Category: The House of Windsor

The Kerfuffle Over Kate & the St. Patrick’s Day Parade

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I wouldn’t go so far as to say this was a scandal, but it certainly caused a public outcry: On March 17, 2016 the Duchess of Cambridge did NOT hand out shamrocks to the 1st Battalion Irish Guards at the St. Patrick’s Day Parade. I hope you were sitting down for that. I should have warned you, I’m sorry.

Prior to last year, Kate had taken part in the event every St. Patrick’s Day since her marriage; thus, she made an appearance in 2012, 2013, 2014 and 2015. It had been expected that she would continue the tradition annually, and it caused a bit of a stir when it was announced by Kensington Palace that William would be carrying out the engagement solo. At the time KP released the following statement:

“The Duchess has very much enjoyed the occasions when she has been able to attend, but the Duke is the Colonel of the Regiment and is looking forward to presenting the Irish Guards with their Shamrock. The Duchess has returned home to spend time with her children, but looks forward to marking St Patrick’s Day with the Irish Guards many times in the future.”

Now, in a vacuum that’s not really ground-breaking, but as with almost anything royal, context is key.

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Kate’s Top 10 Fashion Misses

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Let’s be clear, Kate is genetically blessed in such a way that if it weren’t for the fact that she seems like a very nice person who has devoted huge amounts of her time to supporting charities, you’d kind of hate her. She could wear a trash bag and carry it off, and as far as I can tell she doesn’t have an unflattering angle. That said, after having posted my top 10 favorite looks of hers since she became Duchess of Cambridge, fair’s fair and here are my least favorite:

10.

Dress by Erdem

Most of the time I’m a fan of Kate’s Erdem picks. Indeed, she had several from the Canada/US tour, from where the below image was taken, which were fantastic. This one, however, doesn’t do it for me. I like it from the waist down, but everything about the floral embroidery just makes this way too fussy for my taste and almost aging for Kate’s then-29 years.

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June 2011

9.

Coat dress by Catherine Walker

I want to like the idea behind this, but the execution fails. The green is too neon and the collar way too constricted zipped all the way to the top. Oh, and I hate that there’s a zipper at all. It just feels like three disparate ideas all mashed together in one jarring pop of color.

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April 2014

 

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Kate Debuts a New (But Old) Rebecca Taylor Suit at Ronald McDonald Evelina London House

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Generally I like to start posts on the Duchess of Cambridge’s engagements with a rundown of the charity itself, but I just can’t do that today. We have to start with the fashion because I am most perplexed. I don’t understand: If you own one thing, why would you buy an almost identical, but slightly altered version of it? Choose one! It’s bizarre!

Anyway, today Kate carried out at an engagement marking the opening of a new facility supporting the families of children undergoing medical treatment at Evelina London Children’s Hospital.

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Mary, Princess Royal and Countess of Harewood

On By RSBIn The House of Windsor15 Comments

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If ever there was a 20th century English princess that did things “correctly,” it would be George V’s daughter, Princess Mary. I say this mainly because the extent of what we don’t know about her could fill a book. She lived a life devoted to public duty, supporting her father, her brothers, Edward VIII and George VI, and later her niece, Queen Elizabeth. Today, however, marks the anniversary of her wedding to Henry Lascelles, Earl of Harewood in 1922, and so we’ll take this opportunity to take a quick look at her life.

Mary was born on April 25, 1897 to George, Duke of York and his wife, Mary of Teck, Duchess of York at York Cottage on the Sandringham estate in Norfolk. She was her parents’ third child, joining her elder brothers, Princes Edward and Albert in the York nursery. At the time of her birth her great-grandmother, Queen Victoria, was still on the throne and her father was second in line to the throne, making her position mirror that of Princess Charlotte today. Notably, she was christened Victoria Alexandra Alice Mary, however Queen Victoria apparently proposed naming her “Diamond” in honor of her Diamond Jubilee which took place that year, marking her 60th year as queen.

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Kate in Gold Erdem for UK-India Year of Culture Event

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The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge joined the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh for the UK-India Year of Culture 2017 event at Buckingham Palace this evening. High-profile guests from both countries dotted the reception space, which was full of Indian delicacies (a collaboration between royal chefs and chefs from the UK’s oldest Indian restaurant, Veeraswamy), entertainment, decoration and historical artifacts. The exterior of BP was even done up for the occasion:

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The “Plan” to Make Camilla Queen

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According to Tom Sykes at the Daily Beast, there’s a plan in place to make Camilla queen and it will be implemented within 24 hours of Charles ascending the throne. Specifically, when Charles goes before the Accession Council and tells them what name he plans to take as king he will instruct them that Camilla will be known as “Queen Camilla.”

That Charles wants his wife to take the title of “queen” isn’t news, but that there may be a firm game plan for the mechanics of bringing this about very much is. So, let’s investigate:

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The Unnecessary War of the Snowdons

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Today marks the anniversary of the announcement of Princess Margaret’s engagement to Antony “Tony” Armstrong-Jones, the photographer, who passed away earlier this year. Their marriage would famously end in divorce in 1978, the first for a senior member of the royal family in the House of Windsor, ironic only in that Tony would also be the first commoner in 400 years to marry a monarch’s daughter.

Tellingly, what would attract the couple to each other in the first place would, in many ways, be their undoing. And while they showed promise in the early stages of their marriage, and complemented one another when it came to tackling aspects of their public duties, they were wildly unmatched when it came to existing day-to-day, a fact that would become apparent within a few years of their wedding.

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Top 10 Kate Looks

On By RSBIn The House of Windsor2 Comments

In honor of the Oscars red carpet, I give you my top 10 favorite Kate looks since her marriage:

10. 

Roland Mouret dress & Smythe blazer

She looks like Business Barbie in a good way. This is Kate about to board a plan to leave the UK for Canada for her first overseas tour as the Duchess of Cambridge and I loved that she essentially dressed like was going on a business trip. Kate has recycled this Smythe blazer many times since and each time I’ve been a fan. We haven’t seen the dress recycled in public, but I hope we do someday. It’s polished, young and there’s nothing quite like the structure of a Roland Mouret piece.

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June 2011

9. 

Alexander McQueen dress

This was Kate’s first public appearance after announcing her pregnancy with Prince George and so she gets some bonus points just for the sheer fact that she reappeared from suffering acute HG looking like this. But I also genuinely love the dress, though we didn’t get a great look at it. The dark green is gorgeous on Kate and, God knows, she has the legs the pull off a high slit.

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December 2012

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Should Camilla Be Queen?

On By RSBIn The House of Windsor12 Comments

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Well, Melanie McDonagh at The Spectator certainly doesn’t think so. She argues that 2017 isn’t going to be a great year for the Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall as they wince their way through the 20th anniversary of the death of Diana, Princess of Wales and all the re-surfacing of old stories emerges. Specifically, the re-hashing of the Wales’s famously unhappy marriage will undermine efforts to have Camilla named as queen when Charles eventually succeeds his mother on the throne.

Personally, I think the campaign to make Camilla palatable to the public since the events of 1997 has been one of most effective and ruthless displays of PR ever executed by the Royal Family, so let’s dive right in:

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William, Kate & a Tempest in a Teapot

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On Monday the Daily Beast published yet another column arguing that the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge have a work problem. This recent spurt in activity, it says, masked an otherwise unchanged rhythm of activity that sees a handful of engagements here and there before the couple retreats back to Norfolk where their country home, Anmer Hall, is located.

Further, it says that that William and Kate’s argument that their privacy is premised around spending time with their children is tone deaf to the reality of most working parents, and that William purposefully surrounds himself with “yes men,” who won’t stand up to him and/or lack the experience to point him in the right direction. The column ends by claiming William doesn’t listen to his father, the Prince of Wales, and the only member of the Royal Family that can guide him is the Queen herself.

Let’s discuss.

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