My Royal Obsession Part 5...

 This is just a general post, since I don't really have the time to sit out and write a complete post right now, but there are some royal things I'd like to comment on...the first being...

   This is Emma McQuiston and she is Britain's first black marchioness (this title is below a Duchess but above a Countess). She married Ceawlin Viscount Weymouth, who upon his father's death will become the Marquis of Bath. As the first, she has said she's experienced a bit of snobbery from the older "royals", but hasn't let that slow her down. Oh and she is of Nigerian descent.

  Here are the new King and Queen of the Belgians! King Philippe was sworn in on Sunday, July 21, 2013. His father abdicated earlier in the day, very much like Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands to allow the next generation to rule (also, he has some paternity issues pending that were starting to over shadow his reign).

 

Unlike other coronations the Belgians do not invite foreign royals to attend and it's not a cause for black ties and tiaras, instead it was very business like in it's detail and didn't get much media coverage. Which is sad, but with everyone waiting for Baby Cambridge and without any glamour, it's to be expected. Here are the new King and Queen with their children. The oldest being their daughter Elizabeth who is now the Duchess of Brabant and heir apparent.

   Lastly, speaking of Baby Cambridge, he or she has decided to grace us with it's presence sometime soon. Yes, Catherine's in hospital and the baby should be here at some point. I'm not as crazed as most because unlike the rest of the world I haven't been on the edge of my seat since the beginning of the month. I didn't believe the palace's announcement of mid-July knowing that W&C would want to keep things as private as possible. And because this is her first birth it could take FOREVER! So, when Baby C arrives I'll be excited, but for now it's business as usual...of course, the rest of the world has lost their minds!

 

For now, this will probably be my last Royal Obsession post for a while...(although I may do a Baby C one). I hope you enjoyed this little view into my craziness.

 

Until Next Time

~m

My Royal Obsession Part 4

 What can I say...I love a good wedding, I love a good love story and I love royals! This wedding had it all...a heart broken Princess who left her country out of embarrassment and betrayal only to find the love she so richly deserved in her new home. And to have all capped off with a lovely and beautiful wedding.
  Princess Madeleine married her boyfriend of 2 years Christopher O'Neill on June 6th. She looked wonderful as she was walked down the aisle by her father the King (who I've only ever seen smile once...at his granddaughter during this wedding).

She surprised many by not wearing the family "traditional" tiara the Cameo, that has been worn by several women in her family including her mom and sister

 

 Instead she worn the "Modern Fringe" Tiara that she usually wears, but it's okay because it went perfectly with her dress and the atmosphere of the day.

  The surprise of this wedding was the sheer joy that spread across the face of her now husband as she walked down the aisle to meet him at the alter. For those of us in the royal fandom (I mean the fandom on Tumblr, which I'm not really apart of, but follow) it was a wonderful sight to see, since prior to that day we have very rarely if ever saw him smile (or show any emotion). A stream of tears followed by a brilliant smile gave us all the knowledge and joy that one of our favorite Princesses was really marrying someone who truly loved her.
   I got to watch this wedding (although on a delay since I woke up late), it was in Swedish and English (thanks to Chris' family not speaking Swedish) so I was able to enjoy and understand it all. In the end, it was a touching display of love and future happiness for all involved.

   In the end though, after the tiaras were all identified and the oohhsss and aahhhsss of the day were gone one thing remains...as much as enjoyed watching two people get married, the true show was put on by Madeleine's niece Princess Estelle...who had a tiny chair, stole her dad's program...kicked her uncle, tried to escape her father's lap and then made her dad take her to stand next to her mother as her mother tried to read a scripture...this kid....

   Here are more photos...and once you look at the photo of Chris' mom your realize smiling isn't big in his family (also the fact that not one of them smiled the entire wedding)

My Royal Obsession Part 3

 On January 28th of this year Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands

announced her intention to abdicate her throne in favor of her son Prince Willem-Alexander...it was a shock...I (not knowing the history) thought there must be something wrong with her, why would she step down at the young age of 75 (when you compare her to  Queen Elizabeth II of England she's practically a teenager)? Soon, I learned that this is some what of a tradition that was started by her Grandmother Queen Wilhelmina and continueD with Wilhelmina's daughter (Beatrix's Mom) Juliana. So there really wasn't a hidden agenda just a Queen stepping down because she didn't feel she could continue to give her people the type of attention she felt they deserved. Pass it to the next generation...
  On April 30th she officially abdicated her throne in favor of her eldest son Willem-Alexander. There was a signing of documents in front all the necessary people, and one last balcony appearance before the Queen was once again, a Princess.

  A few hours later the world watched while King Willem-Alexander was sworn in, his lovely bride by his side and his daughters, the oldest now the Crown Princess, and the former Queen watching fonding.

 (okay they all look bored out of their minds, but this is the best photo I could find)

  Willem-Alexander is the first heir of his generation to be crowned King (technically Prince Charles is the same age as most of the reigning European Monarchs so he is NOT in this generation). It was lovely to watch Royal History being made, but sad, because now as King and Queen, WA and Maxima, will no longer go to the same type of events the did as they did as Crown Prince and Princess. It was always a treat to see the CP's and spouse's together at events throughout the year

The first time this was very apparent was at the wedding of Princess Madeleine of Sweden (Victoria's younger sister). All of the heirs were there, except Charles...he doesn't go to those. But as WA and Maxima are now monarchs they did not attend. Which sucks, cause it looked like a great party!

 

My Royal Obsession...

Part 1...

  The British Royal Family.

  I have few memories from my early childhood...I remember the 84 Olympics because they took place in my hometown...Mary Lou was tiny and wholesome and a winner (and on the Wheaties Box) and Lionel Richie closed the whole thing with the song "All Night Long"...we watched on TV but were close enough to hear the music playing live if we went outside and we all stood on the porch to watch the closing fireworks show. I remember moving from the apartment building into my great-grandmother's old house and I remember this....

   Lady Diana Spencer walking down the aisle in her big beautiful puffy gown with the long train. I was almost two, but I remember this...this was my introduction to the world of the Royals (and coincidentally weddings) and I was hooked. Diana became the ideal Princess and the person I secretly wanted to be, although I was young and not much into it all of the Royal doings, I was...a fan.
   I also remember Andrew and Fergie's wedding...the birth of Prince William...and the rapid decline (as I saw it at the time) of both A & F's and C and D's marriages. Although it took longer for Charles and Diana to actually end, I remember her interview and her book. I watched the craze her son caused for every teenage girl and I remember quite vividly the night she died and watching her funeral. In all of it, I was fascinated and wondered why only that country had a royal family (little did I know then). After High School I got completely invested in myself so I didn't really follow much royal doings...besides without Diana, with William going off to college and Harry going through his "not so cute" phase my interest, although still there, wained greatly. Que October 2010
   In October 2010 a series of tabloids started to put Prince William and his long term girlfriend Kate on the cover claiming that an engagement was imminent. I didn't really think much about it because these stories popped up every so often since they left college. But through the month it became somewhat of a media blitz on these two and their suppose engagement. Finally in November, what turns out to be a week before the announcement, I picked up a magazine to read during lunch and thought the whole story was rubbish...but between that mag and the engagement announcement I was back on the Royal Train again!
   I got back on with both feet and hung on for over a year! I watched the ceremony (and all the hoopla leading up to it) and I've followed the royal family closely since. What I learned as I fell more and more in tune with the BRF (British Royal Family) is that it's NOT the only one in the world. In fact, it's not even the only one in Europe...and that's where my obsession for all things royal really took a turn!
   I'm not so sure who I became aware of first...but I grew very interested in the Crown Princesses of Sweden, Denmark and Norway very quickly...and for a time the BRF took a backseat while I learned all I could about the rest.

   The Brits were just the beginning...

Missing Politics

Yes, that may sound weird, but it's true. I miss politics.
Over the course of the last several years I started to slowly but surely move away from the mainstream media. In fact, it was after a prime time newscast started with a top story that was about Paris Hilton that I decided enough was enough! I still watched cable news and read newspapers, but I started to see the slant in every story and how news was becoming more and more celebrity/entertainment driven than actual legitimate news driven. I saw it as a way of the government distracting the people from seeing what was really happening in the world (and let's face it, this was when our Pres and VP were starting wars with random nations and getting richer off of them). By the time, Katrina hit I was all but tuned out...so most of what happened around that I know nothing about. Although I still watched cable news (CNN, primarily) it wasn't a frequent thing (I do have to say that during national elections I watch all the news I can get, so during that time its different). However, after the Newton shootings I pretty much swore off media coverage completely. A) Because there aren't any real news stations any more (they are all entertainment) and B) What the media deems important is not the same as what I deem is important. The Newton coverage made me ill and I just stepped away.

Because of that, I missed most of the Benghazi "Scandal" have a vague idea of what "Fast and Furious " is/was and I'm not really sure what the current (supposed) cover up is about. Also who the hell is Jodi Arias? I came up for air during the Boston Bombings...but after the CNN debacle...(I was watching CNN when it happened). I was done...so I have no real idea of what's going on in the world at large. Okay that's a lie...I know a few things. I know about the soldier being killed in England and about the IRS going after the "Tea Party" and the Disneyland bomb (but I only know about that one because I was trying to find out about the weather).

Anyway, because of my thorough lack of any type of news information I am severely lacking in my knowledge of what's happening in American Politics. I love politics! There's just something about it all that makes me excited about this country. It's gives me something to think about...ways to consider different ideals and learn more about this country, and consequently, the world. I use to watch CNN and CSPAN all the time. I was engaged and engrossed in whatever was coming out of Washington. Not anymore.  Not at all!

And I miss that...it's funny that the thing that made me realize this is the Daily Show. As I watched clips of the show this morning, I realized that it's been too long since I've sat (or laid) and watched the ongoings of the country. Since I've actually knew and full understood what was happening in the federal government. I don't know how I'm going to do it (like what websites, blogs, newspapers I should read or which news stations to what, but I need to get back into my secret love...

Politics!

Until Next Time,
~m

Post about Victoria...just because

  Yesterday was the investiture of the new King and Queen of the Netherlands. Most people don't know that I'm secretly obsessed with all things royal. Not just the British Royal Family, but all of the most of the Europeans and I'm becoming increasingly interested in the Japanese Imperial Family as well (for those of you who didn't know there were still royals out there...there are...quite a few actually).
   Any who I spent most of yesterday in engaged in photos of tiara, ballgowns and just overall royal splendor...but today I decided to spam some photos of my favorite royal.

    Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden, I like her for many reasons...but enough with the writing here are some photos of her! Enjoy

  

 

 

The gentleman with her in some photos is her husband Prince Daniel and the baby is their daughter Princess Estelle.