Majesty Review Jan. 2012 by Royalty_Now

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October 23rd, a Sunday, saw the Queen attending church services in Brisbane. Her Majesty, along with Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh, attended morning Worship at St. John’s Church.

That afternoon, a reception and lunch was hosted by the Governor-General for the royal couple.

October 24th was an “away day” in Brisbane. The Queen and the Duke hopped aboard a river boat and traveled up the Brisbane River to Southbank. Once ashore, they visited the Queensland Performing Arts Center.

That afternoon, the royals met with emergency response personnel and members of the communities affected by the floods. The Queen and Prince Philip attended a re-dedication Ceremony of Rainforest and the opening of Rain Bank.

The Queen and Prince Philip were back in Canberra on Tuesday, October 25th. They visited the Australian War Memorial and viewed the Afghanistan Memorial, where the Queen placed a wreath. Later, the royal couple met with Australian Defense Force Personnel at Orientation Hall.

October 26th: Prince Philip and The Queen participated in another Away Day, this time in Melbourne, where they opened the Royal Children’s Hospital. That afternoon they toured Melbourne, starting with a visit to the Ian Potter Centre, National Gallery of Victoria; a walk through Federation Square and a ride on a Melbourne Tram; attended a reception hosted by the Governor of Victoria at Government House. The Queen was resplendent in pink throughout.

After the Away Day activities, The Queen and The Duke departed Melbourne for Perth.

On Thursday, October 27th, the royals paid a visit to Clontarf Aboriginal College. The Duke of Edinburgh was especially keen to see the sporting facilities. Afterwards, they attended a Garden Party at Government House, where the Queen turned out in her second stunning turquoise and white ensemble for the day.

Approximately one hundred students from across Western Australia lined a path to the lower gardens, when the Duke stopped to chat. Philip asked why the students were in pairs, and when told it was because they were the head boys and girls, he said in his typical blunt fashion: “It’s obvious they didn’t choose the attractive ones then”. (!)

Premier Colin Barnett was pleased to have the royal visitors come to the country, and he thanked the Queen and Prince Philip for visiting WA and presented the royals with a gift – a book of drawings of wild flowers from the Eastern Goldfields by Phillipa Nikulinsky.

October 28th: Her Majesty arrived at the Opening Ceremony of the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting. The opening featured a vast array of leaders from around the world: 25 Prime Ministers, 10 Presidents, five Vice-Presidents, two Deputy Prime Ministers, one High Commissioner, a lord and the Sultan of Brunei.

“I have had the good fortune, together with Prince Philip, to attend many CHOGMs over many years. Their importance has always been in precise relationship to their relevance: always being attuned to the issues of the day, and always looking to the future with a sense of vision and practical action to match. In your deliberations over the days ahead, you have the encouragement of the whole Commonwealth to maintain this vital tradition.” – The Queen’s speech at the CHOGM

That evening, the royal couple attended a banquet at the Pan Pacific Hotel. For this occasion, the Queen busted out her best parure for the occasion – the brilliant aquamarine set in honor of the brilliantly blue ocean that surrounds Australia.

These gems are gifts from Brazil. The earrings and matching necklace were a Coronation gift to The Queen from the President and People of Brazil in 1953.

The stones sit inside a diamond and platinum setting. A few years later, in 1958, a bracelet and matching brooch were presented to The Queen by the Brazilian Government as a matching set to the original Coronation presents. Elizabeth then requested that royal jeweler Garrard complete the parure with a stunning tiara.

On Saturday, October 29th, the Queen and the Duke were feted by the Australian community during “The Big Aussie BBQ”. In the spirit of outdoor eating, the Queen topped off her elegant maroon and white outfit with a hat eerily reminiscent of a marshmallow. S’mores, anyone?

And so…

Elizabeth and Philip set off from Australia back to the U.K. after the barbeque. It was a highly successful visit and one that the Australian people will not soon forget. Her Majesty charmed everyone she met, and though there were one or two gaffes (Gillard’s curtsey controversy and Philip’s quips!) the royal couple made a happy and favorable impression on their Commonwealth neighbors. It also gave the United Kingdom a chance to present its history-making change to the succession law.

Vivat Regina! (And God Bless The Duke!)

Fold up that digital paper and put it in the box! ;-) What do you want to see change on the official British Monarchy website?? More in the video below:

Below is an excerpt from “The Royal W.E. Unique Glimpses of The Duke and Duchess of Windsor” by Victoria Martínez. The title of each of the eight chapters is part of a quote that not only nicely sums up the subject of the chapter, but also casts light on the way The Duke and Duchess have been perceived throughout history. The following is the first part of the chapter entitled Frequent Kicks and Blows, which is from a quote from “The Duchess of Windsor: The Uncommon Life of Wallis Simpson” by Greg King, who wrote the foreword to “The Royal W.E.”

I may not be a fan, but I will readily concede that Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall’s lot is not an easy one. Like most partners of royalty, everyone who has an opinion considers her fair game, and she has been constantly placed under the microscope by the media machine and public opinion. But, unlike most partners of royalty who frequently have the advantage of entering the relationship with a clean slate, the nature of Camilla’s long relationship with Charles and her role as the third person in the “love triangle” that was the Wales’ marriage have made her the object of scorn and dislike almost since the moment she publicly entered the picture. To add insult to injury, she’s never been the most aesthetically pleasing person, especially in a direct comparison to Diana, who (as we all undoubtedly remember) called her nemesis “the Rottweiler.”

In short, as a controversial public figure, Camilla not only has little chance of ever being judged by the standards of a private figure, but will probably never find that anything said about her is taken with a grain of salt. Every tidbit of information – whether founded in fact or fiction – will be considered, evaluated, perpetuated… all to the point of creating a figure that is a caricature of the actual person. Her simple virtues extolled, her shortcomings exaggerated. The testimonials of her dearest friends snickered at, the rantings of her personal enemies rapaciously consumed. Not a fate most of us would choose for ourselves.

But if Camilla requires any comfort, she need only look to the Duchess of Windsor. At first glance, it’s quite easy to draw superficial or critical parallels between the two women. Superficially, both women were at one time mistresses of a Prince of Wales, divorced women perceived as home wreckers, and widely viewed as unattractive. More critically, both women exceeded the limits of a “socially acceptable” mistress and provoked fear that “such a woman” could be so dangerously close to the Crown or, for that matter, possibly even covet the position of queen consort for herself. Fortunately for Camilla, most views of her rarely stray from these relatively mild accusations.

The Duchess of Windsor was not so lucky. In a time when the propriety of a woman could be put into question simply by an unchaperoned encounter with a man who was not her husband or immediate male relative, Wallis Simpson was seen as the worst of all kind of women, an “adventuress.” Not only that, she was a divorced American adventuress who had designs on the popular and charming Prince of Wales. Naturally, it was Wallis, not Edward VIII, who took the fall when he abdicated in 1936. And things only got worse for her after that.

What surprises me is that, despite all the information we now have access to, the Duchess of Windsor is still vilified as the ugly American divorcée whose designs to be queen consort led to the downfall of a once-promising British prince. As if that weren’t enough, she’s accused of having been a dominatrix, a hermaphrodite and a Nazi sympathizer. Did I mention that Camilla has it easy? And while Camilla has had the benefit of excellent spin-doctors and a camp of loyal supporters, Wallis had little support in her corner of the ring. In fact, she had quite the opposite, as everyone needed a scapegoat for the abdication and no one wanted that scapegoat to be a member of the Royal Family.

To be sure, plenty of mud has been slung over the years regarding the Duke of Windsor, although, amazingly, it has done little to reverse the negative perception of the Duchess. Almost everything that was said of her beginning in 1936 still comprises the bulk of general knowledge about her. Except among a small group of her supporters, she is still the unworthy woman who seduced King Edward VIII away from his duty, while he is the man who gave it all up for love. An anonymous letter sent to a friend of Wallis in 1937 very effectively sums it up: “Edward VIII is regarded as the victim of a bold, domineering adventuress, a woman without heart, scruples or principles, whose scandalous efforts to gain the title of ‘Queen of England’ jeopardised the very existence of the British monarchy.” Personally, it has always been my belief that this type of theory is too simple and one-sided to believe and, accordingly, the subject has always been one of my favorites where royalty is concerned.

To read the rest of Frequent Kicks and Blows, download a copy of “The Royal W.E. Unique Glimpses of The Duke and Duchess of Windsor” by Victoria Martínez, available for Kindle, Nook and other eReaders, as well as in PDF form, at the following links (you don’t even need an eReader since Kindle and Nook can be downloaded on most devices for free).

Find it on: Amazon || Barnes and Noble || Who Dares Wins Publishing

Image via Wikipedia

The principality of Monaco is like a dream: sparkling waters, warm beaches, clear skies, fashionable boutiques, and more yachts than you can count.

There are casinos, spas, and everything you could possibly want for entertainment. For a taste of elegant culture, there is the Princess Grace Irish Library, the Monte Carlo Opera House, and Monaco’s preeminent ballet company.

It all seems so wonderful, but there have been scandals hiding behind the sunshine and sparkle. Marriage breakups, infidelity, and death cloud the Mediterranean skies of Monte-Carlo. Somerset Maugham even referred to Monaco as a “sunny place for shady people”.

This is the story of the Grimaldi family, who gained their principality through cutthroat maneuvers and are even said to be cursed when it comes to finding love.

Gaining power… Read more

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The Middleton brand soldiers on, and it looks like a juggernaut.

“Brand Middleton is a powerful product with theoretically limitless potential, but paradoxically, perhaps the greatest appeal of Kate and Pippa is their resolute refusal to succumb to the temptations and trappings of fashion and celebrity,” says Belinda White, the Telegraph’s fashion editor.

In other words, Middleton squared keep it simple. Both Catherine and Pippa favor classic, clean looks and have been credited for bringing back sensible hems, stylish blazers, and elegant sleeves. Catherine, as Duchess of Cambridge and a new royal role model, has seen copies of her outfits sell out in shops in a matter of minutes.

Big sister’s magic has most certainly shimmered down onto the shoulders of younger sister Pippa, who is taking full advantage of her new socialite status. Despite the media fawning over her clothing, well-honed derriere, and now her marital prospects, Pippa continues to keep it classic. Take the recent Wimbledon outing: a simple red linen dress. What about her post-Royal Wedding ensemble? Pippa emerged from the Goring Hotel wearing slim white jeans with a bright blue blazer from Zara. Nothing gaudy for the Middleton sisters, who look like they have a bright future as style guides to reel in a somewhat lost generation who has been besieged by the likes of Katy Perry, Kerry Katona, and Kim Kardashian.

May Brand Middleton outlive them all.

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