Royal Flashback of the Day: January 15

We chatted about the crown princely group that gathered to celebrate King Harald's 70th birthday in 2007; now, naturally, we must move on to the sovereigns. The sovereigns and/or heads of state, technically speaking, since the Presidents of Finland and Iceland also came for the party.

Back row, left to right: Pentti Arajärvi (husband of the President of Finland), the Prince of Monaco, the King of Sweden, the King of Norway, the Grand Duke of Luxembourg, the Prince Consort of Denmark, the President of Iceland
Seated, L to R: The then-President of Finland, the Queen of Sweden, the Queen of Norway, the Grand Duchess of Luxembourg, Dorrit Moussaieff (First Lady of Iceland)
Photo:Bjørn Sigurdsøn, DKH

Queen Silvia's copper dress (paired with her Party Antlers a.k.a. the Nine Prong Tiara) is a just a litttttle bit too stiff, Grand Duchess Maria Teresa's beige number (with the Diamond Vine Leaves Tiara and a diamond choker from another Lux tiara) might be just a litttttle bit too flowy, but Queen Sonja is juuuuust right.

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This gown is so flattering on her; just the right silhouette, and a color that wouldn't normally grab me for a gown, but looks lovely with those emeralds. The sparkly trim gives it a little something extra in motion:

Video: The guests arrive

(Also seriously benefiting from some sparkle in motion: Maria Teresa's gown, which suddenly becomes much more than blergh.)

As for the rest of the guests, let's be honest, it wasn't a banner night for most of them. A whole lotta average grades in here, really.

The guest group, click to enlarge.
Photo:Bjørn Sigurdsøn, DKH

I'll tell you who interested me, though: Princess Astrid of Belgium. Did you catch her in the video above? You can't really see her skirt, but it sure looks like she's maneuvering some serious gown-age beneath the video screen. And sure enough...

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Princess Astrid and King Constantine of Greece

What we've got here is an apron sort of thing over a moderately unrelated skirt, and I can't decide if that makes it Peak Cinderella, or Cinderella just a minute into the unkind side of midnight. Either way, I'm intrigued. And I haven't even started on the bag. (On the other hand, the Savoy-Aosta Tiara and emerald necklace from her husband's family are always on point.)

Let's close this ball with a dance, shall we?

Video: Dancing! I do love the moments we don't usually get to see.