Princess Anne – Vanessa Kelly, Author

Long Live The Queen

March 15, 2016May 12, 2011 by VanessaKelly

This week Queen Elizabeth II became the second-longest reigning monarch in British history, over-taking the unfortunate George III of Georgian and Regency fame. She has reigned for over 59 years and now ranks second only to Queen Victoria, who died after 63 years on the throne. Given her health and stamina, it’s not unreasonable to assume that she will overtake Victoria, and leave her son Charles waiting in the wings for several more years.

According to The Daily Telegraph, a total of 12 prime ministers and six archbishops of Canterbury have served Elizabeth II. And one of my favorite stats is that she has played host to more than one million garden party guests over the years. Crikey! That’s a lot of canapes.

Here’s a lovely family portrait of Elizabeth with Charles and Anne, looking much like any young mother during the early 50’s.

The old gal’s put on quite a few miles since then, but despite the many trials and travails she’s faced in her long life, she’s always conducted herself with dignity and grace. Maybe it’s a bit corny of me to say so, but I think she’s swell. So, well done, your Majesty! Here’s wishing you long life and many more productive years to come.

Royal Wedding Gowns

March 15, 2016April 22, 2011 by VanessaKelly

Royal Wedding fever is upon us as we await the nuptials of Prince William and Kate Middleton on April 29. One of the most hotly debated topics of discussion is what the soon-to-be Princess Kate will wear when she processes up the aisle of Westminster Abbey. We won’t have a glimpse of that gown until the day itself, which is, of course, the tradition with most royal brides.

Speculation is rampant as to the type of gown Kate will wear, and I wonder if she looked for inspiration from other royal weddings and gowns in deciding what to pick. I thought it might fun to look at some of those other gowns – and there are a lot of them – to see what might have influenced her decision.

There is the iconic gown worn by Princess Di, but I somehow doubt that the sleekly dressed Kate will pick something with so much frou-frou.

Then there’s the one that was worn by Princess Anne, William’s aunt. I think it was a lovely gown, with it’s huge trumpet sleeves and Tudor-type cut, and I though Anne looked very elegant on her wedding day.

And then there’s the fabulous gown Grace Kelly wore, which was designed by Helen Rose, the wardrobe designer at MGM Studios.

Princess Margaret, a great beauty in her day, wore a relatively simple but tremendously stylish gown on her wedding day.

But what about other royal weddings and princesses, ones we don’t hear about very often? Let’s take a look, starting with the pretty gown worn by the Crown Princess Masako of Japan, on her wedding day in 1993.

It looks more like a ballgown than a wedding gown, but I think she looks totally sweet.

Here’s a beautiful but very different gown, at least by Western standards. It was worn by Princess Sarah Salleh of Brunei on her wedding day.

One dress I didn’t like very much was the one worn by Queen Rania of Jordan. I thought it was a bit of a hot mess.

One of my favorites was worn just last year by the Princess of Sweden.

She also wore a stunning gold and cameo tiara, trimmed with pearls.

And here’s a gown that I think looks beautifully simple and fresh, worn by Princess Marie of Denmark.

Finally, here’s the one worn by Crown Princess Mette-Marit of Norway. I think she looks utterly stunning in the simple, streamlined dress which showcases her figure.

Kate Middleton sure has tons of inspiration to choose from, but whatever she picks I bet she’ll look great. I’ll be just as eager to see it as everyone else!