [Go Fug Yourself]

--The Swedish royal family (they've had a busy week, man) were out in force for the Swedish Academy's formal gathering, another one of those white tie/no tiara events. I am intrigued by Victoria's jacket/skirt combo. [Expressen]

--The Prince of Wales and Princess Alexandra teamed up for a reception for the Cystic Fibrosis Trust. Have to love an Alexandra sighting. [Clarence House Twitter]

--Here's a short clip of an interview with Queen Margrethe, card-carrying member of the Mutual Admiration Society for Queens Regnant (which I just made up but should be an actual thing), talking about the summer she met Princess Beatrix and her love for her old friend. (Starts at 3:48.) [NPO]

--And finally, the Duchess of Cornwall hung out with a miniature horse and Mother Goose this week, as you do. [Daily Mail]

Stay tuned next week for more year end fabulousness!
 

Year in Review: 2014's Tiara Moments

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I'm in it for the tiaras, I think my stance on that is pretty clear. So it wouldn't be a Year in Review without a look at the tiara appearances we covered here and at the Jewel Vault in 2014 (and minus the ones that I forgot, because you know that's inevitable). You can click the links below or scroll through the posts on this blog by clicking here.

It won't surprise you to learn that I am officially crowning Máxima the Tiara Queen of 2014, with not only a large number of tiara events but also a large variety of tiaras worn for those events. Elsewhere, we saw a couple new pieces debuted, and a couple debuts of old pieces on new people. But perhaps the most important thing we saw in 2014 was the return of full state banquets (and thus tiaras) in Spain and Belgium, both countries having taken a few years off in the midst of economy and government problems. Grand returns ended up being the theme of my favorite tiara moments for the year.

January
The year started as it always does with glittering New Year's Court events in Denmark and Japan, giving us our yearly appearance of Mary's rubies, always a highlight in my book.

February
Tatiana Santo Domingo wore a fringe tiara for her religious wedding, although we didn't get a great look.

March
The Swedish royal court put out a new official photo of Crown Princess Victoria and the King, in which she sported her recent favorite, the Cut Steel Tiara. Princess Marie wore her new tiara for the first time for an official dinner, a piece we've been waiting to see in use since 2011. Tiaras came out again in Denmark for a state visit from Turkey, and tiara intrigue came to Sweden when Princess Christina wore the Swedish Aquamarine Kokoshnik Tiara to an official dinner, bringing up questions about its ownership. Elsewhere, a state visit from China to the Netherlands brought out the pearls.

April
Tiaras returned to Belgium and Queen Mathilde again wore the bandeau of the Nine Provinces Tiara when the Chinese moved their state visit game over a country. King Carl Gustaf and Queen Silvia visited King Willem-Alexander and Queen Máxima, and Máxima pulled together a pretty fab look with her favorite Dutch Diamond Bandeau.
Another of my favorite tiara moments came in April too, when the U.K. hosted an historic state visit from Ireland and the Queen used the occasion to bring the Cambridge emeralds back after a long absence.
And we must not forget, April also brought us what seemed like a genuine Tiara Miracle: Charlene finally wore her Ocean Tiara. For a magazine shoot, but we'll take what we can get.

May
May brought several tiara appearances: a look at the Diplomatic Corps reception in the Netherlands, new formal pictures marking Frederik and Mary's 10th wedding anniversary (again with the rubies), a state visit from Israel to Norway, and a state visit from Luxembourg to Poland.
 
June
Prince Albert visited the Netherlands, and there were tiaras even though Charlene stayed home. Plenty of state visits happened in June, including a trip to France for the British and the last state visit of King Juan Carlos' reign. The return of tiara banquets in Spain and Queen Sofia's use of the major Fleur de Lys Tiara as her farewell put this one on my list of best tiara moments for the year.

July

September
A state visit from Estonia to Norway brought us back to our tiara ways after the slow summer season.

October
Princess Noriko of Takamado kicked off the month donning her tiara for the last time as she bid farewell to the Imperial Family before her wedding. The Norwegians had two tiara events in a week, first with a state visit from India and second with their annual gala for parliament. (And in case you're counting, that adds up to a whole year of appearances of the Diamond Daisy Tiara for Mette-Marit, with no variety in sight.) A state visit from Singapore to Britain got thrown in the mix, and the month ended with dueling state visits: Felipe and Letizia hosting the first incoming state visit of Felipe's reign, and Willem-Alexander and Máxima traveling for a state visit to Japan. Máxima's debut outing of the Württemberg Ornate Pearl Tiara coupled with the return of Crown Princess Masako clock in jointly on my list of best tiara moments this year.

November
Amethysts and an excellent Elie Saab gown featured when Luxembourg hosted a state visit from Germany, but a dinner at the Swedish Royal Palace failed to wow me. Princess Margriet brought a tiara to America for the Stuyvesant Ball, wearing the star version of the Pearl Button Tiara for the first time, and a royal wedding in Morocco gave us a little sparkle variety.

December
The Duchess of Cornwall was resplendent in her family tiara for the Buckingham Palace Diplomatic Reception but obviously the main tiara event in December was and will always be the Nobel Prize Ceremony and the King's Dinner! Featuring the return of the Baden Fringe Tiara, another on my list of favorite tiara moments for the year.

Phew! Not a bad year, eh? (Remind me of that when we hit a tiara dead spot in 2015.) Now, over to you:

What were your favorite tiara moments in 2014?


Photos: Julian Parker/UK Press, Frank Van Beek/AFP, Pool all via Getty Images / RTE video / Hola / NewsJapan video / SVT video

Year in Review: Kate and Mette-Marit's 2014 Bests

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Each year, I like to pick a single Best of the Year outfit for each of the royal ladies we check in with most frequently. I chose these two royal ladies to kick things off because of one big similarity: I had a really hard time picking a best for both of them.

The Duchess of Cambridge
The thing about Kate is that she's a very consistent dresser. This works in her favor most of the time - nothing came to mind when I started pondering what her worst of the year would be, for example - but it sure did make it hard for me to pick any one thing that stood out as the year's best. I was tempted to name the recently reused Packham, but honestly that would have been because it gave us her two biggest jewel moments for the year and not because of the dress. So I flipped back through the year and emerged with this one in mind:
It almost feels too ordinary to be the year's best, if you know what I mean - and you will, once you see how many gowns make my list as we roll on - but I love the clean silhouette and the poppy print. It's also among the fruits of the Cambridge's New Zealand/Australia tour, certainly one of 2014's most memorable royal trips. So there you go: L.K. Bennett and blue poppies it is!

Crown Princess Mette-Marit
Mette-Marit stumped me for a different reason. You see, she usually turns up the volume and does her best sartorial work at international royal events, so I automatically start there when it comes to looking for her best of the year. But this year...we didn't really have any such events! So we're left with her events at home, which was a lot of similar day outfits, most of the Pia Tjelta by Ti Mo collection, and a handful of repeated gowns, sometimes revamped but leaving me longing for the original. Le sigh.
So I settled on a Valentino coat worn during the celebrations for the anniversary of Norway's constitution, a piece I like so much I picked it when it came time for her closet raid. I'm having a bit of a love affair with white this year, and nobody does it better than M-M, so it feels right after all. 

Your turn: What were your 2014 Kate and Mette-Marit favorites?

Photos: L.K. Bennett and CPL Shannon McCarthy / © Commonwealth of Australia, Department of Defence,  NRK.no/Style.com/Stortinget

Royal Fashion Awards: The Nobel Prizes, 2014 (UPDATED)

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Phew. There’s a lot going on right now. We’ll check in with Monaco’s big news tomorrow, but for now, we have tiaras to deal with. The Nobel Prize ceremonies happened yesterday in Oslo and Stockholm and the Norwegian and Swedish royal families were out in force. Obviously these events are about the Nobel laureates and not the royals, but as usual, I'll stay in my wheelhouse. (With one exception: I will share this article about the gown worn by laureate May-Britt Moser and its special significance, which I think is pretty cool.) Now, to the awards – and this is a long one, so settle in…

Best in Standards: Non-Tiara Division
The Norwegian Royal Family
The Oslo ceremony is for the Nobel Peace Prize and understandably omits the fancy tiara-wearing dress code (it’s also held earlier in the day), and we usually get a pretty standard showing from King Harald, Queen Sonja, Crown Prince Haakon, and Crown Princess Mette-Marit. Mette-Marit wore the same headpiece (we won’t call it a hat) with a white outfit just a couple years ago, but it’s one of her standards that suits her particularly well. She also stuck to her standards by wearing one of her floral prairie dresses for the evening dinner (click here to see), but somehow I don't mind this one as much as I usually mind her covered wagon business. Anyway, a passing grade to all.
A couple screencaps including a look at Mette-Marit's hairdo, and Sonja's velvet jacket from Emilio Pucci. Mette-Marit's coat is from Valentino.

Over in Sweden, the rest of the prizes are given out in one of the most formal events of the year and the Swedish royal family was up to the task, turning out in force.
So many family members were present (the King, Queen, all three children with their respective significant others, plus Princess Christina and her husband) that only four members were on stage and everyone else had to join Christina in her usual spot in the front row.

Best in Standards: Tiara Division
Queen Silvia and Princess Christina
Queen Silvia has worn a variety of tiaras for the Nobel ceremony, but her two most frequent choices are the Leuchtenberg Sapphires and the Nine Prong Tiara. She picked the sapphires this year for the main event and I am ever so thankful for that. Princess Christina also went with her usual, the Six Button Tiara. And as I always say, if someone has to wear ye olde buttons, let it be Christina, since she makes the most of them.
A very shiny and embellished dress for Silvia, also a standard (for better or for worse).

Best in Nobel Spirit
Crown Princess Victoria
Queen Silvia has toned down her Nobel looks as time goes on, and it’s nice to know that someone is picking up the slack. Hello, Victoria! This is a proper ball gown if there ever was one. You know I love it and all its OTT splendor, including the fact that she had trouble moving around in it. (Dedication to the splendor cause, man!) It was designed by Pär Engsheden, her wedding dress designer.
She also delivered on the jewel front, finally bringing back the Baden Fringe Tiara and continuing her recent streak of debuting something new to her for each Nobel season. This year, it was the large diamond cross from the family collection, worn by Victoria for the first time. She also sported a large diamond bracelet, ruby brooch on her front, small brooch on her back, diamond earrings, and diamond lozenge brooch in her hair.

Most Curious in Nobel Spirit
Princess Madeleine
I want to like this but I’m finding it so curious. She did go big for the occasion, opting for an embellished dress from Fadi El Khoury (a designer I’ve longed to see the royals wear more often). But the print is almost an animal print, but not quite; the dress is almost a full skirt ball gown, but not quite.
She used most of Queen Josephine’s Amethyst Parure (earrings, brooch, bracelet), but stuck to the Modern Fringe Tiara. Almost, but not quite.

Best Tiara Potential
Sofia Hellqvist
Let’s get this out of the way: the dress (by Ida Sjostedt), it’s not great. In these photos, I think it looks quite fine actually. But on television, under the lights, it suffered from a serious case of S.O.S. Yes, Sequin Overload Syndrome. And I say this as someone who would like nothing more than to see her show up looking classy as can be and blow all her haters out of the water.* But luckily, something else did catch my eye: that hair!
She hasn’t been issued anything from the family vault yet (that brooch, whatever it’s made of, is certainly not part of the historic pink topaz set, as some originally guessed) but she’s all ready to go, hair brooch and all. I’m looking forward to next year already!

For more Nobel fun:

The tiara fest in Sweden isn’t over just yet – this evening is the King’s Dinner for the laureates at the palace. Stay tuned. The Norwegians still have the Nobel concert to go. Until then…

Who was your best dressed for Nobel 2014?


*Since posts including Sofia tend to end up with comments that dip into personal feelings about her background, let me just issue a friendly preemptive note for my lovely commenters: Let’s not go there.


UPDATE: Night #2 of Nobel festivities!
In Sweden, the traditional King’s Dinner for the Nobel laureates was held at the palace. You can click here for a gallery.
Queen Silvia came down with a case of ADLD (Another Dang Lace Dress, it’s been going around. Like the flu, but prettier) and matched it with the Connaught Tiara. Sofia Hellqvist toned down her sequin dress for a grade of Most Improved and she wore another brooch in her hair – but like last night, the palace stated that she wore private jewels. (You can see her hair embellishment here.)
Both Crown Princess Victoria and Princess Madeleine repeated last night’s tiaras, as did Princess Christina (I FROWN IN YOUR GENERAL DIRECTION, LADIES) (THOUGH I AM ALSO GLAD TO SEE THESE AGAIN INSTEAD OF THE FOUR BUTTON OR THE CUT STEEL BANDEAU, SO MAYBE I’M NOT THAT UPSET). Madeleine gave us déjà vu to a dress recently worn by her sister, and Victoria stuck a bow on it.
How you wear that dress without feeling like the angel in the Christmas play, I don’t know (maybe that is what you feel like and maybe that’s the point), but I applaud her bringing back the corsage necklace used by Princess Lilian, even if it’s not the best with this neckline.

And over in Norway, Crown Prince Haakon, Crown Princess Mette-Marit, and their children attended the Nobel Peace Prize Concert. And Mette-Marit wore a dress adorned with frolicking magical creatures, because of course she did.
UNICORNS AND CHERUBS, people. And let me tell you something: I AM ALL FOR IT. (This busy royal week has driven me to caps lock mania. It’s not my fault.) This dress comes from British brand Mother of Pearl (via Minmote). Victoria went for a fairytale vibe with last night’s mega ball gown and now Mette-Marit’s going for a more literal interpretation. And I’m not kidding - I really am totally charmed by a dress covered in unicorns. The world needs more unicorn prints.


Photos: Getty Images as indicated, SVT video, Lyst, Kungahuset.se, Moda Operandi

Royal Outfit Grab Bag of the Day: December 9

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'Tis time once again to pull a random assortment of recent outfits from some of our regulars, a little sampler platter of sartorial happenings, from which to pick and choose.

Been a while since we featured Mette-Marit here. But whenever she does pop up, there's a good chance she'll be sporting this dress, or so it seems. The By Ti Mo model (which she owns in another color/print too) must be on her list of personal favorites for 2014.
Crown Prince Haakon and Crown Princess Mette-Marit attended the 75th Anniversary of the Norwegian People's Aid on Friday.

Queen Letizia brought back the oops-I-ran-out-of-fabric dress from National Day.
The Spanish Royal Family attended the National Sports Awards on Thursday.
"Listen, dear, I don't want to alarm you, but there's a different dress on the back of your dress." Felipe, clearly concerned.
And she's still making this the year of earrings, I see. (Which I am all for, though long time readers know overly matchy accessories make me twitchy and this plus the shoes it a bit much.)

Máxima stood outside in a shiny turban. As one does.
King Willem-Alexander and Queen Máxima attended a ceremony to award the Military Order of William on Thursday.
It's not so bad with the coat closed. It ties the whole thing together more than it does when the coat is open. She looks cozy, I'll give her that. If you want to see it the other way, you can click here for a gallery. Or you can leave it at this and I wouldn't blame you.

And finally, in Denmark, Mary hosted a Christmas reception for her foundation.
It's a new Dolce & Gabbana number (per StyleofMary) and I'm all over this. A simple red dress? Perfect. We'll end it on a high note.

Photos: As indicated and NOS Video, My Theresa

Sunday Tidbits for November 30: Double Astrid Alerts and More

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I'm not ready for Monday. Procrastinate with me, friends.

--The Dutch will pay a state visit to Denmark from March 17-19. I do love a state visit with tiaras on both sides. Polish up those big guns, ladies, polish 'em up. [Kongehuset]

--Astrid Alert #1: Princess Astrid of Belgium has been picking up the slack on the Belgian economic missions now that her brother Philippe is king, and I did love her splash of purple in Singapore this week. [Channel News Asia]

--Astrid Alert #2: I thought Princess Astrid of Norway looked cute this week, out and about to award the Princess Astrid Music Prize. [Adressa; Kongehuset video]

--Here's another dose of cute for you: Princess Madeleine wished everyone a happy Thanksgiving with a new official picture of herself and wee Leonore. [Kungahuset]

--And here's a dose of whaaaa? for you: Prince Henrik at the royal hunt, displaying the sort of sartorial splendor to which only he can aspire. [Berlingske]

--You know, I don't think Queen Mathilde is sorry at all that her shirt is hypnotizing everyone around her. Clearly some sort of diabolical plan at work. [Zimbio]

--Yesterday would have been the 80th wedding anniversary of the Duke and Duchess of Kent, Prince George and Princess Marina. Here's my original post on Marina's gown; below, a newsreel from the day. [British Pathé]

--And finally, Queen Elizabeth II got a new brooch this week. [Jewel Vault]

Stay tuned on Monday for a return to Sweden.

Photos:  Suhalmi Abdullah via Getty Images, Kongehuset video, Ewa-Marie Rundquist / Kungahuset.se, Twitter, Mark Renders via Getty Images

Sunday Tidbits for November 16: Royal Weddings, Royal Auction Results, Royal Etc.

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Nothing like a Sunday of weddings and sparklies to get your week started on the right foot, right? Right.

--Royal Wedding Alert: Morocco has been celebrating the nuptials of Prince Moulay Rachid, brother of King Mohammed VI, and Oum Keltoum Boufares. The bride wore a rich green dress and veil for one ceremony followed by a white ensemble with tiara for another event. Sheikha Mozah was among the dignitaries in attendance. Some links for you: Video 1, Video 2, Video 3, Article and gallery. [YouTube and Hello]

--British Prince Update #1: Friday was Charles' birthday! This commemorative gallery features both penguins and awkward dancing pictures and I can't think of a better way to celebrate. [Express]

--British Prince Update #2: Harry, dressed in uniform, rescued a lady's hat which had blown off in the wind, because of course he did. [Express]

--British Prince Update #3: William stepped in for the Queen at an investiture on Friday and got to knight Oscar winner Daniel Day-Lewis. [British Monarchy Twitter]

--For your future viewing pleasure: Netflix is ordering a series based on Queen Elizabeth II called The Crown, debuting in 2016, and a biopic called Frederik's Young Years focusing on Crown Prince Frederik (spoiler alert: it's about his young years) is in the works in Denmark. [Deadline Hollywood, Hello]

--Breaking News: Crown Princess Mette-Marit wore a bright color. She and Haakon were hosting a dinner at their home. [VG]

--Two jewel auctions we've mentioned here in the past went down this week. Christie's sold Empress Eugénie's Feuilles de Groseillier Brooch for a cool $2,365,700. (Although that was far from the highest price brought at the auction - that honor went to a necklace containing a 392.52 carat sapphire which brought in more than $17.5 million.) Sotheby's sold Queen Josephine's pearl necklace for $3,426,669, and the aquamarine tiara previously worn by the Duchess of Kent went for $204,500. So if any of you get an extra special surprise in your stocking this Christmas, let me know. [Christie's, Sotheby's]

--The Princess Royal headed up to Canada after her stop in the U.S. and I think I might really like the dress she wore to a dinner during her trip. [Canadian Heritage Flickr]

--Bit of sad news: The funeral for Princess Kristine Bernadotte was held at the Royal Chapel at Drottningholm Palace and attended by members of the Swedish and Norwegian royal families. Princess Kristine was the widow of Prince Carl Bernadotte, son of Prince Carl, Duke of Västergötland and Princess Ingeborg of Denmark, and uncle of the present King of Norway as well as Belgian Kings Albert II and Baudouin. The late Bernadotte couple were particularly close to their Norwegian relatives. [Aftonbladet]

--Are you in or around Denver? You have a chance to see some serious jewels in action. Brilliant: Cartier in the 20th Century is at the Denver Art Museum today through March 15, 2015. [Denver Art Museum]

Photos: YouTube screencaps

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Wondering what style of flower bouquets you'll choose for your big day?
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