Royal Parliament Opening of (Last) Week: October 7

Royal Parliament Opening of (Last) Week: October 7

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'Tis the season for royal parliament business, and Norway took their turn last week. The King opened parliament with the Queen and the Crown Prince in attendance. This is the standard group for this event, by the way; this is one that Mette-Marit does not attend.

Queen Sonja often favors colors that go with the surroundings, and this year's red peplum jacket, black skirt, and black hat with cut outs on the brim were no exception. She did wave her Norwegian fashion flag in an outfit from Peter Dundas, who is the current designer for Emilio Pucci, and jewelry from Gine Sommerfelt (per Kjell Arne Totland). I'm not particularly fond of that close-fitting hat style, but Sonja sure seems to like it.

As for the gentlemen, they both wore the collar of the Royal Norwegian Order of St. Olav together with the blue riband of the Royal Norwegian Order of Merit. 

Norway falls somewhere in the middle on the spectrum of fanciness in these royal parliament openings: not as sparkly as Britain's crowned affair and without the carriages and court dress of the Dutch Prinsjesdag, but still with a throne and uniforms. (The Danish version happens today, and we'll hopefully be covering that on its own later.) I think it's a happy medium. I don't always cover the Norwegian event here, but sometimes a little bit of pomp just hits the spot.

If you'd like to see this event on video, click here.

Photos: Sverre Chr. Jarild/Stortinget and Terje Heiestad/Stortinget, Bilder fra Stortinget via Flickr/Creative Commons

Royal Outfit of the Day: February 14

Royal Outfit of the Day: February 14

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Crown Princess Mette-Marit wore this pink tiered gown with an embellished belt to Crown Princess Victoria's pre-wedding events and afterwards for other events, including these official portraits.

I thought we needed something for Valentine's Day, something appropriately frilly and pink and red. And when you need something froofy and pastel, your girl M-M always has you covered. Mette-Marit has a series of these sorts of gowns, and this one like most of the rest comes from Norwegian designer Peter Dundas at Emilio Pucci. I fall for them every time, because 1) they suit her and 2) they are so different from what she wears to go about her daily business, and I'm a sucker for someone just openly getting their princess on. This one makes a great base for her red accessories (red stones in the earrings, plus the red ribbons involved in her sash and family order), and it makes a perfect Valentine treat for us on this February 14th.

Photos: Sølve Sundsbø/The Royal Court