Last week the Princess of Asturias attended a series of events during the Prince of Asturias Awards. As always her fashion choices were heavily scrutinised by royal watchers. During the three days of engagements, Letizia choose to wear the designs of royal favourite Felipe Varela.

On arrival in Asturias, Letizia combined a grey shift dress with a black Burberry coat and one of her favourite Burberry bags. image The simple dress was in the classic style which the Princess favours. image Later that evening at a musical concert, Letizia dazzled in a recycled Varela creation of a blue silk blouse worn with a short black skirt which had small blue daisy detailing on the hem. Her towering blue platforms were from Magrit. image On the following day, Letizia choose another plain light grey dress which was worn with a black belt and a favourite pair of suede Magrit platforms. image

At the award cermony in the evening Letizia wore a stunning midnight blue sequin encrusted dress with a simple cardigan. image Letizia accessorised with matching blue Magrit shoes and a clutch bag. image On the final day of engagements the Princess wore a casual tweed jacket from Felipe Varela which she clinched in at the waist with a tiny belt. Unusually the Princess wore flat boots at the event. image

For more information of the Prince of Asturias Awards 2009 go to this thread.

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In the past week the last two surviving World War One veterans living in Britain have both passed away. Henry Allingham (image) died aged 113 on 18th July and a week later the last veteran Harry Patch also passed away. Earlier this year Bill Stone another WW1 veteran died. To mark the passing of the last of the Great War veterans a memorial service is planned for later in the year to be held at Westminster Abbey with the Queen as a possible guest. It will be a chance for the British public to openly thank all veterans in WW1 who gave so much to their country.

Henry Allingham was probably the most recognised of the three veterans and frequently attended events relating to the Great War. Not only was he the world’s oldest man but he was also the last survivor of the Battle of Jutland and a founder member of the RAF. Born in 1896 during Queen Victoria’s regin he lived through events of the past century that most of us only read about. He lived during the reigns of five British monarchs and witnessed the abdication of Edward VIII.

The Queen paid tribute to Mr Allingham saying he was “one of the generation who sacrificed so much for us all”. image – meeting the Queen prior to attending at garden party at Buckingham Palace. Whilst Prince Charles also remarked that about the sacrifice of WW1 veterans as “belonging to that incredible generation who did so much for their country”. image – Prince Charles and the Duchess of Cornwall marking the 90th anniversary of the Battle of the Somme. Henry Allingham had meet with a number of Royals on various occasions. The Duchess of Gloucester in her role as President of World War One Veterans Association was the closest to Allingham. On number of occasions, such as the opening of a Battle of Jutland exhibition in 2006 at the HMS Belfast (image) and at veteran association events, the Duchess meet with Henry. She also was the only Royal to attend the 90th anniversary memorial event on 11th November 2008 at the Cenotaph which saw all three veterans lay wreaths. image , image It was therefore fitting that it was the Duchess who on Thursday attended Henry’s funeral in Brighton.

Click here for an article about Henry Allingham’s funeral.

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  The summer opening of Buckingham Palace this year includes a exhibition of royal gifts from the Commonwealth countries. Included are a number of brooches and a necklace that have been gifts during the royal tours of the Commonwealth countries in the last 60 years.

One of the first gifts the Queen received on a Commonwealth tour was the Flame Lily Brooch from Rhodesia. During a 1947 tour with her parents and Princess Margaret to southern Africa, Princess Elizabeth turned 21. As a present from the children of Southern Rhodesia, she was presented with a diamond brooch in the shape of the country’s emblem the flame lily. image She notably wore the brooch when she stepped off the plane from Kenya in February 1952 as the new Queen following her fathers death and now wears it on a few occasions. image

In 1951, Princess Elizabeth with the Duke of Edinburgh toured around Canada. image On the tour she wore a diamond brooch in the shape of a maple leaf. image The brooch belonged to her mother. During a Candian tour in 1939 Queen Elizabeth (later the Queen Mother) was presented with the brooch. (image the Queen Mother wearing her Maple Leaf brooch in 1940 with Princess Elizabeth) The Queen Mother continued to wear the brooch until her death. image The Queen now wears the piece to events relating to Canada such as the vigil for Canadian servicesmen at Canada House to mark the 90th anniversary of World War One in November 2008. image Read more…

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 The engagement between The Lady Helen Marina Lucy Windsor and Timothy Taylor was announced on 8th January 1992. image Tim gave Lady Helen an art deco ring of a square cut emerald surrounded by diamonds. The couple married on 18th July 1992 in St George’s Chapel Windsor. image A reception was held at the Kent family’s country home of Cocker End House in Nettlebed Oxfordshire. image

Lady Helen ‘s wedding dress was designed by Catherine Walker of the Chelsea Design Company, who was a favourite of the Princess of Wales and also the bride’s mother, the Duchess of Kent. image The Tudor style gown fitted perfectly with the surrounding of St George’s Chapel. The pearl-white dress was made from heavy silk featured a fitted bodice and full skirt which formed a six-foot train. image The deep v-neckline and cap sleeves were heavily embroidered with silver diamante and pearls. image This detailing complemented the bride’s jewellery. Holding in place the veil was a diamond and pearl tiara which had been a family heirloom of her mother’s family. image The Duchess of Kent had worn the piece to her own wedding in 1963. Lady Helen also wore a diamond and pearl necklace and matching earrings. Read more…

PrincessofEurope British Royals Fashion, Lady Helen Taylor, Wedding Anniversary

 The Cambridge Lovers Knot Tiara was made by Garrard in November 1913 for Queen Mary. The design was to copy that of a tiara which had been owned by Mary’s grandmother, Princess Augusta of Hesse who was married to the Duke of Cambridge. Augusta of Hesse’s tiara had been made to a neo-classical design in early nineteenth century and was a popular design of the period with at least five known tiaras still in existence of a similar pattern. image She gave the tiara to her daughter, Augusta, when she married the Grand Duke of Mecklenberg-Strelitz in 1843. image

Queen Mary made the new tiara from diamonds and pearls she had in her private collection many of which she received as a wedding present. Mary had the tiara made with a base row of diamonds with nineteen diamond bow and knot ribbon design where pearl drops hang. image The tiara in its original form also had a row of upright pearls. image (1926) In 1935, Queen Mary choose to have the upright pearls removed from the tiara and she continued to wear it without them for the remainder of her life. image Today, the tiara remains without the upright pearls.

From the TRF avatar collection

From the TRF avatar collection

Queen Mary left the tiara to her granddaughter, Queen Elizabeth, in her will in 1953. The Queen wore the tiara on a few occasions during the Fifties. image However in 1981, she gave the tiara as a wedding present to her daughter-in-law the Princess of Wales. image Diana, choose not to wear the tiara on her wedding day and its first wearing as to the Opening of Parliament in November 1981. Diana found the tiara heavy and it gave her headaches so she only wore it a few times to the most official of functions image (Australia 1983) or state visits. The Princess also wore the tiara in a number of photo shoots image (1987) and image (Vogue 1991) Following Diana’s death the tiara was returned to the royal vaults.

PrincessofEurope British Royals Cambridge Lovers Knot Tiara, Jewellery, Tiaras

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 The engagement between HRH Prince Michael of Kent and Baroness Marie-Christine von Reibnitz was announced on 30th May 1978. The official pictures were taken by Lord Lichfield. image The couple were unable to marry in an Anglican chuch because she was divorced and the Catholic Church also refused to recognise the union. The Queen had given her consent to the couple’s marriage and it was announced that Marie-Christine would become Her Royal Highness Princess Michael of Kent. However by marrying a Catholic, Prince Michael had to give up his rights to the throne – in 1978 he was 15th in the line of succession. An English civil marriage that involved a member of the Royal Family was not allowed at the time thus they choose to marry in Vienna, Austria. The couple married in the town hall in Vienna on 30th June 1978 surrounded only by close family. Princess Anne, the Duke of Kent, Lady Helen Windsor (now Taylor) and Princess Alexandra with her husband Angus Ogilvy were the only members of the British royal family to attend. image Marie-Christine wore a simple cream suit by British royal designer Hardy Amies. image

Following the civil cermony, a ball was held that night in Schwarzenberg Palace for the couple. The bride wore a Bellville Sassoon cream silk crepe gown. The dress had a pin tucked bodice, a deep neckline with see trough panel and lace trim. image There was a small train and the skirt of the dress had inserts of Chantilly lace. image Read more…

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 Day 3 – Thursday ‘Ladies Day’
Ladies Day at Royal Ascot saw a large turnout in the carraige procession including the Queen, the Duke of Edinburgh, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum , the Duke of York, The Princess Royal, Princess Haya of Jordan, Princess Eugenie and Prince and Princess Michael of Kent.

The Queen wore a matching dress and coat by her in-house designer Angela Kelly. The outfit of white satin overset with a turquoise lace trim. image The collar of the coat was in a sharks teeth design of white satin. The matching white short brimmed hat with lace trim and satin flower was also by Angela Kelly. image The Queen’s stunning single peral set in a diamond oyster was one of the Queen Mother’s favourite brooches.

The Princess Royal who had divided fashion watchers earlier in the week with her outfits was extremely elegant on Ladies Day. image She wore a pale mint outfit with cowl neckline and a saucer style hat with net trimmings. image

Princess Michael of Kent brought out another favourite outfit which she has worn on numerous occassions since it was first seen at the Queen’s 80th birthday service in June 2006. image The blue satin suit with ballon sleeves was teamed with a patterned silk scarf and a tilted hat with rose detail. image Read more…

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 On the 6th January 1999 the long awaited engagement between Prince Edward and Miss Sophie Rhys Jones was finally announced. image The couple were presented to the press at St. James’s Palace gardens that day. Sophie’s diamond ring was one of the most expensive engagements rings ever in the British royal family. image

The wedding took place at 5pm on Saturday 19th June 1999 in St George’s Chapel Windsor followed by a reception in the State Apartments at Windsor Castle. Due to the lateness of the wedding, the couple asked the guests to wear long dresses without hats. The Queen who is rarely seen without a hat at a function chose a lilac feather headpiece and some other senior figure such as the Princess Royal and the Duchess of Kent also added a small headdress. image The Queen Mother was the only royal to break the dress code by wearing a hat but considering her age it was appropriate. image The couple had wanted a more private family wedding compared to those of Edward’s siblings. There was a very limited number of foriegn royals invited and only a short carriage ride through Windsor without any balcony appearance that become the norm. This was what the couple wanted and reflected their more relaxed and private lifestyle.

Sophie Rhys-Jones chose the little known designer Samantha Shaw to create her wedding dress. Coincidently Samantha was married only a few weeks before and Sophie had attended the nuptials. Press examined in detail Shaw’s own wedding dress to gather hints about Sophie’s dress and there were a few similarities in the style. Sophie wore a simple medieval style dress-coat made of ivory silk and organza. image The coat had a deep v-neckline, bell shaped sleeves and a long train. image There was heavy detailing of rows of pearls and crystal bead around the neckline and sleeves of the coat as well as trimming the edge. Spotted over the dress were small pearls. An estimated 325,000 cut-glass and pearl beads were sewn onto the coat. image Although there are no pictures, there was a simple plain dress under the coat for the evening party. She wore court shoes by Gina and carried a bouquet of blown ivory garden roses, scented stephanotis, lily of the valley and freesia. image The bride had lost a lot of weight between her final dress fitting and the actual day which did result in a lot of gapping around the neckline. Read more…

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 Every fashion watcher loves Royal Ascot, and the opening two days of the annual race meeting did not disappoint. Tuesday and Wednesday witnessed one of the biggest numbers of British royals attending in recent years.

Day One – Tuesday
The carriage procession today included the Queen, the Duke of Edinburgh, the Duke of York, the Prince of Wales, the Duchess of Cornwall and Princess Beatrice.

The Queen wore a bright yellow and white floral silk dress with a yellow linen jacket by one of her favourite designers Stewart Parvin. image The matching yellow hat with a pleated brim and white detailing was by Rachel Trevor Morgan. image The Queen wore a spectacular diamond blossom spray brooch.

The Duchess of Cornwall has recently begun to use the creations of British designer Vivienne Westwood and choose to wear an outfit by her for Ascot. Camilla wore a patterned pale gold silk dress under a two-tone beige stripped coat. image Her large beige hat was by Philip Treacy. image

Princess Beatrice wore a short green dress with a cream jacket from the Kate Moss for Topshop range. image The jacket had also been worn a number of times by both Eugenie and Beatrice in the two years. The outfit was worn with two-tone shoes by High street shop Office and a small saucer hat with roses by Philip Treacy worn at the very front of her head. image

The Princess Royal, the Countess of Wessex and Prince and Princess Michael of Kent also attended but meet up later with the Royal party. Read more…

PrincessofEurope British Royals Fashion, Royal Ascot

 Recycling old outfits was the order of the day for the royal ladies at both Saturday’s Trooping the Colour and at Monday’s Garter Day.

Click for the Zimbio gallery

The Queen and the Duchess of Cornwall both wore similar shades of turquoise. The Queen’s turquoise and red outfit has been seen many times in the past few years. image Her Majesty always likes to wear bright colours so that the public can identify her on the balcony at Buckingham Palace. The hat was by the Queens’ favourite milliner Rachel Trevor Morgan image Camilla’s outfit by Robinson Valentine with s stunning Philip Treacy hat had been first seen at Royal Ascot 2008. image This hat was a more traditional choice which suits the Duchess and a vast improvement on last year’s explosion of leaves!

Also in the carriage procession was the Countess of Wessex who although she wore a new Philip Treacy hat matched it with pink and green outfit from Ascot 2006. image Riding beside Sophie was the ever elegant Duchess of Gloucester. She repeated the gold outfit with oversized collar and flower headpiece which she had worn at her daughter Rose’s wedding to George Gilman in July 2008. image  Read more…

PrincessofEurope British Royals Fashion, Garter Ceremony, Trooping the Colour