Be sure to check out my 30 Day Royal Challenge Posts
I started it late, so I’m still catching up, but I’ve done seven days so far so go have a look-see :) :)
coeur loyal
"give my love to all who remember me"
I started it late, so I’m still catching up, but I’ve done seven days so far so go have a look-see :) :)
30 Day Royal Challenge: Day 7 - Favorite Royal Wedding Dress
Lady Diana Spencer’s Fairytale Wedding Dress
Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful. The epitome of a fariytale wedding dress.
The wedding dress of Lady Diana Spencer was worn by Lady Diana Spencer at her wedding to Charles, Prince of Wales, on 29 July 1981 at St Paul’s Cathedral. Diana wore an ivory silk taffeta and antique lace gown, with a 25-foot (7.62 m) train, valued then at £9000. It became one of the most famous dresses in the world, and was considered one of the most closely guarded secrets in fashion history.
The dress was designed by David and Elizabeth Emanuel and was described as a dress that “had to be something that was going to go down in history, but also something that Diana loved”, and one which would be “suitably dramatic in order to make an impression”. Diana Spencer had personally selected the designers to make her wedding dress as she had been fond of a chiffon blouse which they designed for her formal photo session with Lord Snowdon.
The woven silk taffeta was made by Stephen Walters of Suffolk.[4] In the making of the dress, the Emanuels consultedMaureen Baker, who had made the wedding dress of Princess Anne. One observer wrote of the dress, “the dress was a crinoline, a symbol of sexuality and grandiosity, a meringue embroidered with pearls and sequins, its bodice frilled with lace”.The traditional Carrickmacross lace-making technique used on the wedding dress was later used on the wedding dress of Kate Middleton in her marriage to Prince William, Diana’s eldest son. It was also decorated with hand embroidery, sequins, and 10,000 pearls. The making of the dress posed difficulties, given that Diana had developed bulimia and had dropped from a size 14 to a size 10 in the run-up to the wedding; even the seamstress was concerned about her weight loss and that the dress would not fit as it should. Due to the length of the train, Diana’s father found it difficult to fit inside the glass coach to accompany his daughter to the cathedral
After the wedding, few specifically wanted a dress in the same design, but large puffed sleeves, a full skirt and “soft touch fabrics” became popular requests. Copies by other dressmakers were available “within hours” of the 1981 wedding.
Even after the styles became dated, many considered it a “gold standard” in wedding dresses. However, continued appreciation for the dress was not universal: one 2004 bridal magazine listed it as “too much dress, too little princess.” Nevertheless, in 2011, Elizabeth Emanuel noted that she still received requests for replicas of Diana’s dress.
The dress has toured for many years with the exhibition “Diana: A Celebration”, though generally it stays for only part of the exhibit. Althorp House, Northampton is the primary display location of the dress.
30 Day Royal Challenge: Day 6 - Favorite Royal Wedding
Prince Charles and Lady Diana Spencer’s Wedding of the Century in 1981
30 Day Royal Challenge: Day 5 - Favorite Royal Engagement Ring
Part Two: Princess Diana’s Engagement Ring
Lady Diana Spencer chose a large oval sapphire ring (sometimes reported to be 18 carats, which is an exaggeration) surrounded by 14 round diamonds and set in white gold as her engagement ring from the Prince of Wales. The ring was made by Garrard, and unusually for a royal engagement ring it was not bespoke; the actual cost was available, which caused a bit of a fuss. There’s nothing especially unique about the design, but it has become perhaps the most famous engagement ring (and most copied) out there. After Diana’s death, it was reported that Prince Harry had selected the ring to keep, but of course it was Prince William that used it to propose to Catherine Middleton. She wears it with her Welsh gold wedding band, just as Diana did.
30 Day Royal Challenge: Day 5 - Favorite Royal Engagement Ring
Part One: Crown Princess Mary of Denmark’s Engagement Ring
Mary Donaldson’s engagement ring from Crown Prince Frederik is in the colors of the Danish flag: an emerald cut diamond flanked by emerald cut rubies. She wore it like that, alongside her diamond wedding band, for several years; and then, in early 2012, she upgraded. The ring now includes an extra diamond on either side of the rubies (the bottom close up, above), which I think makes it look a little more complete. A lovely design change.
30 Day Royal Challenge: Day 4 - Favorite Royal By Birth and By Marriage
Part Two: Favorite Royal By Marriage
Again, way too many favorites, but ultimately, Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother (nee Lady Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon) and Diana, Princess of Wales (nee Lady Diana Spencer) are my most favorite royals by marriage.
30 Day Royal Challenge: Day 4 - Favorite Royal By Birth and By Marriage
Part One: Favorite Royal By Birth
Oh gosh I have too many to count, but essentially, I have to say Her Royal Highness Princess Marina of Greece and Denmark (later HRH The Duchess of Kent), simply because she was her own favorite royal by birth too :D She was royal and beautiful, and she knew it <3
30 Day Royal Challenge: Day 3 - Favorite Royal Relation (non titled)
Zara Phillips
30 Day Royal Challenge: Day 2 Favorite Royal (Past and Present)
Part Two: Favorite Present Royals
Top L-R: Hereditary Princess Sophie of Liechtenstein,Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden, Mihai I of Romania
Middle L-R: Franz Duke of Bavaria, Prince Charles, Princess Alexandra of Kent
Bottom L-R: Grand Duchess Maria Theresa of Luxembourg, Prince Georg Friedrich of Prussia and of course Prince Harry of Wales!
30 Day Royal Challenge: Day 2 Favorite Royal (Past and Present)
Part One: Favorite Past Royals
Top L-R: Edward VIII, Queen Alexandra, Olav V of Norway
Middle L-R: Grand Duchess Olga Nikolaevna, Grand Duchess Maria Nikolaevna, Albert I of Belgium
Bottom L-R: Katherine Swynford, Eleanor of Aquitaine and my favoritest of my favorite past royals, Henry VII.
Detail of a portrait of a nine year old Louis XV.
L’Enfer Et Moi - Amandine Bourgeois
Uphill | Somerset by fraser donachie on Flickr.
