Image by Getty Images via @daylife

This has been a banner year for Her Majesty. After two royal weddings and several successful tours, she now looks forward to her Diamond Jubilee in 2012.

Throughout the year, many events kept Her Majesty busy. We take a look back at 2011 in review:

January

• 10^th: Singer Charlotte Church apologizes for referring to the Queen as ‘an old woman [who] has no idea what’s going on’. The Queen, who at almost 85 is one of the most experienced leaders in the world, wasn’t bothered in the slightest. People begin asking, “Charlotte who? Casiraghi?”

February

• 24th: Official visit to Wales by Prince William to introduce his fiancée and future Queen consort, Catherine Middleton.

March

• 17^th -18th: Prince William undertakes an official visit to New Zealand, representing The Queen.
• 19^th -21^st: Prince William continues on an official visit to Australia.

April

• 21^st: The Queen turns 85.
• 23^rd: The christening of Savannah Phillips, Elizabeth’s first great-grandchild.

• 29th: Her grandson and eventual heir, Prince William, marries Catherine. They become the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge.

May

• 3^rd – 5th: The Prince of Wales represents Her Majesty on a visit to the United States.
• 17th – 20th: State Visit to Ireland by The Queen and The Duke of Edinburgh.
• 24th – 26th: State Visit from the President of the United States and Mrs. Obama. The President and First Lady also meet with the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge.
  

June

• 2^nd: The 58^th anniversary of Her Majesty’s coronation.
• 10^th: Prince Philip celebrates his 90^th birthday.
• 11^th: Her Majesty’s official birthday and Trooping the Color.
• 30^th: The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge begin their extensive tour of Canada, representing the Queen.

July

• 1st – 8th: The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge continue their Canadian tour, with a brief stop in Los Angeles, California in the USA.
• 11th: The year was darkened by the loss of a lovely man. The Queen’s first cousin, Lord Harewood, dies at age 88.
• 30th: The Queen’s eldest granddaughter, Zara Phillips, marries rugby captain Mike Tindall in Scotland.
  

August

• 15^th: Iranian media was caught publishing fake stories about an anti-monarchy uprising in the UK. The Guardian reports that the press for the Islamic regime used photos of the miners’ strike of 1984, a bloodied man who was involved in a football skirmish in 2010, among others, to pretend that there were anti-monarchy riots across Britain.
  

September

• 12^th: The BBC presents The Queen’s Palaces, a three-part landmark television series hosted by Fiona Bruce.

October

• 19th – 29th: The Queen and Duke of Edinburgh tour Australia. A protocol controversy brews upon being met at the airport by Prime Minister Julia Gellard, who bowed instead of curtseying. The rest of the tour is a smashing success.

November

• 2nd: Working visit to Copenhagen by the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge. They meet with Crown Prince Frederik and his wife, Crown Princess Mary.
• 20th: The Queen and Prince Philip celebrate their 64th wedding anniversary.

• 22nd – 24th: The President of the Republic of Turkey and Mrs. Gül paid a State Visit to the UK as the guests of Queen Elizabeth II.

December

• The Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh host one of the largest royal gatherings at Sandringham in years. A brief scare ensues when Prince Philip suffers chest pains and is taken to a nearby hospital. The Duke turns out to be fine, but requires a stent to open a blocked coronary artery.

This unauthorized tribute is a very charming documentary about the royal couple’s relationship. Prince William is hailed as the British Royal Family’s “golden boy” marrying the lovely young English rose, Kate Middleton.

The documentary looks back on William’s young life, but most of the focus is placed on his university era when he met Kate, up to the present time.

Fun, brotherly jabs are exchanged between William and Harry; Ingrid Seward, the editor of Majesty, discusses the background of William and Kate’s public relationship; and naturally there is old footage of William’s mother, a baby-faced Diana Spencer, walking briskly down the street with photographers swarming around her. Seeing Kate in much the same position today makes you realize that the paparazzi will never truly give any of the royals privacy, despite Diana’s death.

The sincere hope is expressed that William and Kate’s engagement and wedding will bring new life into the British monarchy. As the documentary comes to a close, the major weddings of our time are seen with the serious intonation by the narrator: “The success of William and Kate’s marriage is crucial to the future stability of the modern monarchy”. It’s a concern not without reason – the marriages of William’s parents, great-aunt Margaret, uncle Andrew, and aunt Anne ended badly. Thankfully uncle Edward’s marriage to Sophie Rhys-Jones has flourished, and Anne and Charles seem to have found success in their second marriages. Andrew still seems somewhat undecided over ex-wife, Sarah Ferguson, whose scandals have landed him in many an awkward position (amusingly, Sarah’s name is misspelled “Furguson”).

It is concluded that the monarchy will mostly likely be in very safe hands with the wedding of Prince William and Catherine Middleton – now Duke and Duchess of Cambridge. It is a happy ending to an upbeat and fun DVD. Please enjoy this documentary, which you can purchase at Amazon.com: A Royal Romance: William & Kate

Known from this day forward as HRH The Duchess of Cambridge, Catherine was swathed in antique lace that gently wrapped her arms and bodice. The train of the ivory and white gown spread out 2 meters behind her, a small train in comparison to other royal brides.

The gown was created by Sarah Burton, the long-time assistant to the late British designer Alexander McQueen.

Catherine’s tiara, the Halo Scroll tiara, was loaned from the Queen. Her mother, sister, and daughter all wore this particular tiara, and it is a well-chosen delicate piece to compliment Catherine’s demure and elegant look. The tiara was complimented by the bride’s earrings, a wedding gift from her parents, Carole and Michael. The earrings were designed and created by London jeweler Robinson Pelham and featured diamond oak leaves and a pavé set diamond acorn suspended in the center.

After the ceremony, the Scottish State Coach transported Her Majesty, the Duke of Edinburgh, and Mr. and Mrs. Middleton back to the Palace. The new Duke and Duchess of Cambridge traveled back to the Palace in the 1902 State Landau.

Catherine’s petite bouquet was made of sweet William, as well as myrtle, lily-of-the-valley and hyacinth.

Read more

• The Royal Channel at YouTube
• Google RealTime
• Google Blog Search
• Mandy’s Royal Twitter
• Clarence House (Twitter)
• The British Monarchy (Twitter)
• MandysRoyalty at Facebook (for discussion)
• W&K Official Wedding Page
• Google News
• The Guardian’s coverage of the wedding
• CNN’s Wedding Special
• Wedding news from The Washington Post
• MSNBC Today: The Royals

Check out my “Blog Fellows” column at the right for a complete list of royal/British bloggers.

You are also welcome to take a gander at the Royal Wedding Stamp covers. A limited number of these covers are also signed by Baron Fellowes of Stafford – famous actor, novelist, film director and screenwriter who has portrayed King George IV as Prince Regent twice, and is perhaps better known as the creator of ITV’s critically acclaimed Downton Abbey.

click for larger image

The covers cost just £12.95 unsigned, or £24.95 signed by Baron Fellowes. Visit www.buckinghamcovers.com to find out more and order online, or give them a call on +44(0)1303 278 137.

Custom Search

click for larger image

There will be hundreds of souvenirs produced to mark the Royal Wedding. But these are different. Exclusive. Handmade. Limited. Created by world leading designers. These products have been independently rated as one of the must-have royal wedding collectables of 2011 in the Sunday Express.

This is a limited edition design by award winning designer Cath Buckingham, featuring Royal Mail’s fantastic Royal Wedding stamps, the official royal crest and a specially designed Westminster Abbey postmark, which is where the wedding will take place.

A limited number of these covers are also available signed by Baron Fellowes of Stafford, famous actor, novelist, film director and screenwriter who has portrayed King George IV as Prince Regent twice, and is perhaps better known as the creator of ITV’s critically acclaimed Downton Abbey.

The covers cost just £12.95 unsigned, or £24.95 signed by Baron Fellowes. Early ordering is advised as Buckingham Covers often sell out pre-release. Visit www.buckinghamcovers.com to find out more and order online, or give them a call on +44(0)1303 278 137.

Image via Wikipedia

Want a unique way to celebrate the royal wedding? Send your congratulations to William and Kate at Million Wishes Wedding.

What could be more fitting a gift for a royal couple than receiving a commemorative leather bound edition of a book created specially in their honor by 1 Million People, filled with 1 Million Messages and Wishes from people around the world who love them? A book and perhaps even a world record which will go down in history for the world to remember.

A certain percentage of the proceeds are contributed to a charity the Royal Couple support and to provide relief support for the Japan tsunami crisis. You also get a free digital copy of the commemorative book.

Sign the book today, and be a part of history. A unique idea for the future king and queen!

Like Kate, I love my eyeliner. My eyes disappear in photos without some sort of color or definition, but Kate’s coloring is much darker than mine so she can definitely carry off lighter makeup. Below, I altered her photo slightly with interesting results.

Kate (original) on the left; with a makeover on the right, using Queen Rania’s brows:

UPDATE: Some people said that the arch of the new brows is too severe. Here is Kate with gentler eyebrow curves (via Princess Marie of Denmark). I agree, Kate looks better here: