Hofdame Bits and Bobs
Belgium · Britain · Denmark · Japan · Monaco · Netherlands

Hofdame Bits and Bobs

The Handbag

The first month of 2020 is almost over and do you know what that means? Happy first anniversary to The Handbag! Our first live post was January 30, 2019. Sniff…..our little baby is growing up. On a serious note, thank you to my fellow Hofdames for supporting me in every possible way, and to this community for tuning in, contributing, and in general making this a great, civil place to be. We know how rare that is in internet-land. As for today’s Bits, it’s long, folks. You may want to break it into pieces and digest it slowly over your Monday.

General Chatter

  • Everything royal you may have missed from the week of January 20, including a snazzy coat worn by HerMaj – Getty Photos
  • Princess Hitachi (the aunt of the current Emperor) wore a gorgeous pink kimono to the Japan Equestrian Federation Awards.
  • We have believed this for a while, but now the real media is getting involved. Is Camilla giving the younger royals a run for their money, style-wise? The Telegraph has some answers. If you can’t see behind the paywall, call out Lesleyc in the comments. Camilla’s Dior and her general sartorial shining.

Davos

The World Economic Forum always includes a gaggle of royals (Is that the same term I used last week? Let’s just say these official terms are fluid.) Maxima strode in wearing a couple of bold, flowered coats. The red is from Valentino and the multi-colored number is Oscar de la Renta. A breakdown of the outfits in their entirety can be found on Modekoningin Maxima.

Embed from Getty Images

Mathilde and Philippe were there for the first three days, and it’s a pity we don’t have access to better photos of Mathilde’s red suit because it looks fabulous. The Belga images are here. Buy ten of these, Mathilde!

Prince Daniel was in attendance, and of course Prince Charles was there. His meeting with Greta Thunberg has been big news. I do wonder what their conversation entailed, the meeting of the minds between two passionate environmental advocates.

Britain

Kate is heavily involved with the Holocaust Survivor Portrait project, an important endeavor as this part of history moves out of living memory and into the history books. The link is really worth a read. Kensington Palace has released a few of the photos and they are haunting tributes.

Japan

The New Year Grand Sumo Tournament at Ryōgoku Kokugikan in Sumida, Tokyo, is a very big deal indeed. So big, the Imperial family attended the final nine bouts, and the Empress wore a traditional kimono in honor of the event. Per Prisma on Twitter, it is not always typical attire for the event (Empress MIchiko often wore western clothes), but it is not unusual, either.

Photos courtesy of Daily JP and Kyodo

Two of the Japanese royal women looked quite smart in shades of green. Princess Hisako and Empress Masako, at the All Japan Orchid Association and the Agriculture, Forestry and Fishery Awards, respectively. Green certainly suits agriculture awards ; ).

Netherlands

Is it odd that the flowing floral actually works on Laurentien – of all people? I think of her wearing modern clothing on the wacky side, but this rather conventional outing is so pretty. She is supporting National Reading Breakfast Days, a cause that I am fully onboard with.

Monaco

Charlene and the family attended the Sainte Devote Ceremony. Sainte Devote is the patron saint of Monaco and Corsica island, and it’s quite a backstory. Definitely worth a read through the link.

Embed from Getty Images

Denmark

Let’s end with Benedikte, looking glamorous as she crosses in front of the Japanese Tower at Tivoli Gardens, on her way to see the Mama Mia premiere. My kind of night out!

What did I miss?

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