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

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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

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 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 Event of the Day: National Day in Belgium

Belgium celebrated National Day last week. There were hats! There were sleeves! There was some seriously vibrant color coordinating!

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Oh yes, those royal interpretations of the giant sleeve trend aren't going anywhere anytime soon. I'd deflate 'em a solid 20%, but they are doing an admirable job of bringing a little bit of trendiness to what is otherwise a firmly standard, non-trendy Queen Mathilde outfit.

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Somewhere out there, Queen Máxima is leaning back with a smile on her face. And then she's dialing her Natan hotline and ordering up one of these for herself. With even bigger sleeves, I'm sure.

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L to R: Princess Eléonore, Prince Gabriel, Queen Mathilde, King Philippe, Princess Elisabeth, Prince Emmanuel

Queen Mathilde's pink floral dress anchored a family color scheme of pinks, magentas, and purples. The purple sash of the Order of Leopold means not even King Philippe gets left out. It's also sort of a subtly perfect touch that 15-year-old Princess Elisabeth's dress is the closest match to her dad and his sash. (That dress, per ModeKoninginMathilde, is from Esmeralda Ammoun.)

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Prince Lorenz, Princess Astrid, and Princess Claire (Prince Laurent was also present, though not shown here)

You know you're serious about the family color thing when the extended fam fits right in. In a year surprisingly lacking in hat interest, I find myself totally in love with Princess Claire's offering. Upside down salad bowls have never looked so good.

Royal State Visits of the Day: March 31

What a delightful state visit-y week it's been. Let's keep it going one more day and catch up with the Day 2 outfits from this week's visits. Spoiler alert, at least two of these ladies saved their category bests for last.

Netherlands/Argentina up first! A day of engagements followed by a ballet hosted by the President and First Lady of Argentina.

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See this? By far the better of the day outfits Queen Máxima wore for the state visit. It's a Claes Iversen magenta coat with bedazzled starbursts, which is basically as Máx-tastic as a coat can get. (Banner week for this designer: Crown Princess Mary also wore his designs on this same day.)

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Pardon me while I cut straight to the jewels in the evening. The Dutch collection is lucky enough to include more than one huge sapphire bow brooch; this version, which dates back to Queen Emma, has recently been used with an alternate citrine brooch in the center. The earrings are equally luscious and equally flexible, able to be worn in different settings. They were created using stones from Queen Wilhelmina's broken up Wedding Gift Parure.


Now over to you, Belgium/Denmark. A day of engagements - and a quick jog - followed by a concert hosted by the Belgian couple at the Black Diamond library in Copenhagen. (Sidebar: Black Diamond! All libraries should be named like James Bond movies.)

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Hmm. As much as I love a cape sleeve and a little mixing and matching, Queen Mathilde's Esmeralda Ammoun jacket has me thinking some things are best left to Empress Michiko, and Crown Princess Mary's burgundy skirt leaves me craving the original pencil skirt that went with this top.

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On the other hand, I have no hmms to share about this. LOVE IT ALL. Just as she did in the Netherlands last year, Mathilde waited to bring her best evening gown game until night 2 with this sparkly red Natan number. I'm feeling Mary's Jesper Høvring gown too. That color! Give me more, please.

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Others were there too! It's the last day of state visit week, I cut to my faves. {shrug}

Royal State Visit of the Day: December 2

The tail end of this week's Belgian/Dutch state visit brought much to admire: Designer switcheroos! Jaunty hats! Sneaky tiaras!

Day 2: The sovereign couples with the Dutch Prime Minister
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Queen Mathilde's hat feels like it's not asymmetrical enough to be purposefully asymmetrical, if you know what I mean. Sort of just looks lopsided as is. Still, the Armani Privé coat is aces and an easy scene-stealer. (Queen Máxima wore her own fire engine red outfit with a big red hat yesterday, and I'm wondering how they missed that opportunity to twin it up.)

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Day 2: The evening return concert

Usually the state banquet takes the top prize as my favorite event in any given state visit, but I don't know...the ladies might have saved their bests for night two. Máxima's tutti frutti-style necklace and bracelet should be worn All.The.Time. and they look sooooo good with this repeated Valentino green dress. Mathilde both snuck in an extra tiara appearance (that's her Laurel Wreath Tiara, worn as a necklace) annnnnnnd snuck in new designer: Jan Taminiau! This is an excellent move. It's both a nice nod to her hosts (Taminiau is Dutch, and a favorite of Máxima's), and just a great dress overall. Worth alllllll those extra letters.

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Day 3

Máxima finished the visit with a feather in her cap, as she is prone to do. And Mathilde finished the visit in an Esmeralda Ammoun outfit I feel like I've seen a million times, because we've seen so many interpretations of this basic type of lace placement (see also: Kate, Letizia). I guess that qualifies it as a classic, and this might be my favorite version. This has been an A+ trip from Mathilde, hasn't it?