Hofdame Bits and Bobs
Britain · Netherlands · Norway · Sweden

Hofdame Bits and Bobs

The Handbag

There are not one, but two big state visits going on this week: the Finnish State Visit to Sweden and the Qatari visit to Spain. We’ll try to hit both of those in tomorrow’s posts – or maybe on Wednesday and Thursday. We’ll see how much time the Handbag has to devote to it tonight! Hang tight all!

It’s busy out there folks, so let’s just get on with it.

Getty

The Royal Windsor Horse Show figures prominantly in this week’s Getty photos. I hope you have had a chance to read through our post on the topic, too.

The Netherlands

Princess Margriet and her husband, Pieter van Vollenhoven, have been touring Canada, the Princess’s birthplace. She has been Classic Princessing throughout in a series of structured florals that telegraph “spring has sprung.”

The power trio of Max Wax and Princess Oma Bea attended the Apples of Orange Awards ceremony. The “Appeltjes” were awarded for social initiatives working to close the gap between young people with and without opportunity. Max’s dress is by Natan.

Oma has been out a lot and you won’t hear me complain about it at all. She attended the anniversary gathering of the 111-year-old Erfgoedvereniging Heemschut, an association committed to the preservation of Dutch cultural heritage. Her cotton, silk, and polyester ensemble is from the designer Véronique van Groeningen.

Constantijn and Laurentien attended the World Press Photo 2022 award ceremony. Laurentien appeared on the subdued end of the Laurentien scale, but it is a Diane von Furstenberg jumpsuit in a pattern that announces itself loudly, so it’s not entirely conservative.

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HAPPY SPRING EVERYONE. Laurentien wants you to grab the season by the lapels and drag it in! She celebrated Europe Day in a Moliin ensemble that include ruffles and prints and lots of blue and white. It’s the shoes that are memorable to me, though. They are the Essential Antwerp platforms, and bless her heart she’s balancing on them like the pro she is. Oh, there are also accessories but I’ll leave it to you to find the necklace in the ensemble.

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Britain

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge visited  Scotland for a two days, making a series of visits focusing on mental health in support of Mental Health Awareness Week. These are serious events but they require a lot bending over and leaning down – so the Duchess sensibly paired her Catherine Walker coat was with working-royal blue trousers and a Cefinn blouse.

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Duke and Duchess of Cambridge recorded a message for the Mental Health Minute, and Kate pulled out a favorite of mine, her Altuzarra dress.

….and a late-breaking surprise (H/T to Svennick for pointing us to this event). Her Majesty accompanied Prince Edward to the opening of the Elizabeth Line, an extension of the public transport system in London. She was a ray of sunshine in yellow and the Singapore Peranakan Diamond Jubilee brooch. (It’s worth reading about that brooch if you haven’t yet. It was a 2012 Jubilee gift.)

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Norway

The Norwegian Royals hosted a dinner for Olympians and Paralympians, which seemed to just sneak under the radar. That’s a pity because everyone looks fantastic (love Sonja in that white gown with her emerald suite), and an Auntie Astrid sighting is always worth a look. Always.

Sweden

Victoria was extremely busy all week, but we are pulling just one of her events for your scrutiny. She was spotted at the official opening of the Angstrom Laboratory at Uppsala University, and we thought you might like to see her Rodebjer Dizzy Dress again ; ).

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Comments

So many things happened last week we barely scratched the surface. Leave your contributions in the comments! We long to see them!