Hofdame Bits and Bobs
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Hofdame Bits and Bobs

The Handbag

I was moaning to the other hofdames that we might have to have another “bitty” Bits this week. It’s late summer and it seems everyone is vacationing. Fortunately, a few of our favorite hard-working royals popped up here and there to save us from that fate.

Getty

There are some excellent photos of last week’s Swedish christening in this week’s Getty montage.

Back in the Bag

Last year, in the midst of lockdowns and the summer vacation period, Crown Prince Frederik popped up at the Odense Film Festival, causing us to question why we don’t Random Royal the men often.

Britain

The Duchess of Cornwall made a guest appearance on BBC Two’s Gardener’s World, where she explained that she shares her husband’s enthusiasm for gardening. She shared her problem with mice devouring her strawberries and asparagus roots in her woodland garden, proving that duchesses have vermin, too. The floral dress was a nice, complementery choice for the event.

This is the very definition of royal-adjacent (honestly it might not even rise to that level, I didn’t see a royal in attendance) but there is a lovely sapphire tiara to look at. Lady Jemima Juliet Herbert, a name that just tips off the tongue, married Hugo Davies at the family pile, Wilton House. Photographic evidence now exists that drinking beer from a bottle while wearing the family heirloom tiara is totally doable. Good to know.

Norway

Vacation? What’s that? The Queen of Norway has things to do, she’ll have you know. It also gives us a chance to enjoy some Ph.D. level accessorizing.

Sonja recently opened The New Ruselokka School, wearing a sharply tailored jacket and some block heels that I covet. She went totally modern with her necklace and earrings.

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The Queen Sonja International Music Competition is in full swing, and the patron was happily in attendance. The competition features young Norwegian singers. The semi-finals and finals are scheduled for October and November. I am enjoying the bold stripes on her jacket and am greatly relieved to see the seams match up the stripes with precision. She accessorized with her trademark bold grey “pearls” (or ball bearings, we have never determined which is correct ; ).

For the 200th anniversary of the Norwegian Church Endowment, the Queen appeared in a full white suit, accented with dark piping.

Denmark

The Danish princesses jumped right back into the working week after their own holidays. Crown Princess Mary, the Patron of Copenhagen 2021, attended both the opening and closing of the event. For the closing ceremonies, she wore a new floral-print cotton midi skirt by Zimmermann and a tailored blouse.

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Princess Marie has been very busy as well, working under the radar as she usually does. She is an avid supporter of Danish food production and cooking. She recently attended the Copenhagen Cooking Festival,  wearing a Goat repeat, the ‘Glenda’ wrap dress. This dress has always been one of my favorites because I think soft pink works for her.

She also debuted a new Maje midi printed dress at the Schackenborg Music Festival, coincidentally also new! It’s an international classical music festival and one that will benefit from the royal connection.

Netherlands

My favorite princess, Margriet, sent a virtual message to the 2021 Paralympic athletes from the Netherlands. She, along with others in the royal family, has been a long-time supporter of the Paralympics.

(Many many thanks to HofdudeTriple A for the translation!)

“Today we are at Papendal. Unfortunately, we can’t go to Tokyo and that is, of course, a pity. But from Papendal I want to wish all athletes good luck and a lot of fun. It is always fantastic to see the development of the Paralympic sport and what fantastic athletes we are to have. I am very proud of that. You are role models for all of us and a great source of inspiration for perseverance and enthusiasm. And that’s why I wish you a very nice time in Tokyo. We sympathize with you from afar. Even though we can’t be there, I think everyone will support you from a distance. Not only through television, but also through other forms of media. I wish you a lot of luck!”

Olympic Training Centre Papendal is the largest elite sports training centre in the Netherlands. Today, about 350 elite athletes use the top facilities on a daily basis. Papendal has been used as a training location for elite sports since the seventies. Princess Beatrix opened the Olympic Training Centre officially in 1971. In the years that followed, Papendal has changed tremendously. The past ten years have particularly been a period of rapid development for the Olympic Training Centre.

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