Tag: Duchess of Gloucester

Categories
Duchess of Edinburgh Duchess of Gloucester Fashion Kate Middleton Princess Anne Queen Camilla royals

Were all of the Windsor women supposed to wear white at the French state banquet?

were-all-of-the-windsor-women-supposed-to-wear-white-at-the-french-state-banquet?

It’s been a minute since the Windsors have hosted a really glamorous state visit. It’s also been more than a year and a half since anyone allowed the Princess of Wales to wear a tiara and an evening gown. At the last minute on Tuesday, Kate and Prince William were confirmed to attend the state banquet for President and Madame Macron. It was staged at Windsor Castle, and the dinner seemed to off without a hitch. Soft diplomacy, tiaras, and a menu of summer salad, chicken, and “iced blackcurrant parfait on a blackcurrant-soaked sponge with elderflower jelly.”

As I went through the photos, I noticed something odd, as did many other people – it looks like all of the royal women were in white/ivory. Queen Camilla, the Duchess of Edinburgh, Princess Anne and the Duchess of Gloucester all wore white or ivory and glittering jewels and sashes. The Princess of Wales was the only royal woman in red. Do you think Camilla approved of that? The only reason I ask is because these people have made it abundantly clear that they coordinate their colors with each other, often send a message. Did Kate not get the message? Or did she not care? I also wonder how last-minute this preparation was for Kate – her Givenchy dress was new-to-us, but was it actually new-new? It would make sense if Kate threw on something she had in her closet but had never worn if she only got the invitation at the last minute. Still… Kate also has a lot of white gowns in her closet. It’s interesting.

Also interesting… while Kate was placed on Pres. Macron’s right side, the camera angles ensured that Kate was largely hidden behind an enormous centerpiece. That’s something else they would have bragged about if it had been Meghan being blocked – they crowed for months about how a candle blocked shots of Meghan at QEII’s funeral in 2022. So if that was a message, surely this is too?

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Cover Images.

Categories
Duchess of Gloucester Kate Middleton royals Wimbledon

The Duchess of Gloucester will present the Wimbledon trophies if Kate skips

the-duchess-of-gloucester-will-present-the-wimbledon-trophies-if-kate-skips

People always yell at me when I fail to recognize the Duke and Duchess of Gloucester, but in my defense… why would we ever need to recognize the Gloucesters on sight? I know, I should do better. But every time I see a photo of one of the Gloucesters, it’s like I’m seeing them for the first time. Anyway, the Duke of Gloucester and QEII were first cousins. The duke – aka Prince Richard – married Birgitte, a Danish commoner, in 1972. Birgitte became the Duchess of Gloucester upon her marriage. She turned 78 years old last month. The Gloucesters are still considered full-time working royals. So much so that poor Birgitte will be asked to hand out the trophies at Wimbledon if the Princess of Wales doesn’t show up for the finals. This once again feels like Wimbledon trying to smoke out their royal patron:

The Duchess of Gloucester has been earmarked as a likely candidate to present the Wimbledon trophies this weekend if the Princess of Wales is unavailable, as she continues her recovery from cancer treatment.

All England Club Chair Debbie Jevans told Telegraph Sport in the build-up to the Championships they would give the Princess “as much flexibility as possible” in determining whether she is able to fulfil her ceremonial duties as Club Patron on finals weekend, including leaving a decision until the morning of the women’s final on Saturday.

The Princess has made just one public appearance this year at Trooping the Colour following her revelation in March that she is being treated for cancer. Kensington Palace is not confirming any potential engagements for the Princess while she continues a course of preventive chemotherapy, and her attendance at Trooping the Colour on June 15 was only announced the day before.

While Jevans said a fortnight ago that she was “hopeful” the Princess would be able to attend, given the uncertainty Wimbledon have had little option but to put contingency plans in place. The All England Club has a strong relationship with the Royal family, with 10 royals having presented the trophies since Prince George (later King George V) became the club’s first president in 1907, and it is understood that during informal discussions the Duchess of Gloucester has emerged as a potential replacement.

A Wimbledon spokesperson told Telegraph Sport that a decision had yet to be made, and the presentation party would be confirmed on the morning of each final.

The Danish-born Duchess, who was Birgitte Eva van Deurs Henriksen before marrying Prince Richard, the Duke of Gloucester in 1972, is a huge tennis fan and would enable Wimbledon to maintain their royal tradition. The 78-year-old has been an Honorary President of the Lawn Tennis Association for 25 years and attended Wimbledon as a guest of the All England Club last week.

[From The Telegraph]

The Telegraph also notes that if England makes it to the EURO final, then Prince William will likely be in Berlin on Sunday, which is the same day as the Wimbledon men’s final. What’s the likelihood that England makes it to the final though? England plays The Netherlands on Wednesday and I guess they’re expecting William to travel back to Germany for that match. Which means that it’s very likely that William will entirely skip Wimbledon this year too. He usually only shows up for the men’s finals these days, but in the olden days, he would maybe turn out for the men’s semifinals.

As for the Duchess of Gloucester possibly filling in for the trophy presentation… it would be fine with me. I think the British media goes overboard when they hype Kate’s presence at Wimbledon in general, especially for the trophy presentations. She’s really secondary to the proceedings, but they try to make it sound like Wimbledon should be canceled if Kate can’t be there. I also think that the nationalities of the finalists will play a role in whether Kate comes out. My Russian octopus Daniil Medvedev is playing Jannik Sinner today in the quarterfinal! Let me dream of Meddy in the final!! LOL, his draw is terrible but whatever.

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red.