Earl and Countess of Wessex Current Events 5: December 2004-March 2005

[corazon]

Beautifull Louise

 

[Nichola]

I've just seen the Queen's Christmas Broadcast on Sky News. Lady Louise is cute cute cute! It's quite funny, every facial feature Edward has, Louise also has, she looks so much like he did at the same age! Lady Louise looks such a content, happy baby. She was being held by Sophie, and when the Queen handed her the Christmas present, she made an 'ooooh' noise. I think she was MORE excited at the bow on the wrapping paper though! LOL

 

[HMQueenElizabethII]

Yes,for sure Louise is so cute.

 

[corazon]

Sophie Louise with the Queen

 

[sara1981]

i cant see those pictures!

Sara Boyce

 

[corazon]

i captured images from cnn

 

[Claire]

Another photo of Edward, Sophie and Louise appeared yesterday in the Daily Mail. The photo is of Edward with Louise on his shoulders and Sophie laughing besides him. They are watching a group of people playing soccer, or rugby - the caption says its Prince William and Harry.

I hate to say that this is the second interesting photo to appear in the Daily Mail, and since they don't posted it online I can't see it. Doesn't anyone buy the Mail and own a scanner - who could possibly help me out.

 

[corazon]

Claire, this es the picture?

 

[Claire]

I suppose it must be? Is that Anne or Zara with them, could it be the Queen?

 

[corazon]

The complete picture. For me are Edward with Louise and Sophie.

 

[corazon]

For you, Claire.

 

[corazon]

Louise´s Face

 

[Frances]

The complete picture. For me are Edward with Louise and Sophie.

Thanks for the enlarged picture!

 

[Frances]

Lady Louise is so adorable.

 

[corazon]

The last photo.

 

[kwanfan]

Thanks for the pics. Louise is a cutie!

 

[HMQueenElizabethII]

Yes,Louise is so cute.Very nice to see her growing up very fast and so lovely Louise.

 

[kinneret5764]

Beautifull Louise

It was really good to see Lady Louise. Such an adorable little girl. She has grown so much during the year. I bet she'll be walking if not running real soon.

 

[Elspeth]

Well, because of the circumstances surrounding her birth and the delay in getting Sophie to the hospital, there were fears at the time that Lady Louise might have been damaged in some way and may have some sort of developmental defects as she grew older. It's very nice to see that she seems to be developing normally.

 

[servingsophie]

The Countess at Christmas

I know Zara stole the headlines but I thought that HRH looked fabulous on Christmas morning. HRH looked very festive in a red suit and I thought the boots looked wonderful.

 

[wymanda]

I will admit that Sophie's suit was very stylish & the colour festive but I have a pet hate - Wearing boots that don't meet the hem of your skirt!!
If part of you legs is going to show and get cold you might as well wear court shoes.

 

[Claire]

Thank you.

Here is another picture of Sophie and the Queen. Where was Edward? None of the pictures have him in them. Source: Kings Lynn's News

 

[HMQueenElizabethII]

I remember that Sophie has worn this hat before also on Christmas Day Service.
Did you Sophie on Boxing Day?

 

[HMQueenElizabethII]

The same hat on Christmas 2001:

 

[GrandDuchess]

Wow, the Countess looks really wonderful! Great festive colour and very stylish - she should've shared the headlines with Zara (but of course she was more "interesting" for the press in her dressing way...)

 

[ap3]

I agree, I really liked Sophie's outfit. Lovely red color, and boots are very in right now (though I might have gone with darker brown boots and dark brown hat).

Zara gets all the headlines with her more daring fashions. I often think Sophie's outfits are as nice and deserve print space as Zara's outfits.

It's kind of funny that Zara gets away with outfits that the daughters-in-law, Diana, Sarah and Sophie, would be excoriated for in the press.
For example:
http://cache.gettyimages.com/comp/2089470.jpg?x=x&dasite=MS_GINS&ef=2&ev=1&dareq=E2399169AC85D6DEA5E962122214E79DE3F5412FD7087446


Why do you think that is? Is it a remnant of born royal vs married into royalty double standards? Or that Zara's self-confidence is so obvious that the press daren't/don't bother to put her down for such a shallow reason? (You just know that she shrugs off fashion "mistakes" and doesn't care what the press think of her.)

 

[Vicomtesse]

It's kind of funny that Zara gets away with outfits that the daughters-in-law, Diana, Sarah and Sophie, would be excoriated for in the press.
For example:
http://cache.gettyimages.com/comp/2089470.jpg?x=x&dasite=MS_GINS&ef=2&ev=1&dareq=E2399169AC85D6DEA5E962122214E79DE3F5412FD7087446


Why do you think that is? Is it a remnant of born royal vs married into royalty double standards? Or that Zara's self-confidence is so obvious that the press daren't/don't bother to put her down for such a shallow reason? (You just know that she shrugs off fashion "mistakes" and doesn't care what the press think of her.)

ONE...Zara is much YOUNGER than Sophie so she can wear more daring things. When Diana and Sarah were part of the family Zara was a child so nothing to compare there.
TWO...Zara is NOT ROYAL. Her mom is royal but Zara has no title herself. Diana, Sarah and Sophie carry out duties for the queen and the monarchy. They CANNOT show up at these duties dressed in leopard prints and low cut shirts with their boobs hanging out. Zara shows up at PRIVATE PARTIES not to WORK wearing these outfits.
Asking why Zara can get away with more than her aunts is like asking why Beatrix doesn't wear clothes like her daughter in laws. That is like comparing APPLES AND ORANGES.

 

[GrandDuchess]

Asking why Zara can get away with more than her aunts is like asking why Beatrix doesn't wear clothes like her daughter in laws. That is like comparing APPLES AND ORANGES.

Hahahahaha!!!! Did you notice your joke there? The Dutch = House of Orange....

I must say the Countess of Wessex is definitely one of the most stylish royals. I admire her sense of style, wonderful choices most of the time!

I think Zara "gets away" with her choices of clothes/style because of many reasons. One, and the main I would say, is that she used to be somewhat of a "rebel" (if you can call it that) in the family - or perhaps different is the word. The people have always admired her for being her own person, following her own heart etc. And two other reasons might also of course be the age difference - and of couse also that she has no royal title and does not perform royal duties (except these appearaces with the family at things sometimes) for the country like the Countess does.

 

[Alexandria]

For me, age is the big factor on why Sophie doesn't adopt some of the more trendier, funkier styles Zara often does. We are talking about a young, nubile woman in her early 20s compared to a woman in her late 30s with a young, infant daughter.

Secondly, as I recall Zara doesn't have a job per se but spends much of her time pursuing her equestrian hobby, which is a "job" unto itself, as well as attending some of the hottest, hippest parties in London and enjoying the city's night life. Sophie on the other hand, was a professional career woman who started her own public relations company and worked actively at that for many years, only within the last several years having left it to pursue her royal duties full time.

Thirdly, now when we see Sophie out and about it is largely in a professional setting. It wouldn't really be appropriate for Sophie to show up at a medical research centre in some of the outfits we've seen Zara in the past.

Fourthly, it likely just comes down to a matter of personal style and preference. Were Sophie Zara's age and in her position would she dress like Zara does? I tend to lean towards not; Sophie seems to prefer a more conservative, classic style in her choice of clothing. Much like Mette-Marit prefers a more streamlined, classic style to her sister-in-law Martha Louise whose style is much more bold and funkier, and the two women are about the same age and both of whom are young mothers.

And fifthly, I think that part of it does come down to their very different roles and obligations to the monarchy. Zara doesn't perform any royal duties on behalf of her grandmother, the Queen or in the name of the monarchy. But Sophie does represent the Crown when she attends various events and as such even how she dresses is part of this professionalism she maintains.

I don't see any point in asking why Sophie doesn't dress more like Zara any more than I see any point in wondering why Mette-Marit isn't more influenced by Martha Louise's style. Sophie has her own wonderful style that is separate from Zara's own unique style. We should just let each women be and delight in their special senses of styles.

 

[servingsophie]

Very Un-fur!

There is one area where the Countess has been unfairly criticised in the past by the press and Zara hasn't is the wearing of fur.
The Countess of heavily criticised for wearing a rabbit fur hat on a skiing holiday whilst Zara seems to happily wear fur fashions without any recriminations whatsoever.
I'd be very interested to see the reactions of the press if the Countess chose to wear a fur coat on a royal engagement.