Year in Review: 2016's Honorable Mentions

Having taken a look at some of the sartorial achievements of our regular leading ladies this year, let's chat about other outfits that were 2016 standouts. Shall we?

Princess Madeleine at Prince Oscar's Christening

Anna-Lena Ahlström, Kungahuset.se

Once again, Madeleine ends up with a slew of outfits for the year that I adored. As much as I loved her princess-y Fadi El Khoury from the Nobel Prize ceremony, the one that will end up on my permanent favorites list is her take on the big sleeve trend at Prince Oscar's christening: a soft pink Roksanda Ilincic dress a gorgeous soft hairdo and floral ornament.

Viscountess Linley at Queen Elizabeth II's Birthday Service

Embed from Getty Images

Just thought I'd report that my soft spot for this retro look - a Dior coat, with the perfect Rachel Trevor Morgan hat - has only grown softer. Love.

Queen Silvia in Germany

Kungahuset

How could I not include Silvia Baden-ing it up in Germany? Come on, she managed to pull a mega brooch out of the vaults that we somehow haven't seen in a loooooong time. Doesn't hurt that she did it in my favorite color, obviously.

Beatrice Borromeo at the Rose Ball

Embed from Getty Images

Because WHY NOT, that's why.

Honorable mentions for my honorable mentions list: Princess Charlene in her evening coat (because I need her to lead the charge to bring those back), Princess Eugenie in the perfect summer dress (because chevrons), and Grand Duchess Maria Teresa in Elie Saab (because Elie Saab).

 What outfits make your 2016 honorable mentions list?

Year in Review: Crown Princess Mary and Crown Princess Victoria's Best of 2016

Certain events are basically just guaranteed to make the best of the year list, you know what I mean?

Crown Princess Mary

Embed from Getty Images

The Crown Prince and Crown Princess of Denmark attended the annual New Year's gala banquet in January.

Mary's year always starts on a high note, and then it's up to the rest of the twelve months to try and beat her most formal appearance of the year. This one wasn't beatable. It's a classic Mary outfit, taking a previously worn ensemble (and a previous yearly best) and reinventing it by pairing her Jesper Høvring skirt with a blue velvet top and her Danish Ruby Parure. So dramatic, so good.

Crown Princess Victoria

Embed from Getty Images

The Crown Princess and the Swedish royal family attended the Nobel Prize Award Ceremony in December.

Similarly, it's always up to the Nobel Prize appearance to best whatever Victoria wore the rest of the year, and it so often does. This is a classic Victoria outfit, a custom gown by H&M done in sustainable materials, and making the best of pieces of the Cameo Parure and the Cut Steel Tiara. So dramatic, so good.

SVT

Which outfits make your best of 2016 list for Mary and Victoria?

Year in Review: Queen Letizia, Queen Máxima, and Queen Mathilde's Best of 2016

It's the queenly edition of our best of 2016 today. It is also the excellent designer-to-queen pairing edition of our best of 2016 list. This is no coincidence.

Queen Letizia

Embed from Getty Images

The Queen of Spain attended the 25th Annual FEDEPE Awards in July.

I wasn't sure what to pick for Letiza's best of the year. She wore a lot of good stuff, including some repeats that have made my previous year end best lists, but we're looking for standouts here. (Zero tiaras for Letizia this year, by the way. You know I'm keeping score.) So when in doubt for Letizia's best of the year, I seem to default to the sublime simplicity of an all white outfit or to a Carolina Herrera outfit. Put the two together, and ta-daaaaaa, here we are.

Queen Máxima

Governor-General of New Zealand Facebook

The King and Queen of the Netherlands attended a state banquet during their November state visit to New Zealand.

Prinsjesdag is often my best of the year for Máxima, but it didn't do it for me this year. A repeated Claes Iversen dress did! More than the dress, though, it's one of the best appearances of tiara + hair down I've seen, and one of the best appearances of Queen Emma's Diamond Tiara ever. Gorgeous.

Queen Mathilde

Embed from Getty Images

The King and Queen of the Belgians hosted a return concert during their November state visit to the Netherlands.

Máxima and Mathilde often share one designer. Sharing a second - Jan Taminau made this dress for Queen Mathilde - is an even better idea. I say again, gorgeous. (Plus, there's a sneaky second tiara for the state visit in the form of her Laurel Wreath Tiara as a necklace here. Bonus points shall always be awarded for that.)

What are you picking as the best of 2016 for these three queens?

Year in Review: The Duchess of Cambridge and Crown Princess Mette-Marit's Best of 2016

Next up in our 2016 close out, we'll take a look at the best outfits of the year from some of the royals we cover here. Royal trips are often gold mines for those great sartorial moments. So take a bow, Canada, because you brought out the best in not one but two of our royal regulars this year.

The Duchess of Cambridge

Embed from Getty Images

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, with Prince George and Princess Charlotte, arrived in Canada at the start of their September tour.

There were two Cambridge tours this year, which automatically gives us more best of the year candidates than ever before. I thought I'd go for one of the evening outfits, but in hindsight, I think the Canadian arrival outfit has the most staying power: a superbly tailored Jenny Packham blue ensemble with a maple leaf-adorned hat from Lock & Co. Prim and proper, but lovely in a thoroughly princess-y way. Also, it highlights a jewel on loan from the Queen - that diamond Maple Leaf Brooch - and she is continually delighting me by debuting new loans from the master vault.

Crown Princess Mette-Marit

MCpl Vincent Carbonneau, Rideau Hall

The Crown Prince and Crown Princess of Norway met with the Governor General of Canada at the start of their November tour.

I found this to be a quiet year on the sartorial front for our Norwegian crown princess - I confess, I love her most at huge events like royal weddings, and we were a little short on those this year - but she put together a lovely Canadian tour. The delight of seeing Mette-Marit in red is an easy pick in any year, honestly.

What are your picks for the best of 2016 for these ladies?

Year in Review: 2016's Royal Highlights

All I can say for 2016 is this: thank goodness for tiaras. (And for birthdays, and christenings, and wee princes, and tea parties...) We're going to celebrate some of the good stuff that 2016 had to offer as we wrap up another year, starting with these highlights to make you smile:

King Harald V Marks 25 Years on the Throne

Jørgen Gomnæs / Det kongelige hoff

Anything that gives us new formal portraits and events with royal ladies with floral wreaths as headgear is worth some smiles.

Double the Swedish Christening Fun

Mattias Edwall, Kungahuset.se

The Swedish royal baby boom produced two new princes and two new family christenings this year, always delightful occasions filled with loads of hat-ish creations and a few sartorial experimentations.

Queen Elizabeth II Turns 90

BBC

QEII gathered her whole family for a service celebrating her ninetieth year, which also ended up being a delightful occasion filled with loads of hat-ish creations and a few sartorial experimentations.

King Carl XVI Gustaf Turns 70

Peter Knutson/Kungahuset.se

Meanwhile, the Swedes continued to kill it by inviting royal friends (and their royal tiaras) to celebrate King CG's seventieth. I do love a big fat royal gathering.

Prince George Meets POTUS

Kensington Palace

Prince George met President Obama while wearing his most dapper in toddler bedtime attire. Do I need to justify this pick on my year end list? No, no I do not.

Princess Madeleine Throws a Tea Party

Kate Gabor/Kungahuset.se

DITTO. Princess Madeleine turned her princess volume up to eleven to invite some children with serious illnesses over to the palace for a tea party. It was and it is my very favorite tiara watch of all time, and an ultimate highlight of 2016.

What was your favorite 2016 royal event?