A royal baby for Sweden

A royal baby for Sweden

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Sweden has a new royal baby. Princess Sofia has given birth to her second child. The new sixth in line to the throne was born on August 31st 2017 at 11.24am local time at the Danderyd Hospital. Mother and baby are well. A happy beginning to a new royal chapter.

The announcement came in a brief communique from the Marshall of the Realm. We don't yet know whether the baby is a boy or a girl - that will come in a press conference with proud papa, Prince Carl Philip, a little later on today. The new baby is a little brother or sister for Prince Alexander who was born on April 19th 2016 and a sixth grandchild for King Carl XVI Gustaf and Queen Silvia.

The new second time mummy was last seen in public at a friend's wedding. Her last public engagement was at the start of August when she attended a conference on Sustainability in the Future. It's not yet known when she will leave hospital with her second child. But we do know that Sweden's latest royal baby provides a happy end to the regal summer. Well done, that princess.

Photo credit: kungahuset.se

5 royal brides who didn't wear tiaras....

5 royal brides who didn't wear tiaras....

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Royal brides wear tiaras, we all know that to be true. And if you're hubby is a) a ruling sovereign or b) quite likely to end up as one then a diadem is all but compulsory. However, several very important royal brides have bucked that trend including one who celebrates her 49th wedding anniversary today and walked down the aisle with only flowers in her hair. Here are five famous royal consorts who didn't wear tiaras to their weddings.



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Lady Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon

April 26th 1923

When Lady Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon married Albert, Duke of York at Westminster Abbey she wasn't expected to be queen. She was also marrying into a royal family that hadn't really done bridal tiaras for a while. So the lack of diamond diadem was less surprising than it might have been. Instead, the woman who would end up as Queen Mother chose to wear myrtle in her hair with a white York rose on either side of her headdress. Yep, even then, Elizabeth knew just how to do things right. This dress is very 1920s and really rather simple for a woman who would become one of the last empresses of the 20th century. Not many of those just wear flowers in their hair.

Embed from Getty Images  Princess Astrid of SwedenNovember 1926

Just three years later, one of the most popular royal brides of the twenties swerved a wedding tiara chance not once but twice. Astrid of Sweden's marriage to Leopold, heir to the throne of Belgium, was one of the love stories of the time. The couple were hugely popular with massive crowds gathering for both their civil wedding in Stockholm on November 4th 1926 and again for their religious ceremony at the Cathedral of St Michel and St Gudula in Brussels on November 10th that year. Astrid didn't wear a tiara to either celebration. She kept things very traditional for her home wedding, choosing a Swedish crown of myrtle to top her lace veil. There was even less adornment for her Belgian wedding even though just about every female guest at the ceremony was wearing a tiara. Astrid was marrying an heir to the throne but chose to do things her way. She would become Queen of the Belgians in 1934 on her husband's accession as Leopold III. Queen Astrid died following a car accident on August 29th 1935.

Grace KellyApril 19th 1956
Grace Kelly wasn't just marrying a sovereign when she walked down the aisle in Monaco to say 'I do' to Prince Rainier III on April 19th 1956. She was creating the image of the perfect princess. The Hollywood superstar turned royal bride was dressed to impress by Helen Rose of MGM and the two of them decided to ditch the diadem. Instead of a tiara, the bride the world wanted to see wore a beaded lace Juliet cap. But then Grace didn't need diamonds to sparkle. Her wedding look was iconic from the moment it appears and remains the same today. 
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Paola Ruffo di CalabriaJuly 2nd 1959
Like Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon, Paola didn't think she was marrying a future king when she said 'I do' to Albert of Belgium in Brussels in July 1959. Her new husband was the younger brother of King Baudouin of the Belgians who, at that time, was expected to wed and have children himself. So Paola's marriage - which she had wanted to have in Rome - was a lower key affair although still packed with royalty, a huge train and epic amounts of flowers. And the bride's decision to wear orange blossom in her hair rather than a tiara was a bit of a departure from the expected norm at the time although all eyes were on her Brussels lace veil, a family heirloom of hers. Paola ended up Queen of the Belgians when Albert succeeded his brother in 1993 after Baudouin and his wife, Fabiola, had no children of their own. Albert abdicated in favour of his son, Philipppe, in 2013.
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Sonja HaraldsenAugust 29th 1968
Like many a 1960s bride before and after her, Sonja Haraldsen went fake flowers for her hair ornament. Never mind that she was marrying the future King of Norway. Never mind that their royal romance had caused all kinds of controversy as the Crown Prince was meant to marry regally. Never mind that on saying 'I do' Sonja became the leading lady of Norway as her new father-in-law, King Olav, was a widower. None of that was enough to persuade Sonja to drop her dream look and swap a (rather pretty) artificial flower arrangement for a tiara. She chose a small spray of white flowers to top her simple veil and dress. Sonja, who became Queen of Norway in 1991, has never knowingly shied away from a tiara since her wedding but on the day she became a royal bride she chose to do things her way and keep the flowers unreal.

Royal Number Seven

Royal Number Seven

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Sweden's royal baby boom continues and the latest pregnancy announcement (Madeleine, number three, March next year, all well) has put the country's king and queen in a rather special situation. For this little prince or princess will be grandchild number seven for Carl Gustaf and Silvia. Seven is a bit of a magic number, lucky for most and special for many. So in honour of their exciting news, here's a run down of who else makes the number seven royal grandkids club. We'll start with the current monarchs of Europe and their broods...

United Kingdom

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Lady Louise Windsor is the seventh grandchild of Queen Elizabeth II and the Duke of Edinburgh

Name Louise Alice Elizabeth Mary

Born November 8th 2003, Frimley Park, Surrey

Daughter of Edward, Earl of Wessex (youngest child of Elizabeth and Philip) and Sophie, Countess of Wessex

Place in line of succession Lady Louise is eleventh in line to the throne

Title Lady Louise Windsor (though technically she is entitled to be known as HRH Princess Louise of Wessex)

Denmark

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Princess Josephine of Denmark is the seventh grandchild of Queen Margrethe II and Prince Henrik

Name Josephine Sophia Ivalo Mathilda

Born January 11th 2011, Copenhagen

Daughter of Frederik, Crown Prince of Denmark (and elder son of Margethe and Henrik) and Mary, Crown Princess of Denmark

Place in line of succession Princess Josephine is fifth in line to the Danish throne

Title Her Royal Highness Princess Josephine of Denmark, Countess of Monpezat

Of course, many of Europe's monarchs are still raising their children so don't have grandchildren yet. That's not going to stop a royal review in its tracks. Let's go one generation back to the monarchs who have recently abdicated and put a call out for number seven....

Belgium

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Prince Gabriel of Belgium is the seventh grandchild of King Albert II and Queen Paola
Name Gabriel Baudouin Charles MarieBorn on August 20th 2003, AnderlechtSon of King Philippe of the Belgians (eldest child of Albert and Paola) and Queen Mathilde of the BelgiansPlace in line of succession Prince Gabriel is second in line to the Belgian throneTitle His Royal Highness Prince Gabriel of Belgium
Spain


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Princess Leonor is the seventh grandchild of King Juan Carlos and Queen Sofia
Name Leonor de Todos los SantosBorn on October 31st 2005, MadridSon of King Felipe VI of Spain (youngest child of Juan Carlos and Sofia) and Queen Letizia of SpainPlace in line of succession Princess Leonor is the heir to the Spanish throneTitle Her Royal Highness Princess Leonor, Princess of Asturias


Netherlands
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Countess Zaria is the seventh grandchild of Princess Beatrix and her late husband, Prince Claus
Name Joanna Zaria Nicoline MilouBorn June 18th 2006, LondonDaughter of the late Prince Johan Friso (second son of Beatrix and Claus) and Princess MabelPlace in line of succession None, Zaria has never held succession rightsTitle Countess Zaria of Orange-Nassau

In Norway, King Harald and Queen Sonja currently have five grandchildren and one step grandson while Luxembourg's Grand Duke and Duchess, Henri and Maria Teresa, have three grandchildren. Sweden's monarchs welcome their sixth grandchild in September when Princess Sofia is due to give birth to her second baby with Prince Carl Philip and number seven will arrive in March 2018 with Madeleine's latest arrival. 

Royal Baby Boom: Sweden's lucky seven

Royal Baby Boom: Sweden's lucky seven

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King Carl XVI Gustaf and Queen Silvia are awash with grandchildren. With just days to go until Prince Carl Philip and Princess Sofia welcome their second baby, the Swedish Royal Household has confirmed that Princess Madeleine is to be a mummy again. Madeleine's new baby will be grandchild number seven for the King and Queen of Sweden. Definitely lucky for them.

Madeleine and her husband, Chris O'Neill, also shared the news on the princess' official Facebook page with a short and to the point message. The couple already have two children, hence the maths. Princess Leonore was born in February 2014 while Prince Nicolas joined the family in June 2015.

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The official announcement gave a little more detail, saying that the princess felt well and that her baby is due in March 2018. The new royal will be tenth in line to the Swedish throne.  Princess Madeleine's last public appearance came earlier this week at the European Showjumping Championships which she opened in Gothenberg.

The King and Queen of Sweden have seen their family grow at a rapid rate in the past five years. In February 2012 they became grandparents for the first time with the birth of Princess Estelle, eldest child of Crown Princess Victoria and Prince Daniel. Leonore and Nicolas are numbers two and three on the grandkids list followed by Victoria's son, Prince Oscar, who was born in March 2016. Just five weeks later, Princess Sofia gave birth to her and Prince Carl Philip's first child, Prince Alexander. They will welcome baby number two in just a few days time. But their new prince or princess will be the baby of the family for just a few months with Madeleine's happy news. When it comes to royal babies in Sweden, it's time for lucky seven.

The Royal Week in 5 Photos

The Royal Week in 5 Photos

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And then we came to the end. After weeks of sunshine, shorts and sandals, the royal summer is beginning to pack its bags and head off for another year. Random royals are starting to appear with tans that clearly weren't acquired in the minstrels' gallery of some dusty castle and we'd now be shocked, if not horrified, to see anyone do a photocall in espardrilles. Yep, summer is saying goodbye and we're saying hello to a busier royal diary. Here are five fun photos to sum up the royal week where summer started to fade....

Autumn means back to school and even when you're second in line to your country's throne that still includes your dad making you roll your eyes. As Princess Alexia, now twelve, got ready for her first day at her new college, her dad took a video and some photos to share on the official Dutch royal social media accounts. OK, dad is King Willem-Alexander but that didn't stop this almost teenager looking, well, very actual teenager as she posed reluctantly for the family album. What's not to love?

Koningin Máxima bezoekt Stichting Buurtgezinnen.nl. De stichting koppelt vraag- en steungezinnen. Op die manier wordt er bijvoorbeeld steun geboden aan eenoudergezinnen. Ouders kunnen weer op adem komen en kinderen kunnen zich positief blijven ontwikkelen. Na een tijdje gaan gezinnen weer op eigen kracht verder. Stichting Buurtgezinnen.nl was in 2017 winnaar van een Appeltje van Oranje van het @oranje_fonds 📸 ANP

A post shared by Koninklijk Huis (@koninklijkhuis) on Aug 24, 2017 at 5:37am PDT

This week also saw a return to royal duties for Alexia's mum, Maxima, after a summer where she lost her father, Jorge Zorreguieta. Maxima said a final farewell to her dad a couple of weeks ago but was back on duty to visit the Bartholomeus Guesthouse which provides shelter for those in need and the Buurtgezinnen Foundation which offers support to single parent families. The smile was mega watt but what else do you expect? This is Maxima, royal superstar.

Lige siden den første festuge i Aarhus i 1965 har H.M. Dronningen været protektor, og traditionen tro er Dronningen her til aften til stede ved den officielle åbning af Aarhus Festuge. Her modtages Dronningen af Aarhus' borgmester, Jacob Bundsgaard. 📸 Asbjørn Sand, Scanpix ©

A post shared by DET DANSKE KONGEHUS (@detdanskekongehus) on Aug 25, 2017 at 11:07am PDT

Talking of royal superstars back on duty, here's Queen Margrethe. Denmark's monarch looked carefree and really very happy as she made her first appearance after two weeks in France with a husband who firstly gave a magazine interview in which he said she'd treated him badly over his decision not to be buried with her and who then ended up in hospital with a repeat of a leg complaint that has already given cause for concern. But if you'd missed all of that, you would never have known that Margrethe has had a really tough summer. She was literally glowing as she opened the Aarhus Festival. Keep royally calm and carry on. 

Prinsessan Madeleine inviger EM i ridsport vid en ceremoni på Ullevi i Göteborg. Foto: Roland Thunholm #prinsessanmadeleine #gothenburg2017 #kungahuset

A post shared by Kungahuset (@kungahuset) on Aug 22, 2017 at 1:55am PDT

Royals do a lot of waving but it's good to see that this most basic of regal staples can take even them by surprise. Princess Madeleine of Sweden looked really very excited indeed to be waving as she attended the European Showjumping Championships in Gothenberg this week.  Madeleine also appeared to have a great time doing those other royal favourites including cutting a ribbon and officially declaring the event open. Summers can be very long when you're a mummy to two small children - a day out takes on many layers of extra meaning after weeks of pureed food and kids TV.




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King Felipe of Spain returned to Barcelona at the end of the week to take part in a march in memory of those killed in the terrorist attacks in the city and in Cambrils last week. Some estimates put the number marching through the streets to pay their respects at around half a million. Many were holding banners reading 'No Tinc Por' - 'We are not afraid' but there were also posters protesting at the presence of officials including the King and Felipe was booed at one point. It follows a week of debate about Spanish government policy. Felipe ignored the protests, instead taking his place at the front of the march and in so doing, becoming the first Spanish monarch to take part in a popular demonstration.

Photo credit: casareal.es

Steel for August: Sweden's Steel Stash

Steel for August: Sweden's Steel Stash

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August has spinel and peridot as its birth stones and although we'll end the month with a look at some regal examples of those stones, there aren't enough to fill a whole four weeks of sparkly wonder. So this summer, we're taking a look at some of the tiaras that just don't fit anywhere else in the calendar of jewels including some of those made mainly of metal. Yes, metal. We've had a look at some of the golden additions to the modern European sparkle stash and now it's time to get really, well, metally, and start on the steel. Sweden has two tiaras made of the stuff and they're both rather pretty. Here's a sparkle fest you weren't expecting, Steel for August.


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The biggest and, in my opinion, best of the metal tiaras currently doing the round in Europe is the Cut Steel version seen in Sweden. This is a favourite right now of Crown Princess Victoria and on her head, sparkling away at major events, you would never guess that this diadem is a diamond free zone.

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The Cut Steel Tiara does what it says on the tin, all puns intended. It's made of steel, cut and polished to sparkle like a jewel encrusted diadem. The material was popular in the early 18th century for women who couldn't afford the diamonds and friends spectaculars that usually constitute tiaras and found a great vogue in the Napoleonic era which is where this beauty began its royal journey.

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It first belonged to Queen Hortense of Holland, the only daughter of the Empress Josephine by her first marriage. Mummy's second hubby was, of course, Napoleon. He arranged a marriage between his brother, Louis, and Hortense and then went on to make them King and Queen of Holland. Hortense gave it to her niece, Josephine of Leuchtenberg, who ended up Queen of Sweden through her marriage to Oscar I who was the son of another of Napoleon's loves. This tiara comes with a backdrop that would put a romantic novel to shame.

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But for all its evocation of empire, it became a sleeping partner in the rather impressive Swedish royal jewellery box - perhaps because the family have such a cracking set of sparklers to choose from. However, in 1979 it twinkled back into sight when Queen Silvia wore it on a State Visit having apparently found it while having a good old rummage at the Royal Palace in Stockholm. It only goes to prove that there can be advantages to housework.

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Since then it's become a bit of a favourite and is most often seen on Crown Princess Victoria. It's central feature is a plume of feathers, surrounded by oak leaves and acorns atop a row of cut steel flowers. There's a bit of brass in there to add colour and the end result is a terrific tiara with plenty of originality.  But why stop at one steel tiara when you can have two? The Swedish Royal Family also owns a smaller, bandeau style diadem which has been worn by Victoria and Princess Sofia. It, too, first belonged to Hortense and spent over a century hidden away.

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It's much simpler, made up of a lattice of cut steel topped with a row of little studs that can't help but sparkle whichever way they move. It's pretty if slightly underwhelming, a tiara for a rainy day if ever there was one.

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Steel doesn't feature in other royal collections, making these two tiaras unique but all the more interesting for that. And in the case of the biggie, it's become so much of a go to for Victoria that it's even been featured on stamps. It's an emblem of this popular royal, another layer of history for a tiara with a special regal story of its own.