Royal Fashion Awards: Crown Prince Frederik’s Birthday Banquet

The Danish royal family doesn’t usually mess around when they label something a “gala” dinner, and they did not disappoint for Crown Prince Frederik’s 50th birthday banquet at Christiansborg Palace: tiaras all around! Plus, plenty of foreign royal guests to up the tiara count. A gift of sparkle for us all.

Award time:

Finest in Fringe

Princess Benedikte

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This event could go down as one of my all-time favorites just based on the number of fringe tiaras alone. Even a fringe from Liechtenstein – not a country we usually see represented at big Danish gatherings – showed up: the Habsburg Fringe Tiara on Hereditary Princess Sophie. Countess Sussie of Rosenborg (not pictured) added a Danish fringe to the pile with Queen Alexandrine’s Fringe Tiara.

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Crown Princess Victoria threw in the Baden Fringe Tiara, a nice contrast to her floral Camilla Thulin ballgown. The dress has been changed since we saw it at the King’s Dinner for Nobel laureates in December; it has sleeves now and I like them.

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Much as I love a floral ballgown, my fringe queen of the evening has to be Princess Benedikte. The Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg Fringe Tiara is large and in charge and the dress seals the deal. She’s regal in her sleep, I’m pretty sure, so add in the built-in cape at the back of this and she soars off the charts.

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Probably the most notable fringe appearance of the night comes from Princess Maria-Olympia, in her very first tiara appearance. She’s wearing the fringe we usually see on her mother, Princess Marie-Chantal, but the story is that it was destined for Olympia all along. She had the biggest tiara of her grouping, followed there by Princess Theodora in the Antique Corsage Tiara.

Highest Achievement in Headbands

Princess Marie-Chantal

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What’s a mom to do when her daughter claims her tiara back? And when it’s not really a big gun occasion, leaving Queen Sophie’s Diamond Tiara off the table? While I don’t normally approve of teensy headbands at big tiara occasions, it would be Princess Marie-Chantal that would make it work. This piece pairs really well with the delicate necklace and the hair works around it to make it more than a headband.

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Unlike this one, which is Crown Princess Mette-Marit just totally giving in to her tendency to use the Diamond Daisy Tiara in the same way she'd use a plastic headband. Girl, I guess. (This dress is a repeat from King Harald and Queen Sonja’s birthday celebrations.)

Most Radiant in Red

Grand Duchess Maria Teresa

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Queen Silvia added some red to her repeated magenta gown by wearing the Edward VII Ruby Tiara. Queen Mathilde’s red gown was accompanied by her Laurel Wreath Tiara and Queen Fabiola’s fringe brooch. The one shoulder on her dress was positioned so that it holds her sash, which is great except…

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...all the interest was happening on her sleeve and we don’t really get to see it on the parade into the banquet because she’s arm in arm with King Philippe. According to ModeKoningin Mathilde, the dress is by Esmeralda Ammoun and that sleeve detail is art by Belgian artist Paula Raiglot. Let’s see it again another time.

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All of that leaves me to crown Grand Duchess Maria Teresa the ruler of the reds. Playing catch up to Queen Máxima’s red caftan from earlier in the week suits her well. And she finally gave us a different tiara – but only because this one was already out of the vault from the state banquet, let’s not get too crazy. She’s wearing the Chaumet Diamond and Pearl Choker Tiara with the pearls back on top.

Most Satisfying Tiara Sightings

Countess Alexandra and the Duchess of Castro

We don’t get to see these two tiaras that often, three cheers for any appearance at all: the Alexandrine Drop Tiara on the Countess of Frederiksborg and the Ancona Tiara on the Duchess of Castro.

Most Intriguing Designer Introduction

Princess Marie

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Princess Marie’s sporty n' sparkly blue dress is from Elie Saab (per Laura). Elie Saab! Not a designer we see on Marie or really in the Danish royal house. So…more, please? From the department of no surprises at all, on the other hand, Marie wore her Diamond Floral Tiara. (Also: Prince Nikolai joined Princess Maria-Olympia and Prince Constantine-Alexios in making their gala debuts.)

Most Complicated Accessorizing

Queen Máxima

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Several of you have noted that Queen Máxima’s purple dress from King Willem-Alexander’s 50th birthday celebrations had been borrowed back from the ongoing Jan Taminiau exhibition, and were anxiously awaiting its appearance. Did she pick the right event for it, though? The dress has so much going on that I actually hate to see the sash over top of any of it. The Dutch Diamond Bandeau was probably her safest tiara choice.

Most Dubious Tiara Pairing

Queen Margrethe

Keld Navntoft/Kongehuset

Queen Margrethe had to plan ahead for the Naasut Tiara; it, along with Princess Benedikte’s Floral Tiara worn by Princess Alexandra of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg and the Khedive of Egypt Tiara worn by Queen Anne-Marie (neither pictured here) were on display in Koldinghus. And I can’t help but wonder…why? Looks-wise, I mean. That yellow gold doesn’t look its best with the settings on these diamonds. Oh well. It worked out alright with her new pink party dress. She still can’t resist a big sleeve, can she? Bless.

Prettiest in Pink, and Best of the Evening

Crown Princess Mary

Keld Navntoft/Kongehuset

 This dress. Crown Princess Mary's dress. Oh my. This is a piece of art by Lasse Spangenberg. Mary paired it perfectly with her Diamond, Ruby, and Spinel Necklace Tiara, the matching earrings, and even a brooch at the back of her hair. That brooch was a gift to her from the late Prince Henrik.

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Time to get out those future Best of 2018 lists and ink some things in, methinks.

Do you spy any Best of 2018 prospects here? 

Who takes home your best dressed awards for the night?

Royal Outfits of the Day: Crown Princess Victoria's Latest

Hey, what's Victoria been up to lately?

Crown Princess Victoria attended an event focused on food waste.

A post shared by FANPAGE for HRH Cp Victoria (@crownprincess.victoriaofsweden) on May 8, 2018 at 4:02am PDT

Wearing her hair down, that's what! This is BREAKING NEWS from like LAST WEEK OR WHATEVER but STILL. Big news. I don't even think you'd need both hands to count the number of times Victoria's worn her hair down during this site's existence. Three cheers for variety!

The Crown Princess attended the Nordic Museum and Skansen's Friends annual meeting in commemoration of their 100th anniversary yesterday.

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Thoughts on these puffy sleeves? My thoughts on the dress were pretty much yay! until I paid closer attention. And my thoughts may still be yay! after that, I am currently undecided.

Crown Princess Victoria and Prince Daniel attended a wedding over the weekend. 

A post shared by @europeroyal on May 14, 2018 at 12:37pm PDT

This was a private event, but I also felt like finding one of these flowery, tiered Erdem dresses that actually works with a sash was an achievement worth mentioning, you know? Margot Robbie wore this one last year on the red carpet, too.

Erdem Resort 2018

(The model is styled with bug brooches. Nobody alert Máxima.)

Year in Review: Crown Princess Mary and Crown Princess Victoria's Bests of 2017

Welcome one and all to the monochrome section of our 2017 yearly bests!

Crown Princess Mary at a New Year's Reception

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Mary is usually one of the first to rack up a contender for her best list each year, thanks to one of the most formal occasions on the Danish calendar falling on January 1, the New Year's Banquet. Except in 2017, she baffled me by tossing a seemingly unrelated plum cape over her sublime gold gown. Fast forward a couple days, and the pieces all fell into place: the cape belongs to this, a splendid new Lasse Spangenberg outfit perfectly suited to these court dress occasions, requiring a long dress and no tiara (because it's in the daytime). Love.

Runners up:

• That Jesper Høvring gold gown was sublime, so it does earn a spot here as repeated with the Danish Rubies for the Belgian state banquet.
• A Sabrina turn in black and white floral can't be forgotten, either.

Crown Princess Victoria at Prince Gabriel's Christening

Erika Gerdemark, Kungahuset.se

Victoria's best is often drawn from December - usually from the Nobel Prize ceremony, but for this year, I have to give it to the sharp red skirt and jacket she wore to Prince Gabriel's christening. Excellent color, excellent proportions, excellent all around.

Runner up:

• I'm still partial to that floral ball gown from Nobel Night #2, and if the fabric wasn't quite so shiny, it would have taken my top prize.

What were your favorite Mary and Victoria outfits in 2017?

Tiara Watch of the Day: A Second Night of Nobel Sparkle

They’ve gone and done it again, those Swedish royal ladies. For the second night in a row, I am charmed by one and all. And they’re going for the title of Year’s Most Color Coordinated Family while they’re at it.

The royal family with laureate Kazuo Ishiguro and wife Lorna MacDougall.
Kungahuset.se

A pastel spring palette for all, anchored by the deep blue of Queen Silvia's Leuchtenberg Sapphire Parure. The whole thing starts with Crown Princess Victoria's floral dress by Camilla Thulin. Man, I love a floral ball gown.

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And that is a BALL GOWN, make no mistake! Grand with a bit of whimsy. With a nature-themed tiara in Princess Lilian’s Laurel Wreath, she’s perfectly coordinated.

A post shared by Expressen Kungligt (@expressenkungligt) on Dec 11, 2017 at 12:18pm PST

Princess Sofia’s throwing in the greens with a caped (!) dress and the return of the emeralds on her wedding tiara. The elastic (or whatever) at the waist seems a little flimsy for the rest of the drama, though I'm prepared to overlook it since we have a case of Tiara Hair Worn Down done right.

Kungahuset.se

It's good, right? As is Princess Madeleine (another member of the list of royals that can handle a tiara worn with hair down, incidentally). Madeleine’s appearance at Carl Philip and Sofia’s wedding in this Elie Saab gown is one of my all-time favorite maternity gala appearances; it’s just as grand the second time, paired again with the Modern Fringe Tiara.

Shall we catch up with the Norway Nobel crew, while we're at it? For their second night, Crown Prince Haakon and Crown Princess Mette-Marit attended the Nobel Peace Prize Concert. You'll never guess what she wore...

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It's more Erdem x H&M! We knew it was going to be popular, we just didn't know how popular. We should have made Bingo cards with these pieces, guys. Missed opportunity.

Erdem x H&M