Programming Note: New Year, New Changes!

The new year is bringing a few changes to our regular weekly features! The reasons for these switches are plentiful, from a simple need to freshen things up to the fact that this site is one I put together in varying amounts of free time, and on and on. Here's what's up:

• The Weekly Royal Fashion Awards posts are being replaced by Royal Outfit of the Day posts (which will occur daily, on week days). These will include current events obviously, but can also include past events. And while you can bet on seeing our regular leading ladies from the weekly posts, there will be plenty of room for others.
• Wedding Wednesdays and Flashback Fridays are retired for the time being. That's not to say that I might not throw one in for a special occasion here and there, but they will no longer be regular weekly features. Tiara Thursdays will continue on as usual.

And that's it! Thanks, as always, for reading and for understanding the need for occasional change.

Programming Note: Holiday Hiatus!

Happy holidays, my dears! The blog is on hiatus until the new year.

Flashback Friday: A Video Treat, Plus a Programming Note

Next week is a holiday week in my part of the world (Happy Thanksgiving, American readers!), and I'm making it a holiday week for the blog too. We'll return the week of the 2nd with our usual shenanigans plus the end to your ultimate tiara collection.

Until then, allow me to leave you with this video treat:

Video, above

This is a documentary on British royal weddings made in the run-up to William and Kate's wedding. There's not much new here, fact-wise, but what makes it fun are the video gems on display - including a rare look at the 1947 wedding of Princess Elizabeth and Lieutenant Philip Mountbatten in color! Delightful.

Enjoy, and we'll return in a week!

Programming Note

As noted yesterday, the blog is taking the rest of the week off - we will return on Tuesday!

Programming Note: Hiatus Open Post

As I mentioned in my last post (did you vote for your ultimate pearl tiara yet? Voting's open until Wednesday), the blog is on vacation this week! You can still find me posting over at the Jewel Vault, and you can use this post to chat in the comments if you like.

Happy Canada Day or Happy Fourth of July or just Happy First Week in July to you all!

UPDATES:

Well, well, well. Here I thought the only thing I might miss on my little hiatus was the birth of a certain British kid, but no!

Belgium’s King Albert II announced in a broadcast that he will abdicate in favor of his son, Philippe, on July 21 (Belgium’s National Day). The 79-year-old king cited ill health as the cause of his abdication, and said it was time to pass the torch.

We’ll have more on that when the blog returns.

A couple other royal news bulletins:

• Egypt’s Princess Fawzia, first wife of the Shah of Iran, passed away on July 2 at the age of 92.
• Prince Floris and Princess Aimée of Orange-Nassau welcomed a son, Willem Jan, on July 1. This is their third child – they have two daughters, Magali and Eliane. Floris is the son of Princess Margriet of the Netherlands, and a cousin to King Willem-Alexander.

Programming Note

We are on hiatus, my friends, because I am squeezing in my summer vacation before the summer leaves for good. I will see you in two weeks!

To tide you over in glitter and gowns, indulge in this fantastic documentary on the ultimate glittering event: Queen Elizabeth II's coronation.

Hat tip to The Royal Correspondent blog for posting about this one!

Feel free to chat on this post if you like! Play nice, don't do anything I wouldn't do, etc....

A Tiny Hiatus

We're taking a short break around here, just a couple days. I'll meet you back here with some Olympic shenanigans, mmkay?

I leave you with some Danish royal cuteness, from the annual family photo call last week:

A June Programming Note

June is upon us, my friends. And if you’re into royal watching (since you’re here, I’ll go ahead and assume you are), that means things are about to get busy. In addition to the normal events that a royal June brings, we're starting off with the big Jubilee weekend in Britain. (You can always click on the Upcoming Events page above for a look at some of the royal events ahead.) Since the month will be focused on current events, our regular day-o’-the-week features will be occurring only if time permits each week. But they’re not going away or anything, so fret not if a week goes by without them. We'll certainly have enough to keep us entertained any which way!

Programming Note

The blog is on hiatus this week. Posting will resume next week. Thanks!

An Important Question

My friends, I have a terribly important question to ask you today:

What's your favorite tiara?

Yes, one favorite. All right, you can name your desert island 5 if you must. Because I'm benevolent.

But listen: you want to chime in here. Because I'm counting. And it might just have something to do with a little thing I'm cooking up. So make sure you speak up for your favorite(s).

Need ideas? Check out the Jewel Central page for a refresher on the tiaras we've covered so far as well as links to the events that have featured lots of ladies with tiaras blazing.

Leave a comment, tweet at me {@orderofsplendor}, or send me some e-mail {orderofsplendor at hotmail dot com}. And if you don't want to do any of the above, hit the "LIKE" button on a comment if someone's hit your faves already, and I'll count that too.

Now, I suppose you want to know my answer. Fine, I'll tell you.

The truth is, my tiara affections are fickle. I'm liable to flit between favorites in any given 15 minute span. But if I had to settle down into a monogamous sparkly relationship with just tiara only, it would be this baby:

The Girls of Great Britain and Ireland Tiara, a.k.a. The Most Perfect Tiara Ever

Now, your turn: GO!
Photo: Xinhua/Reuters

Programming Note

I leave you on that pre-scheduled sparkly note, my friends, for I am on vacation. Posting shall resume sometime next week.

As always: play nice, and don't throw any wild parties without me.

Programming Note: Week (and Month) in Review Posts, Coming Soon

I'm starting to put together a new type of post aimed at capturing more of the fashions worn by our dear royals in an on-going series of easy to reference posts so we have even more to admire and/or snark on as necessary.  The more the merrier, right?  I'll compile all the fashions I can find that were worn in a given time period and post it by royal.  Some of these ladies are out and about constantly, so they'll need weekly posts, while others I anticipate only needing a monthly post.

Naturally, I can't capture every HM and HRH out there, so I'll start with the most fashionable crew and work from there.  Bear with me as I decide who to cover and how often to cover them, and if there are any royals you'd like to see covered that I'm missing, drop me a line at orderofsplendor@hotmail.com!

Programming Note: Regular Blog Features and Royal Wedding Fever

In the coming week, I'll be introducing 3 new kinds of entries to the blog that I'd like to become recurring features here.

Runway Mondays: Each Monday, I'll take a look at fashions straight from the runway that would look fab on our favorite royals. I may showcase a certain designer, type of fashion, or suggestions for a particular royal.

Flashback Fridays: Every Friday, we'll take a stroll through the ghosts of royal fashion past. Sometimes these posts will feature the fashion evolution of a particular royal, a past royal event, or even just one significant royal outfit.

Top 10s: From time to time, I'll pick the top 10 examples of whatever's on my royal fashion-centered mind and showcase them in a countdown list. Usually, this will come in one entry, but I'm starting off with a list so monumental, each pick will require its own entry. Read on to find out our topic!

Your suggestions are always welcome! If you're yearning for some flashback attention for your favorite royal, have an idea for a list, or if you see anything struting down the runway that's ripe for royal picking, send your suggestions to orderofsplendor@hotmail.com!


Now, here's what's in store for the next week:
Next Saturday, June 19th, Sweden's Crown Princess Victoria will marry her love, Daniel Westling, in what is sure to be one of the grandest royal occasions for quite some time to come. Be sure to pop in and offer your opinions on the fashion awards of the weekend!

Royal wedding fever will officially take over the blog starting this weekend, when I will kick off our first Top 10 list by featuring the Top 10 Royal Wedding Dresses. My intent is that future installments of the lists will come as single entries, but since I'm starting off with such a doozy of a topic, I'm spreading it out into 10 entries.

Moving along, our very first installment of Runway Mondays will focus on Designer Wedding Dresses that are worthy of a runway-to-royal appearance.

And finally, just before her big day, Flashback Friday will honor Crown Princess Victoria's Style through the years.

I hope you'll stick around for the ride, and share your own commentary in the comments!