Gold Star: The Queen in Northern Ireland

Another day, another historic moment for the Queen in her Diamond Jubilee year: a peace-making visit to Northern Ireland with the Duke of Edinburgh in tow. And as always, the Queen shows the royal world exactly how diplomatic dressing is done.

On arrival, her Wedgewood blue outfit was covered with lace which looked like shamrocks from afar. (And her hat totally looks like it has the Girls of Great Britain and Ireland Tiara wrapped around it, no? Now that's how we show 'em who's boss.) Her brooch, meanwhile, went the actual shamrock route: a cluster of three diamond shamrocks tied with a small ribbon of green which looks like emeralds. The Shamrock Brooch doesn't seem to have a known history or any other known appearances right now. Based on the specific nature of the design (shamrocks, very region-specific), I would imagine it was a gift from a group associated with Northern Ireland; since it doesn't appear she's worn it for any previous visit to this region, I'd guess it was a recent gift. Guesses, guesses.

The Shamrock Brooch

The second and final day of the trip, on which I desperately wanted to give HM a hug, included a headline-making handshake with Martin McGuinness, Deputy First Minister of Northern Ireland and a former leader in the IRA. Lord Mountbatten and three others were killed by an IRA bomb in 1979. But true to form, both the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh carried on with smiles on their faces.

And the Queen honored the area again in her outfit, this time by using the color green - but an acid green, which was a nice way not to dose herself in emerald like some comical drunk American pretending to be Irish for St. Patrick's Day. The outfit was covered in gold accents and was complemented by the Frosted Sunflower Brooch, a gold sunflower with a diamond center and diamond-studded petals which was made for the Queen by Garrard and appears frequently. I suppose it's not for nothing that some see the sunflower as a symbol of peace.

The Frosted Sunflower Brooch

For clever diplomatic dressing and sheer dedication to pushing on, this gets Gold Stars galore.

Photos: WPA Pool/Getty Images

Royal Fashion Awards: The Thanksgiving Jubilee Service

The final event of the official jubilee weekend was a service at St. Paul's Cathedral followed by receptions and a balcony appearance. Though Prince Philip's absence was strongly felt, it was a wonderful event - and there were plenty of wonderful fashions (and diamonds). Let's get to it:

Best in Jumpy Claps

Queen Elizabeth

She did it!! She wore the Cullinan III and IV brooch, rocking 158 carats of diamonds (as you do). That’s my jumpy claps for the year, then. I don’t even care about the rest of the outfit, but for those of you that do, she sported a mint green concoction by Angela Kelly of tulle embroidered with star shaped flowers and silver thread with a chiffon drape studded with Swarovski crystals. It rather reminded me of a super hero’s cape, which I thought was quite fitting.

Best of the Best

The Duchess of Cambridge

Left to Right: the Countess of Wessex, Princess Eugenie, the Duchess of Cambridge, Lady Sarah Chatto, Lady Frederick Windsor

I asked and I wished for something fabulous and new from Sophie and once again my dreams have come true; I’m particularly loving her jaunty Robin Hood chapeau. Eugenie’s in purple, so obviously she makes the list (we all have our weaknesses); Lady Sarah’s her normal sophisticated self which I die for every time (and I do believe the lady was rocking some diamonds herself); and Lady Frederik (Sophie #2, if you like) had some great detailing under that coat. But Kate came out on top in her lace McQueen. I thought she was – if I may be blunt – chic as hell.

Best in Kids

A Tie

L to R: Lady Louise Windsor, Margarita Armstrong-Jones

 Lady Louise and Margarita, a double dose of precious. No point in choosing a winner here!

Fanciest Hat

Lady Helen Taylor

L to R: the Princess Royal, Autumn Phillips, Lady Helen Taylor, Princess Michael of Kent, Princess Alexandra of Kent

 Camilla (as we will see) did her best to run away with the major hat glory, but she failed thanks to these ladies. A turquoise bird met an untimely end on Anne’s head, while her daughter-in-law Autumn seems to have let gravity get the best of her with the tipped angle of the side flower on her hat. The Kent ladies, Princess Michael and Princess Alexandra, went the large but elegant route, but it was another Kent lady that ran away with the prize: Lady Helen. I don’t even know what is happening up there, but she can go right on with her fur-wearing, crazy hat bearing self.

Best of the Rest

The Duchess of Gloucester

L to R: Viscountess Linley, Lady Nicholas Windsor, the Duchess of Gloucester and the Countess of Ulster, Lady Rose Gilman, (above) the Countess of St. Andrews, (below) Julia Ogilvy

 A spot of elegance from a selection of lesser-known Windsors. I’m loving the Duchess the most, if only because she hasn’t pulled another repeat from the last big royal event.

Worst Dressed

Zara Phillips

L to R: the Duchess of Cornwall, Princess Beatrice, Zara Phillips, the Duchess of Kent

Camilla’s outfit looks fine in pictures, but in movement at the service it looked so heavy and stiff, I can’t give it any love. Beatrice had the opposite problem in my eyes: I liked the glimpses I saw in action, but now I can see we have a droopy situation on our hands (she did sport some fierce shoes, to be fair). The Duchess of Kent made a rare appearance and though I’m happy to see her…that is just not the outfit for her. The worst, however, goes to Zara, who seems to be a genie just a little too squished into her bottle. This is not the fierce Zara that I adore so.

UPDATE: By overwhelming popular demand, I present to you the royal men and their morning dress. (This is not all the men, but it is most of them.)

Best in Men

The Prince of Wales

L to R: the Prince of Wales, the Duke of Cambridge, Prince Harry, the Duke of York, the Earl of Wessex

I have much love for all the men, but nobody puts it together quite like Charles: the trim, the accessories…the man has style. And yes, he and his sons also have top hats for the carriage procession back to Buckingham Palace.

And for that reason, William and Harry take the next top two spots.

L to R: Tim Laurence, Peter Phillips, Mike Tindall, the Duke of Gloucester, the Duke of Kent

L to R: Lord Nicholas Windsor, Tim Taylor, Prince Michael of Kent, Lord Frederick Windsor, Viscount Linley, Charles Armstrong-Jones

I will give the fourth spot to Prince Michael, for being the only other royal to display a bit of that same style Prince Charles rocks so well. Panache, I say. Well played.

Who makes your best and worst dressed lists?

P.S.: Should you find yourself lost in the midst of the extended Windsor family, I'll point you in the direction of an illustrated guide to the Windsors I posted in advance of William and Kate's wedding.

Photos:  Getty Images/Reuters/Daylife/Zimbio/WPA Pool/Newspix/Belga/Profimedia/Daily Mail

Royal Fashion Awards: The Thames River Pageant

A landmark celebration for the Diamond Jubilee today: a flotilla of 1,000 boats on the Thames in a magnificent parade for Her Majesty. It was cold and rainy, but do you think that stopped our fair royals from turning out in style? No!

Best Diamond Girl

Queen Elizabeth

A one of a kind outfit for a one of a kind event! Made of course by Angela Kelly (and reported to have taken a year to plan and create), this is one impressive description: white bouclé with a silk organza frill, threaded with silk ribbon and embroidered with gold, silver and ivory paillettes with Swarovski crystal embellishment. The hat, including hand dyed feathers, sweeps up to make sure everyone can see Her Majesty’s smiling face – and to echo the waves of the Thames. And to top it off, she pinned the Jardine Star Brooch on her shoulder. I thought she looked gorgeous.

Best Queen Mum Impression

The Duchess of Cornwall

What do you get when you let Philip Treacy's brain run wild in the late Queen Mother's hat collection? This, methinks. Her long Anna Valentine coat in cream with lovely detailing is just a touch more elegant, though.

Best Use of Red

The Duchess of Cambridge

Taking full advantage of the one day in the year when red is actually the wallflower color choice (seriously, did you see that boat?), Catherine rocked her crimson McQueen. Bonus points for the Strathearn tartan scarf in her hand (she’s the Countess of Strathearn) and for the seafaring brooch with twin silver dolphins given to her by the Royal Navy Submarine Service, of which her hubby is Commodore in Chief. (So now we have polar bears and dolphins…what will be next in the Duch’s zoo-themed brooch collection? Crossing my fingers for a sloth.)

Best Spirit

All These Ladies

Left to right: the Countess of Wessex, Princess Beatrice, Princess Eugenie, and the Duchess of Gloucester (Bea and Eug appeared at a street party, then donned coats for the boat)

 These ladies just looked like they were having the most fun of all on their boat, waving like maniacs with flags included and capturing everything with their mobiles. (Precisely what I would do and so would you - don't lie.) Must be good to draw the party boat assignment. So we’ll reward that, since a lot of what I see here is more worthy of a worst dressed list, I’m afraid.

Best in Bundled Up

Princess Michael of Kent

 

Can’t knock a girl for dressing for the cold and wet weather! You go on, Marie Christine.

Best in Kids

Lady Louise Windsor

L to R: Lady Louise Windsor, Viscount Severn (children of the Earl and Countess of Wessex)

Flags and Union Jack colors? Perfect! 

Best in Uniform

Everybody!

L to R: the Duke of Edinburgh, the Prince of Wales, the Duke of Cambridge, Prince Harry, the Earl of Wessex

L to R: the Duke of York, the Princess Royal, Vice Admiral Timothy Laurence, Prince Michael of Kent, the Duke of Gloucester

 I can’t be forced to pick a favorite today, you know what shiny things do to my attention span and LOOK at all those medals. I was especially delighted to see William back in his RAF uniform after several appearances in his Irish Guards uniforms, though I can’t help but wish he would have made it an occasion for his Navy uniform (my favorite of them all).

Who do you say wins this river pageant?

Photos: Getty Images/Daylife/Hello/PA/Reuters/Rex

Random Royal Appreciation: Catching Up with the Windsors

It's only been a week since we were caught up with all the world's sovereigns gathering at Windsor, and yet the Jubilee party people have already been racking up more shenanigans. Let's play catch up:

The annual Chelsea Flower Show brought out several royal visitors, including Queen Elizabeth. Poor dear doesn't seem to have noticed that she had a spiderweb stuck on her head.

I note wryly that this is not the same hairnet as we saw last year, but rather a new one from Angela Kelly. Because you can never have enough of...those.

Left to right: the Countess of Wessex, the Princess Royal, Princess Alexandra of Kent, Princess Michael of Kent, the Duchess of Gloucester

Plenty of other Windsors came out to play in the flowers, too. Most all of them seem to have received the garden-frolicking Spring memo...except for Anne. Who is always, unstoppably, just Anne.

Thankfully she (and her mother) came to their springtime senses in time for a huge Buckingham Palace garden party. Loveliness!

And finally for the queen, she attended a celebration of the arts the other night, where she acknowledged awkward curtseys from the likes of Joan Collins like a champ. Once again, she was accompanied by a posse of family members, most noticeably Sophie in her most va-va-voom appearance of the week. Me likey.

Some of the Duchess of Cornwall's Canada outfits

Last but not least, across the ocean the Prince of Wales and Duchess of Cornwall made a speedy Jubilee visit to Canada. Sartorially speaking, it was just Camilla doing her Camilla thing; the biggest piece of note for me was her maple leaf regimental brooch from the Queen's Own Rifles of Canada. Rather a large piece, where regimental badges are concerned, and I think quite nice. Lucky Camilla.

What stood out for you in this week in Windsors?

Photos: Daylife/Getty Images/Purepeople/Abaca/AP

Random Royal Appreciation: Windsor Shenanigans, Continued

When last we left off with those crazy Windsors, Harry was headed to Brazil, where he continued to be so very Harry.

You know: dashing and handsome, sporty and hilarious (yes, that's him with the wee bit creepy Wills mask).

And also UNBEARABLY ADORABLE. Quite the note to end his first solo tour, which I hope we can all agree was nothing less than a rousing success. Done your granny proud, H.

And speaking of granny - she was out and about and doused once again in pink for the Commonwealth Day service at Westminster Abbey yesterday (sporting a paisley motif diamond brooch from her mother). The Duchess of Cornwall turned up in purple, just for me I'm sure (much appreciated, Your Royal Highness).

And a bonus Wessex, back in action after her extended Caribbean tour! Sophie was radiant in her Katherine Hooker coat and kind as ever - as you can see, she graciously allowed some of the queen's swans to nest on her hat again. Lovely.


Photos: Daylife/Getty Images/Reuters/AP Photo

Week in Review: The Duchess of Cambridge, 4-10 March

1. Tagging along on the kickoff for the queen's Diamond Jubilee tour in Leicester with Queen Elizabeth and the Duke of Edinburgh, 8 March, in LK Bennett with a Lock & Co. hat. Love this. LOVE. Good hair, good hat, très chic, teal is yummy, etc.

Photo: Getty Images/Daylife

Week in Review: The Duchess of Cambridge, 26 February-3 March

1. Accompanying Queen Elizabeth and the Duchess of Cornwall to Fortnum & Mason, 1 March. In honor of St. David's Day, Kate (wearing an M Missoni coat over a repeated blue Zara dress and going without one of her safety blanket clutches to clutch) wore fresh daffodils and Camilla (in Bruce Oldfield) wore the leek of the Welsh Guards. The queen (in Angela Kelly) wore a floral brooch with unknown provenance.

Speaking of the queen, I was quite sure she would end up my best dressed of the lot in advance of the three royal musketeers' engagement debut - after all, she does royal color and coordination better than any other Windsor lady. What she does not do well - what she does not need to do - is the gimmicky themed stuff. You don't need the uniform, Your Maj, we already know you are the ringmaster in this circus!

Photos: Daylife/Getty Images/Reuters

Week in Review: Princess Beatrice, 24-30 July

Here's what Beatrice wore from 24-30 July:

1. a) and b) At the pre-wedding cocktail party for Zara Phillips and Mike Tindall, 29 July, in c) a repeated Issa dress. The more I look at it, the more I really love that giant butterfly belt. Could be too much, could be tacky...but I think she pulls it off.
2. Attending Mike and Zara's wedding, 30 July. As she was dressed by the Queen's dresser and in-house designer, Angela Kelly, official details were released about her outfit (tweeted by @RoyalReporter): that jacket is turqouise double silk with a flared peplum detail, the turquoise dress underneath has a plain bodice and lace sleeves, the skirt's floral motif is adorned with Swarovski crystals, and the hat is made to match with the same fabrics and details. An interesting pairing with the chevron clutch.

Photos: PA/Mirror/Yannis Vlamos/GoRunway.com/Style.com/Getty Images/Reuters/Daylife

Week in Review: Princess Eugenie, 24-30 July

Here's what Eugenie wore from 24-30 July:

1. a) and b) At the pre-wedding cocktail party for Zara Phillips and Mike Tindall, 29 July.
2. Attending Mike and Zara's wedding, 30 July. Official details on Eugenie's Angela Kelly outfit (tweeted by @RoyalReporter): the jacket has a flared bustle with a large (no kidding) bow in oyster at the back. Her dress is brown silk with a Swarovski crystal waistband, and her silk hat includes oyster colored feathers. Loosen up the skirt and figure out some other way to make a back statement, and she really would have had something her, methinks. Coulda, woulda, shoulda.

Photos: Reuters/Daylife/Hello/Getty Images/Splash News/Newscom

Royal Fashion Awards: Zara Phillips and Mike Tindall's Wedding

My favorite Twitter hashtag for this event has been #BigFatScottishWedding. There's no better summary of this perfectly royal non-royal affair. We've got new clothes, old clothes, hat madness, players going rogue, and awards galore:

Best Repeat

The Duchess of Cambridge

As predicted by everyone (give the reader to your right a pat on the back), Kate repeated yet again today. But if you're gonna repeat, this is the way to do it: we've seen this before, more than once, but not so recently as to smack us with a case of déjà vu, and she's spiced it up with a new chapeau. A new chapeau that I love, by the way. But then again, I love anything that inches us closer to a proper hat and away from forehead-bolted fascinators. (P.S.: Yes, I do know some of these ladies and gents have Scottish titles. We're gonna keep it simple, though.)

Best Try

Princess Beatrice

Vibrant color: check. Excellent detailing: check. Shiny new outfit made special for your cousin's wedding: check. That usual Yorkie desire to reach in and tug the jacket for her: check. Upturned teacup hat: check with accompanying tears. Good try, though, Bea. (Interesting tidbit: both York girls were dressed for the day by Angela Kelly, the Queen's dresser and designer. Granny's solution to avoiding another airborne commode seat debacle?)

Worst Butt Bow

Princess Eugenie

It's like she saw how often you lot have been chatting about butt bows, and thought: "I'll show them!" Either that, or somebody's mum got hold of Ms. Kelly. Is this the biggest butt bow you've ever seen? Seriously, this can't be comfortable to sit in.

Best Explosion

The Duchess of Cornwall

Well, somebody had to bring the crazy in hat land. And this repeated detonation of prairie wildlife will do just fine. Really, though, she wore my favorite choker ever, so my hands are tied.

Worst Straight Jacket

Princess Anne

 

I see the beginnings of a kicky coral party dress under there...shame she topped it off with such an ill-fitting upholstery remnant. She does get extra cute points in the mother of the bride category: see her waving Zara and Mike off here. Awwww. Now, that's one proud mama.

Best Rule Breaker

Lady Sarah Chatto

Me: I thought you weren't supposed to wear white to a wedding.

Lady Sarah: I know, but there was an emergency. I look really good in white.

Most in Need of Some Rule Breaking

Autumn Phillips

Speaking of Autumn...this is just a business suit topped with a beach hat! It's like the wedding guest equivalent of what she did with her own wedding gown: business in front, bow in the back. Perfectly appropriate, but kind of sad at the same time.

Most Typical

Queen Elizabeth

Per usual, the Queen is classy and so forth. But: tremendously typical for such a special day. A second candidate for Autumn's prize, I feel.

Best Dressed

The Countess of Wessex

You guys, I think I'm developing a bit of a girl crush on Sophie here. She's my best dressed of the day, not just for her lovely pale pink ensemble with a hint of a sparkly party dress underneath, but for her overall efforts these past months. I'm loving it!

Best in Gents: Elder Generation

The Prince of Wales

 Left to Right: the Duke of Edinburgh, the Prince of Wales, the Duke of York, the Earl of Wessex, Tim Laurence

I sort of love it when Prince Charles insists on marching to the beat of his own drummer and wearing his all-gray morning suit. Don't ask me why.

Best in Gents: Next Generation

Prince Harry

 L to R: the Duke of Cambridge, Prince Harry, Mike Tindall, Peter Phillips, Dave Clark

Well, they all look dashing, groom included. (With a special welcome to Princess Beatrice's boyfriend, Dave Clark, who was looking chummy enough this weekend to earn a spot amongst the royal men.) But come on...it's Harry.

Who made your best and worst dressed lists for Zara and Mike's wedding?

Photos: Getty Images/Daylife/PA/Daily Mail/Mark Cuthbert/ABACAUSA.com/Matt Keeble/Splash News/Reuters/Picture Press Europe/SIPA