Royal christenings may not be as blingy or as packed with international royals as a royal wedding usually is, but at least when Sweden's in charge, you know you get one big bonus: BABY SASHES! Prince Nicolas of Sweden was christened on Sunday, and King Grandpa bestowed upon him the Order of the Seraphim, as was done for Princess Estelle and Leonore.
Alas, the tiny human of the hour was not so enchanted with his new accessory. Babies will be babies.
Prince Nicolas was center stage (and he brought the lungs to make sure you didn't forget it), but over on the strictly sartorial side of things, I was busy falling in love with his mother's ensemble.
In a refreshing change from some of the pastels we've seen at recent Swedish christenings, Princess Madeleine leaned into her October look with touches of gold, richness of fabric, and a wonderfully autumnal mix of colors. Coordinating her Philip Treacy headpiece to the mulberry color at the bottom of the dress was a stroke of genius, forcing you to take in the whole dress as one instead of just focusing on the top part.
The dress was by Valentino, as she wore for her wedding and for her first child's christening. The same fabric was used in a few different formats in this collection, and Madeleine's looks like a bespoke mix of other designs. (Oh, and Chris O'Neill was there! He wore a suit - morning dress, in fact.)
Speaking of that first child, Princess Leonore was one of the other stars of the show in her Bonpoint dress with added lace collar detail, complete with a bow to the head (that didn't last long, of course, because toddlers will be toddlers). Cousin Princess Estelle, who was clearly practicing for her upcoming big sister duties as she ran to fetch a pacifier for crying Nicolas during the ceremony, was also tiny princess-perfect in repeated pieces from Marie-Chantal Children.
Queen Silvia was, well, Queen Silvia-perfect in cornflower blue with a healthy helping of pearls for good measure. (And King Carl Gustaf was there! He wore a uniform.)
Crown Princess Victoria has apparently been keeping up with current royal maternity trends, selecting a deep purple custom outfit from Seraphine, the label popular with Princess Madeleine and the Duchess of Cambridge during their recent pregnancies. She topped it with an enormous pillbox - this is a Princess Michael-sized pillbox, people - which brought instant 1960s flair to the whole thing.
Seen later at Drottningholm, she had on a matching coat, which makes me like this even more. (Also, let's not forget about Prince Daniel! He too wore morning dress.)
Coordinating with the rich color scheme of her sisters-in-law and also inadvertently coordinating with this blog's recent run of bows at the neck, Princess Sofia wore a plum dress from Gucci with a veiled bow fascinator from Malinda Damgaard. More notable than the dress, this is the first time we get to see Princess Sofia wearing the King's portrait brooch,
Sweden's version of the royal family order. (Hey, Prince Carl Philip was there too! He wore a uniform. And he was a godparent and was full of doting looks for his nieces and nephew, so he gets a whole extra sentence.)
This is a gorgeous color for Sofia, and appropriate as can be. I do wonder about the wisdom of entering yourself in the Hair Bow Stakes when you know you'll be running against Princesses Estelle and Leonore, though. Seems like you're just setting yourself up for failure.
Two final guests before we go: Princess Margaretha was the only one of the King's sisters present, joining the hatless guests in classic black and white, and Countess Marianne Bernadotte (sitting next to her) couldn't help but look luxe in that wrap.
Click here for a gallery from the day.
Who made your christening best dressed list?
Photos: SVT screencaps and via Getty Images, FarFetch, Bonpoint, Marie-Chantal, Net-a-porter
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