Prince William and Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge pose for the official tour portrait for their trip to Canada and California, in the gardens of Clarence House in London June 3, 2011.
Royal Engagement Tribute from Warwickshire School
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.
Many thanks to The Kingsley School and Andrew Parker for this photo!
Every published report on Tatiana Blatnik says she was born in 1980 and that she’s 29 years old. That means she was born the same year I was, and is even a few months younger (I turned 30 in April).
When I first saw photos of her, I thought she was around Nikolaos’ age. He is 41, and I estimated Tatiana at about 38. Don’t get me wrong, I think she is beautiful and statuesque, but she doesn’t look 29.
Any thoughts?
(Ed. – This was not intended to be rude in any way, I was simply curious to see what other people thought. If I have caused offense, I apologize.)
Image by Globovisión via Flickr
Prince Albert of Monaco has proposed to his girlfriend Charlene Wittstock.
The Palace of Monaco officially announced the engagement of HSH Prince Albert II with Ms Charlene Wittstock on June 23rd. This is the first marriage for the 52-year-old prince and for Charlene, 32.
His Highness is the son of the late Prince Rainier III and the American actress-turned-princess Grace Kelly. Albert succeeded to the throne upon Rainier’s death in July 2005.
Charlene Lynette Wittstock is of South African nationality. Born on January 25th, 1978 in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe, she is a former Olympic swimmer and described by the Palace’s official statement as ‘a youth worker’.
Charlene’s engagement ring is as stunning and large as that of Albert’s mother, Princess Grace:
Stylelist.com says:
Her pear-shaped engagement ring, set in unique gray gold, is the “Tethys” design created by Parisian jeweler Maison Repossi. The sparkler’s huge center stone is embellished with round diamond brilliants.
Many congratulations to them both!
My final post before vacation focused on the royal jewels that might be seen at Crown Princess Victoria’s wedding. The royal women certainly did not disappoint; everything sparkled and looked magnificent.
I saw some tiaras that were amazing as well as amazingly out of place. Let’s check it out, but a word to the wise: this post is picture-laden. It may take a moment to load.
Grand Duchess Maria Teresa of Luxembourg
The Cuban-born lovely usually wears beautiful jewels that fit her appearance, but in this instance, the tiara was too big. It seemed to weigh too heavily for someone as petite as Maria Teresa.
According to Royal Magazin, the origin of this Empire Diamant tiara is not known. The tiara’s design of laurel leaves dates to around the mid of the 19th century. It had been worn by Grand Duke Henri’s mother, Grand Duchess Josephine-Charlotte.
Princess Birgitta of Sweden
Crown Princess Victoria’s aunt Birgitta was seen wearing the Nine-Prong Diamond tiara, also known as Queen Sophie’s Diamond Tiara.
Queen Sophie’s tiara was put forward as a possibility for Queen Silvia, the mother of the bride (below).
Instead, Her Majesty opted for the Braganca Diamond Tiara. This tiara once belonged to Empress Amalie of Brazil, whose sister was Queen Josephine of Sweden. After her death, it was inherited by Josephine and became a fixture among the jewels of the Swedish Royal Family. Interestingly, Queen Silvia’s mother Alice was Brazilian.
This easily rivals the Luxembourg Empire Diamant tiara above, but because Silvia’s hair has more body, it seems to compliment the tiara rather than allow it to overshadow her.
Her suite of jewelry was the Pink Topaz set worn by Queen Louise of Sweden (Lord Mountbatten’s sister). It was originally the wedding gift of the Russian Tsar Paul to his daughter, who married a German Grand Duke. Their daughter, Augusta, married the infamous Kaiser. It was Augusta’s granddaughter, Victoria, who would bring the suite into the Bernadotte dynasty when she married Prince Gustav of Sweden.
Princess Madeleine of Sweden
The sister of the bride sported the Connaught Diamond Tiara, a delicate looped headpiece that was simple and elegant.
The Connaught once belonged to Princess Margaret of Connaught. It was a wedding gift from her parents, Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught and Duchess Louise Margarete (formerly of Prussia). Margaret, a granddaughter of Queen Victoria, married the future King Gustav Adolf in 1905.
Crown Princess Maxima of the Netherlands
Maxima wore a very sparkly yet subtle tiara to the nuptials.
The Diamond Bandeau Tiara has adorned the heads of Dutch queens and princesses for generations. It is made up of twenty-seven large diamonds set on a platinum band.
Princess Mabel of the Netherlands
Mabel’s nutty “trouser gown” detracted from her headpiece, but if you did happen to notice it, you’ll recognize that it is the very same tiara she wore on her wedding day to Queen Beatrix’s son Prince Friso.
Thanks to Mad Hattery, I discovered that Mabel’s tiara is the second setting of the Mellerio Sapphire Tiara. It is topped with 11 large diamonds that look like lollipops.
I don’t know what possessed her to wear the outfit that she did, but the color was nice anyway!
Crown Princess Mette-Marit of Norway
Mette Marit chose to wear Queen Maud’s Pearl tiara to highlight her elegant bone structure and eye-catching platinum locks. This tiara was also worn by Mette Marit’s sister-in-law, Princess Martha-Louise for her wedding to Ari Behn.
While Martha-Louise wore the tiara high on her head, the Crown Princess (above) tilted the prongs back, creating the illusion of a smaller headpiece.
This tiara came down from Queen Maud of Norway, a sister of King George V of Great Britain. She had married Prince Charles of Denmark, who had been presented with the opportunity to become King of Norway. He accepted, and they became Queen Maud and King Haakon.
Princess Martha-Louise wore the Norwegian Amethyst Necklace Tiara. Like many royal tiaras, it is easily converted into a necklace and has matching earrings. The tiara was a gift to her mother Queen Sonja from King Harald.
Crown Princess Mary of Denmark
The Danish Crown Princess wore Queen Ingrid’s Ruby Parure Tiara. It is a tiara frequently worn by Mary, and completely apropos for this wedding: inherited by Queen Luise of Sweden, she eventually passed it to her daughter, the future Queen Louise of Denmark, as a wedding present.
Many thanks to The Immense Glitter of Two Danish Royal Weddings, Royal Jewels and Royal Magazin (again)!
Queen Rania of Jordan
Queen Rania wore a converted bracelet as her headpiece. Her gown was elegant but her hair was slightly messy. The small tiara gets lost in Rania’s beehive.
