Princess Round-Up 2014

At the beginning of the year, I gave you a list of Princesses to Watch in 2014. Let's take a look back and see how well my predictions turned out.

BECAUSE THEY WOULD BE MOTHERS

Madeleine and Leonore

in traditional costumes

There was no magic involved in predicting that Princess Madeleine of Sweden and Zara Phillips would become mothers in 2014; both of their pregnancies had been announced and were well advanced at the time. Zara Phillips' daughter was born on Jan. 17 and Madeleine's daughter Princess Leonore was born on Feb. 20. What I didn't predict--and frankly did not even imagine was that Madeleine would announce another pregnancy before the end of the year. She will be a mother twice over before her second wedding anniversary.

Instead, I thought we might have another pregnancy from Madeleine's sister Crown Princess Victoria, whose only child Princess Estelle will be three in a couple of months. It looks like we will have to wait for that one.

On the other hand, I thought we would not see another pregnancy announcement for Catherine The Duchess of Cambridge until 2015. You may remember that speculation was high at the end of last year that Kate was already pregnant, just months after giving birth to Prince George (a la Princess Madeleine). I correctly forecast that this was not the case. And, we might not have gotten an announcement about this second pregnancy until around Christmas or New Year except for the fact that Kate once again suffered from hyperemesis gravidarum. The pregnancy was announced earlier than usual to account for canceled engagements, which included what would have been her first solo overseas trip. Instead, her husband went to Malta for her.

The Monagesque princely family
had cause to celebrate!

I also thought we might be blessed with pregnancies in Monaco and Luxembourg. Now more than two years into her marriage, Hereditary Grand Duchess Stephanie of Luxembourg has not yet made such an announcement. Meanwhile Charlene Princess of Monaco awarded our long wait since her 2011 wedding with a double blessing: her twins Hereditary Prince Jacques and Princess Gabriella arrived on Dec. 10, just in time for Christmas!

(In this section, I also mentioned Dowager Queen Fabiola's unsuccessful struggles to become a mother. Alas, we lost Fabiola on Dec. 5 at the age of 86.)

BECAUSE THEY WOULD BE BRIDES

Sofia Hellqvist and her prince
Copyright Kungahuset.se
Photo by Erika Gerdemark

With no major engagements announced by the end of 2013, I went out a limb to predict possible weddings for Charlotte Casiraghi, Prince Carl Philipp of Sweden and Princess Beatrice of York. Alas, Charlotte is still with Gad Elmaleh, the father of her year-old son Raphael and Beatrice is still with her longtime partner Dave Clark, but neither of them seems to have plans to wed yet. (Look for them on my list of Princesses to watch in 2015!)

Prince Carl Philipp, however, did deliver with an announced engagement to his live-in love Sofia Hellqvist. The couple plans to wed on June 27, 2015. As expected, her past as a reality star and former glamor model still rankled when the engagement was announced but she has been turning out very princess-like appearances, including at the Nobel Prize events, since the announcement.

I also downplayed the idea that Prince Harry's relationship with Cressida Bonas was very serious. The couple has since split with Cressie continuing her boho lifestyle without her high-flying prince.

JUST BECAUSE SHE IS

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge
with Prince George in Australia

Another very easy prediction was that The Duchess of Cambridge would continue to eclipse all other royals in terms of media coverage. Wherever she went and whatever she wore she made headlines. Add in an extensive tour (with Prince George!) in Australia and New Zealand and a few days in the United States, and we were set for many new clothes and new hairstyles. This along with glimpses of her shopping on the High Street and pushing a pram in the park, made for instant internet sensations. Plus, she moved into her new home at Anmer Hall and got pregnant again. All delicious news for the millions of Kate fans around the world.

OTHER ROYAL NEWS IN 2014

Two other royal descendants made their debut in 2014. Princess Amalia of Luxemburg was born on June 15. She was born almost exactly nine months after the marriage of her parents Prince Felix and Claire Ladermacher. She is the third grandchild and first granddaughter for The Grand Duke of Luxembourg. In Britain, a minor royal birth occurred on May 27 when Lord Nicholas Windsor's wife, Paola, had their third son at the age of 44. Lord Nicholas is a great-grandson of King George V. He is the youngest son of The Queen's first cousin, The Duke of Kent, but, as a Catholic convert married to a Catholic, he is no longer in the line of succession.

In addition to Queen Fabiola, we also lost a dynastically important but not very widely known Russian Prince, Nicholas Romanovich Romanov, a great-great grandson of Tsar Nicholas I. He was recognized as head of the Imperial Family by those who discount the claims of Grand Duchess Maria Vladimirovna (because the throne was barred to women.) He was not interested in reviving the old autocracy, however, and was considered a republican. His obituary in the London Telegraph quoted him as saying, “I have always said that not only were we burying the tsar and those who died with him, but we were also burying the most bloodstained pages of our past. Leave them to scholars. Russians should look forward.”

With no major royal weddings in 2014, we did have one minor one when Prince Amadeo of Belgium, grandson of King Albert II married Elisabetta Maria Rosboch von Walkenstein on July 5. He is the nephew of Belgium's current King Philippe.