Tiara Watch of the Day: Sweden's State Visit from Italy

The Swedish royal family welcomed the President of Italy and his daughter for a state visit yesterday with all the appropriate pomp and circumstance - glittering state banquet included.

Quirinale

Welcome ceremony first, though. This is a loose blue color scheme for the ladies and I like the assortment very much. I don't often have a lot to say about Queen Silvia but there's some frills here and some accent teal and I'm digging the combo. Crown Princess Victoria's blue is nicely detailed; I won't be surprised if some other royal Hugo Boss aficionados pick up Princess Sofia's dress.

By Malina Ginger Dress in Dove Blue for Victoria; Hugo Boss Contoured Business Dress in Blue for Sofia (per Heaven)

For the state banquet, some pretty big jewels came out to play. (Yay!)

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Queen Silvia's not about to let the fact that she chose a blue stone (the luscious Leuchtenberg Sapphire Parure) stop her from wearing purple. Atta queen. Her sash is the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic, same as the other members of the royal family are wearing.

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Crown Princess Victoria was the one that really surprised me. The Bernadotte Emerald Demi-Parure is a big set and I love seeing these pieces become a more regular part of her repertoire, combined with a new gown and the Six Button Tiara. This is, like, Nobel-level dressing up. I APPROVE.

Zetterberg Couture for Sofia (also per Heaven)

Princess Sofia's skirt is actually from a wedding collection, yet it doesn't ping overly bridal to me. I'm always game to see how a ball skirt is styled. She left the green gems to her sister-in-law and wore her Wedding Tiara without emeralds.

Is this a warm up for next month's Nobels? Because I'm ready.

Royal Outfits of the Day: Letizia and Mathilde

Just a couple of queens, going about their queenly business.

King Felipe and Queen Letizia started a state visit to Peru yesterday.

House of HM the King

Unfortunately for Letizia, that queenly business isn't quite as glam on this state visit as it would be back home; they didn't have a big fancy state banquet. (And when I say unfortunately for Letizia, I mean unfortunately for us.) Letizia has a new Carolina Herrera dress and it is fine. Stripes! What's not to like?

The King and Queen attended the Valencian Economy Night last week.

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I'll get some jewels in here somehow, don't you worry. Letizia's black diamond earrings and the bracelets from the joyas de pasar spiced up her repeated Hugo Boss jumpsuit at this previous event. That's how you do it.

King Philippe and Queen Mathilde commemorated the centenary of the armistice with events including a special Last Post ceremony and a concert with the Canadian Governor General as a guest.

Belgian Monarchy

Belgian Monarchy

Queen Mathilde's always going to look sharp when she needs to, she's got this down pat. Her green concert outfit is a repeat, but I'm here for any time she wants to throw in some accent accessories. The blush pink shoes and bag make the look for me.

Royal Outfits of the Day: Letizia Also Brought the Jewels

While we were busy in tiaraland, Queen Letizia threw out a notable jewel appearance of her own.

King Felipe and Queen Letizia welcomed the President of Germany to Spain last week.

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This strand of large pearls with a big diamond clasp is another piece from the joyas de pasar; the Russian set of pearls was given by Alfonso XII to his bride, Maria de las Mercedes of Orléans, as a wedding present in 1878. Queen Letizia paired the historic pearls with an outfit from Hugo Boss. (Boss, in addition to being one of Letizia's regulars, is a German company, so a bit of a nod to the guests.)

House of HM the King

Huzzah for Letizia with the big time jewels and all. It's just that I don't really think this works for her. Nothing against a strand of pearls, but this ensemble is a stuffy combination. Doesn't feel very...Letizia.

The King and Queen also attended the Francisco Cerecedo Journalism Awards.

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We need to close out with something back on the sleeker side, like so. This is night and day in every way from the German event above. Note the white heel on the shoes to coordinate with the black and white Carolina Herrera dress, a great styling choice.

Royal Outfits of the Day: Meghan and Kate Also Go Green

Look at all these people clamoring to get in on green week around here, sheesh.

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The Duke and Duchess of Sussex visited 
Sussex yesterday.

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I like the concept of a green top + pencil skirt combo for Meghan and apparently she does, too, since she also used it for their trip to Ireland. The color difference between the shirt (from & Other Stories, a Swedish brand we've seen on Crown Princess Victoria and Princess Sofia) and the skirt (Hugo Boss) will probably get some twitchiness going for some of you I'm guessing, but I'll deal with it because I appreciate what a good texture contrast brings to the whole shebang.

The Duchess of Cambridge visited Sayers Croft Forest School and Wildlife Garden yesterday.
Kensington Palace

Kate's back too, in her own combo of forest-y shades. Not a lot to talk about on the sartorial side of things - outdoor engagements with kids and all - but I know many of you have been waiting for her return from maternity leave with baited breath, so we won't omit her here.

Royal Outfits of the Day: Letizia Eases Into Summer Casual

The Spanish royals have settled in for their annual summer residency in Palma de Mallorca. But before Queen Letizia got there, she took a baby step that (sartorial) direction...

Queen Letizia opened the International Music School Summer Courses by the Princess of Asturias Foundation in Oviedo, her hometown, last week.

House of HM the King

A denim shirt dress is exactly the way to inch yourself towards those more casual summer holidays. A couple of her royal colleagues have certainly agreed in the past couple weeks, at least!

The Spanish royal family held their annual photocall after arriving in Palma de Mallorca, this year at the Royal Palace of La Almudaina. 

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Maybe she's still easing into her summer casual mode, because this dress is a little more formal than what Letizia's worn for the past few years of these photo sessions. (A lot of capris and sleeveless tops, basically.) She also wouldn't have much trouble finding royal colleagues to share her affection for the eyelet look either. And it's another winner, I'm gonna say.

Both dresses by Hugo Boss

Royal Outfits of the Day: Letizia, at Last

I know, I know, we haven't seen much of Queen Letizia around here lately. Even though her trip with King Felipe to the United States was a while back (they visited Louisiana, Texas, and Washington, D.C.), I'm still going to show you my two fave outfits. And then we'll do a couple with a slightly more current date.

House of HM the King

As it happens, my two favorite outfits from the US trip both happened in San Antonio. Letizia got twirly for a formal dinner with this fresh and fun Carolina Herrera dress with a tiered skirt - and it didn't hurt that she threw in some of the joyas de pasar for good measure. She wore the earrings and one of the bracelets (on the arm you can't see in this picture).

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Also, you KNOW I'm here for the polka dot dresses! Adding a red clutch upped the fun factor in a most pleasing way. This dress comes from Matilde Cano, another new Spanish designer for the Queen.

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Fast forward to our current month and the Spains are back home, meetin' and greetin' like crazy with a series of audiences. This one was last week and this one is the best appearance of these Hugo Boss pants yet. Like I said when she wore them at Easter, you can never really go wrong with a yacht-ready ensemble - and there's nothing like a sleeveless top to inch you closer to your yachting goals.

House of HM the King

This happened yesterday. Maybe I shouldn't send us off for the weekend on such a sad note, but too late. It's dishwater and droopy and the frayed edges add to the impression that this dress just GAVE UP HOPE.

Adolfo Dominguez dress

I think it needs to be worn to a beach party or something. I dunno. You're gonna have to take this one to a happy place, it's not bringing the happy to you.

Royal Outfits of the Day: A Scandinavian Update

A couple trips, a birthday, and some purple! Let's see what these three Scandinavian princesses have been up to:

The Crown Prince and Crown Princess of Norway visited Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia, marking the 100th anniversaries of their declarations of independence.

Office of the President of the Republic of Lithuania

I'm picking two of my faves from Haakon and Mette-Marit's trip, and they both happened in Lithuania. First of all, a simple white coat on Mette-Marit will nearly always get me, so that one's in...

Office of the President of the Republic of Lithuania

 ...and second of all, her love of a floral always serves her best with these By Ti Mo dresses, so this one's in too. Bonus points for baby blue heels and the kind of coat that actually does work well when draped over the shoulders.

Crown Princess Victoria and Prince Daniel visited Latvia. 

President of Latvia

Their Swedish counterparts are doing the Baltic swing, too. Victoria's Ida Sjöstedt dress is a repeat from the Cambridge/Sweden visit earlier this year. I didn't notice the detail on the hem last time, so that's nice; alas, I didn't notice it before because of the neck bow, which is still strangling away.

In Sweden, King Carl Gustaf celebrated his 72nd birthday.

Henrik Garlöv/Kungahuset.se

Back home, Victoria took a back seat to an enthusiastic Estelle, a thoroughly unimpressed Oscar, a birthday king, and a vibrant Silvia - Queen Margrethe is out there coveting those turquoise earrings, guaranteed - as King CG celebrated his birthday. (He also recently became the longest-reigning Swedish monarch, passing a record previously set in the 1300s on April 26 with a reign of 44 years and 223 days.)

Princess Marie attended a concert in Copenhagen last week.

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We just checked in with the Danish crown princess last week, so we'll hit Marie instead in this round up: PURPLE! It should come as no surprise to you that I covet this dress. And those shoes. And maybe even that bouquet, which totally seems to be playing along with the color scheme.

Royal Outfits of the Day: Easter in Spain

The Spanish royal family does Easter in Palma de Mallorca, a more casual and less hat-filled affair than the British royal family does, because they just don't roll that way and variety is the spice of life and whatever.

Queen Letizia, Infanta Sofia, King Felipe, the Princess of Asturias, King Juan Carlos, and Queen Sofia
House of HM the King

A touch of nautical fun for Queen Letizia, a Hugo Boss/Carolina Herrera combo kept light and bright by the polka dots on the top.

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And you can never really go wrong with a yacht-ready ensemble here, so I'll give it a thumbs up.

House of HM the King

Queen Sofia's traditional necklace of Easter egg pendants had some competition for most festive accessory this year thanks to the tie flair of the two kings: floral (or something) for Felipe and pink for Juan Carlos. Although Sofia's necklace still clearly wins as it does most years, because obviously.

This whole occasion has been somewhat overshadowed in the past day by a short video clip that seems to catch a strained family moment as they left the cathedral, when Queen Sofia's attempt to pose with her granddaughters was obstructed by Queen Letizia. (You can see it here.) (And Princess Marie-Chantal, wife of Sofia's nephew Crown Prince Pavlos, decided to weigh in on Twitter against Letizia, raising some eyebrows.) So now the topic of conversation has turned to the supposedly strained relationships in the family. Which...ugh. The whole thing is so messy. If you ask me, this little video means a whole lot of nothing. People are using their interpretations to confirm whatever they already thought, as people are prone to do. *shrug*

Anyway, that's the elephant in the room. Back to the clothes? Back to the clothes.

Royal Outfits of the Day: Letizia in Lace

The King and Queen of Spain attended the Innovation and Design awards yesterday.

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The latest update from the world of fussy lace comes to us by way of Letizia (in a Zara shirt), surprisingly enough. She's not the first one to reach for the voluminous sleeves, but she might be the only one that could make the voluminous sleeves and voluminous top work.

House of HM the King

It's really an awful lot of volume, though, isn't it? Yeah.

Queen Letizia attended the Princess Of Girona Foundation Prize in Arts and Literature last week.

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There's a touch of lace in this gem from last week, too, on the top underneath her sharp jacket. It was my only minor quibble on this an otherwise sleek combo of Carolina Herrera and Hugo Boss. Although I was entirely distracted from the lace - and all the other things - once I realized that she went full animal print on arrival.

House of HM the King

A cheetah print coat! Oh yeah.

Royal Outfits of the Day: Letizia, Rania, Mary, and Suits

Quick note: The blog returns on Monday!

A trio of updates from royal ladies and the suits that love them. Or suit separates. Or not really suits but just go with it because. 

King Felipe and Queen Letizia presented the Gold Medals of Merit in Fine Arts yesterday.

House of HM the King

I'm sorry, royal men, did you think you had a monopoly in the blue suit department? Step aside. Letizia's contribution accomplishes the same thing as all the blue suits on the gents, really: gets the job done and not much more. Thank goodness for a polka dot blouse.

Queen Rania attended a meeting with King Abdullah in mid-January.

Instagram/queenrania

You want a sharp take on a trouser, Rania's your queen. In this case, it's maybe...90% sharp.

Crown Princess Mary presented the Designers' Nest awards at Copenhagen Fashion Week last week.

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The least suit-like thing here (she had a matching coat on arrival, sort of, still not suit-ish, hey) is also the most interesting. An interesting color combination accessorized by leopard print shoes, which I love. Leopard as a neutral is nearly as excellent as a purple neutral in my book.

Royal Outfits of the Day: Queen Letizia in Mexico

Here's Queen Letizia, on a solo trip this week to Mexico for the World Cancer Leaders Summit:

Visiting the headquarters of Red Cross Mexico
House of HM the King

I saw this from the waist up at first and thought, waaaaay too conventional, there must be a Letizia twist somewhere in here.

Hugo Boss Gingham Cotton Jacket
House of HM the King/Hugo Boss

And indeed there was, in the form of a cropped pant! Not exactly a mind-blowing plot twist or anything, just a hint of a Letizia spin.

Meeting with the President and First Lady of Mexico
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What sort of trip would it be without a jumpsuit along for the ride, huh? Not a Letizia trip, that's for sure. This one's Felipe Varela, a repeat. And that's how you do a ponytail for a formal event.

House of HM the King

Her hosts changed into something a little more formal for their dinner, which was good because La Reina was looking a little overdressed for a second. (Although if you can't wear as many diamonds as you want, whenever you want when you're the queen...) The bracelets and earrings from the joyas de pasar also made the trip!

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Attending the conference

Here's a handbag surprise. I'm firmly in the Red Is A Neutral camp and all, but this seems a sharp stylistic turn from the more formal Nina Ricci outfit, what with the people on there and the chains. No?

Zara bag

Royal State Visit of the Week: Spain in the U.K.

Letizia...*puts on sunglasses*...has arrived.

Arrival

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The long-awaited state visit from Spain to the United Kingdom has begun! King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia arrived on Tuesday, a day ahead of the visit's official start. Letizia traveled in this repeated Hugo Boss white outfit, which is totally what I wear to travel, you know, just minus the heels and the skirt and the crisp white color and...oh, never mind.

Official Welcome Ceremony

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The Prince of Wales and Duchess of Cornwall met the Spanish royal couple at the hotel on Wednesday and escorted them to Horse Guards Parade, where they were officially welcomed with full pomp and circumstance by Queen Elizabeth II and the Duke of Edinburgh.

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The Spanish royal family doesn’t do the hat-n’-gloves thing in their regular business, but Queen Letizia is always game to pop on a chapeau when the occasion calls for it. Like her mother-in-law in 1986, Letizia recognized that a British state visit is the very definition of a hat occasion.

CasaReal screencaps

She’ll never meet Camilla’s levels of hat froof (NO ONE POSSIBLY COULD), but she was admirably game to try in the Maria Nieto hat she wore to match her Felipe Varela outfit.

House of HM the King

The yellow was an interesting selection – feels an unusual choice for her, right? – and ended up coordinating her nicely with the yellow flowers on Queen Elizabeth’s hat. South of the hat, though, things started to get a bit awkward. And by the hem, it started to get regrettable. The lower hem detail is a play on two yellows gone too far.

Buckingham Palace Luncheon

Royal Family

Once inside Buckingham Palace, the royal party enjoyed a luncheon and then reviewed a special exhibition of items from the Royal Collection related to Spain. And at this point, more members of the Windsor clan begin to show up...

Royal Family

Hello, Countess of Wessex! You know, Sophie's really mastered the "oooh, look how interesting!" pose.

Royal Family

Multiple dukes have also joined the party: Cambridge! York! Gloucester (even though he's not in this shot)! Swimming with royals, this place is - and we actually get to see it, for a change. I'm already loving this increased coverage.

Clarence House Visit

Clarence House

OUTFIT CHANGE! Felipe and Letizia headed next to Clarence House for some quality time with Charles and Camilla. We've got red...

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...we've got a saucy belted coat...we've got ruby earrings. She's also doing a bit of "diplomatic dressing" here, because this coat is Burberry. Sign. Me. Up.

State Banquet

Oh boy oh boy oh boy - I'm working on a new post for the state banquet because it deserves one! In the mean time, just a few quick screengrabs...

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Because this visit has been so hotly anticipated, we're going to do this open post-style. You may want to stay in touch, because because this post will continue to be updated.


And over at the Jewel Vault:

• Detailed look at the jewels of the Welcome Ceremony for the Queen and the Duchess of Cornwall is right here.

Stay tuned...

Royal Outfits of the Day: Queen Letizia's Trendy Week

What's Letizia been up to this week? Leather, mostly.

Monday: Queen Letizia joined King Felipe, King Juan Carlos, and Queen Sofia for the 40th anniversary of the Reina Sofia Alzheimer Foundation.

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How many leather peplum tops does a person need? To its credit, this red leather Carolina Herrera jacket is far superior to the Game of Thrones reject Uterqüe leather peplum top she debuted last year. I like it far more than I thought I could like anything involving the words "leather peplum".

Tuesday: The King and Queen presented the 'La Caixa' Scholarships.

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New Hugo Boss dress: HOT. So hot. You know I wish she had resisted the urge to match the shoes and bag. My pet peeve, however, does not negate the hotness one bit.

Wednesday: The Queen attended the 'FameLab España 2017' Scientific Monologues presentation.

House of HM the King

Seems like Queen L has certain events circled on her calendar and designated for her more trendy outfits, like leather leggings and an oversized vest. Here's one such event...for better or for worse.

Thursday: The King and Queen hosted Princess Muna al-Hussein, mother of Jordan's King Abdullah II, for lunch during her private visit to Spain.

House of HM the King

You know what throws this otherwise pretty basic outfit off for me? The purse. The pink purse is an unneeded extra dose of sugar on what was already a sugary sweet dessert to finish out this round up.

Royal Outfits of the Day: Letizia and Victoria Suit Up

We've been hit with a double dose of a color I can only describe as institutional blergh.

Queen Letizia held audiences on Friday.

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Here we have an attempt to freshen up the traditional suit with a suede skirt and suede waistcoat. Best tried without the blouse under the vest so as to avoid the straight jacket side of the institutional line, methinks.

Hugo Boss separates

Crown Princess Victoria attended a sustainable seas meeting at the Royal Academy of Sciences yesterday.

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Victoria's effort is a little more classic, yet she comes out on top here - due largely to an excellent stair pose, I'm not gonna lie. Hit those marks when you can. Hey, no one knows this better than Letizia, Queen of the Shampoo Model Action Shot.

Separates from J. Lindeberg

Royal Prints of the Day: June 8

So many royal women out and about in prints n' patterns these days! Let's breeze through a few of them real quick:

King Felipe and Queen Letizia attended audiences at Zarzuela Palace on Monday
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This, in fact, is our second case of Who wore it best? for the week, because Crown Princess Mary owns this Hugo Boss design in a skirt. They've both worn it many times, and I'm still trying to figure out what hidden messages lie within this Rorschach test of a dress. (Can you get dresses custom made with subliminal I need another tiara messages?)

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Princess Madeleine attended a folk music mass over the weekend

Madeleine's racking up the events while home for National Day. Given that this dress is from Somerset by Alice Temperley, I am only surprised that one of our other royal Temperley fans didn't get to it first. (Sure, sure, the Duchess of Cambridge, but I'm thinking someone else: Queen Mathilde, step right up!) It's really lovely, and the addition of the belt takes it to another level.

Queen Mathilde attended a concert for the Queen Elisabeth piano competition
Royal Palace

Actually, Mathilde's been a little busy racking up Dries van Noten dresses for herself. This one's part groovy, part hotel carpet. But as I am all for something a little different, I'm going with groovy.

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King Willem-Alexander and Queen Máxima attended the opening of the Holland Festival

This is your basic, pretty floral dress, no problems there. Which leaves me free to concern myself with the possibility that she could pair these earrings with that lobster necklace, and to contemplate what sort of marine life she's coming for next.

Royal Outfits of the Day: June 3

Time for a Queen Letizia check in!

Princess Beatrix visited Spain to open an exhibition on Hieronymus Bosch at the Prado Museum, along with King Felipe and Queen Letizia.
House of HM the King

Okay, so, really this is supposed to be a Letizia Day and all, but that's not going to stop me from noting how fantastic it is that Princess Beatrix wore the brooch version of Spain's Order of the Golden Fleece. She was the first woman to be awarded that top honor, and if I were her, I'd point that out as often as possible. (King Willem-Alexander and Queen Máxima have been wearing their mini orders too, when visiting other countries. A nice touch when many leave the orders for the state banquets.) Anyhoo, Letizia wore a jacket and skirt from Hugo Boss with a printed top and statement earrings from Zara. Some people have Royal Coat Museums, Letizia has a Royal Suit Museum.

The trio also joined King Juan Carlos and Queen Sofia for lunch at Zarzuela Palace.
House of HM the King

I'm also going to have to note how great their Dutch visitor looks here, too, Trix with her sneaky clothes change. Wait, maybe this is a Beatrix Day. (There's a video of them greeting Princess Beatrix here. They're speaking English together, for those of you always curious about the languages spoken at international royal gatherings.)

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The King and Queen attended Armed Forces Day on Saturday.

I love a sharp black and white combo almost as much as Letizia does and there is no doubt that this is another superbly tailored and neatly put together Felipe Varela look...but all I have here is, well, buts. But I wish there wasn't any lace under the jacket to interrupt the strong lines. But I wish - and this is a pretty rare thing for me to say - we had a black shoe instead. But I can't stop picturing this jacket as a marching band uniform in the world's most boring school colors. BUT.

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Presenting the National Culture Awards this week.

Ending on a high note, this Varela dress is and forever will be a good choice - which she absolutely knows, because she's worn it many times. And I am always here for a pale pink shoe, let it be known.