For over five centuries The Royal Mint has struck the official coinage for the kingdom. Today it mints coins and creates medals for an average of 60 countries annually. It also creates commemorative coins for special historic occasions, and the forthcoming wedding of Prince William is no exception.
As well as the wedding coin, The Royal Mint are offering a fantastic opportunity for a winner and a friend to come and experience the excitement of the royal wedding right at the heart of the celebrations on April 29th.
Win an exclusive invitation to a Royal Wedding Party at the Trafalgar Hotel Vista Rooftop, in the heart of the celebrations. Included in your package:
* One night’s bed and breakfast for you and a guest at The Trafalgar Hotel, London
* Wake up on the 29th of April – the Royal Wedding day – in the heart of the celebrations
* Attend a live screening of the Royal Wedding at the hotel
* Enjoy a celebratory lunch and drinks on the spectacular hotel roof terrace above Trafalgar square
Thank you all for being so patient while my site migrated! MBR and blogs have now been completely restored, and I can’t wait to start updating. Up next:
I have just received one of the cutest photos I have ever seen (Click to enlarge the photo).
Demos and Kitty took the roles of Prince William and Kate Middleton as part of the royal engagement celebrations at The Kingsley School.
Pupils at the private school in Warwickshire made a special congratulations card to send to the happy couple.
The young pupils were photographed with the card before it was sent by the Royal Mail to Buckingham Palace.
The school hopes that the fantastic card will stand out from the others as the junior school pupils made the card themselves, as well as including this photograph of the young lookalikes of Prince William and Kate Middleton from the school.
In the latest edition of Esquire magazine, Welsh soprano Charlotte Church (she of “Voice of an Angel” fame) fumed that the Queen “has no idea what’s going on”.
Claiming that Her Majesty forgot who she was, Church decided to let loose and insult the aged in general: “When you get close to her you realize she’s an old woman and has no idea what’s going on.”
After being called out on her remarks, Church apologized but did pass the buck: “I am deeply sorry if my comments about Her Majesty the Queen caused offense,” she said.
“I find it difficult to remember even making them. My only defense is that I never expected a respected publication to sensationalize my words out of context like this,” she said.
Today’s recommendation: The Evil Style Queen – Misanthropic views on this and that from the deepest German backwaters.
To not do so would be a crime. Her wit and judgment of all things style, from clothes to furniture and more, is incandescent.
The ESQ’s clincher post, for me, was about the Queen (surprise). Entitled Style Is An Attitude, it conveys everything that I feel about Her Majesty, the perfect addendum to my sentiments on my previous post “Cool Queens”.
[picappgallerysingle id="9128487"]Call it a Cinderella story in reverse, Daniel Westling will have a lot to adjust to in his new role as husband to Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden. In any royal wedding, while the focus may be on the romantic aspect of it, the new spouse, whether male or female, will have sacrificed a great deal. In Daniel Westling’s instance, his family name and his privacy.
A former personal trainer to the Princess, the couple met in 2002. There was much speculation as to whether they would get married. Seven years later, the wait would end on February 24, 2009 when the engagement was officially announced.
In photos taken during the engagement news conference, Daniel Westling looked rather overwhelmed, with an almost ‘deer in the headlights’ look. It was clear at that point that his life would never be the same. As date for the wedding has approached he has developed a more comfortable appearance in front of the media as he is groomed for his role as consort to a future Queen.
It cannot be underestimated that the success of the new Prince Daniel’s role will rely on the support of his wife as well as his own proactiveness. Like other male consorts, he has no defined role other than one which he carves out for himself. Time will tell if he succeeds.
[picappgallerysingle id="9156572"]The bride is the highlight of any wedding, in this case much more so if she is the first Swedish female successor to the throne to be married.
In this day and age sometimes it’s difficult to merge tradition with modern practices. In this case, the tradition of the Cameo tiara, worn by her mother Queen Silvia at her wedding, was not a choice that most people, prior to the wedding, would have chosen for Crown Princess Victoria. But in this case, it worked with the simplicity of her wedding dress. Designed by Pär Engshede, who has created many dresses for members of the royal family, it is made of cream-coloured duchess silk satin, with short sleeves and a turned-out collar, which follows the rounded neckline. The dress has a v-shaped back with covered buttons. The sash at the waist is buttoned up at the back.
Crown Princess Victoria wore Queen Sofia’s lace veil, last worn by Victoria’s mother, Queen Silvia at her 1976 marriage to King Carl XVI Gustaf. The 5 metre (about 16 feet) long train edged with a border, was fastenened at the waist, the same shape as the veil. Her unseen shoes were made of the same fabric as the dress.
Although she arrived at the the cathedral in a Rolls Royce, after the ceremony, the Princess and her new husband departed in the Parade Barouche from the Royal Mews, the same carriage used by her parents at their wedding exactly 34 years to the day. The traditions continued with the newlyweds taking a journey on the Royal Barge Vasaorden
