Royal Fashion Awards: The 2012 Olympic Games Opening Ceremony

Oh man, I love me some Olympics! Last night’s Opening Ceremony was perfection, yet another excellent event out of Britain in this Jubilee year. While I suspect the true fashion discussion rests with the outfits adorning those fantastic athletes (spoiler alert: most countries still haven’t figured out how to express their national pride without looking like they’ve sent their sexiest bunch of flight attendants to the Games), I’ll stick to our purview and rate the royals. In addition to wondering around London, some attended the reception for the Heads of State given by the Queen at Buckingham Palace and the Opening Ceremony after.

Best in Uniform

Crown Princess Mette-Marit

Left to Right: the Princess Royal, Crown Princess Mette-Marit of Norway and Crown Prince Haakon

See, this is what I like to see: a little Olympics uniform action! I mean, what better way to show your support? Princess Anne, ex-Olympian and IOC member extraordinaire, went all out with her blazer, pins and even her necklace – but she still can’t beat an accessory like Haakon. You win, Mette-Marit.

Best in Non-Uniform Spirit

Princess Máxima

L to R: Queen Anne-Marie of Greece, Princess Máxima of the Netherlands, Queen Margrethe of Denmark

If you aren’t going to go for a uniform of some sort, I say go with a strict interpretation of your country’s theme! A giant scarf, à la Anne-Marie, or an oh-so-clear adaptation of your flag in your color scheme, à la Margrethe. Máx has her country’s fave color, orange, plus a brooch of the Dutch flag. All sported while looking excellent all over, which makes this an easy win.

Best in Tangentially to Totally Unrelated

Crown Princess Mary

L to R: Princess Mathilde of Belgium, Princess Charlene of Monaco, Crown Princess Mary of Denmark, Grand Duchess Maria Teresa of Luxembourg, Queen Sofia of Spain

If I can’t look at you and know straight away which country you’re representing, then you should at least look fantastic, right? Mary takes the win, with Mathilde in her red dress a close second. An honorable mention goes out to Queen Sofia, who was so enthusiastic when the Spanish athletes came marching in she even got some face time on American television (and that’s saying something, because American broadcasts usually only care about royals named Liz, Kate, Will, and Harry). I give Maria Teresa a meh and Charlene an eh?! (As in, how did you find the one outfit that might be equally desired by an early era Britney Spears and the Golden Girls, eh?!)

Best in Assorted Brits

Princess Beatrice

L to R: the Duchess of Cornwall, Princess Beatrice of York, the Duchess of Cambridge

Very low key on the national pride front, those Windsors, which I found disappointing. (Not forgetting that they have other teams to cheer besides Team GB, perhaps? Eh.) Simple outfits for both Camilla, who did sport a patriotic brooch, and Kate, in a tame custom Christopher Kane. I have to give this one to Beatrice for bringing a little interest to the party, even if I can’t understand why she went for bronze and not gold. (I mean, if you’re gonna go for a medal, go for a medal, am I right?)

Best in Awesomely Overdressed

Queen Elizabeth

What better way to assert yourself as THE QUEEN, and the DIAMOND JUBILEE QUEEN no less, than to show up splendidly overdressed with your saucy little fascinator and diamonds galore? I mean, she had to dress to the level of her tuxedo-clad escort James Bond anyway. In case there was any doubt left in your mind, I think this event should settle it: QEII is awesome. (Details on her diamonds can be found on my other blog.)

Who won the Opening Ceremony in your eyes?

And PS: There were other royals present not pictured here. 

Photos: PA/Suomen Kahvelti/Getty Images/Reuters