Category Archives: Sweden

Hats From the Past

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Royal Hats On July 1, 1923, this photo was taken of Princess Theodora of Greece and Denmark (left) and Princess Margarita of Greece of Greece and Demark (right) with their aunt, Lady Louise Mountbatten. Lady Louise married the widowed Crown Prince Gustaf Adolf of Sweden months after this photo was taken and years later, became Queen of Sweden. The two teenage princesses, daughters of Prince Andrew of Greece and thus, older sisters of Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh (who would have been just two years old at the time), both married German princes in 1931. The trio of hats are truly wonderful, aren’t they?!

Lady Louise Mountbatten with Princesses Princess Theodora and Margarita of Greece and Denmark July 1, 1923 | Royal Hats

Photo from PA Images

Swedish Royal Wedding

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Prince Carl Philip of Sweden and Sofia Hellqvist were married yesterday at the Royal Chapel in the Royal Palace in Stockholm. While this was the final Swedish royal wedding for a generation, it was a smaller, quieter affair with more personal touches than grand fanfare. Here is a review of the headpieces and tiaras that attended this event and a look at the formal wedding portraits.

Prince Carl Philip and Princess Sofia, June 13, 2015

The Bridal Couple

Swedish Royals
Queen Silvia, Crown Princess Victoria, Princess Madeleine, Princess Estelle

Extended Swedish Royals
Princess Margaretha, Princess Birgitte, Princess Désirée, Princess Christina, Désirée von Bohlen und Halbach,
Countess Marianne Bernadotte of Wisborg and Countess Bettina Bernadotte of Wisborg

Danish Royals
Queen Margrethe, Crown Princess Mary and Princess Marie

Norwegian Royals
Queen Sonja, Crown Princess Mette-Marit Princess Märtha Louise

Guests from Other Reigning Royal Families
Queen Mathilde, Queen Máxima, the Countess of Wessex,
Princess Hisako of Takamado

Guests from Non- Reigning Royal Families
Princess Tatiana of Greece
Princess Ursula of Bavaria, Princess Anna of Bavaria

Prince Carl Philip and Princess Sofia, June 13, 2015

Prince Carl Philip and Princess Sofia, June 13, 2015

Prince Carl Philip and Princess Sofia, June 13, 2015 Prince Carl Philip and Princess Sofia, June 13, 2015

Swedish Royal Wedding: Extended Swedish Royal Family

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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

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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
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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.

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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

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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

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