Guillaume and Stéphanie: Wedding Suggestions and Musings

[Tilia C.]

The attendence of Royals also has to do with a bit with who is free at that date. Unless there are other important engagements scheduled, I expect the Belgium and Dutch Royals to attend in full force (with the very sad exeption of Friso and Mabel). Spain and the UK are usually more restrained when it comes to attending foreign events.
From what I know, all the Scandinavian heirs have close personal relationships with Guillaume. So that bodes well.

 

[principessa]

One date is an impossible weddingdate for them: 08-09-2012 because Guillaume's first Cousin, Archduke Imre marries Kathleen Walker.

 

[Tilia C.]

They probably will only give us a rough direction today. Like: the wedding will be in late summer/autumn/winter, or whatever. At the moment the court probably is still very busy checking and re-checking possible dates.

 

[Marchesina]

since GD Henri is King Albert's nephew I'm pretty sure the Belgian royal family will be all there (Guillaume is P.Emmanuel's godfather so he can possibly be one of the pages)
It's a shame BRF is always so distant to other families...

 

[Al_bina]

Since Guillaume is a direct heir, most if not all the Gotha will send their "first string Royals" to the wedding, am I correct?

Will Britain send the Cambridges or the Wessexes, I wonder?

My guess is that Count and Countess of Wessex will represent the UK. They has been assigned to do it. Prince William never showed any interest in attending such event.

Oh please not Natan. The designer can't even make proper daytime outfits.
Elie Saab would be a great choice but I wouldn't also mind another designer but anyone but not Natan.
...

I agree with you. I hope that Countess Stephanie will give preference to Elie Saab's creation. His wedding dresses are magnificent.

 

[tommy100]

I wonder if a date has already been decide upon? It was interesting when Guillaume's uncle said they already knew about the engagement but not when it was being made public. Maybe some discreet planning has already got underway?
I'm wondering if it will take place mid August after Olympics or early September? I read somewhere that Guillaume's parents has about 4/5month engagement period.

 

[4Pam]

Maybe a custom Valentino or Elie Saab but not Natan.

 

[Breffney]

My guess is that Count and Countess of Wessex will represent the UK. They has been assigned to do it. Prince William never showed any interest in attending such event.

It probably will be Edward & Sophie though I guess that it will depend on whether or not they are touring abroad for the Queen's Jubilee.

I think that William & Kate's tour is in September though I agree with you that he hasn't seemed that keen on attending these types of functions. Of course now that he is married and has a partner to take along with him he might be more inclined to go.

 

[Artemisia]

since GD Henri is King Albert's nephew I'm pretty sure the Belgian royal family will be all there (Guillaume is P.Emmanuel's godfather so he can possibly be one of the pages)
It's a shame BRF is always so distant to other families...

They aren't, really. While British Royal Family tends to send few (if any) representative to European royal gatherings, they are far closer to foreign royals, especially Scandinavian and Dutch ones, then we think. For example, during the recent tour of Scandinavia of Prince Charles and Camilla, we learnt many stories of wonderfully warm (and mostly private) interactions between the families, such as Queen Sonja's frequent stays at Highgrove.

It was Joséphine-Charlotte not Maria Teresa who used different tiaras for the Ceremony and official photos. Maria Teresa wore only the Congo Necklace Tiara.

My mistake, thanks for correcting!
I still hope Stephanie will opt for something other than the Congo Tiara; it looks rather plain to mee.

 

[Jacknch]

A nice short engagement - thats what we like!!! I am hopeful that people in the know will be able to post updates about the wedding etc in the run-up to the event.
From the UK I should imagine that Edward and Sophie will attend, although it would be fantastic if William and Catherine were to attend if only because of the similar ages.
As for all you tiara lovers out there, I will hope at least for a grand dinner event where full jewels must be worn!!!

 

[Mirabel]

Since Guillaume is a direct heir, most if not all the Gotha will send their "first string Royals" to the wedding, am I correct?

Will Britain send the Cambridges or the Wessexes, I wonder?

It always seems to be the Wessexes.
To be honest, I'm tired of seeing them.

(Also, it gives the impression that the more high-ranking members of the BRF have better things to do. They shuld really send someone else; what about Harry?)

 

[Lumutqueen]

To be honest, Britain should send whoever Guillaume and Stephanie want to attend. If they send an invite to the Wessexes, then I see no problem with that. It is after all their wedding.
This all depends of course on the date, if anything to clash with the Olympics or Jubilee celebrations then I doubt we'll see anyone.

 

[Mirabel]

Yes of course; I was rather assuming that Guillaume and Stephanie wouldn't have a preference.
But perhaps they do.

As for the date, I'm sure they will consider potential conflicts; I am expecting a date in late September or early October.

 

[stephanievl]

If she does pick Natan, I personally think the designer would do a great job since he made Mathilde's and Claire's wedding dresses, which were very beautiful to me.

Me too, Claire's dress is one of my all time favorites.

And since the creations she wore today are Natan i think the chance of him creating her wedding dress is high.

 

[Artemisia]

To be honest, Britain should send whoever Guillaume and Stephanie want to attend. If they send an invite to the Wessexes, then I see no problem with that. It is after all their wedding.
This all depends of course on the date, if anything to clash with the Olympics or Jubilee celebrations then I doubt we'll see anyone.

I agree with you regarding Guillaume and Stephanie's wishes.
One question though: I have always been under the impression that invitations are sent to all most senior members of a Royal Family, plus any minor royals who may be friends or acquaintances. It is my understanding that once the invitations are received, the Monarch decides who goes based on different factors (such as availability on the given day), upon which the particular invitation is confirmed, whereas the others are gracefully declined.

 

[stephanievl]

I suspect the guest list will look like this(i may miss some people out):
The Earl and Countess of Wessex (UK - wouldn't be wholly surprised if some one less in the rankings was sent)
Fred and Mary (Denmark)
Queen Beatrix, W-A and Maxima, Constantijn and Laurentien (netherlands)
King & Queen of Sweden, Victoria and Daniel, Carl Philip (Sweden)
Haakon and Mette-Marit, Martha Louise and Ari Behn (Norway)
King and Queen of Belgium, Brabants, Astrid Lorenz and children (Belgium)
Albert and Charlene (Monaco)

don't know about Greek Royals, are any of them especially close to the Luxembourg Royals?

I expect the entire Begian royal family including Laurent, Claire and Queen Fabiola. Bothe famiies are very close.

 

[Lumutqueen]

I agree with you regarding Guillaume and Stephanie's wishes.
One question though: I have always been under the impression that invitations are sent to all most senior members of a Royal Family, plus any minor royals who may be friends or acquaintances. It is my understanding that once the invitations are received, the Monarch decides who goes based on different factors (such as availability on the given day), upon which the particular invitation is confirmed, whereas the others are gracefully declined.

That usually is the case, HM gets an invite and then "supposedly" picks who goes. But seeing as Edward and Sophie have such a close relationship with almost all European royals, it's hard not to think they have a friendship. Guillaume attended William's wedding though, so there is some hope to see them. Seeing as William's wedding wasn't a state occasion, Guillaume was not obliged to attend.

 

[NGalitzine]

Was Guillaume at the Cambridge wedding? I know his parents attended but don't recall seeing pictures of him in the Abbey.

 

[EIIR]

I don't think the Cambridges will go, but particularly if the wedding's in September or even early October, they'll either be on tour for the Jubilee or just back from that tour. In that situation I can imagine HM letting them have a few quiet weeks before we see them again.

My money's on the Wessexes. Or maybe Charles and Camilla since they've been sent to the continental royals for the Jubilee. This would be a nice way of ticking Luxembourg off the list as well.

 

[Lumutqueen]

Was Guillaume at the Cambridge wedding? I know his parents attended but don't recall seeing pictures of him in the Abbey.

Just looking at pictures I can't find him.

 

[NGalitzine]

Just looking at pictures I can't find him.

Me either, just looked at picture of the foreign royals sitting in the Abbey and I cannot see him. He would usually be easy to pick out because of the orange sash on his uniform.

 

[Al_bina]

I don't think the Cambridges will go, but particularly if the wedding's in September or even early October, they'll either be on tour for the Jubilee or just back from that tour. In that situation I can imagine HM letting them have a few quiet weeks before we see them again.

My money's on the Wessexes. Or maybe Charles and Camilla since they've been sent to the continental royals for the Jubilee. This would be a nice way of ticking Luxembourg off the list as well.

Prince Charles and his spouse did not bother to attend the weddings of other European Crown Princes with the exception of Crown Prince Felipe's of Spain. Why would they do it now? Prince Edward and his spouse seem to be well-accepted among the normal European royals.

 

[Lumutqueen]

Prince Charles and his spouse did not bother to attend the weddings of other European Crown Princes. Why would they do it now? Prince Edward and his spouse seem to be well-accepted among the normal European royals.

Prince Charles has attended the wedding of two European Princes at least I think. Felipe of Spain and Phillipe of Belgium. And besides Victoria, other Princes were married before Camilla appeared so it's just Charles to blame for missing Frederik, Haakon and W-A's wedding.

 

[Breffney]

Me either, just looked at picture of the foreign royals sitting in the Abbey and I cannot see him. He would usually be easy to pick out because of the orange sash on his uniform.

I don't recall seeing Guillaume in London but I'm almost certain that he accompanied his parents to Monaco for Albert & Charlene's wedding.

 

[NGalitzine]

Prince Charles and his spouse did not bother to attend the weddings of other European Crown Princes. Why would they do it now? Prince Edward and his spouse seem to be well-accepted among the normal European royals.

Why do people always seem to get into an uproar about which British royal attend foreign weddings? The Queen is always represented at these weddings. It doesn't seem to bother the continental royals as they apparently understand how things work. If they truly took offence surely they would boycott events in the UK but they all seem to turn up when invited to do so, as well as their private visits.

Over the decades of the Queens reign different royals have taken on the task of representing her on the continent. At one time it was Princess Marina and her daughter Alexandra, then it passed to Charles and now it seems as if it is the Earl and Countess of Wessex who have that role.
Other than Harold and Sonja's wedding I cannot think of a major continental wedding or funeral the Queen has not sent a representative to, and the Norwegian case was because the court was in mourning for Princess Marina.

 

[Artemisia]

Was Guillaume at the Cambridge wedding? I know his parents attended but don't recall seeing pictures of him in the Abbey.

Prince Guillaume isn't mentioned in the wedding guest list, so it's safe to assume he didn't attend William and Kate's wedding - only his parents did.

That usually is the case, HM gets an invite and then "supposedly" picks who goes. But seeing as Edward and Sophie have such a close relationship with almost all European royals, it's hard not to think they have a friendship. Guillaume attended William's wedding though, so there is some hope to see them. Seeing as William's wedding wasn't a state occasion, Guillaume was not obliged to attend.

I'm rather hoping to see Cambridges at this wedding. Or Prince Charles and Camilla.
Much as I love the Wessexes, it'd be nice to see different representatives of the Queen for a major European royal event.

 

[NGalitzine]

I don't recall seeing Guillaume in London but I'm almost certain that he accompanied his parents to Monaco for Albert & Charlene's wedding.

He was definitely in Monaco for Alberts wedding (he also attended Alberts enthronement ceremony), but he wasn't in London for the Cambridge wedding.

 

[Al_bina]

...[snipped]
I'm rather hoping to see Cambridges at this wedding. Or Prince Charles and Camilla.
Much as I love the Wessexes, it'd be nice to see different representatives of the Queen for a major European royal event.

The wedding in question might not be considered as a major European event by the British royals.

 

[EIIR]

Prince Charles and his spouse did not bother to attend the weddings of other European Crown Princes with the exception of Crown Prince Felipe's of Spain. Why would they do it now? Prince Edward and his spouse seem to be well-accepted among the normal European royals.

Because Charles and Camilla last year visited Felipe and Letizia, and this year they've been to Sweden, Denmark and Norway. They haven't visited any of the Benelux countries so this would be a handy way of meeting them. Maybe they could stop into Amsterdam and Brussels at the same time and they'd more or less have the full set on behalf of the Queen in her Diamond Jubilee year.

 

[Mirabel]

I expect it will be the Wessexes, as usual.