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Princess Estelle was born on February 23, 2012. Her godparents are:

Prince Carl Philip (maternal uncle)
Anna Westling Söderström(paternal aunt)
Crown Prince Haakon of Norway
Crown Prince Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands
Crown Princess Mary of Denmark, wife of Crown Prince Frederik of Denmark

While some reacted with surprise at the baby’s first name, historians found that there was a previous Estelle linked to the Bernadotte dynasty – Estelle Romaine Manville, the American wife of Folke Bernadotte, Count of Wisborg. The Countess of Wisborg died in her adopted homeland of Sweden in 1984, 36 years after the assassination of the Count [read more].

Now, little Estelle joins the ranks of other European princesses set to be Queen of their respective countries one day: Princess Ingrid Alexandra of Norway, Princess Elisabeth of Belgium, Princess Catharina-Amalia of the Netherlands and Infanta Leonor of Spain.

Athena, who was born January 24, 2012, is the second child for Prince Joachim and Princess Marie. Their son, Prince Henrik, was born May 4, 2009.

Athena is the name of the Greek goddess of wisdom, a tribute to the Danish royal family’s ties to Greece (Queen Margrethe’s sister Anne Marie is the former Queen of the Hellenes).

Marguerite is the French spelling of Queen Margrethe’s name.

Françoise is the name of Princess Marie’s mother.

… and of course, Marie for the new princess’ mother.

The little princess is the first girl for Prince Joachim, who has three boys in all. His two eldest, Princes Nikolai (1999) and Felix (2002), are from his marriage to Alexandra Manley, now Countess of Frederiksborg.

Today, the Danish royals and their extended family celebrate a new life and the latest chapter in their dynasty. Congratulations!

See the Getty image library for more.

At little Henrik’s christening, and at Athena’s christening

I watched this video of their official photos and press conference, and I have to say that the pair are absolutely adorable. Guillaume is very sweet and obviously very in love, as is Stephanie, who cuts a very elegant and regal figure. She looks like a wonderful addition to the royal Luxembourg clan!

Some royals chose to buck that tradition, however, and instead go for a colorful gem – or two or three – to present to their intended brides. Look no further than this fascinating array of gems worn by several royal lovebirds for inspiration:

Stunning Sapphire –

The most famous precious gem in recent times belonged to the late Diana, Princess of Wales. The eye-popping 18-carat oval sapphire surrounded by diamonds was chosen by Diana herself for her engagement to Prince Charles in 1981. The engagement ring is now worn by her daughter-in-law Catherine, the Duchess of Cambridge.

Charles and Diana’s son, Prince William, used this ring to propose to the former Kate Middleton while on holiday in Kenya together. With Diana in his thoughts, “this was my way of keeping her close to it all,” said William.

However, Diana was not the first to wear a sapphire and diamond engagement ring. Several styles of royal rings over the years have incorporated the diamond and sapphire theme.

In 1973, Captain Mark Phillips presented the Queen’s only daughter, Princess Anne, with a triple-stone set ring – a sapphire flanked by two diamonds. In 1994, Prince Pavlos of Greece gave heiress Marie-Chantal Miller a cabochon cut blue sapphire alongside a heart-shaped diamond. Pavlo’s brother, Nikolaos, took similar inspiration and proposed to his girlfriend, Tatiana Blatnik, with a deep blue sapphire ring surrounded by a halo of smaller, channel-set diamonds.

Cultural Ties –

Many royal engagement rings have a cultural significance. A young Maxima Zorreguieta was betrothed in 2001 with an orange diamond presented to her by the Dutch Crown Prince, Willem-Alexander. The Dutch Royal house is also known as the House of Orange, a color which symbolizes the Protestant faith.

Crown Prince Frederik of Denmark was swept away by Australian-born Mary Donaldson, whom he presented with an emerald-cut diamond flanked by two emerald-cut rubies, the red and white colors of the Danish flag. His brother, Prince Joachim, set that precedent when he gave former wife Alexandra a ring with diamond and ruby stones set in gold when he proposed in 1995.

Fast-forward to 2007. Prince Joachim, now divorced from Alexandra, became engaged to his French girlfriend, Marie Cavallier. The Danish prince gets the award for most unique engagement ring of all with this proposal – he presented Marie with a gold “giraffe” style ring surmounted by three oval-cut stones: a sapphire, a diamond, and a ruby. The colors represent the blue, white and red colors of the French flag. The ring was designed by jewelry artist Mette Rosgaard.

Personal Perfection –

Her Royal Highness Princess Margaret, the Queen’s younger sister, was engaged to photographer friend Antony Armstrong-Jones in 1960. He had the ruby and diamond ring designed to resemble a rose in honor of the princess, whose full name was Margaret Rose.

Prince Andrew, the Duke of York, proposed to his flame-haired girlfriend Sarah Ferguson with a ruby surrounded by smaller diamonds mounted in gold. The prince chose a stone to match his fiancée’s lovely hair.

The platinum-haired Mette-Marit Tjessem Høiby was made a princess with a family heirloom ring from Crown Prince Haakon of Norway. The ruby and diamond ring was the engagement ring of Haakon’s mother, Queen Sonja, and his grandmother, Princess Märtha of Sweden.

(Many thanks to the people at the PriceScope.com message boards for a photo of Mette-Marit’s ring. It is hard to describe as just ruby and diamond. It takes a photo to really see it’s unique beauty!)

For all of your dreamy royal rings, check out Gemvara! You can personalize ANY ring and make it as unique as you are!

Elizabeth Alexandra Mary was born to The Duke and Duchess of York. She is the first granddaughter for Their Majesties King George V and Queen Mary.

Unknown at the time, little Lilibet would become a record breaking, internationally acclaimed monarch whose duty to the nation and Commonwealth is celebrated across the world. Today the Queen celebrates her 86th birthday with her family in the year of her Diamond Jubilee.

If only King George V & Queen Mary could see her now! How proud they would be!

Happy birthday, Ma’am!

Peter Phillips and his wife, Autumn, welcomed a second daughter to the family. Isla Elizabeth Phillips, born Thursday, March 29th, weighs in at 7 lbs. 4 oz. (3.29 kilograms). She is 13th in line to the British throne, after her older sister Savannah.

Peter is the son of HRH Princess Anne, the Queen’s only daughter.

Related articles

• Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II Becomes a Great-Grandmother for the Second Time (royalcorrespondent.com)
• RBS sees Princess Royal’s son Peter Phillips as a long-term investment (telegraph.co.uk)