royal wedding celebration

JULY 5, 2010


The three little Dutch princesses were pretty in pink during a photo call in the Netherlands. Notice how big sis Catharina-Amalia is keeping Alexia (right) and Ariane in line. Good thing she's a natural-born leader since she's destined to be queen one day.


Princess Caroline of Hanover (right), brother Prince Albert II of Monaco and his fiancee Charlene Wittstock boogied down at an open-air concert. Young Charlene looks almost dull next to Caroline's bright and patterned ensemble.



JULY 6, 2010


Queen Elizabeth II laid a wreath at Ground Zero during her lightning trip to New York City. She also popped over to deliver a speech at the United Nations, before jetting back home. She reportedly didn't stay longer in order to save expenses.


Were Crown Princess Maxima and Crown Prince Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands texting the scores during the World Cup semi-finals? Or, booking their reservations to return to South Africa for the final match?


Princess Camilla of Sicily attended the Giorgio Armani Prive show in Paris. Her husband is the claimant to the Sicilian throne.


JULY 7, 2010


Crown Princess Letizia of Spain made a new friend at an event for the San Federico Association at Zarzuela Palace.


Queen Sofia showed her Spanish red and yellow at the World Cup semi-finals. Her son and daughter-in-law will be there for the final match between Spain and The Netherlands.


JULY 8, 2010


Crown Princess Mathilde of Belgium and her husband, Crown Prince Philippe, took their four little ones to a farm where youngsters can learn about life on a farm.


The Duchess of Cornwall looked comfy at this flower show. She almost looks like she walked there in her housecoat and slippers.


JULY 9, 2010


Okay, technically she's not a princess, but Autumn Phillips is married to Queen Elizabeth II's oldest grandson, Peter Phillips, AND they announced on July 9 that she is expecting the queen's first great-grandchild in December. (Photo from August 2007)

Today's gorgeous and moving royal wedding between Crown Princess Victoria and her longtime love, Daniel Westling, was beautifully broadcast online by SVT (http://svt.se). Here's a quick view of some of the stunning princesses (and their tiaras!) at the event.


Crown Princess Mette-Marit and Crown Prince Haakon of Norway. She was a single mother with connections to the drug culture when he married her. Now she is the well-respected mother of the future Queen of Norway, Princess Ingrid Alexandra (center), who was one of the bridesmaids.


Haakon's sister, Princess Martha Louise, and her commoner husband, Ari Behn, who, unlike today's groom, did not become a prince when he married his princess. Like Victoria, Martha Louise is the oldest child with a younger brother. When Victoria was a toddler Sweden changed the law so that royal daughters had equal rights with brothers so that the oldest child, whatever its gender, is the heir. Norway didn't change its similar law until Martha Louise and Haakon were already grown, so to prevent depriving Haakon of his expected crown, the law was made to apply only to children born after the law passed.


The Prince and Princess of Orange. Princess Maxima was born in Argentina and she met her prince, the future King of the Netherlands, in Spain. Her own parents, however, weren't invited to her wedding because of her father's ties to an Argentinian junta. Maxima has three beautiful girls; the oldest, Princess Catharina Amalia (center), was a bridesmaid.


Crown Princess Mary and Crown Prince Fredrik of Denmark. He met his Australian bride in a bar during the Sydney Olympics. Their son, Prince Christian, was in the bridal party.


The Prince and Princess of the Asturias. Felipe had a whirlwind romance with Letizia, a former television journalist. Many people were stunned when they announced their engagement because there had been no hint of a royal romance.


Felipe's sister, Infanta Cristina of Spain and her husband, Inaki Urdangarin, now the Duke of Palma de Mallorca. He was a professional handball player who met his princess at the Atlanta Olympics.


Meanwhile the oldest child of the Spanish king, Infanta Elena, arrived wearing either 1) an homage to her Spanish homeland or 2) a jacket borrowed at the last minute from the only bullfighter in Sweden.


The Duke and Duchess of Brabant, future King and Queen of Belgium. Mathilde was a speech therapist from a noble Belgian family but her engagement was also a bit of a surprise because he was nearly 40 and people had thought he would never marry. They now have four children.


The Earl and Countess of Wessex. For some reason, the higher members of the British royal family doesn't attend these types of events the way the other royal families do. Instead, they dispatched the Prince Edward (#7 in the succession) and his wife, Sophie. These two actually met while he was officially on duty for a charitable event--she was a public relations agent involved in the event.



The next royal wedding is likely to be between Prince Nicholas of Greece and Tatiana Blatnik. They announced their engagement late last year and released some engagement photos but have not yet released any details. He is first cousins with Crown Prince Fredrik of Denmark on his mother's side and with Prince Felipe of Spain on his father's side.

The bride's mother and sister. Half-Brazilian, half-German Queen Silvia met the king at the Munich Olympics in 1972. Princess Madeleine has been taking a break from the spotlight during the last several weeks following the breakup of her own engagement. (Her fiancee was revealed to be cheating on this gorgeous girl!) Nevertheless, Madeleine's pride and love for her sister were apparent all day.


The little bridal attendants. Prince Christian of Denmark is the smaller boy in the back. In front of him, holding hands with each other, are Princess Ingrid Alexandra of Norway (darker hair) and Princess Catharina Amalia of the Netherlands.


The royal bridal couple. Upon the marriage, he became His Royal Highness Prince Daniel, the Duke of Vastergotland. He also received his first knighthood, the Royal of Order of the Seraphim. After the newlyweds walked up the aisle but before they left the church, he put on the light blue sash and bejewelled star of the order.

Hollywood princesses may wear gigantic brilliant white diamond engagement rings, but real princesses tend to take a more colorful approach to their rings. The royal hands are resplendent with sapphires, rubies, emeralds, even colored diamonds. To help you choose an engagement ring that will make you feel like a princess, I've published a handy guide at the Viva Las Vegas Wedding Chapel Blog.

I'll be guest blogging there once a month with my insights on royal weddings and ways to make your special day a royal occasion.