HRH The Crown Prince of Denmark and Miss Mary Donaldson
May 14, 2004

Our last major tiara wedding before Crown Princess Vic's big day was the wedding of Crown Prince Frederik of Denmark and Tasmanian-born Mary Elizabeth Donaldson.  The two met during the Sydney Olympics in 2000, fell in love, and got hitched four years later.

Frederik and his Aussie bride have two children: Prince Christian (who will one day be king) and Princess Isabella, the first Danish princess born in a generation.  Mary has transformed from an everyday girl to a glamorous crown princess, and this wedding was definitely high on the glamour factor as well: we've got more than thirty tiaras on parade here, many of which are brand-new to the blog.  A good trial run for Victoria's wedding, no doubt!  Enjoy!

Wedding Hatters

Pre-Wedding Tiara Events for HRH The Crown Prince of Denmark and Miss Mary Donaldson
May 11-13, 2004

Danish Pre-Wedding Gala Dinner
May 11, 2004

Margrethe · Mary · Alexandra · Benedikte · Anne-Marie

Pre-Wedding Theatre Gala
May 13, 2004

HRH The Prince of Orange and Miss Máxima Zorreguieta Cerruti
February 2, 2002

Here's our third crown princely wedding in the run up to Crown Princess Victoria's June nuptials -- less than a month now!  The crown prince of The Netherlands, Willem-Alexander, Prince of Orange, wed Argentine investment banker Máxima Zorreguieta Cerruti in 2002. 

The wedding was not without controversy; Máxima's father, Jorge Zorreguieta Stefanini, was a minister in the administration of Argentine dictator Jorge Videla.  Videla's government carried out what was called a "Dirty War," killing tens of thousands of Argentine citizens, and Zorreguieta's involvement was suspect.  However, the Dutch States-General granted permission for the couple to marry -- but neither of Máxima's parents attended the wedding.

Since their marriage, Máxima's relaxed and friendly personality has become quite popular with the Dutch people.  She and Willem-Alexander have three daughters: Catharina-Amalia, Hereditary Princess of Orange (who will likely one day be queen), Princess Alexia, and Princess Ariane.

Wedding Hatters

HRH The Crown Prince of Norway and Miss Mette-Marit Tjessem Høiby
August 25, 2001

Welcome to the hattery coverage of our second crown princely wedding in preparation for Crown Princess Victoria's big day!  Like Victoria's wedding will be, this wedding was a tiara affair, and the royal ladies of Europe brought out some of their blingiest bling for the occasion.

Haakon's choice of Mette-Marit was a controversial one.  Not only was she a commoner, she also had a son, Marius, from a previous relationship and had been heavily involved in the drug-and-alcohol fueled party scene in Oslo.  Many thought she was not suited to become the next queen of Norway, but Haakon stood firm.  Mette-Marit publicly apologized for her wild past at a press conference before the wedding, and the two have been happily married now for nearly a decade.  Along with Marius, the crown prince and princess have two children, Princess Ingrid Alexandra (who will one day be Norway's queen) and Prince Sverre Magnus.

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HRH Prince Philippe, Duke of Brabant and Countess Mathilde d'Udekem d'Acoz
December 4, 1999

Of the six crown princely weddings we'll be hatting about with in preparation for Crown Princess Victoria's June nuptials, Prince Philippe of Belgium's wedding is the first.  Married to Belgian aristocrat Mathilde d'Udekem d'Acoz in 1999, Philippe is currently their heir to the Belgian throne, now occupied by his father, King Albert II.

Since their marriage, Mathilde and Philippe have lived an active but fairly low-key royal life.  In between major royal events and charity work, they have found time to have four children: Princess Elisabeth (future Queen of the Belgians), Prince Gabriel, Prince Emmanuel, and Princess Eléanore.  But let's do a little time-traveling jaunt back eleven years, and -- dare I say it -- party like it's 1999!

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