And they're back. After what has seemed like a very long summer, most of Europe's royal families were back in action this week and that means the Royal Wardrobe is swinging into action again as well. We've had glitter, pastel and a bit of black and white and a clear winner in the royal style stakes. Just weeks after being named Best Dressed Royal by Hello magazine, Crown Princess Mary of Denmark was at it again with a selection of stunning outfits including this pale pink dress worn to an awards ceremony in Copenhagen.
The silver sparkly shoes were a chic little touch and came hot on the stylish heels of a white shift dress worn for a major event focusing on equality which she hosted in the Danish capital at the start of the week. This princess' determination to shine a spotlight on difficult causes is winning her a formidable reputation.
The Crown Princess hosted an event for recipients of the Princess Mary Foundation Scholarships at Frederik VIII's Palace this week as well. The blue top and brown leather skirt was about as royal a version of totally on trend as you will find anywhere.
Meanwhile, the royal woman with whom Mary is compared most often was back in business this week but it was a slow fashion start for Letizia of Spain. We got two repeats - the first, a white shirt with black and white stripe skirt was striking enough but her shoe problems continued as she added a mismatched pair of cream heels.
The following day it was white shirt time again but the skirt was a purple flower print affair which looked about as close to plain as Letizia gets. And there were more shoe problems in a pair of suede peep toes which seemed to have been borrowed from someone with slightly larger feet. All very low key but with a big trip to the US coming up, we can expect a few wow moments from Spain's queen before September is done.
The other big style event of the week was the official debut of a royal baby bump which appeared clad in sequins. Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden confirmed her second pregnancy on September 4th just hours before attending a black tie event at the Royal Palace in Stockholm with her family. She chose a full length sequinned evening gown and, let's face it, the baby announcement just had to be made because there was no getting away from the happy news in that dress.
Queen Silvia chose a white dress with a dramatic black cape over the top - no one noticed because the smile on her face was attracting everyone's attention. And the newest princess in Europe showed just how sensible she is - knowing that everyone would be looking at her sister-in-law, Sofia of Sweden kept it simple in rust coloured lace effect cocktail dress which added enough colour to be noticeable without trying to compete with the star of the show.
Victoria had dropped plenty hints about a baby bump in the week by attending two engagements with enough layers and draping jackets to hide a growing tummy and then some. There was a blue effort at an engagement in Stockholm with her dad.
And then she turned up at a conference in the Swedish capital in a white jacket that will no doubt feature a lot in the coming months as she enters maternity royal wardrobe number two.
There were several jackets for Princess Marie of Denmark this week as well but her slender frame beneath them gives every indication they're a fashion choice rather than a cover up tactic. There was a pretty pastel effort as she opened a centre for children with autism in Viby.
And it was business like in black as she opened a museum later in the week. Rather corporate and almost evening wear although the shoes gave it a stylish twist.
There was more black on show as Crown Princess Mette-Marit of Norway travelled to Trondheim for an engagement with her husband.
The princess, who often goes for darker shades on official outings, lightened up a bit in a middling shade of grey that was neither here nor there as she attended a psychology conference.
But there was a big splash of colour from Princess Beatrix of the Netherlands at a dance event in the week. The coral was a last memory of summer as autumn began to make its presence felt.
And there was a dash of a splash of brightness from the Countess of Wessex as she attended the Euro Hockey Championships at Lee Valley in the week. But given Sophie has had a good fashion summer, being named on the Vanity Fair Best Dressed list as well as the Hello countdown won by Crown Princess Mary, this was a bit of a throwback to her sometimes frumpy past. Everyone's allowed an off day.
Which is lucky for Queen Mathilde of the Belgians who, like Sophie, has been showing off a fresh style in recent months but who came back to work in a pair of bright blue trousers and blue and white print jacket which clearly need to go back in the wardrobe for a very long time.
But showing everyone how it's done, Princess Charlene of Monaco pulled off a masterstroke of royal dressing in her appearance this week. Attending a national picnic she dressed her twins in traditional costume while donning a white trouser suit with bright red lipstick herself and paying homage to her country's colours while striking a fashion blow at the same time. As the new royal season gets underway, the new Royal Wardrobe could prove very interesting indeed.
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