Princess Beatrice of York Current Events 4: July-August 2006

[grevinnan]

Coming out parties are alive and well in many parts of the world. The size of the party is whatever the family chooses. There certainly are many more extravagant parties then what Beatrice had. Of course her mom is an integral part of the event - they have always appeared close. Even that is quite common.

 

[Chiyo]

Coming out parties are alive and well in many parts of the world. The size of the party is whatever the family chooses. There certainly are many more extravagant parties then what Beatrice had.

Agreed. It's not quite the same as a birthday party, but I remind myself of the Mittal wedding at Versailles that cost $60 million. Anything and everything looks reasonable compared to that!

 

[Skydragon]

500 guests is a good sized party even for a venue as large as large as Windsor Castle. guest lists for parties like this aren't halved...the invitations are sent out to couples are an invitation for 2 so you count it as two. they may have only sent out 250 invites but if there are 2 names on it then they'd have counted for 500.

The question asked in relation to the 500 who attended, was how would Beatrice know 500 people. I suggested that she may not have known all 500 people, halve the 500 (she may not have known their partners), you get 250 people she may have known. Her parents would have also invited their friends (that is the norm), Eugenie would also probably have invited some of her friends. This is the post you are referring to
"first you have to halve it (invites nearly always say Mr & Mrs or and partner), so I would imagine between them (Beatrice, Eugenie, Andrew and Sarah) they would only have to 'know' 62 people each"
If you work it the other way round 62x4=248x2 (their partners) = 496, 4 extra for Beatrice.

Post 103 from bella also explains it - So while there may have been 500 guests at Pss. Beatrice's party (and I recently heard it was actually closer to 300), they weren't all her friends/acquaintances. Alot of them were no doubt friends/business associates of her parents. I think this is pretty standard whether it's a royal party at Windsor or an average-size wedding at the Hilton

500 guests is not a great many people for a 18th or 21st party IMO.

 

[sm1939]

didnt charlotte of monoco have an 18 th birthday party? that seemed more in good taste than Beatrice's fancy dress party !! but everyone one has diffrent taste , there again charlotte does have Princess caroline as a mother so her party would be tastfull .

 

[Hannelore]

Fancy dress parties (or costumed balls) are great fun, for whatever occasion. But I think these people look so ridiculous in the photos. They seem to take themselves so serious, and this dress doesn't flatter Beatrice at all, she looks huge.

 

[Paula**]

didnt charlotte of monoco have an 18 th birthday party? that seemed more in good taste than Beatrice's fancy dress party !! but everyone one has diffrent taste , there again charlotte does have Princess caroline as a mother so her party would be tastfull .

Yes, Charlotte Casiraghi had an 18 th birthday, I haven't see any picture of
it(bad ), I don't know if was more tastefull, but i'm sure it was a really tastefull party

 

[sm1939]

Fancy dress parties (or costumed balls) are great fun, for whatever occasion. But I think these people look so ridiculous in the photos. They seem to take themselves so serious, and this dress doesn't flatter Beatrice at all, she looks huge.

you've just hit the nail on the head , theyve taken themselves to serious, and the dresses arent flattering . think they should of just had a regular party really.
and had this kind of "do" when she's 25 or 30.

 

[Chiyo]

It must be a cultural difference, because I think it's far more ridiculous to be traipsing around in costume when you're 30 than when you're 18.

 

[angiep]

I, for one, love the idea of a costume ball. It makes for interesting pictures. I think since Sarah enjoys the 'Victorian' theme so much (and her girls too, apparently) that she should have taken the official party photos in black-and-white like they really did in the 1800's. They would turn out beautiful. I'm referring especially to a family photo like the one on page 2 (3?) of this thread. It would make it more authentic.

 

[Paula**]

I, for one, love the idea of a costume ball. It makes for interesting pictures. I think since Sarah enjoys the 'Victorian' theme so much (and her girls too, apparently) that she should have taken the official party photos in black-and-white like they really did in the 1800's. They would turn out beautiful. I'm referring especially to a family photo like the one on page 2 (3?) of this thread. It would make it more authentic.

It's a great idea angiep
I miss some more pictures of the ball
We can't even see Beatrice's whole dress

 

[Bella]

Yes, Charlotte Casiraghi had an 18 th birthday, I haven't see any picture of
it(bad ), I don't know if was more tastefull, but i'm sure it was a really tastefull party

I've never seen any pictures of Charlotte's party, either. European royals don't get nearly as much press over here in the States as the British royals do. And actually, surprisingly, there's not that much British royal news, either. Unless you're an avid royal watcher, you won't catch any royal news. And most ppl here don't even know the royal houses of Europe, let alone the various members. After the BRF, the Monaco RF are probably most mentioned, only because Princess Grace was an American and now Prince Albert has admitted to an American love child. But even so, there's nothing really. Outside of big British royal weddings (the next big one will be when William marries), most people here don't really care.

 

[Hannelore]

I've seen a few paparazzi pics of Charlotte's party in French mags, but they were hazy and from a really great distance. For that occasion the Grimaldis did manage to keep the press at distance. Charlotte wore a long strapless Chanel dress, lilac I believe, and very pretty. There was a huge white tent - it was a prty in the open air with many guests.

 

[Duchess]

The question asked in relation to the 500 who attended, was how would Beatrice know 500 people. I suggested that she may not have known all 500 people, halve the 500 (she may not have known their partners), you get 250 people she may have known. Her parents would have also invited their friends (that is the norm), Eugenie would also probably have invited some of her friends. This is the post you are referring to
"first you have to halve it (invites nearly always say Mr & Mrs or and partner), so I would imagine between them (Beatrice, Eugenie, Andrew and Sarah) they would only have to 'know' 62 people each"
If you work it the other way round 62x4=248x2 (their partners) = 496, 4 extra for Beatrice.

Post 103 from bella also explains it - So while there may have been 500 guests at Pss. Beatrice's party (and I recently heard it was actually closer to 300), they weren't all her friends/acquaintances. Alot of them were no doubt friends/business associates of her parents. I think this is pretty standard whether it's a royal party at Windsor or an average-size wedding at the Hilton

500 guests is not a great many people for a 18th or 21st party IMO.

i doubt that bea knows 250 people well enough to invite all of them to a party in a high security area...a girl her age, regardless of background probably doesn't know that many people and i, and most of the people on this board are well aware that MOST of the guests were friends/acquaintenances/business associates of her parents. as for 500 people for a birthday party it's alot by anyone's standards. i know a number of people from around London and other parts of the UK that have celebrated parties for either of these 2 events, and they all agree that a party of this size is huge. of course none of these people are from the upper echelons of society so they'd never have a party as extravagant as this so perhaps you're lucky that you've had this experience.

 

[Skydragon]

i doubt that bea knows 250 people well enough to invite all of them to a party in a high security area...a girl her age, regardless of background probably doesn't know that many people and i, and most of the people on this board are well aware that MOST of the guests were friends/acquaintenances/business associates of her parents.

I never said that Beatrice knew all 500 or even 250 of the guests. In fact I have made the point that I didn't believe that all 500 guests were personal friends of Beatrice.
Security is not handled by Beatrice or her family, the names and addresses of everyone invited and then the personal details of everyone accepting the invitation are passed to the police and special agencies for checking.

< ed > I said, right at the start of this, that Beatrice would probably not have known 500 people or even 250, that she probably only knew 12.5% at the most. Especially as in your own post you are making the same point.
I stick to my view that 500 people is not a huge amount for a society 18th party.

 

[Duchess]

I never said that Beatrice knew all 500 or even 250 of the guests. In fact I have made the point that I didn't believe that all 500 guests were personal friends of Beatrice.
Security is not handled by Beatrice or her family, the names and addresses of everyone invited and then the personal details of everyone accepting the invitation are passed to the police and special agencies for checking.

< ed > I said, right at the start of this, that Beatrice would probably not have known 500 people or even 250, that she probably only knew 12.5% at the most. Especially as in your own post you are making the same point.
I stick to my view that 500 people is not a huge amount for a society 18th party.

and i didn't say that bea or her family handled security...i said it was a high security area. i'm pretty sure that we all know that andrew, sarah, bea, eugenie aren't security guards or police officers. as for the number of people at the party you, skydragon, are a very lucky person to have had a party thrown in your honour with a guest list of 500, it's huge by anyone's standard unless of course you come from or move in such a closed society as the RF do that and don't know any better.

 

[Skydragon]

and i didn't say that bea or her family handled security...i said it was a high security aread. as for the number of people at the party you, skydragon, are a very lucky person to have had a party thrown in your honour with a guest list of 500, it's huge by anyone's standard unless of course you come from or move in such a closed society as the RF do that and don't know any better.

I think a 'closed society' is very much in the past, whatever your background.

 

[Avalon]

Just to satisfy my curiousity, I counted how many people I would invite to my birthday, had I enough finances (500.000 that is) to supports such an event. I counted only friends and people, whose company I enjoy. it turned out I would invite over 170 people! I was pretty shocked myself.
Anyway, take that 170 as possible number for Beatirce, add their parents, her parents' friends... 500 seems to be well reasond now, at least for me.

 

[Duchess]

I think a 'closed society' is very much in the past, whatever your background.

hardly in the past at all. not everyone has access to the type of lifestyle they do so it's very closed, unless of course you're in it. then you wouldn't think it was closed.

 

[iowabelle]

I don't agree completely with the article's idea that it's all part of a diabolical plot by Fergie to make herself look better in comparison. But I do agree that her ideas of what a royal should dress like (old, fussy and expensive)have resulted in very bad fashion choices for her daughters - in my opinion!

My guess is, that Fergie helps them shop like most mothers do for their teenagers (and even older daughters). And Fergie has been known to have some fashion accidents, although I've seen her look gorgeous at times.

Maybe some kind soul from Vogue or another British magazine could advise the girls a little? That certainly helped Diana.

 

[Skydragon]

Just to satisfy my curiousity, I counted how many people I would invite to my birthday, had I enough finances (500.000 that is) to support such an event. I counted only friends and people, whose company I enjoy. it turned out I would invite over 170 people! I was pretty shocked myself.
Anyway, take that 170 as possible number for Beatirce, add their parents, her parents' friends... 500 seems to be well reasoned now, at least for me.

It doesn't surprise me at all that you have 170 to invite. Some people have lots of really nice friends, others don't.

 

[Warren]

On that note I think we can declare the discussion on the number of guests to be over, lest it completely swamp the thread.

thanks,
Warren
British Forums moderator

 

[Skydragon]

My guess is, that Fergie helps them shop like most mothers do for their teenagers (and even older daughters). And Fergie has been known to have some fashion accidents, although I've seen her look gorgeous at times.

I agree with you totally, I cringe when I think of the fashion disasters I inflicted on my daughters, thinking I was ensuring they were fashionable, up to the minute designs like the puffball skirts, (items I would not wear myself). They have forgiven me .

The trouble with Fergie is that she will try to dress like a younger woman, the girls are in clothes too old for them and that is what gives the chance for some more derogatory headlines.

 

[Duchess]

iowabelle's comment about having someone from say, vogue, give them some advice was an excellent idea.

 

[HighGoalHighDreams]

A few years ago, Sarah tried to hire a well-known fashion advisor for both girls.

The lady refused to do it because of the way they dressed.

(And I do believe they choose what they wear with her on their own, and shudder at the thought of them dressing like the Olsens or Lindsday Lohan- or anyone dressing like that!)

 

[Duchess]

it's a shame that society has made young girls feel like they have to bare so much. these girls could have the best clothing, tailored to fit like a glove but they don't.

 

[Avalon]

After much consideraton, I decided to put this article here, since it has to do with Princess Beatrice's birthday.
I don't trust it very much though, it's the Mirror after all.

FERGIE WORLD

When Prince Andrew wanted to bring his new girlfriend to his daughter Bea's 18th birthday, his ex-wife not only AGREED, she had a DRESS MADE for her.
http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/tm_objectid=17428697%26method=full%26siteid=94762%26headline=forgie-world--name_page.html

 

[Roslyn]

After much consideraton, I decided to put this article here, since it has to do with Princess Beatrice's birthday.
I don't trust it very much though, it's the Mirror after all.

I hope it's true. It's a nice story. If Sarah did that, it is an indicator that she is a warm, decent person who is considerate to others and tries to make them feel welcome and comfortable. After all, she well knows what it feels like to be treated otherwise!

 

[cowarth]

Is Princess Beatrice a boarding student like Princess Eugenie or still a day girl at St George's School?

 

[LOSSEAN]

didnt charlotte of monoco have an 18 th birthday party? that seemed more in good taste than Beatrice's fancy dress party !! but everyone one has diffrent taste , there again charlotte does have Princess caroline as a mother so her party would be tastfull .

Methinks the above was not 'tastfull'.
HRH Princess Beatrice seems very happy with her party and that is all that should matter to her and her family. Happy Belated Birthday, Princess!

 

[Skydragon]

I hope it's true. It's a nice story. If Sarah did that, it is an indicator that she is a warm, decent person who is considerate to others and tries to make them feel welcome and comfortable. After all, she well knows what it feels like to be treated otherwise!

I know I am a cynic, but the phrase 'keep your friends close, your enemies closer still' sprung to mind when reading the article!