Today the Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall left Italy for Austria, arriving in Vienna this morning for a half day of engagements. I have to admit, while I was envious of their trip to Florence and Rome and Charles’s to Bucharest I am beyond jealous they’re in Vienna, which is one of my very favorite cities to visit. Taking a look at their stops I’m getting pangs of nostalgia for the last time I was there.
Yesterday, the Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall departed Florence for Rome and the Holy See where they met with Pope Francis. Before their visit they were given a private tour of the Vatican’s archives, which house manuscripts not accessible to the public. The secrecy makes sense given the thousands of extremely personal documents Rome was made privy to over the centuries, particularly when it was a more political entity going head-to-head with monarchs across Europe.
One such example referenced earlier this week by way of the papal dispensation sought by Henry VII and Ferdinand and Isabella of Spain for approval to marry their children, the future Henry VIII and Katherine of Aragon – the document essentially haggled over the terms of Katherine’s virginity following her marriage to Arthur Tudor. But this was indicative of the personal nature of so many of the issues the Vatican weighed in on, from dispensations to divorces to legal issues, any number of which were related to the Royal Families ruling Europe.
Continue reading “Charles, Camilla, the Vatican & Relaxing Formality”
A month ago I wrote a post about Edward VII and Alexandra of Denmark where I pointed out similarities between the two of them and the current Prince of Wales and his late ex-wife, Diana. There was one bizarre coincidence, however, which I forgot to highlight: one of Edward VII’s best-known mistresses was Alice Keppel, who happens to be the great-grandmother of none other than Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall. Given the similarities between Diana and Queen Alexandra, and Camilla’s direct descent from Mrs. Keppel, the whole thing does feel a bit like a historical wink.
This is surprisingly apropos of the ongoing royal visit to Italy because today Camilla brought up her regret that her mother sold a villa in Florence once owned by Alice and Camilla has girlhood memories of playing there. She revealed to reporters covering the tour that she hoped to buy it back someday and leave it to her grandchildren.
As we speak, the Prince of Wales has safely arrived in Florence where he was met by the Duchess of Cornwall for the next leg of his European tour. All told and unsurprisingly, Charles was a smash hit in Romania and his engagements picked up a fair bit of media coverage in the last 36 hours.
After introductions and meeting with President Iohannis in Bucharest, he sat down with Crown Princess Margareta yesterday for an afternoon tea. As some very quick background, Margareta is the eldest daughter of King Michael I, who was named heir presumptive to the abolished Romanian throne in 1997. The Royal Family has been without their crown, so to speak, since 1947, however the King’s move was a symbolic gesture that offered up a candidate should Romania ever reinstate its monarchy – one which also proposed the removal of Salic Law, which prohibits a woman from inheriting the throne.
If there was one engagement on this trip to which the Duke of Cambridge was most looking forward it was likely this afternoon’s rugby match between France and Wales. We’ve actually had a few chances to see the couple watch sports together between appearances at Wimbledon, various horse races and other events on overseas tours. Usually William looks fairly stressed as the game unfolds, while Kate showcases just how expressive her face can be.
Today was no different, though Kate seemed slightly less emotionally invested than she usually does during some tennis matches. Both, however, appeared glum when France made a last minute score and won the game.
Continue reading “Carolina Herrara Gets a Recycle for Final Paris Engagement”
I think this morning’s event is the one everyone was waiting for – the Eiffel Tower, the iconic shots of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge in the city and, yes, Chanel. It would have been a small crime if Kate hadn’t worn at least one Chanel item during her stay in the city and when she decided she was going to go for it, she went for it.
For the day’s fourth and final engagement, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge were received at a black tie dinner at the British Embassy. The 18th century ballroom was full of about 150 guests, including film and sports stars, and William made another brief speech expressing the Queen’s warm feelings towards France and its people.
One element of the entertainment was the group Kids United, who sang Pharrell’s “Happy,” one of the songs to which William was filmed dancing while in Verbier. According to the press coverage the only reaction William had was to briefly glance at Kate, and when the song was over he graciously stood up and congratulated the children on their performance.
Continue reading “Kate in Ice Blue Jenny Packham for First Night in Paris”
