Countess Elisabeth d'Udekem d'Acoz & Marquis Alfonso Pallavicini - 20 & 22 July 2006

[princess olga]

Originally Posted by magnik

Why you think that?!

I meant it somewhat tongue in cheek; remember the Miller daughters all married men who could satisfy anyone seeking the status money can't buy..Chantal a prince of Greece, her sister a Von Furstenberg, and the eldest married American royalty, a real Getty. (Some of these mariages didn't turn out that great as we know, but anyway, that's a different thread)

And my oh my, wouldn't these Miller girls in their heart of hearts have loved to marry even better than they did, namely a crown prince of an EXISTING throne, an Italian Marquis, and the third..well...tbd.

All I'm saying is, the D'Udekem girls, lovely as I believe they are, certainly marry within their own class, as is expected of them, boringly so almost. A Princess Stephanie that family didn't yield, is what I'm saying.

Originally Posted by Emily

I think they are much classier than the Miller sisters proving that money cannot buy class.

No kidding, I totally agree with you: Mathilde is the classiest of the current crop of crown princesses in my opinion, hands down. She's got this perfect mix of being the star yet not overpowering her husband, but being an asset to him in a very positive way without seeming demure or coming across as less intelligent than he is, on the contrary. She also comes across as having respect for her fellow humans somehow in a way that even 'queen of hearts' Diana wished she possessed. Mathilde's a natural, and besides her sister, the only one who's coming close, by sheer will it seems, is Letizia, who's a study in modesty these days. Maxima is compared to Mathilde, akin to a somewhat crude (but friendly!) farmer, always overshadowing her shy husband whenever she gets a chance. (remember Maxima's wedding? Was Alexander even there? Didn't see him, no one did.) And Mary, she is a bit of a cipher to me even now. Can't decide if her photogenicness is a post-Fred add-on or what.

Mathilde though is an amazing crown princess but her sister Elisabeth also carries that special D'Udekem karma as her wedding pictures prove. If Elisabeth had married a crown prince of her own, she'd be as just great as a royal consort, I'd bet.

[delphineperrine]

I am living in Belgium and some friends of mine went to school with mathilde's sisters and I can tell you that there is NO WAY you can compare them to the Miller's sisters.

They did NOT grow up in wealth AT ALL.

Before mathilde's wedding the family was kind of "cheap".

[magnik]

DON'T compare d'Udekem d'Acoz girls to Miller's sisters.
THEY are different, came from different worlds and have different social backgrounds.
Miller's looks more like celebrities, affected, they doesn't have d'Ud'A style, manners and all that what young, good educated ladies should have etc...

[Emily]

?cheap -- can you explain what you mean by that? I wonder if you mean a 'modest' upbringing? The d'U d'A's strike me as kids raised by parents who have, and have successfully passed on, real values.
And...I agree with Princess Olga that to me there is no question that Mathilde is the classiest Crown Princess of them all.....she is the real thing, which I think is easily discernible by the fact that she is so unselfconscious; she is a natural who has the innate good instincts to carry off her role with aplomb.

[Cathérine Bergeyck]

I think Delphine meant a bit poor in stead of a bit cheap ... ?

[delphineperrine]

Originally Posted by Cathérine Bergeyck

I think Delphine meant a bit poor in stead of a bit cheap ... ?

first of all, i LOVE the royal family.

I would like to explain to you that in Mathilde's family, the girls where passing the used shoes from one to another.

The parent's did not spend money on clothes, jewels, haircuts etc. BUT gave a GREAT education to their children.

I was giving my opinion to a comparaison with the Miller's sisters. To me they are coming from two different spaces.

[uriel]

Totally agree with Princess Olga: "Mathilde is the classiest of the current crop of crown princesses".

[Marengo]

Originally Posted by princess olga

I meant it somewhat tongue in cheek; remember the Miller daughters all married men who could satisfy anyone seeking the status money can't buy..Chantal a prince of Greece, her sister a Von Furstenberg, and the eldest married American royalty, a real Getty. (Some of these mariages didn't turn out that great as we know, but anyway, that's a different thread)

And my oh my, wouldn't these Miller girls in their heart of hearts have loved to marry even better than they did, namely a crown prince of an EXISTING throne, an Italian Marquis, and the third..well...tbd.

All I'm saying is, the D'Udekem girls, lovely as I believe they are, certainly marry within their own class, as is expected of them, boringly so almost. A Princess Stephanie that family didn't yield, is what I'm saying.


No kidding, I totally agree with you: Mathilde is the classiest of the current crop of crown princesses in my opinion, hands down. She's got this perfect mix of being the star yet not overpowering her husband, but being an asset to him in a very positive way without seeming demure or coming across as less intelligent than he is, on the contrary. She also comes across as having respect for her fellow humans somehow in a way that even 'queen of hearts' Diana wished she possessed. Mathilde's a natural, and besides her sister, the only one who's coming close, by sheer will it seems, is Letizia, who's a study in modesty these days. Maxima is compared to Mathilde, akin to a somewhat crude (but friendly!) farmer, always overshadowing her shy husband whenever she gets a chance. (remember Maxima's wedding? Was Alexander even there? Didn't see him, no one did.) And Mary, she is a bit of a cipher to me even now. Can't decide if her photogenicness is a post-Fred add-on or what.

Mathilde though is an amazing crown princess but her sister Elisabeth also carries that special D'Udekem karma as her wedding pictures prove. If Elisabeth had married a crown prince of her own, she'd be as just great as a royal consort, I'd bet.

a few remarks:
1) I don´t see how an italian marquis is a ´better´ catch then a prince of Furstenberg.
2) I think you were the only one who missed the Prince of Orange on his weddingday, he was there, looking radiant, in love and a bit overpowered. I do not think that Maxima outshines her husband that much, both are very popular anyway.
3) I do not think Maxima is a farmer.
4) back to Belgium. I think the Belgian nobility is the only one in the world who still mostly (almost exclusively) are marrying among themselves. Thus it was only to be expected that Elisabeth would marry a noble (she dated royalty even), as will probably Helene and Charles-Henri.
5) Though Mathilde´s karma works for Belgium, I think in other countries she would have been less suited (as other crownprincesses are less-suited for Belgium). Not every country is a great admiror of the modest, silent, discrete and introverted type (sadly) and some exhuberence does not mean that a person lacks modesty (we do not know them personally, do we?). So I do not see how Norway would have a better crownprincess in Mathilde for example.

At the moment I like all crownprincesses (though some more then others) and I think all of them are doing a good job in their respective countries.

[Hannelore]

Originally Posted by Marengo

I think the Belgian nobility is the only one in the world who still mostly (almost exclusively) are marrying among themselves. Thus it was only to be expected that Elisabeth would marry a noble (she dated royalty even), as will probably Helene and Charles-Henri.

Well, according to Valérie d'Alkemade, who made a study about this, it's about 60% of the Belgian nobility/aristocracy who marries within the own circle (Belgian or international). So far from everybody. This having said, I always expected Elisabeth to marry someone from her own circles, just as I expect her younger brother and sister will.

[rominet09]

In Point de Vue mag at the wedding there were pix of Helene with a Prince of Liechenstein -not sure about the spelling- they said they didn t leave each others'side
Does anyone know if it is a budding romance ???

Thank you very much

[Hannelore]

Originally Posted by rominet09

In Point de Vue mag at the wedding there were pix of Helene with a Prince of Liechenstein -not sure about the spelling- they said they didn t leave each others'side
Does anyone know if it is a budding romance ???

Well I don't think anything's going on between them. Hugo von Liechtenstein was one of the best men and so it's normal that he escorted Hélène, sister of the bride. You know what point de vue is like, sometimes they present things in a bit of a hazy positive way if they don't know themselves what is going on.

BTW Hugo von Liechtenstein woudn't be a bad match at all: he's the son of Prince Johann Moritz von und zu Liechtenstein and princess Clotilde von Thurn und Taxis. He's is divorced, he was married to Arabelle Ohlmeier http://www.theroyalforums.com/forums/463850-post77.html, they have a daughter, Maria (8).