Yearly Archives: 2015

Swedish Royal Wedding: Norwegian Royals

Posted on by

Royal Hats While the Norwegian Royal Family are not direct relations of the Swedish Royal Family, they are close friends. As such, the Norwegian royals were well represented yesterday at the wedding of Prince Carl Philip and Sofia Hellqvist.

Queen Sonja wore Queen Maud’s Pearl and Diamond Tiara, a beautiful piece made of up diamond scrolls and festoons topped with upright pearls. This piece looks great on Sonja, whose hairstyle does much to soften its high, central peak. What didn’t look so great, I’m afraid, is the voluminous, pleated, bright yellow silk dress. But then, I think anything with a large neckline ruffle should be outlawed.

Crown Princess Mette-Marit wore what is known as the Diamond Daisy Tiara, a piece gifted to her from King Harald and Queen Sonja on the occasion of her own wedding in 2001. The narrow piece features round diamond daisy flowers held within diamond circles that create a scalloped bandeau shape. As far as tiaras go, this one is very simple but it is a great fit with Mette-Marit’s clean lined fashion aesthetic. She wore a Temperley patterned silk skirt for the wedding today- a piece that seems so very her. I thought her ensemble was fresh, modern and very pretty.

Crown Princess Mette-Marit, June 13, 2015 | Royal Hats

Princess Märtha Louise wore the tiara we have seen on her most over the years, the King Olav Gift Tiara. Another narrow piece, this tiara features ears of wheat studded with small pearls. It is a delicate piece befitting of a princess with a minor royal role and I thought its placement yesterday, tucked back over Märtha Louise’s chignon, worked well. What did not work as well, however, were her large earrings, which looked like costume pieces. A delicate dress, delicate necklace and delicate tiara needs delicate earrings, don’t you agree?

Princess Märtha Louise, June 13, 2015 | Royal Hats   Princess Märtha Louise, June 13, 2015 | Royal Hats

Next up, a look at the tiaras worn by other royal guests.

Photos from  BrauerPhotos (c) G.Nitschke/Sabine Brauer Photos, Patrick van Katwijk/dpa and Patrick van Katwijk/dpa via Corbis; Getty as indicated

Swedish Royal Wedding: Danish Royals

Posted on by

Royal Hats With close relations between the Swedish and Danish Royal Families (the King Carl Gustav and Queen Margrethe are first cousins and Queen Margrethe is Prince Carl Philip’s godmother), there was a predictably large group of Danish Royals in attendance at the Swedish royal wedding yesterday in Stockholm.

Queen Margrethe wore the most romantic of royal tiaras, the Baden Palmette Tiara. The heart-shaped scrolls on this piece are delicately pretty on Margrethe but its pairing with her cupid red gown (a stunning gown on its own) for a wedding felt a little cheesy. If I saw this ensemble at a royal banquet I would absolutely adore it but yesterday, I would have preferred a different tiara with this gown.

Queen Margrethe, June 13, 2015 | Royal Hats   Queen Margrethe, June 13, 2015 | Royal Hats

Crown Mary wore her Wedding Tiara, utilizing the piece’s option to add pearls to beef it up. I like this tiara much more with the pearl additions- it is an elegant piece that works well with her pearl drop earrings and stands out against Mary’s dark hair. Her ice blue gown was a great pairing with these jewels and while it looked great from a distance, a few issues with construction (wonky bust darts and oddly placed lace slapped on the front midsection) made me more a fan of the tiara than the dress.

Interestingly, Princess Mary tucked a diamond brooch into her chignon. I’m just not sure the addition was necessary or that the two pieces worked together.

Princess Mary, June 13, 2015 | Royal Hats

Princess Marie wore the tiara she usually wears, her Diamond Floral Tiara. I adore the lightness and intrinsic beauty of floral tiaras and Marie wears this one well. Her fresh green dress was a great choice for a summer wedding although I would have preferred it much better without the oddly placed, pleated cummerbund.

Princess Marie, June 13, 2015 | Royal Hats   Princess Marie, June 13, 2015 | Royal Hats

The Danish royal’s fashion choices were not as successful as I would have hoped but  they looked to be having great fun at this event. I suppose in the end, that’s what matters most. Next, we’ll look at tiaras worn by the Norwegian royals.Princess Marie and Princess Mary, June 13, 2015 | Royal HatsPhotos from Patrick van Katwijk/dpa, Patrick van Katwijk/dpa, Patrick van katwijk/dpa,  Patrick van Katwijk/dpa, Patrick van Katwijk/dpa, and Splash News via Corbis; and Getty as indicated

Swedish Royal Wedding: Extended Swedish Royal Family

Posted on by

Royal Hats  With many members of the extended Swedish Royal Family in tiaras for the wedding of Prince Carl Philip of Sweden and Sofia Hellqvist today, a significant part of the Swedish collection of jewels was on display.  Princess Christina wore the Six Button Tiara. It’s a rather clunky piece but Christina’s hair colour and style provided soften the linear base of the tiara and make the buttons seem less disjointed as they usually do. This is one of the rare cases when I think this tiara works better than the rest of what she is wearing.

Princess Désirée, Baroness Silfverschiöld topped her bright pink caftan gown with the Cut Steel Tiara. The gold frame of this tiara is a great match with Désirée’s warm-hued hair and while this pairing of gown and tiara would not have been my first choice, surprisingly, they worked well together.

Princess Margaretha topped a beautiful grey brocade tunic and jacket with the exquisite Aquamarine Kokoshnik Tiara. Pairing aquamarines can be tough as the pale stones are easily washed out with too much contrasting colour but this pairing was perfect. What was less than perfect, however, was Princess Brigitte’s ensemble. Her  tiara, the Baden Fringe Tiara, is certainly striking but her choice to wear it with a fur jacket and pink palazzo jumpsuit is absolutely bizarre.

Princess Brigitta’s daughter, Désirée von Bohlen und Halbach, wore the Pearl Circlet Tiara. We seldom see all pearl tiaras and Désirée showed this one off beautifully with the choice of her royal blue gown.

Countess Marianne Bernadotte of Wisborg wore a delicate diamond tiara. The tiara alone is beautiful but I’m afraid that the rest of the ensemble- lace dress, bow cuffs, pearl choker, fur trimmed stole, embroidered purse- was a case of too many beautiful statement pieces at the same time.

Finally, Countess Bettina Bernadotte of Wisborg topped her blue gown and jacket with a small diamond tiara. The tiara, made of of triangular peaks, is a rather spiky one that might have benefited from a softer hairstyle. It is not a piece I have seen before and suspect it does not get out much.

That concludes our look at all the Swedish royal tiaras! Next, we will start looking at the tiaras worn by royal guests.

Photos from Getty as indicated

Swedish Royal Wedding: Swedish Royals

Posted on by

Royal Hats Leading a parade of royal guests today at the wedding of Prince Carl Philip of Sweden and Sofia Hellqvist were members of the Prince’s immediate family.

As she already wore the Nine Prong Tiara to Princess Madeleine’s wedding and the Braganza Tiara to Princess Victoria’s wedding, Queen Silvia predictably chose the last of her three large tiaras, the Leuchtenberg Sapphire Tiara. The blue sapphires were a sentimental choice for her only son’s wedding; the pairing of this tiara with Silvia’s lilac silk satin dress embroidered with lace, sequins and stones made for a very sparkly ensemble. King Carl Gustaf looked most handsome in the the mess dress uniform and cap of the Admiral of the Fleet circa 1878.

Queen Silvia, June 13, 2015 | Royal Hatshttp://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/swedens-king-carl-xvi-gustaf-and-swedens-queen-silvia-news-photo/476973898
http://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/king-carl-xvi-gustaf-of-sweden-and-his-wife-queen-silvia-of-news-photo/477048456
http://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/queen-silvia-of-sweden-leaves-the-royal-chapel-at-the-royal-news-photo/477018676

Crown Princess Victoria wore the Connaught Tiara for the first time. I thought the choice of this high, intricate tiara was a fantastic counterpoint to Victoria’s gown, an unexpectedly modern but ethereally beautiful choice from the H&M Concious Collection.  Princess Madeleine wore this tiara for the first time at Princess Victoria’s wedding and there is a lovely, sentimental note about Princess Victoria choosing to do the same for her brother’s wedding today.

Princess Estelle, along with the other bridesmaids, wore a white silk and Italian silk organza dress designed by Ida Sjöstedt. Her hair, cut in an adorable bob, was held off her face by a white Livly bow.

http://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/princess-estelle-waves-to-the-crowds-held-by-her-father-news-photo/476986224

Princess Madeleine, who is due to deliver her second child any day, looked radiant in a pale pink silk dress with beaded bodice. She topped the gown with the Modern Fringe Tiara that she wore for her own nuptials just two years ago. The delicate fringe motif on the tiara is much softer than most royal fringe tiaras and as Madeleinie wears it often, it is a piece we have come to associate with her. In a fascinating historical touch, Princess Leonore wore a lace dress once worn by her great, great grandfather King Gustaf VI Adolf around 1884. She also sported a small white hair bow from Livly.

Swedish Royal Wedding: The Couple

Posted on by

Royal Hats  Prince Carl Philip of Sweden and Sofia Hellqvist were married today in a ceremony held Royal Chapel in the Royal Palace in Stockholm. It was a day filled with personal touches and a couple that radiated happiness.

Prince Carl Philip, who holds rank of major the  Swedish Navy, wore the mess dress model uniform and cap circa 1878. His pale blue sash held the the Order of the Seraphim and the Star of the Order; the Order of the Polar Star cross on a black band around his neck.

Princess Sofia, as she is now known, wore a dress  by Swedish designer Ida Sjöstedt. Made of multiple shades of white silk crepe, the strapless dress was overlaid with a long sleeve, v-necked overlay of Italian silk organza appliquéd with couture lace. The lace, made by José María Ruiz, was was hand-stitched to the dress. If you look closely at the princess cut gown, you will see lace trailing down the full length of the skirt, artfully concealing the seams on the silk crepe base layer. The dress did not provide the same ‘wow factor’ that other royal wedding dresses have created but I thought it was an elegant and very beautiful choice for Sofia’s entry into royal life.

Sofia’s full length veil of silk tulle organza was edged in a wide border of hand-embroidered cotton lace. She wore it off her face, anchored into her low chignon.

Sofia’s tiara choice today was a surprise, as it is new. Announced as a gift from the King and Queen for their new daughter-in-law, the tiara features emeralds atop a base row of palmettes.  Coloured tiaras are not a usual choice for royal brides and I loved the unexpected pop of colour which blended beautifully with the traditional sprig of myrtle Sofia tucked into the back of her hair. I don’t believe the Swedish royal jewel collection has an emerald piece and this one, which is a perfect size for a petite princess, will be a great addition.

In a vast majority of the photos released, the newlyweds look to be bursting at the seams with happiness.  If you have not already seen their exuberant recessional up the aisle after the wedding service, I strongly encourage you to watch it, beginning at 44:30 in the video below. It was not a traditional choice of royal wedding recessional music but it was obviously a choice special to this couple and I adored them for it.

Prince Carl Philip and Sofia Hellqvist, June 13, 2015 | Royal Hats  Prince Carl Philip and Sofia Hellqvist, June 13, 2015 | Royal Hats

Embed from Getty Images