While I was away, the Paralympics were on. It's the super cute royal Olympics replay, complete with team spirit and cute mini royals. A few of my award-worthy royal Paralympic moments:
Best in Opening Ceremony
Princess Anne
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| Top row, left to right: Queen Elizabeth, the Earl and Countess of Wessex, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, the Princess Royal (with a glimpse of Princess Alexandra of Kent and the Duchess of Gloucester). Bottom row: the Princess and Prince of Monaco, the Duke and Duchess of Gloucester, Princess Astrid of Belgium and her husband Archduke Lorenz |
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Let’s just be honest here: sartorially, the opening ceremony was a total snoozefest. The outfits were as un-pumped as some of these facial expressions. The closest things to fabulous on display were the Queen’s sassy colored earplugs. So let’s give this one to Princess Anne, if only because she’s the only one that brought interest of any sort. Exhibit A: she’s wearing what might as well be a smock, as though she’d just dashed in from her Underwater Pottery 101 class. Exhibit B: she greeted the British team
with a merry wave of her official scarf, which is as close to adorable as this princess gets. Exhibit C:
she continued to wear her sunglasses at night. She saw she was seated next to Boris Johnson and came prepared for discreet eye rolling, because she’s classy like that.
Best Duo
The Duchess of Cambridge and Lady Louise
More of these two together, please. That is all.
Most Enthusiastic Cheerleader
Prince Harry
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| L to R: Infanta Elena of Spain and her two children, Prince Harry, the Countess of Wessex, the Duchess of Cambridge |
Of the many royals spotted cheering on the athletes, a few stuck out for sheer enthusiasm. There was Sophie, for the
doohhhhhh factor, and Kate, for the
whooooo factor - as always. Elena and her kids get a mention for gamely sporting the...uh...
festive Spain kit. But this one goes to Harry, for getting back out there and reminding us all that if your Vegas trip didn't include at least one thing you feel a little sheepish about, you did it wrong.
Best in Medal Presenters
Princess Michael and Princess Eugenie
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| Top row, L to R: the Countess of Wessex, Prince Daniel of Sweden, the Duchess of Cambridge, the Earl of Wessex. Bottom row: Prince Michael and Princess Michael of Kent, Princess Eugenie of York, Crown Prince Frederik of Denmark |
Loads of royals got to get in on the medal and bouquet bestowing fun this time around, and they mostly looked like they were working the beverage cart for Paralympic Airlines.That's why I have to give this jointly to Princesses Michael and Eugenie, simply for bucking the high flying trend. (And if they are playing flight attendant, sign me up for those journeys. Marie Christine's obviously going somewhere beachy, and Eug's flight clearly serves adult beverages. Strong ones.) (And for the record, even though I know that dress is more than many of you can swallow, I dig it. Eugenie's young, she should be taking some fashion risks, and this Peter Pilotto qualifies.)
Best in Closing Ceremony
The Earl of Wessex
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| The Earl of Wessex and Sir Philip Craven |
The Earl of Wessex, Patron of the British Paralympic Association, really stepped it up throughout the Games. I mean, it takes a lot of gumption to
rock the tartan cummerbund. But his entrance at the Closing Ceremony takes the cake. With a ride like that, there's not even any competition.
What was your favorite royal Paralympic moment?
Photos: Getty Images/AP/London 2012
