I am so here for a Maxima + Sophie friendship omfg ❤ | The Countess of Wessex with Queen Maxima of the Netherlands on day 2 of the Dutch Kings’ state visit to the UK.
I don’t think it’s a coincidence. I don’t expect Harry and Megs to be at the Polish state visit in January. Meg’s bellycupping at the Fijian state dinner last night perfectly demonstrates that those two aren’t suitable to be at a British state banquet.
fun fact. She is only the second granddaughter in law of a living sovereign to have a family order. The only other one is May, Duchess of York. E7, G5&6 did not have married royal grandsons.
So the traditional royal family order – the one worn by Camilla, Sophie, Diana – is made of ivory. William is an outspoken and active opponent of the illegal ivory trade, and has spent much of his royal life promoting conservation and combatting poachers, the illegal trade, that sort of thing. It was a theory that Catherine hadn’t yet gotten the order from HM because it’s made of ivory, and that would have been a slap in the face to William. Kate’s order is made of glass, which means HM consciously made a few decisions – first, to grant her granddaughter in law this very big honor, and second, to do it in a way that honors her grandson and eventual heir’s wishes. It’s a huge success for William and Catherine. Convincing HM to change anything isn’t easy, but at least one of them convinced HM to do this. It’s a really, really big deal.
It’s not a completion any more. I think you have it completely right when you say “it’s hard to think they’re representing the same thing.” They are NOT representing the same thing. Will and Kate are representing the monarchy and Meghan and Harry are off doing some weird taxpayer-funded celeb thing.
Because she’s family. That’s why I’m so baffled whenever an anon says that Meghan will be excluded from a wedding or a state banquet or anything. If Princess Michael isn’t excluded, then Meghan Markle isn’t going to be excluded.
Meghan is more high profile than Princess Michael though.
I think the real question is whether or not Buckingham Palace wants moments like the photo below in their state banquets.
Because if Megs attends the Polish state banquet, you know she will.
Amidst a sea of sparkle at tonight’s Diplomatic Reception, the most spectacular news was that the Duchess of Cambridge received the Royal Family Order from Her Majesty! Traditionally the order was made of ivory, however, Catherine’s was created with glass instead – likely in honor of her husband, William. Catherine is only the second granddaughter in law of a living sovereign to have a family order.
Queen Elizabeth II receives Dutch King Willem-Alexander I and Queen Maxima at the ceremonial welcome at Horse Guards Parade, London. Oct. 23, 2018
I always forget that State Visits will bring Theresa May out of whatever cave she lives in when she’s not trying to convince the public she’s not a robot
Queen Elizabeth II, Prince Charles and the Duchess of Cornwall greet King Willem-Alexander and Queen Maxima of the Netherlands at Buckingham Palace || October 23, 2018 in London, United Kingdom.
Very likely. I think the Queen will probably say no. And Harry and Megs would have to visit the US when campaigning for the most contentious presidential election ever will be happening. Just not a good time for a royal visit with Trump as president.
The KP feed is also doing a good job. If it weren’t for the endless drama, this would be a boring, but decent tour. The drama, however, is burying everything.
I’m interested in this but also cynical and think more than likely they’ll have him be overly dramatic, exaggeratedly grumpy, and “whiny.” Because he’s everyone’s favorite royal punching bag.
I wouldn’t say there’s no work involved. It’s different work from a regular 40-hour per week day job. All the normal “work” happens behind the scenes. Tour is regular pr work, and I’m sure there are a lot of publicists who could tell you that they do “work” even if it’s not work similar to your own.
Harry and Megs aren’t doing a good job of that work though. They’re supposed to be highlighting Australia and charities and the good work of other people. But they’re just making it all about them.
“Why couldn’t Harry and Meghan just wait one more day to share the good news with the entire family? Why steal the thunder of Eugenie on her big day? Honestly, they will always have a lot of attention than Eugenie, don’t try to take even that away from her on her one big day.” – Submitted by Anonymous
“I think it’s incredibly tacky and rude to announce to the family that you’re pregnant at someone else’s wedding. That’s akin to proposing to your girlfriend after the couple said their vows. There’s a time and place for that. Congratulations, I guess.” – Submitted by Anonymous
“I understand that it’s exciting news, but it was rude of Harry and Meghan to let family know she was pregnant at Eugenie’s wedding, They should have let her have her moment rather than trying to take away from her and Jack.” – Submitted by Anonymous
“I wish that Meghan and Harry had actually waited for the dust settle regarding all the hype around Eugenie’s wedding day before announcing they were expecting. It’s rude not to let Eugenie at least have her moment.” – Submitted by Anonymous
“It was downright rude of Meghan to announce her pregnancy on Eugenie’s wedding day. Talk about trying to steal the bride’s thunder by making it all about you.” – Submitted by Anonymous
“I absolutely hate that not even a full day had passed after Eugenie and Jack’s wedding before Harry and Meghan’s pregnancy announcement. They really screwed them over. Could they not have scheduled the Australia tour even a little bit After Eugenie’s wedding to allow her HER time in the spotlight.” – Submitted by Anonymous
“Meghan and Harry shouldn’t have announced the pregnancy at the wedding. Just let Eugenie have her day! She already came under enough scrutiny from the press.” – Submitted by Anonymous
Thank you so much! This is gorgeous!!!!!! She had chestnuts in the arrangements. That’s brilliant.
The flowers came from Windsor Grand Park, just like Meghan’s, but the difference is amazing. I was wondering if Andrew had sourced them somewhere else, but no. Eugenie had the same resources Meghan had. She just did a lot more with them.
Chestnuts, fuchsia hydrangeas and fall berries. This is gorgeous!!!
‘The Duke of York told a wonderful joke in his speech,’ a guest said. ‘He recalled that his dog Jack was sitting on a chair and he shouted, ‘Jack, get off!’
‘The dog didn’t move, he said, but Jack Brooksbank shot up and fled.’
I’m not convinced this is the end of the world some people are making it out to be.
Difficult to say whether or not things about her past will come out or not. Some of the tarot card readers have said–I think–that Harry would become aware of some of her secrets this month or fall. I’m not convinced that those will become public this fall.
I don’t think the BRF is saying to ignore warnings, but they’ve been put in a tough spot by Harry and Megs. I don’t think the Queen, Philip, Charles, William, or Kate is thrilled with the situation. But what else can they do? Cause a public relations disaster for Tonga and Fiji? Megs would probably complain if they forbade her from going there. They’re in a no-win situation at the moment.
Sorry for the long absence, guys. Sadly, blogging will continue to be sporadic until after the US midterm elections. I have a ton of work to do until then and it’s a lot more important than royal anything. By the way, if you’re a United States reader, remember to go vote on November 6th!!!!
But I’m still pretty obsessive about the blog, so here are some thoughts on the past few weeks.
The boots came back! Kate wore her trusty Penelope Chilvers on her first post-maternity engagement. I thought this event was spot on. she looked casual but perfectly groomed and she was great with the kids (I loved the cup-holding Duchess). She just kind of stepped back and let the kids and the charity shine.
Meghan then wore some hideous leather skirt to Sussex. I’ve been bitching about Letizia’s tacky leather skirts for years, so I obviously hated this. Meghan is truly amazing, though. She managed to wrinkle leather, which I didn’t think was possible. This is also her third nearly-identical green ensemble.
Then Kate wore an Erdem dress I actually liked. We must be entering end times. I love that the dress was inspired by the Queen. That (and the POC plaid) was a nice touch. I liked the plum pumps and clutch, but hated the earrings (which were also Erdem, so I still get to say that I hated something Erdem).
That dress outglammed Meghan’s fug black Givenchy in every single way. Same thing happened at Eugenie’s wedding with Kate’s semi-recycled raspberry dress outshining Meghan’s maternity funeral-wear.
I see a lot of Kate fans taking the “real queens fix each other’s crowns” high road on twitter. I think that’s partly because they are genuinely nice people (far nicer than me!), and partly because this is not a competition at this point.
Eugenie’s wedding was lovely and heartwarming. The groom, was too cute and the bride was gorgeous. I loved the colors (the tiara had emeralds!), absolutely adored the unusual floral arrangements (chinese lanterns! York roses! Blue thistles!), appreciated all the details honoring Eugenie’s family and heritage, and enjoyed the nods to their charity endeavors. Andrew hovering around like a mother hen was adorable, and Fergie and Bea looked gorgeous. Fergie’s carousel party looked like a lot of fun. It was heads and shoulders above the über-basic Pinterest wedding the Sussexes put up.
And speaking of, this how the Sussexes showed up in Australia. They look like a hot mess. Is it me, or is Harry’s bald spot huuuuuuge now?
I still can’t believe they are being this irresponsible, but this is Meghan to a T. She’s on a schedule and she won’t let anything, not even her baby’s health, stand between her and her goal.
Oh, check out the royal source saying that every precaution will be taken because “the royal couple’s health is naturally of the utmost importance.” Uh, aren’t you leaving someone out?
↳ Prince George and Princess Charlotte in the official portraits released by The British Royal Family to mark the Wedding of Princess Eugenie and Mr Jack Brooksbank.
The children of Peter Phillips (Savannah and Isla), Zara Tindall (Mia Grace) and Prince William (George and Charlotte) served as pageboys and flowergirls for the wedding of Princess Eugenie of York. 32 years earlier the three did the same for their uncle Andrew.
Did you see the video of Beatrice & Fergie arriving? Fergie ran straight over to the crowd to give someone a hug. I totally understand why Bea had to babysit.
But yeah, Camilla totally should have been there. I can believe the rumor that she wasn’t there had something to do with Fergie. It unfortunately makes too much sense.
Yeah, I don’t get the maid of honor thing with Beatrice either. But I did like seeing those shots of Andrew on train duty. There’s just something about seeing him do actual work that makes me happy!
Princess Eugenie and her new husband Jack Brooksbank curtesy to The Queen as they leave St George’s Chapel in Windsor Castle following their wedding. | October 12, 2018
Bridesmaids and pageboys wave as they leave after the royal wedding of Princess Eugenie of York to Jack Brooksbank at St. George’s Chapel on October 12, 2018 in Windsor, England.
House of Brat 