This Week in Princesses

While Queen Elizabeth II continued her family cruise and vacation in the north, many other royal ladies were also scarcely seen this week.


JULY 25, 2010

Queen Sofia and King Juan Carlos of Spain joined the annual festivities in Santiago de Compestela where Spaniards combine two celebrations to make one long festival at the end of July. Politicians, religious pilgrims and good-time seekers congregate to honor Galicia Day and St. James's Day.

Later that day, Princess Laurentian of the Netherlands enjoyed a public display of affection with her husband Prince Constantijn at a play premiere in Salzburg.


JULY 28, 2010

Who says Camilla Duchess of Cornwall doesn't have the royal touch? These folks at the Sandringham Flower Show didn't seem to mind waiting in the iffy weather to catch a glimpse of the wife of the heir to the throne. Folks seem to agree that Camilla isn't glamorous, but she definitely has that sporting, common, country touch perfected by British royals since Queen Victoria's reign.


JULY 30, 2010

Princess Stephanie of Monaco "busted" out at Monaco's annual Red Cross Ball while her future sister-in-law, Charlene Wittstock, showed more "grace."

This Week in Princesses

After a fun weekend, the week started out with our favorite royal ladies addressing some serious topics: AIDS, nuclear disarmament, war memorials. But things started to take a lighter turn toward midweek.

JULY 17, 2010

Prince Albert of Monaco and his fiancee Charlene Wittstock reenacted a scene from the Julia Roberts' movie, "Pretty Woman," stomping on divots at a polo match in England. She looks delightful, Grace Kelly-esque. She gets five stars. He gets two and a half for poorly chosen accessories: a ball cap and no socks. He would have received fewer stars but he does have one fabulous accessory: her!


JULY 19, 2010

Crown Princess Mette-Marit of Norway started the week in Vienna, Austria for the 18th World AIDS Conference. I have a feeling that her playful T-shirt was inspired by U.S. President Obama's successful campaign slogan. And this time, it was her shoes rather than Letizia of Spain's, that generated a buzz. In all seriousness, however, the princess spent the conference strongly advocating for more youth involvement and warning the United Nations about the negative impact of funding cuts on the proliferation of the disease.

It is almost impossible to believe that Queen Noor of Jordan is going to be 60 next year! The American-born grandmother-of-three is the widow of King Hussein, who is remembered for his valiant attempts to broker peace in the Middle East. This week, she was in New York City for several events related to the "Global Zero" project, which advocates for nuclear disarmament. On Monday, she was interviewed by Deepak Chopra for a program on the topic.

The Prince of Wales and Duchess of Cornwall were among many international luminaries who attended a memorial service marking the re-burial of soldiers killed in the World War I Battle of Fromelles in France. About 250 British and Australian soldiers who were buried in a mass grave have now been reinterred in individual graves. DNA is being used to identify them.


JULY 20, 2010

On Tuesday, Queen Noor continued her no-nukes visit to New York, attending the premiere of the film "Countdown to Zero."


JULY 21, 2010

Queen Fabiola of Belgium (left) looked lovely as she joined her nephew Crown Prince Philippe and his wife Crown Princess Mathilde for Belgium's National Day celebrations. Spanish-born Fabiola is the widow of King Baudoin. She has been plagued by death threats and ill health over the last couple of years. Last year, someone threatened to kill her with a crossbow, so she carried an apple with her to the National Day celebrations tempting her anonymous nemesis to reenact the legend of William Tell. At 82, she is clearly still a spirited lady!

Meanwhile, it appears that Princess Claire of Belgium was flashing back to Fabiola's hey-day. She could easily have worn this complete ensemble to Fabiola's engagement party in 1960. Perhaps, Claire's husband Prince Laurent had to wear the sunglasses--to hide how drowsy this snooze-fest of dress is making him.

Poor Crown Princess Mathilde! It must be difficult to maintain your figure when you live in Belgium where someone is always passing around a platter of fabulous chocolates!

It's a little-known fact that Camilla Duchess of Cornwall does her own marketing. Perhaps she's preparing a little fry-up for hubby Prince Charles. Actually, the royal couple were making an official visit to Brixton Market in south London. They are advocates for organic farming and sustainable agriculture.


JULY 22, 2010

Queen Elizabeth II really knows how to throw a party--a tea party, that is! The tiny queen was decked out in the brightest of blues so that she would stand out amidst the thousands of guests. Just look at that crowd. That's a lot of crumpets and cucumber sandwiches!


JULY 23, 2010

Crown Princess Letizia of Spain often draws attention with her sartorial style. On Friday, her snazzy ensemble had cameras snapping not just her shoes--a usual fetish for the photogs--but also her belt. I'm personally a fan of the belt but I'm not in love with cuffing the pants, but I guess she didn't want to obscure anyone's view of the shoes.

Buckingham Palace's 2010 Exhibition

If you are in London this summer, make sure to pay a visit to Buckingham Palace where they are throwing open the doors to let the sun shine in on the magic. In addition to seeing state rooms and the royal mews (stables/garage), you can also see a special exhibition called "The Queen's Year."

The palace will be open July 27 through Sept. 29 while the queen is on holiday, taking a cruise with her family and then making her annual visit to Balmoral Castle in Scotland. Tours start at 17 pounds (about $26 U.S.). For ticket information, visit http://golondon.about.com/od/thingstodoinlondon/ss/buckinghampal_4.htm

Here's a sneak peak of what you'll see:

The cap of maintenance is also on display. It is used every year at the Opening of Parliament ceremony. Compared to the U.S. Congress, the Opening of Parliament is a much more tradition-laden event where even the history of opposition to the crown is ceremoniously preserved. After the Queen arrives in the House of Lords, the man known as the "Black Rod" is sent to summon the members of the House of Commons only to have them slam the door in his face. He has to knock three times before they open the door to him. Then, in stark contrast to the Lords, who serenely filed in wearing robes and coronets, the MPs shamble over in a disorderly mob, further signifying that they don't "bow" to the Lords. Then, the Queen reads a speech prepared for her by the Prime Minister.

Probably one of the most fun parts of this year's exhibition is this wall of hats worn by the Queen to Royal Ascot. Try not looking at the curatorial information and just guessing which hats were worn in which decade. As a petite person who needs to stand out in a crowd, the queen usually chooses large and or brightly colored hats. She is also usually careful to make sure that they don't obscure her face. She's motivated by politeness rather than vanity--she realizes that many people wait a long time to catch a glimpse of her and she doesn't want to disappoint them. Although hats are less popular elsewhere in the world, they are still common among the British upper crust, but women of all classes wear hats for Ascot and, on ladies day, the more outrageous the hat, the more likely you'll be to get your picture in the paper.

Known as the Vladimir tiara, this magnificent piece was purchased by the Queen's grandmother, Queen Mary, in 1921 from Princess Nicholas of Greece (Prince Philip's aunt) after it had been smuggled out of revolutionary Russia. Grand Duchess Vladimir, born Marie of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, was married to the last tsar's uncle. She died and left the tiara to her daughter Helen, wife of Prince Nicholas. There is a photo of Marie wearing the tiara on her Wikipedia profile.

As a huge jewelry collector, Queen Mary was more than happy to help out refugee royals following World War I by acquiring their jewels. She had the Vladimir tiara reconfigured to accommodate emerald drops. This is just one of the magnificent pieces Queen Elizabeth II inherited from her beloved grandmother. (Incidentally, Queen Mary also had a reputation for admiring objects that she expected the hostess, friend or relative to then present to her as a gift. Her mother-in-law, Queen Alexandra, was less than fond of this little habit and sometimes joked that people should hide away their valuables whenever Mary was coming to visit.)

Since Mary's death in 1953, the Queen has regularly worn the Vladimir tiara, choosing it for many portraits. She frequently wears it with the pearls, sometimes with the emeralds and occasionally without any drops at all.