Princess Palace

30 April 2011

Favorite Royal Wedding Photos

The world's newest princess, HRH The Duchess of Cambridge, was a gorgeous bride in a gown created by Sarah Burton of Alexander McQueen and wearing the Cartier "Halo" tiara loaned by HM The Queen. The gown seemed to take the best characteristics of two of the world's favorite royal brides, Princess Grace and Princess Margaret, and reinterpret them for a modern bride.

Prince William, now the Duke of Cambridge, and his bride delighted crowds with a carriage ride to Buckingham Palace. Some people had camped out for days for a chance to see them.

Carriage procession to Buckingham Palace

And this is the photo I've waited months to see: a beautiful picture of a very happy Lady Louise Mountbatten-Windsor, clearly enjoying her day as a bridesmaid beside her handsome older cousin Prince Harry.

Prince Harry and The Lady Louise Mountbatten-Windsor

The wedding party in a delightful portrait by Hugo Burnand. The young attendants are(clockwise from bottom right) The Hon. Margarita Armstrong-Jones, Miss Eliza Lopes, Miss Grace van Cutsem, Lady Louise Windsor, Master Tom Pettifer and Master William Lowther-Pinkerton.

The young stars of the day queued up at the Abbey, focused on their important roles at the wedding. Well, everyone except Master Tom Petiffer who seemed to have realized there were cameras at every angle.

These photos are from The British Monarchy's photostream on Flickr. Please consult that site for information about photo usage.

29 April 2011

Princesses Welcome a New Princess

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Royals from around the world gathered in London this morning to welcome Catherine Middleton into their rarified world. For the wedding, Kate wore a beautiful gown by Sarah Burton, which reminded me of both Prince Margaret's and Princess Grace's wedding dresses. With her marriage to Prince William of Wales, the lovely Berkshire lass is now HRH The Duchess of Cambridge.

Some of the royal ladies who shared her joy today included:

Mother of the bride Carole Middleton, Queen Elizabeth II and The Duchess of Cornwall
Queen Sonja of Norway and Queen Margrethe II of Denmark
Princesses Eugenie and Beatrice of York
Crown Princess Katherine of Yugoslavia
Queen Sofia of Spain and Letizia Princess of the Asturias
Anne Princess Royal
Maxima Princess of Orange
Lalla Salma of Morocco
Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn of Thailand
and royal bride-to-be Charlene Wittstock

Embed from Getty Images

Meet the Duchess of Cambridge

This morning, it was announced that Catherine "Kate" Middleton will become Duchess of Cambridge, Countess of Strathearn and Baroness Carrickfergus upon her marriage to HRH Prince William of Wales today. While there have been many Dukes of Cambridge, there have only been two Duchesses of Cambridge.

Caroline of Ansbach (1683-1737)

When the British decided to skip over all of the Catholics in the Line of Succession and settle the succession on the German family of Stuart granddaughter Electress Sophia of Hanover, Sophia's grandson George was named Duke of Cambridge and his wife Caroline of Ansbach became his Duchess in 1706. Sophia died too soon to become queen and her son became King George I in 1714 when George and Caroline became Prince and Princess of Wales. In 1727, they became King and Queen. Among their many children was Frederick Prince of Wales whom they both despised and who did not outlive them. Caroline is generally considered one of the most capable consorts. She has very involved in "helping" her husband and his Prime Minister Robert Walpole.

Augusta of Hesse-Cassel (1797-1889)

It was quite some time before another Duchess of Cambridge appeared and it almost didn't happen then. Adolphus, the seventh son of King George III was made Duke of Cambridge, but like so many of his brothers, who was not very keen on getting hitched. But, when the only child of the Prince of Wales died, all the unmarried royal dukes, quickly married much younger brides in hopes of fathering the next royal heir. Twenty-one-year-old Augusta was half her husband's age. They did have several children, but unfortunately for them, Adolphus was just too far down the line to inherit the crown that went to Victoria, daughter of the fourth son. Perhaps the best remembered of their children was Princess Mary Adelaide of Cambridge who married the Duke of Teck and became the mother of the future Queen Mary, consort of King George V and grandmother of Queen Elizabeth II. It is undoubtedly the queen's close family connection that makes the Cambridge title so appealing for her grandson.

Catherine Middleton (1982- )

Now, we shall see how Catherine, only the third Duchess of Cambridge, will perform in her new royal role. Best wishes on this happy day!

Read more about the history of the Cambridge title on Royal Musings.