Royalty Thread #4 Nappies and Nuptials

[algonquin]

US Weekly was wrong. Imagine that:

http://inagist.com/all/282439139570368512/

Kate and William are spending Christmas day privately with her family. I would guess this is to spare her the public aspects of Christmas at Sandringham due to the possibility that HG can recur.

Her HG more than likely has not gone away.

[PDilemma]

Her HG more than likely has not gone away.

I doubt it. It is apparently controlled enough that she has done some short events in the last week. So I more or less meant that in case it is worse or she needs medical treatment again. By all accounts, Christmas with the Queen is a marathon of events, some of them formal. Their choice to spend Christmas with her family is likely because it will be more relaxed. And call me crazy, but I think they are a pretty modern young couple and likely make decisions together rather than the utterly appalling patriarchal model of marriage that is popularly talked about in reference to them.

[Spareoom]

I figure, this is their time to take things easy and do things as low-key as possible, ESPECIALLY since she's pregnant and likely still sick. Once they get deeper into the official duty side of things, it won't be as easy to go off and take their holidays as they like. There will be plenty of time for that. This Christmas is not a great time to be pushing a lot of formality on them and I think everyone realizes that.

Maybe I'm oversimplfying things, but it seems like the Royal Family is being very reasonable when it comes to Will and Kate, especially now when she's been sick. Maybe that's unusual? I won't know, but I know I wouldn't have expected any different.

[AragornElessar]

The Crown Prince Family of Denmark attended the Annual Christmas Concert held in Copenhagen earlier this week and....

I haven't a clue what Princess Josephine had in her mouth, but the look on her face says it all IMO.

Ever *sour*!!!!

A very Merry Christmas to all of us and don't forget those of us who can see it tomorrow...

Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth's Annual Christmas Message will be shown on both the BBC in the UK and on the CBC here in Canada. It will also be available online at various places too.

I'll be raising a glass of Ginger Ale or a mix of Juice and Club Soda to Her Majesty's health and also to wish her and the Royal Family a Very Merry Christmas at the end of the Broadcast. As I do every year as one of my own personal Christmas Traditions.

[AragornElessar]

Forgive the double post, but consider it a Christmas Present to the thread.

This was shared over at The Royal Forums in the thread about King George VI and my mouth literally dropped open, as I've never seen it ever before. I'm sure there are others who haven't seen it either, so...

London Connection ~ The Coronation of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth

This is a stunning photo of HM, w/his Queen and the little Princesses and also the rest of his immediate Family, excepting the Duke and Duchess of Windsor of course. In the photo w/them are...

HM Queen Mary
HRH Mary, Princess Royal and Countess of Harewood
TRH Henry and Alice, Duke and Duchess of Gloucester
TRH George and Marina, Duke and Duchess of Kent
HM Queen Maud of Norway and the new King's Aunt

They are also all in their Coronation finery too.

Merry Christmas Everyone!!

BTW...Anyone expecting or hoping for a Royal Christmas Present of any kind? I'm hoping Mom and Dad or my Sister managed to find something to mark this very special year for all of us in the Commonwealth.

[AragornElessar]

Well...I struck out w/any presents to do w/the Diamond Jubliee. I sometimes wonder why my Sister bothers to ask me what I'd like for my Birthday and/or Christmas, as she never listens to me anyway.

Anyway...I was looking at something else over at YouTube and noticed this off to the side...

Queen Margrethe II of Denmark's CNN interview part 1/3

Parts Two and Three are far easier to find than the First part was. In fact, it was Part Two I saw first, followed by Part Three and then having to search for the beginning of the thing. Anyway...This was held to help mark Her Majesty's Ruby Jubliee earlier this year and is beyond fascinating. It also gave me something I've been wanting to see for a very long time. Some of HM's art work of Middle Earth she created for the Danish translation she also did of The Lord of the Rings.

During Part Two I think, we also see Daisy showing off one of her trays she's created by doing Decopauge on it. She has it in one of the Guest Rooms and I thought was stunning. I haven't done Decopauge in a long time, but I remember how easy it is to over do it on the project you're creating. This tray wasn't one of those.

Out of all the Monarchs of today, she's the one I'd love to be able to spend a day w/just chatting and creating whatever was at hand to create/work w/. If that happened, I'd also get that chance to ask her why she picked Gold to put her Sugar Plum Fairy in for the production of The Nutcracker she designed the Costumes and Sets for this Holiday Season in Copenhagen.

Anyway, enjoy watching this really great interview w/one pretty interesting lady.

[Jenny]

Reports now coming in that after spending Christmas Day with the Middletons (including a family outing to church services), Kate and William headed to Sandringham to join the traditional Boxing Day hunt. No word on if the Middletons have joined any part of the festivities, but it does sound like they've combined the best of both worlds for the holidays, with other reports that they will ring in the New Year with Charles and Camilla.

One fun tidbit: apparently Kate stayed behind while the others went hunting, as did the Queen who has a little cold. One imagines them cozied up around a fireplace drinking tea and discussing baby names They did apparently trek out for the traditional shoot lunch though.

[AragornElessar]

Isn't that how things are done anyway? The men go out to shoot and the women come later w/the food for the picnic?

Could have sworn I read that somewhere at some point in time. Anyway...

The names of the newest little Savoy Princess have been announced...

She is HRH Princess Isabella Vita Marina of Savoy.

Apparently Marina is the name of her Maternal Grandmother, but don't know anything like that when it comes to the other two names. Regardless, IMO they're really pretty and go together really well too.

Was meaning to post this yesterday, but ran out of steam...

The Sun ~ Queen glanced lovingly at Wills as if to say, one day all this will be yours

This article is by Royal Photographer Veteran Arthur Edwards and has some of his personal favourite pictures he took of the Windsor clan this past year. I love, love, love the one the title of the article is about.

[AragornElessar]

This calls for it's own posting...

The Telegraph ~ New Year's Honours of 2012 : The Full List

Quite a few Olympians and Paralympians on that list. Awesome to see so many Paralympians being honoured!!

I think the least surprising entry on that is *Sir* Bradley Wiggins. First Brit to win the Tour de France and then capped it off w/Olympic Gold. This was expected to happen from what I was reading in various places.

Speaking of the Games...I wonder how many calls Rosie MacLennan fielded on Christmas Day after HM's Christmas Broadcast was shown here in Canada? It was so wonderful to see so many Commonwealth athletes also featured alongside their British Counterparts during that portion of HM's Broadcast. Also a delightful surprise to see Rosie shown as the first one of the Commonwealth Athletes.

Talk about a Christmas Surprise, huh?

[Guinevere]

Not sure if this is the right thread to post this, but since he was a king, I hope it fits!

I'm absolutely intriguied by the idea that they may have found Richard III in a car park in Leicester.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencete...eologists.html
http://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/lifes...ruth-1-5192836

Richard III was the last English king to die on the battlefield and I think it's so interesting that they might have finally found him. How the dig came about is as interesting as the result itself. They tracked down the former church where he was said to have been buried (ruined, of course, during the Dissolution of the Monasteries) and dug three narrow trenches in a parking lot just trying to find the church. They had an idea of the layout of the church so they chose these areas to dig. Then they found a skeleton, which wouldn't be that unusual because it was a church, but then they saw skeleton had a fatal war wound on the head, an arrow in the back and severe scoliosis of the spine that made his right shoulder higher than his left (Richard III was often portrayed as a hunchback and some descriptions said his right shoulder was higher than his left).

I did an archaeology dig some years ago so I know how tedious it can be and to think they could have found it in essentially their first try is so exciting!! I really hope it is Richard III, because I think they deserve this.

[Reuven]

Not sure if this is the right thread to post this, but since he was a king, I hope it fits!

I'm absolutely intriguied by the idea that they may have found Richard III in a car park in Leicester.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencete...eologists.html
http://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/lifes...ruth-1-5192836

Well, was he not looking for a horse?

[taf2002]

Darn! For want of a nail.....

[AragornElessar]

Well, was he not looking for a horse?

Darn! For want of a nail.....

Groan...

And yes, I did actually react in that order after reading those two posts.

[attyfan]

Well, was he not looking for a horse?

According to these, he wasn't:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JxTim7fJLis

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R6JczvS1PL4

(close to the end on the second one)

[AragornElessar]

Did anyone else know we had a Royal Wedding this weekend? His Imperial and Royal Highness Archduke Christoph of Austria (House of Hapsburg-Lorraine) married his fiancé Adalaide Drape-Frisch in Nancy, France over the weekend. Nancy is the ancient Capitol of Lorraine and they thought it would be a nice tribute to that part of his Family's Heritage if that's where the Wedding took place.

The Civil Ceremony took place Friday and the Religious Ceremony yesterday. Which is where the footage this YouTube video shows us comes from. This is the Happy Couple either leaving the Church and heading to the Reception or leaving the Reception back to the Hotel, but I think it's a safe bet they're on their way to their Reception.

YouTube ~ SCOOP - Mariage Princier à Nancy !! Christoph Von Habsbourg - Lothringen

I *love* her gown!! Perfect for a Winter Wedding. My only quibble is how the veil isn't completely attached to the Tiara and only partially w/that gap of hair in-between. I hate that look and think it looks sloppy a wee bit. Which not the look any Bride is going for I think. That's just me and my personal preferences though.

The Tiara was a loan from her new Uncle and Aunt in Law, TRH The Grand Duke and Duchess of Luxembourg and is the smaller of the two floral tiaras from the Luxembourg Collection. Christoph's Mother is the Sister of the Grand Duke, so that's why the entire Luxembourg Grand Ducal Family are attending this wedding, because once I can find a really good collection of pictures from both the Wedding Ceremonies you'd all be wondering about that. So that's why.

What a lovely way though to end the Royal Year of 2012, huh?

[taf2002]

The dress style is severe but I like it for her. And I actually like the way the veil is attached to the back of the tiara. It shows off the tiara a little better & it gives the veil a little lift off the head. That was the one thing I didn't like about Kate's. Hers looked kind of nun-like.

[lulu]

For those who get the BBC, a special on Queen Victoria's children airs on BBC Two this Tuesday, Wed. and Thursday. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-20782442

[AragornElessar]

I've been hearing about this here and there, mostly over at The Royal Forums, and it sounds really facsinating. Hope it gets shown here in Canada somewhere sometime. More than likely CBC News Network's The Passionate Eye will show it at some point I hope. That's the Canadian broadcast of The Diamond Queen was shown, so hopefully...

Some lovely baby news was announced yesterday...TI&RH The Prince and Princess of Prussia are expecting twins in a few months. It had been announced already that Sophie was pregnant w/their First Child, but that Twins are on their way is brand new news.

Now this is the way to start off a New Year of following the Royals.

Also the first of the Traditional three New Year's Courts in Denmark was held on New Year's Day in Copenhagen. These are full out Royal events w/Tiaras, full length gowns for the Ladies and Uniforms for the Men. New Year's Day is also the Main Celebration Day for those Members, Officers and Companions of The Order of The Elephant. Which is why this is one of the very few times you see the Royals and others of the Order wearing the Order's chain instead of the Order Sash. Which is that light blue sash we see the Queen, CP Mary and Princess Marie normally wearing on formal occasions such as this.

However, I don't have any links up and available to share, but as soon as I do, I'll be back w/it and/or them.

[AragornElessar]

Not the promised links to the Danish New Year's Courts, but almost as better....

Someone over at YouTube put this together to mark the Royal Year of 2012 and it's so very well done too.

YouTube ~ Royal Year of 2012

[floskate]

Just an FYI - the Victoria 3-part documentary was interesting in parts but annoying in that they seemed to have a collection of about 4 ghastly black and white pics of whoever they were talking about at the time and then kept zooming in on said pics whenever they were mentioned over and over again. It was pretty much a personality assassination but refreshing in the sense that Victoria's complete and utter failure as a Mother and her outrageous selfishness in regard to her treatment of her children is usually glossed over.