royal wedding celebration

Tonight, the world's royals gathered at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel in London for a pre-wedding gala celebration. Although the bride and groom, Catherine Middleton and Prince William of Wales, were tucked away safely out of public view, practically everyone else was there. Princesses from around the world put on their shiny new gowns, although sadly no tiaras were sighted.

Along with learning royal protocol, taking on public duties and finding her way around a variety of palatial royal homes, Kate Middleton has one more task that she will certainly be under a lot of pressure to fulfill. She will be expected to be “fruitful and multiply.” This is one area where living up to comparisons to her late mother-in-law, Diana Princess of Wales, is likely to be challenging: Diana gave birth to Prince William less than 11 months after her wedding.

More recent royal brides don’t produce so quickly. This may be partly by personal choice indicating a desire common among modern women to focus on the marital relationship or the career change (“princesshood”) before jumping into the additional responsibilities of motherhood. Or, it may be due to natural selection. Today’s royal ladies are much older than Diana at marriage and the older a woman is, on average, the more difficult it may be for her to conceive naturally. According to researchers at the University of Edinburgh and at Kate’s alma mater, the University of St. Andrews, only 25% of women her age get pregnant within the first year of “trying” and 9% still don’t get pregnant within four years.

Among recent royal brides, Crown Princess Masako of Japan has had the most challenging fertility issues. She was the same age as Kate, 29, when she married Crown Prince Naruhito in 1993. Under extreme pressure to produce a male heir, she suffered one publicly announced miscarriage in 1999 and finally gave birth to her only child, Princess Aiko, eight and a half years after the wedding. Since women are not able to ascend the Japanese throne, Masako’s personal struggles were also the topic of much public debate that was only resolved when her husband’s sister-in-law Princess Kiko gave birth to a son in 2006, nearly 12 years after having the last of her two daughters. Little Prince Hisahito’s was delivered prematurely by caesarean section because Kiko suffered from placenta praevia, a life-threatening complication that is more prevalent among mothers under 20 or over 30.

Masako’s fertility struggles almost certainly contributed to her ongoing mental/emotional health problems, which have been officially described as deriving from an adjustment disorder. Since shortly after Aiko’s birth, she has remained largely out of the limelight indicating that whatever emotional disturbance she is suffering may have been directly aggravated by postpartum depression and/or the imperial disappointment in the birth of a daughter. In 2007, she may have been further stressed by the publication of an unauthorized biography that allegedly laid bare her troubles and asserted that she had used in vitro fertilization to conceive Aiko. The Imperial Household issued a public letter denouncing the book but did not deny any of its assertions. Interestingly, it is entirely possible that Princess Kiko may also have used some sort of reproductive assistance to have Hisahito. Now 47, Masako is extremely unlikely to have any more children.

Closer to home, Sophie Countess of Wessex, wife of Prince William’s uncle Prince Edward also struggled with fertility. Thirty-four at the time of her wedding, Sophie suffered an ectopic pregnancy which was terminated in order to save her life. Four and a half years into the marriage, Sophie was in her third trimester when she had a placental abruption, another life-threatening risk for older mothers. Her daughter, The Lady Louise Windsor, was delivered by caesarean and the baby was quickly transferred to a special neonatal hospital for two weeks. Sophie also spent an extended period in the hospital and was unable to see her baby during that time. The suddenness of the premature, emergency delivery also meant that Edward was not at the birth. It was another four years until the birth of their second child, also by caesarean.

Fortunately, the future queens in Europe have not had such heart-breaking fertility problems. However, the constant baby bump watch currently being endured by Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden, who married just nine months ago, demonstrates that the media and public still expect pregnancies immediately after a royal wedding.

Here is a rundown of the current crown princesses and their pregnancies:

- Mary Crown Princess of Denmark was 32 when she married. The first of her four children was born 17 months later.

- Letizia The Princess of the Asturias was 32 when she married. The first of her two children was born 17 months later.

- Princess Mathilde The Duchess of Brabant was 26 when she married. The first of her four children was born 22 months later.

- Maxima The Princess of Orange was 30 when she married. The first of her three children was born 22 months later.

- Mette-Marit Crown Princess of Norway was 28 when she married. The first of her two royal children was born 29 months later. She had another child from a previous relationship when she was 23.

- Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden married shortly before her 33rd birthday. Now nine months into the marriage, no pregnancy has been announced.

So, if these royal contemporaries are any indication, it is likely that William and Kate would not be welcoming a little one until 2013 or later. Hopefully, if Kate and William do have problems conceiving, the media and the public will be sympathetic and supportive and Kate won’t suffer anything like the anxiety still being experienced by Masako

While we here in the deep south sent our children back to school this week (despite soaring temperatures), European royal families were enjoying summer holidays.

AUGUST 2, 2010


Queen Sofia of Spain is a lifelong fan of yachting, so it was no surprise to see her at the Copa del Rey race on the first day of the competition. It's not unusual for all or most of the royal family to show up.


It was a bit cooler in Britain where most of the British royal family ended their holiday cruise. Lady Louise Mountbatten-Windsor clearly resembles her grandmother Queen Elizabeth II. Not only does she have the queen's girlhood golden curls, but she seems to have adopted the queen's fashion sense, even wearing a little headscarf. Louise's mum, Sophie Count of Wessex, and brother, James Viscount Severn, also enjoyed the family break.




AUGUST 3, 2010


On Day 2 of the Copa del Rey, Infanta Leonor was a little doll in her purple and green summer dress. Although she no longer has her Shirley Temple curls, she is still one of the cutest children on the planet.


AUGUST 4, 2010


Girls day out for the royal ladies (and little ladies!) of Spain. Abuela Queen Sofia, Mama Princess Letizia and las chicas adorables Infantas Leonor and Sofia paid a visit to the Museum of Glass in Palma de Mallorca. Baby Sofia seemed less-than-impressed with the waiting photographers.


Then Letizia and her darlings joined Prince Felipe for a little family time back at the Copa del Rey.


AUGUST 6, 2010


Day 5 of the Copa del Rey found Princess Letizia really getting into the nautical spirit with her navy striped T-shirt, denim capris and sporty flats.

As has been traditional in the western world, women--even royal women--take their husband's name upon marriage. This includes being called by their husband's first and last name with "Mrs." in front of it. For instance, under this tradition, I am "Mrs. Robert Brown, Jr.", a name I only use when receiving joint mailings with him: "Mr. & Mrs. Robert Brown, Jr." Otherwise, I prefer a more modern hybrid of my birth name and married name: "Cheryl Anderson Brown."

For royal women, they take the female version instead of "Mrs." with their husband's first name and title, which is why the statuesque Baroness Marie Christine von Reibnitz is called "Princess Michael." The only exception is if a royal bride outranks her husband. In that case, she may use her husband's name and title, but only after her own: HRH The Princess Royal, Mrs. Timothy Laurence and HRH Princess Alexandra, The Hon. Lady Ogilvy.

Currently, there are six women with the British royal equivalent of “Mrs.” They are titled "Princess" and "Duchess" but only in association with their husband's name, with the exception of one, who has always outranked her husband. She is also the only brunette in the group--the rest are all natural blondes. I guess princes prefer blondes--what does that say for the brunette Kate Middleton's future? (For more on the topic of British royal titles and how they might impact Kate, see Princess Kate! The Duchess of What?)

- HM The Queen is also The Duchess of Edinburgh since her husband was created a royal duke when they married. However, since she always outranked him as The Princess Elizabeth (the “The” indicating that she was the daughter of a monarch), she was never known as “Princess Philip,” especially since he renounced his title as Prince of Greece and Denmark before they married in 1947. He was not a prince again until his wife made him The Prince Philip (with the most royal “The” included) nearly 10 years later.


- HRH The Princess of Wales, The Duchess of Cornwall, The Duchess of Rothesay. Camilla Parker-Bowles (nee Shand) is married to Prince William’s father, HRH The Prince Charles, The Prince of Wales, who as heir to the English throne has the title The Duke of Cornwall and as heir to Scottish throne has the title The Duke of Rothesay—the two thrones have been merged since 1714. In order to avoid upsetting people who associated “Princess of Wales” with Charles’ first wife, Camilla prefers to be styled HRH The Duchess of Cornwall; and is styled HRH The Duchess of Rothesay when on official duties in Scotland.


- HRH The Princess Edward, The Countess of Wessex. Formerly Sophie Rhys-Jones, she is married to the Queen’s youngest son who was given the title Earl of Wessex instead of being made a royal duke when they married. It is believed that they requested and/or accepted a lesser title because they didn’t want their children to be burdened with princely titles and because Edward is expected to eventually receive his father’s title, The Duke of Edinburgh. Technically that title would be inherited by The Prince Charles, as the eldest son, but he would likely be glad to give it to his baby brother (there’s a 16 year age difference between them). As for Edward and Sophie’s children, they are still technically HRH Princess Louise of Wessex and HRH Prince James of Wessex, but the Queen agreed to their parents’ request and they are styled as children of an earl: Lady Louise Mountbatten-Windsor and James Viscount Severn (his father’s secondary title).


- HRH Princess Richard, The Duchess of Gloucester. Danish-born Birgitte van Deurs is married to the 2nd Duke of Gloucester, a first cousin of the Queen. At the time of their marriage, he was not expected to become a duke, because he had an older brother, HRH Prince William of Gloucester. So, she was initially known as HRH Princess Richard of Gloucester. Shortly after that Prince William died in a plane crash in 1972, her father-in-law died and she became a royal duchess.


- HRH Princess Edward, The Duchess of Kent. Katharine Worsley is married to the 2nd Duke of Kent, another first cousin of the Queen. Her husband succeeded his father to the Dukedom at the age of six—his father had been killed in a WWII plane crash. Therefore she was never really known as Princess Edward. Since 2002, she has asked not to be called Her Royal Highness and prefers to be known as “Katharine Kent,” however, she is still listed by her full title in the Court Circular and on official occasions.


- HRH Princess Michael of Kent. Austrian-born Baroness Marie Christine von Reibnitz is married to the Duke of Kent’s younger brother, Prince Michael. Since he is the grandson rather than the son of a king, as a younger son, he did not receive a royal dukedom and his wife has always been called Princess Michael. Their new daughter-in-law, officially Lady Frederick Windsor, is a working actress who prefers to be called by her maiden name, Sophie Winkleman. She is starring in a new series on NBC called “100 Questions” which begins airing on May 27.

There is one other royal dukedom currently in use: The Duke of Lancaster. This title has been merged with the crown since 1413 and therefore is held personally by the Queen, who is styled as The Duke (not Duchess) of Lancaster. The Duchy of Lancaster consists of a number of urban developments and extensive farm land. It yields the queen between $20 and $30 million each year and is held separately from the Crown Estates. If England were to abolish the monarchy, the Queen could still be The Duke of Lancaster and pass that title to her eldest son.