Recent content by Duchess Rennie

A real "aristo" would never be so utterly déclassé as to say anything of the sort. "Aristocratic" is the last thing this truly pathetic woman is...

I seem to recall reading that that very pretty necklace was not a gift from Charles but bought by Diana for herself with money from an inheritance; in the Leslie Field book, I think.

Are you talking about Princess Margaret's wedding day look? Because if I recall correctly, she had a hair pile-up on top of her head that looked like a dead possum.

The family may have had ideas (acorns for their 3 children), but it's the College of Arms that determines what the coat of arms will look like. It can't be too weird, or the same as another coat, or enough like another so that it could be mistaken for it. Though that last isn't so much an issue...

I did notice the hat hand-off, but I just checked and Prince Charles clearly wore a sword for his wedding, so it can't be just a show of respect. Though I doubt it's a security measure! ;) I always thought full dress military uniform on royal occasions required swords...and there was a reference...

She can't salute, not being a member of the armed forces in uniform, so to acknowledge the salutes of guards as he was doing, she would bow her head. And especially so when they passed the Cenotaph, to show respect to the war dead the monument commemorates.

IMO, "blusher" is a really stupid, sexist name for the face veil, probably invented by stylists, and I refuse to call it that. Then again, I guess the whole veil concept is pretty sexist, though I prefer to think of the groom (NOT the bride's father, which is really sexist...bride as possession...

Well, I didn't think it looked like Grace Kelly at all! Grace's dress was high-necked and tight-buttoned and not see-through lace. Though I too think the decolletage could have been an inch higher. Otherwise, it was perfection. Can someone post a picture of her shoes? I heard that the Royal...

Etiquette even for non-royals dictates that a man should always get into a car (or carriage) first, to spare his female companion the need to slide across the seat and disarrange her dress. As for the other question, I would think it's either tradition or preference.

I agree. Though I very much doubt that the pearls make any kind of "noise"...they don't swing as much as that. The headache is much more of a real consideration.

So far-fetched as to be impossible. Perhaps down the road, he could through his own merits and efforts earn himself a life peerage, but even that is pretty unlikely. True, there are other commoners in British history that became progenitors once or twice removed of monarchs, and some of them...

Why on earth would Mr. Middleton be given a title? Absolutely no reason whatsoever for that. Mr. Ferguson and Mr. Rhys-Jones weren't. Even Mark Phillips wasn't given one, by his and Anne's choice, of course.

I think the count is somewhere up around thirty. But not all would be suitable, as colored stones are probably not appropriate for the wedding, and HM has rubies, emeralds, aquamarines, sapphires, etc., not just plain diamond ones...

Well, then both "The Queen" and "The King's Speech" got it wrong, because in both of them people are instructed that "It's 'ma'am' as in 'ham', not 'mahm' as in 'calm'." And that's how I learned it. It's special pronunciation only for HM, as regular ladies are indeed addressed as 'mahm'. Or...

Well, most women still change their surnames on marriage, why shouldn't William? At least he won't be "William Middleton"! Oooh, Duke of Buckingham! But didn't Lady Diana use "Miss Buckingham" as a cover name for appointments at the Emanuels to fit the wedding dress?