Hofdame Bits and Bobs
Belgium · Britain · Japan

Hofdame Bits and Bobs

The Handbag

The calendar has flipped and we are into August, which is the doldrums as far as royal news goes. Off we go to make the best of it.

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Royal news is so slow that the darn swimsuit fashion show is STILL showing up in the Getty feed. You can also see what the Prince of Wales has been up to – all here.

Britain

Fortunately for royal watchers, the Commonwealth Games 2022 opened at Alexander Stadium last week. The Prince of Wales and Duchess of Cornwall attended. Camilla wore her Anna Valentine jumpsuit, which I suspect will elicit a variety of opinions. Personally, I fall on the “like” side of the spectrum – it’s a bold statement and one the Duchess carries very well.

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The Earl and Countess of Wessex also attended the opening, and Sophie pulled out a re-wear, too. This is a bit of a daring choice since satin is a very unforgiving fabric. She repeated her Green Galvan Margot Silk-Satin Midi Dress, first worn in 2020. She also must have heard us reminiscing about her 2011 haircut because it looks like she has had a chop.

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Sophie and Princess Anne were spotted a the Rugby Sevens. The Countess rewore a Peter Pilotto print and we know Princess Anne is also in a repeat but darn if I can place when and where it appeared before. Tim wins all things here, what with that shade/hat combo.

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Charles has been traveling madly around the UK, and popped up in Scotland as the Duke of Rothesay – in a kilt, of course.

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Ah, this is a balm for the soul. Princess Alexandra observed the Royal Yeomanry Regiment parade on the streets of Shrewsbury. Lots of photos here.

Father and daughter (and probably mum and the rest) were rooting hard for the Lionesses, their home team competing in the European Women’s Football Championships. And the team won!

The Queen sent her congratulations, too!!

Japan

We don’t follow the Japanese Crown Prince and Princess that closely, but they have been busy. I see that Kiko has been taking suit-zhuzzing lessons from Princess Hisako – and it’s great.

Belgium

This is one well-camouflaged Queen-in-Training!

Sailing Royals

Three sailing royals – attired quite differently. The Duchess of Cambridge paid a visit to the Great Britain SailGP Team in Plymouth for a friendly race between Ben Ainslee’s British crew and Peter Bursley’s Kiwi crew. The Duchess arrived in an Erdem sweater and a pair of Holland Cooper shorts and changed into a very serious wetsuit for the sail.

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King Harald and the Sira crew sailed the World Championships on Lake Geneva (on the border between Switzerland and France). The team finished 10th.

And King Felipe, too, training with his team.

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Oddments

This was a new-to-me Norman Hartnell – and how I missed it in all its intricately detailed glory is beyond me. That criss-cross applesauce bodice is so flattering.

I fell into a bit of a rabbit hole about Lady Ashley Shaw-Scott Adjaye, Sir David Adjaye and the designer Kofi Ansah. The couple is very accomplished. Lady Shaw-Scott Adjaye is focused on girls and women’s empowerment, and Sir Adjaye is a Ghanaian architect. You can see some of Kofi Ansah’s designs here. The bride also wore a white western-style gown for her wedding, which you can see here.

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