Archive for April, 2005

The Prince of Wales's Wedding: HRH Princess Laurentien

Posted on April 9th, 2005 by Ella  |  3 Comments »

Here's the last of the three foreign royal women attending Prince Charles's big day: Princess Laurentien of The Netherlands.  This one stumps me, I have to admit: Constantijn isn't a crown prince, so this looks a bit like the Dutch are sending one of their spares along to attend the wedding, if you know what I mean.  Are Constantijn and Charles buds?  Anyone have any insight here?

As far as the hat goes -- eh.  A bit boring, just fine, but not the sort of hattery fireworks I expect from Laurentien.  Also?  The choker's doing her no favors.

The Prince of Wales's Wedding: HRH The Crown Princess of Norway

Posted on April 9th, 2005 by Ella  |  4 Comments »

I'm not totally sure why the Norwegians decided to attend the wedding when none of the other Scandinavian royals showed, but the king of Norway is a closer cousin to the Brits than many other European monarchs.  King Harald is the great-grandson of King Edward VII of the UK, and his father, Olav, was born on the Sandringham estate.

Regardless, I think this feathery fascinator looks great on Mette ... it's a little over the top, but there's something so British about it at the same time, so it's too perfect for the occasion.  Love the constrast between the blond hair and the navy feathers, too.  Lovely!

The Prince of Wales's Wedding: HM Queen Anne-Marie of Greece

Posted on April 9th, 2005 by Ella  |  2 Comments »

Very few foreign royals came to Prince Charles's second wedding, but it's no surprise that the former king and queen of Greece were among the guests.  The Greek royals are cousins to the Brits through Prince Philip, who was born a prince of Greece, and they've lived in London for the majority of their period of exile, which began in the 1970s.

I'm really liking Queen Anne-Marie's overall look here -- but there's something about the shape of the hat that's not quite working for me.  A bit too "pilgrim," perhaps?

The Prince of Wales's Wedding: HRH The Duchess of Gloucester

Posted on April 9th, 2005 by Ella  |  4 Comments »

Try to tear your eyes away from Hunky Haakon in his morning suit for a mo, and focus on the lady in the center of this photo: that's the Duchess of Gloucester sandwiched between Queen Anne-Marie and Crown Princess Mette-Marit.  (That's a lot of hyphens for one photo, isn't it?)

I think this is one of Birgitte's better hat looks -- it's not too big for her, but it's not too frivilous, either.  The big feather's a nice touch.  Plus, I think this is the same jacket she wears with the horrendous overturned flower pot hat, so this hat is automatically a step up!

(Also: I was trying to figure out why in the world Birgitte was walking with the foreign royals rather than the Brits, but then I remembered -- she's Danish, and so is Anne-Marie!  Think they were having a homecoming sort of moment by speaking Danish to each other?)

The Prince of Wales's Wedding: Miss Zara Phillips

Posted on April 9th, 2005 by Ella  |  9 Comments »

Well, sometimes, when you have to film a detective movie, attend a royal wedding, and headline a go-go dancing competition all in one day, it's good to have an outfit that pulls triple duty...

(It's official: I hate fedoras on women at major royal events.  Too costume-y!)

The Prince of Wales's Wedding: HRH The Countess of Wessex

Posted on April 9th, 2005 by Ella  |  6 Comments »

I would give Sophie an A+ here with the coat/hat combo, except for one thing -- if the animals don't live together in nature, maybe they shouldn't live together on a hat?  Unless there's a feathered, flying snake somewhere that I haven't heard about...

The Prince of Wales's Wedding: Viscountess Linley

Posted on April 9th, 2005 by Ella  |  4 Comments »

I really like Serena Linley's pop of color here with her gray suit -- there weren't many colorful hats at this wedding, and this one's a nice statement.  I do wish there were a better shot of it from the front, though -- I'd like to see just how feathery this fascinator gets!

Also, lovely reader Brian found us a better view of the hat!

It's over the top, and I love it!

The Prince of Wales's Wedding: The Lady Sarah Chatto

Posted on April 9th, 2005 by Ella  |  6 Comments »

I had to do a triple take when I saw this photo and really remind myself that Princess Margaret was already dead in 2005, because holy cow, how much does Sarah Chatto look like her mother here!

The hat's typical Lady Sarah -- neutral, sort of boring, but with clean lines.  She's not really one for extravagance, and that really suits her quite well.

The Prince of Wales's Wedding: HRH The Duchess of Kent

Posted on April 9th, 2005 by Ella  |  4 Comments »

Kath Kent was all smiles at the royal wedding -- I only wish I'd had the same reaction when I saw her hat!  I think she reaches a little young with her hats sometimes.  Save the feathers and frills for the young girls, and embrace your status as a mature, regal woman, Your Royal Highness!

The Prince of Wales's Wedding: HRH Princess Eugenie of York

Posted on April 9th, 2005 by Ella  |  5 Comments »

I thought Eugenie looked just lovely at at this wedding, save for one recurring problem with the Yorkies -- the need for a hairbrush.  The long hair looks good in general with the hat -- putting it up might lead to a baldy moment -- but the strands need a bit of taming.  On the whole, though, good shape, nice colors, well done!