Upcoming Royal Wedding

After drought of REAL royal weddings in the existing European royal houses, (where future monarchs chose to marry commoners) finally, the curse had been lifted with the announcement of the official engagement of The Hereditary Grand duke of Luxembourg, Prince Guillaume, eldest son and successor of Grand Duke Henri.

Official engagement photo of the couple

The emerald-cut diamond  engagement ring given by the Prince to his fiancee

The Ducal Palace of Luxembourg announced last April 27, 2012 the engagement of 30-year-old Prince Guillaume to 28-year-old Countess Stephanie de Lannoy, a granddaughter of Princess Beatrice of Ligne in Belgium through her son, Count Philippe de Lannoy. Both Stephanie's parents descended from the distinguished aristocracy in Belgium.


The pretty aristocrat is an accomplished linguist, studied languages and German Philology at the University of Lovaina and very fluent in German, English, Dutch French and Russian. She earned a master's degree also in Berlin, Germany and spent a year in Russia learning its literary heritage. She has a very delicate, elegant fashion with a sense of style inherent to her birthright as aristocrat.

Countess Stephanie de Lannoy and Prince Guillaume

Perfect royal pair

FYI: In European royalty and nobility, a Countess is a female noble title ranking just below a Duchess and above a Viscountess. However, in a formal royal court decorum, a woman who is Countess by birth ranked higher in status than a woman who only got the title of a Duchess by marriage.

The couple's wedding date is scheduled on October 20, 2012.

Except Prince Alois of Liechtenstein who married a Bavarian Princess, no other future European crown heads married an aristocrat. All of them married women from the working class stock (not from the middle class) which slightly eroded the prestige of the crown and diminished the magic and charm of the concept of royalty.

The Countess looks like a Barbie doll with a peach and cream complexion

Good that Prince Guillaume uphold the prestige of the crown and understood the value of marrying well  within the upper class.

In the current European royalty, only three monarchs married fellow royals. Queen Elizabeth II of England married Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh who is a former Prince Philip of Greece and Denmark, King Juan Carlos of Spain married Philip's cousin, Princess Sophia of Greece and Denmark while  King Albert II of Belgium married Princess Paola Ruffo di Calabria of Lombardia in Italy. 


Visit ROYALTY FASHION HERE

Garden Party hosted by the Queen

One of the most enduring traditions, and the highlight of the summer season, of the British royal family is the Garden Party hosted by the Queen at Buckingham Palace which normally takes place around June and July.   This royal tradition started during the reign of Queen Victoria of England in the 19th century.

According to the official site of the British monarchy, a Garden Party, which is commonly called AFTERNOON TEA PARTY takes place between 4:00 pm to 6:00 pm as the Queen, the Duke of Edinburgh and members of the royal family enter the gate when the National Anthem, God Save the Queen, is played by military bands. Then the royals circulate among the guests to greet them.

Tea and other refreshments are served in buffet tables on enormous quantities. Usually the palace served 27,000 tea cups, 20,000 sandwiches and slices of tea cakes for 8,000 guests. This party aims to celebrate the achievements of people who have contributed to public life. The selection process on who are the people to be invited for the Queen's Garden Parties is usually done through a recommendation of a variety of national organizations, charities and local lord lieutenants.

There's always a dress code when attending a party hosted by the Queen. Ladies are required to wear hats/fascinators and their best afternoon dress while gentlemen wear morning or lounge suits. The Queen dons fabulous outfit for the occasion.

The planning and invitations are done through the office of the Lord Chamberlain, the head of the Royal Household of the ruling monarch.

According to the daily mail, last year (2011), the palace served tea, iced coffee, organic apple juice, cucumber and egg mayonnaise sandwiches, mini strawberry scones, coffee eclairs, tiny chocolate mousse cakes embossed with a gold crown.

Normally, the attendees and even the royal family would not sit for this party and would just stand and walk around to greet one another.

The Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh

The first Garden Party attended by the Duchess of Cambridge

Garden Parties' set-up is taken from the Afternoon Tea Party, an English tradition that originated during the Victorian Era.

The Queen ensures she mingles with all her guests, speak to them and greet them with their achievements. The party ends up at 6:00 pm with the royal family leave the garden and the national anthem is played again to mark the end of the party.

The Last Surviving Great Grandchild of Queen Victoria

Carl Johan Bernadotte, Count of Wisborg, died last May 5 at the age of 95 due to a lingering heart ailment. He was the last surviving great grandchild of Queen Victoria of England.

Carl Johan was the former Prince Carl Johan of Sweden but he was stripped of his royal title and inheritance when he married in 1946 to a commoner, Elin Wijkmark. In the past all European royals were not allowed to marry a commoner, they will either be stripped of their titles and rights to the throne or declared their marriage illegal.

Carl Johan went to New York City to marry Wijkmark as their marriage was dimmed impossible in Sweden, they lived in London afterwards. In 1987, Wijkmark died and Carl Johan remarried to an aristocrat, Countess Martha Louise Wachtmeister. He had no children in his two marriages but had two adopted children.

In 2007, following the death of Princess Katherine of Greece and Denmark (paternal aunt of Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh), Carl Johan became the only surviving great grandchild of Queen Victoria. After he lost his princely title he began using the Swedish royal family surname, Bernadotte. He was also given a noble title in 1951, Count of Wisborg, by the Grandduchess of Luxembourg, Charlotte.

Carl Johan was the youngest son of King Gustav VI of Sweden and Crown Princess Margaretha, the former Princess Margarita of Connaught (granddaughter of Queen Victoria of England through her third son, Prince Arthur, the Duke of Connaught). The reigning King of Sweden, Carl XVI Gustav, is his nephew while the reigning Queen of Denmark, Margrethe II, is his niece (her mother, Queen Ingrid, was Carl Johan's elder sister). She lost her mother when she was only four years old, his father remarried three years later to Lady Louise Mountbatten, the maternal aunt of Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh, who would eventually become the Queen of Sweden.

Carl Johan was also considered as the uncle of most current European crown heads, Elizabeth II of Britain and her husband, Prince Philip the Duke of Edinburgh, Albert II of Belgium, Juan Carlos of Spain and his wife, Queen Sophia, King Harald V of Norway and Grandduke Henri of Luxembourg.