Surprise Blog Post!

A friend asked me if I was going to write a post because of the current event in Netherlands, and I thought, why not? Of course, I will combine it with an update on Saturday's post and an announcement.

Yesterday, Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands announced that she was going to abdicate in favour of her son Willem-Alexander, Prince of Orange. Willem-Alexander will be the first King of the Netherlands in more than a hundred years, so it's going to be interesting to see whether having a man rule the country makes any difference. Watch closely, Mr. Cameron. (Although, if you think about it, for the last two centuries, England too has been ruled mainly by women.)

I have never seen a coronation before, so I am massively excited for this one. The only thing I'm slightly apprehensive about is the Princess of Orange. Is the world ready for Queen Maxima yet?

Seen here in Brunei wearing something oddly reminiscent of The Man with The Yellow Hat

Oh god. No.

On Sunday, less than 24 hours after I'd made Part II available to the Internet, I saw this picture of Princess Letizia, meeting foregin dignitaries in what I can only assume is Felipe Varela,

and I wondered why it looked so familiar. 

Naomi Watts at the Golden Globes. She's playing Diana about a new movie about Princess Diana.

Finally, I shall be taking a month off from blogging effective February the twenty-third because I have exams then. And if Queen Elizabeth dies between now and the last week of February, there shall be no post in her honour, because I will probably type all of the month's posts before hand, leaving time for me to study.

That's it.

N

Part II : Other Royals at the Golden Globes

Let's just do this.

1. Jennifer Garner and Letizia, Princess of Asturias

That is Princess Letizia on the left, wife of Prince Felipe, heir apparent to the throne of Spain. She wore this Felipe Varela creation to Crown Princess Victoria's pre-wedding ceremony.

Fun Fact :  Felipe Varela is to Letizia as Alexander McQueen is to the Duchess of Cambridge. He designed her wedding dress, and pretty much everything she's ever worn after that.

On the right is Jennifer Garner, wife of Ben Affleck, winner of a Golden Globe for Argo, his directorial debut. She is wearing Ann Taylor.

2. Glenn Close and Queen Silvia

Queen Silvia, wife of King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden is one the left. She often wears gowns like these, which make her look like she's wearing a miniature jacket, when really she isn't. I couldn't find anything of the same colour, so I picked one that was close enough. I don't know what she's wearing (and even Order of Splendor couldn't help me with this), but she's pictured at the Nobel Banquet, 2010.

On the right is Glenn Close, star of Albert Nobbs, a movie about a woman who pretends to be a man so that she can work. I saw it last week. She's wearing Zac Posen.

3. Taylor Swift and Crown Princess Victoria

Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden, at the Nobel Prize ceremony in 2009, only a few months before her wedding in 2010. Her dress was designed by Par Engsheden, the same man who designed her gown for the aforementioned wedding. She is the one on the left.

And you know Taylor Swift. More on her next week.

4. Julianne Hough and Charlene, Princess of Monaco

On the left is Princess Charlene of Monaco, along with her husband, Prince Albert, reigning monarch of the principality  Dressed in Akris, she is seen here attending her wedding dinner.

The other one is Julianne Hough and boyfriend, Ryan Seacrest. Monique Lhuillier designed her dress and I can't imagine what she's looking so smug about. Or is that how she looks all the time?

5. Megan Fox and Crown Princess Mary

Crown Princess Mary of Denmark, left, is the wife of Prince Frederik who is next in line to the throne of Denmark. Let Letizia, she wore this to the pre-wedding dinner when Princess Victoria and Daniel Westling got married.

Megan Fox, the one who isn't Princess Mary, is wearing a dress made by Dolce and Gabbana, and she presented an award sometime during the ceremony. I've forgotten which one it was, and I'm far moo tired of Googling celebrities to 'Google it'.

Because I don't want this to become a blog where I discuss fashion, there shall be nary a word about it after the third part of this three part series. Until Princess Madeleine gets married, that is.

Come back next week!

N

Part I : The Duchess of Cambridge at the Golden Globes

It's award season in Hollywood!

Today's post is the first of a three part series, featuring the dresses worn on the Red Carpet, and a comparison between them and those worn by the royals for various occasions.

This week it's the Duchess of Cambridge, whose wardrobe I know the best, and who, I think, deserves a post entirely to herself. Also included is Pippa, because, well, you'll see.

1. Kate Hudson

Although the Duchess' gown was probably more akin to Stacy Kiebler's gown, I felt it only fair to compare McQueen to McQueen. Also, they're both called Kate!

On the left is Kate Hudson in an  Alexander McQueen creation.

On the right is Kate (Mountbatten-Windsor, if you must) wearing Alexander McQueen. Again.


2. Heidi Klum

The first thing that came to my mind when I saw Heidi Klum's Golden Globe dress was what the Duchess of Cambridge (referred to as Kate from now on) wore to the dinner at the Thirty Club. With perhaps a tad more skin exposed.

On the left is Heidi, dressed in Alexandre Vauthier.

On the right is Kate in Roland Mouret.


3. Claire Danes

Claire Danes has had a good year so far, hasn't she? She had a son and then won a Golden Globe.
Pippa Middleton has had a good year so far too. She hasn't gotten into trouble with the Palace, and she hasn't done anything that the press  ridicule.

That's Claire on the left, wearing Versace.

The other one is Pippa. I have no idea what she's wearing, except that it isn't her sister's.

4. Tina Fey

Tina Fey did such a good job hosting the show (If you haven't seen it, pretty much all she did was poke fun at everyone present). Part of her duties as host were changing her outfit at least three times. The one I like the most was this deconstructed version of Kate's favourite lace gown.

On the left is Tina, in a dress by L'Wren Scott.

On the right is Kate. She's wearing Alice Temperley.

5. Kathryn Bigelow

Here's another instance of 'Similar name, similar dress'. Katheryn Bigelow didn't win a Golden Globe, but I liked what she wore to the awards. It's sort of a combination of this Alexander McQueen, this Roksanda Ilincic, and the Jenny Packham pictured above.

On the right is Kathryn, with a K and an 'ryn'.

On the left... Oh, you know who she is. And what she's wearing.

Expect Part II next week.

N

Portraits

Usually, when I have exams or am otherwise occupied, such as now, I can't think of anything to write about on my blog, so I just post an image of the first fairly famous painting that comes into my head.

Today shall be the same, except it isn't a painting. It's the newly unveiled portrait of the Duchess of Cambridge.

The portrait was unveiled on Friday at the National Portrait Gallery in London, and was painted by portrait artist Paul Emsley. And guess who showed up at the unveiling?

The Duchess of Cambridge!

And Carole and Pippa Middleton.

This portrait will remain on display at the Gallery, along with the portrait of Princes William and Harry, back from the days when William had hair and Harry didn't have a third order.

I can't say I don't prefer it because 'I must not tell lies.'

.
N

A Right Royal Start

I don't know who said it, but someone said that what you begin the year by doing, you continue to do for the rest of the year. I'm skeptical, but I'm also not taking chances, so today, again, will be all about royals.
And my English exam.

I had an English exam yesterday, and because I was at a loss of what to do on Thursday, I decided to remove all American influences from t\my English and both speak and write it as it must be spoken and written. And what better a way to learn the Queen's English than by actually listening to the Queen speak English.

So, after more than an hour of this and this and many more things like these, I was seriously considering renouncing the Queen's English and turning to spelling like the Americans, who are too lazy to add a few 'u's and have a strange aversion to the letter 's'. But then I found this.

And that made up my mind for me. I love the royal family. God save the Queen!

Also, while I was Googling the Duchess of Cambridge just now, I found a pre-wedding picture of her's and I really like it. The dress is nice, she looks very pretty, and that is the best fascinator I have seen Kate wear.

I wish she would wear fascinators more often. Although, I think this year, especially, she's going to be leaving that to Beatrice and Eugenie.

I'm not complaining.

N