It might not be the Trooping we want, but it’s the Trooping we’re going to get. “There will be a small, brief military ceremony at Windsor Castle to mark The Queen’s official birthday,” a palace spokesperson has said. The Daily Mail reports that there will be a smaller than usual division of the Welsh Guards trooping their colour (regimental flag), accompanied by a small group of the massed Bands of the Household Division. It is also thought there will be Royal Salute to The Queen at 11am in the Quadrangle, which is the time she would normally just be entering Horse Guards Parade. The BBC will be covering the event, so we’ll try to have a link to a Live Feed (if there is one) ready to go for Saturday morning.
In the meantime, we want to make 2020 the best VIRTUAL Trooping there has ever been and that’s where all of you come in! We want to see Troopings. Old Troopings, recent Troopings, even drawings of Troopings if you must. And don’t forget the rest of the family! Show us your favorite balcony appearances, from 1909 to 2019, and all points in between. If 2020 is determined to cancel every royal event we hold dear, then we’ll use our photos to make it the biggest and best yet!
We’ll start you off with Princess Elizabeth at some of her first events. 1947, 1949 and in 1951, when she took the salute in place of her father.
Housekeeping: Bits and Bobs will be back tomorrow.
Good Monday morning, Handbag Community! The annual Commonwealth Service will be held at Westminster Abbey today at 3.00 p.m., local time. Watch the coverage live on the BBC YouTube channel . If you like to follow along on Twitter, here’s your link. The Westminster Abbey website also has more information for those who are interested.
We’ll pop back in later today with a review of the day, but please post your thoughts in the comments to keep us current on events as they happen.
Quick Peek Back
In advance of today’s event, here’s a quick look back at how the ladies approached the last few years. Some great looks here.
And lastly, some photos from the service itself. There are plenty more over at Getty if you’re interested. Some lovely photos from outside of the church as well.
The ceremony isn’t really so much about showing off fashion as it is about unity – for the country, the Commonwealth, and I suppose you can say for this year particularly, for the family. We don’t do drama here, but believe me if you want it you can find it in other outlets by the boatload. My take? Yes, the event was tinged with some poignancy, probably the most so for Harry, but it’s not a final farewell by any means. We’ll still see the Sussex duo on occasion in official capacities, and of course they have their share of fame so they are hardly disappearing entirely!
The Queen was in lovely powder blue and her BEST BROOCH EVER (trademark LiL),the Jardine Star, and Camilla stepped out in repeated blue. If anyone can ID Cam’s brooch, give us a shout because it’s worth noting. Kate repeated her Catherine Walker burgundy coat and added a new, fabulous hat by Sally Ann Provan. I hope the Hat Queen has more info on that because if there was ever a hat I wanted in my own wardrobe, this is it. Sophie wore a statement Suzannah Evangeline white and navy dress, and Meghan continued the cape action with an Emilia Wikstead dress, and a saucy beret-style hat by William Chambers.
Take a gander at the accessory breakdown over at UFONoMore. The royal firm continues on, folks.
The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge are scheduled to attend the event tonight, and as we discussed on Friday, the organizers have requested participants rewear or wear sustainable fashion. Let’s see if our hopes and wishes came true for Kate – and as for William, I suspect he, too, will rewear something.
As photos become available, we’ll pop in and add them. The Duke and Duchess are typically the last to arrive, at about 6:30 p.m. local time The link below indicates the other arrivals begin at about 5:00 p.m.
Please post your own thoughts and pictures below!
You can watch the red carpet on YouTube, Twitter and Facebook @BAFTA. It begins at 5pm GMT.
The ceremony will be broadcast in selected countries. More info here: https://t.co/xU1w4hOPVz
Update: I wonder if I will be in the minority here in my happiness at seeing the gold and white McQueen again. Sneaky Kate fooled us all and actually repeated a tour gown. The gown was originally worn in Malaysia during the fall 2012 tour. Regal Fille’s post is here. The original OoS post is here.
Looking at this outing, it is astounding how much more polished Kate looks. She’s always been a very pretty woman, don’t get me wrong, but she has upped her game considerably in the last 7.5 years. She did a nuanced “Marying” of the gown. The sleeves are now lined, and to my eye, narrower and sleeker.
Well, thanks to Twitter we have lightening fast identification on the necklace and earrings. New, from Van Cleef and Arpels, Magic Alhambra. Thanks to Replicate Royalty, who is a good person to follow on Twitter for these things.
Kate’s earrings and necklace tonight look like they’re from Van Cleef and Arpels – Magic Alhambra earrings
To complete the outfit, Jimmy Choo pumps. Thank heavens for Twitter. The royal couple isn’t in their seats yet and every aspect of the Duchess’ outfit has been identified ; ). The shoes have also been traced to Madeleine’s outing at last year’s Korean State Visit. Has there been inter-family borrowing ; )?
The second day of the Danish levees is held for Supreme Court judges, the Royal Guard and Regiments Officer Corps at Christian VII’s Palace. Anyone who has done any royal watching in the Dane’s general direction will recognize both these dresses. Mary is repeating her white gown from 2015 and Daisy is repeating her blue gown for the 33rd time. Now that last bit is an exaggeration, but not by much. This daytime event does not include tiaras, alas, but everyone looks good and all is right with the world on this second day of 2020.
Day three comprises a reception for the military, patronages, and other leaders, at Christiansborg Palace. Yes, it’s the 34th outing of Daisy’s Damask ; ). It is the third outing of Mary’s Lasse Spangenberg gown, which is fine by me. The deep color and simple styling with a twist are a great foil to her coloring and figure. If you click through to the video, you can see the fine cape/gown proportions.
I am slowly coming out of the fog of my New Year’s Eve celebrations – although I didn’t even make it to midnight! – but a Happy New Year and a happy new decade of royal watching to the entire community. Photos have started coming in from Japan and we’ll get them up asap, but I am searching for a live link for Denmark (found, see below for times and links).
In the meantime, the usual drill applies here. It’s open for both the Japanese and Danish celebrations, and if the thread doesn’t get too long we’ll keep it open for the next two nights in Denmark, too. We’ll play that by ear.
Japan
The family appeared for the New Year’s greetings in photos and a video released earlier today. The Sparkle Sisters, Mako and Kako, stepped away from the pastels and into some more satured color suits, and just look at Aiko beaming in the middle.
2020 New Year: Princess Mako and Princess Aiko Prince Hisahito and Princess Kako
For today’s reception, the Empress in the Meiji Scroll tiara. I just re-read the entry at OoS and now wish to see this someday in the star incarnation. Her earrings are no slouches, either. A video of the reception can be found here.
Prisma on Twitter has been finding early photos of the Japanese receptions. As is typical, the women are representing in the light cream and white shades, but all that gentle sparkle on their heads is working well for my tired, early morning eyes.
First up, the Queen, as it should be. Ah, Margrethe. As I mentioned in the comments, I can see the Yeti pelt a mile away. That dress underneath is a lovely, sparkly, liquid green, and I like the slim silhouette. It’s a nice change-up from the ballgowns, and the Emerald and Diamond crown jewels fancy it all up to proper levels. I was a bit worred about her back, because she seemed hesitant while walking in the videos.
Both Mary and Marie wore repeats, and both are re-worked maternity gowns. Mary wore her oft-repeated (by my count, this is the fourth wearing) Birgit Hallstein gown. It’s a workhorse for a reason. Look how it stands up to the orders and gew gaws and the Ruby parure. Marie is wearing her re-worked Henrik Hviid gown, which we were just discussing – so we must be clairvoyant or something.
Speaking of Marie, why yes, the Order chain can touch skin. Let’s add that to our “royal myths busted” folder. Also, you can’t see it here but both women wore hair bling WITH tiaras, which makes them heroes in my eyes.
Courtesy of Billed Bladet
Lest you think I overlooked someone, here is my big, big win for the night. Benedikte has not been to this even recently and boy, oh boy, did we miss her. She simply slayed it tonight. She didn’t just enter the event, she knocked it down and walked right over it. Regal purple in velvet? Sign me up! A big “pearly” necklace and the Order of the Elephant? The Star and Pearl tiara? Bow down everyone, this woman is simply the most consistently royal royal in action today.
Please check out the arrival video. Sometimes you have to see this stuff in action, and there are some good shots of the tiaras sparkling and the gowns a-flowing.
