Not getting this, not at all, not even a little bit.  Why, Isabel, why?

PHOTO CREDITS: Andreas Rentz/Getty Images

The Braganças may not have territory to reign over anymore, but they do still have a few trappings of royalty, including this heirloom tiara: Maria Francisca's Diamond Bandeau Tiara.  I think it looks great worn like a headband here!

PHOTO CREDITS: PPE

Hat's run of the mill.  Hate the gloves.

PHOTO CREDITS: bekia.es

HRH The Prince of Asturias and Miss Letizia Ortiz Rocasolano
May 22, 2004

Only a week after Crown Prince Frederik married Mary Donaldson in Denmark, Prince Felipe of Spain tied the knot with journalist Letizia Ortiz in Madrid.  Theirs was the first wedding of a member of the Spanish royal family to take place in Madrid since the wedding of King Alfonso XIII and Princess Ena of Battenberg in 1906.  That wedding was marred by an assassination attempt on the royal couple and the tragic deaths of several bystanders -- this one, thankfully, went more smoothly, although it was a cloudy, rainy day in the Spanish capital.

There were a few controversies, however, about Felipe's choice of bride.  Letizia, a journalist who covered the September 11th attacks in New York and the Iraq War, will be the first commoner to be queen of Spain.  She also had previously been briefly married and divorced.  However, because her first wedding was a civil rather than religious one, the Catholic Church did not recognize it, and she was free to marry Felipe.

Felipe and Letizia have become quite a working team since their wedding, frequently appearing together on royal engagements.  They have also had two daughters, Infanta Leonor (born in 2005) and Infanta Sofia (born in 2007).  Leonor is expected to become queen of Spain in her own right one day -- that is, if her parents don't provide her with a baby brother!

Wedding Hatters

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

This hat/outfit combo is really rather forgettable, isn't it?  I mean, it's perfectly appropriate, in a nice color, and it's flattering on her, but there's just no excitement at all there.  It's like the Portuguese version of Birgitte Gloucester's all-beige mother-of-the-bride outfit (though definitely chic-er!).

Another brand-new royal for the blog, everybody!  This is the Duchess of Bragança, wife of Dom Duarte Pio, the pretender to the Portuguese throne.  Isabel would be the queen of Portugal had the monarchy not been abolished in 1910.

Although the Braganças don't have a throne to inherit, they do have some heirloom jewel pieces, including this tiara: Maria Francisca's Diamond Bandeau Tiara.  It was worn by Dom Duarte's mother, Maria Francisca, when she was Duchess of Bragança.  It includes flower motifs as well as a simple bandeau of diamonds.  I really like the simplicityof this one.

Aw, Isabel looks so nervous here, doesn't she?  And no wonder: she'd only married into the former Portuguese royal family six weeks before this wedding -- she was newly-minted royalty!  So, I'm sure a little later on, she would have known that a hat like this needs an up-do.  With her hair up, it would have been perfectly nice.  Like this -- well, it looks like she forgot she had to wear one and just plopped it on right after she finished blow-drying her hair.