Royal TV takeover

Royal TV takeover

Comment   

If you love the royals, then grab the sofa. They are taking over the TV. There's some right royal treats coming up on the tellybox so settle down, find the choccies and veg out, regal style.....

🎄 @JudyMurray @theJeremyVine @RobbieSavage8 @KimberleyJWalsh @ColinJackson @thekatiederham will deck the halls with Glitterballs! pic.twitter.com/HZ5lw1JqhJ

— BBC Strictly✨ (@bbcstrictly) November 6, 2017

The Queen won't be the only royal with a prime time spot on BBC1 this Christmas Day. The Duchess of Cornwall will be part of the Strictly Come Dancing Christmas special. Yep, Camilla is getting glittery and bringing the party to her as she hosts some of the SCD special at Buckingham Palace. It's pre recorded so there's no hope of seeing Chaz and Cam doing the conga after one advocaat too many. What you will see are the highlights of a tea dance being held at the Palace with Strictly stars involved. Some of the professional dancers as well as Tess Daly will be getting the regal treatment and we'll see the results on Christmas Day. It's all part of a push to show the benefits of exercise for older people. Camilla has never made any secret of her love of the programme, even attending a performance of Strictly Confidental a few years ago. You can all but bet your last mince pie on her taking a twirl of some description in the show on Christmas Day.

1/2
Celebrate the Queen and Duke of Edinburgh’s 70th wedding anniversary with #SongsofPraise @BBCOne Sunday 19th Nov at 3pm & https://t.co/Wwzf4FXU6u with hymns specially selected for the occasion:

Praise My Soul The King of Heaven – Tideswell
The Lord’s My Shepherd – Tideswell pic.twitter.com/d80p1a0V3X

— BBC Songs of Praise (@BBCSoP) November 18, 2017

Before then, Prince Michael of Kent will appear on Songs of Praise. A special edition of the programme is due for broadcast on Sunday 19th November 2017 to mark the 70th wedding anniversary of the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh. Prince Michael was, of course, a pageboy at the big event, carrying the bride's veil. He'll be reflecting on his memories as the programme celebrates the major milestone with some of the couple's favourite hymns.

Then on November 20th 2017, you can tune into a special programme all about the royal wedding anniversary. Kirsty Young will present Love and Duty on BBC1 at 9pm. Add to that all the royal news you'll see on the day and it's clear that there really is a right royal TV takeover going on.

Royal Platinum Wedding: the mother of the bride

Royal Platinum Wedding: the mother of the bride

Comment   

All eyes might be on the bride on her big day but there's one other person feeling the style pressure. The mother of the bride. Not only is she seeing her little girl begin a whole new chapter of her life, she's got to have a hat that could stop traffic or no one is going home truly happy. That was never going to be a problem at the Queen's wedding on November 20th 1947. We all know how her mum loved a hat. And on the day her dynasty made more history, this Queen Elizabeth was more than ready for her close up.


Embed from Getty Images

The mother of the bride was, of course, another queen called Elizabeth - better known to us as the Queen Mother but at the time, Her Majesty The Queen. Consort to King George VI, she was about as well loved as a royal gets - her role in boosting wartime morale is now legendary and it had made her a truly popular figure. And she made every one love her just a little bit more by attending her daughter's wedding dressed like a dream.

Embed from Getty Images  

The task of dressing a queen for her daughter's marriage went to Norman Hartnell who was also crating the bride's gown. And the bridesmaids. And the frock for the bride's granny (more on that tomorrow). Hartnell had been dressing the Windsor women since the 1930s and had become a firm favourite of Queen Elizabeth just before World War Two started. Their bond had lasted ever since so it was no surprise that when the then Princess Elizabeth announced her engagement, her mother commissioned Hartnell to make the bride's gown and her own outfit.

Embed from Getty Images 

 

The result was a golden peachy pink full length gown with a fitted waist, slim skirt and half sleeves. It has a soft V shaped neck which isn't just flattering, it leaves plenty of room for all the diamonds that the mother of the bride brought out to play. All mothers of the bride need a hat and the one chosen for this historic wedding is ever so slightly fabulous. It's not only huge and has feathers, it's has an open crown to give it a proper gala feel.

Embed from Getty Images Seeing your first daughter marry is always going to be a major moment. When you are the Queen of England and hosting the biggest royal gathering in decades while overseeing a wedding that has become a beacon of hope for millions still recovering from war, it goes into a different realm. If anyone was going to rise to the challenge it was this queen called Elizabeth - a mother of the bride like no other with the outfit to match.