The Danish Royal Family stepped out yesterday, January 1, for their first major event of the year, the New Year’s Banquet at Christian VII’s Palace. This is the second royal house to host a New Year’s event (go here for the Japanese). The New Year’s Banquet is a major event for the Danes where they host a number of government officials and other guests and show up in their most formal wear and jewels. Crown Prince Frederik and Crown Princess Mary, Prince Joachim and Princess Marie, all joined Queen Margrethe and Prince Henrik for the event.
Queen Margrethe was all about the repeats fashionwise. She wore a green lace gown she’s worn a few times, and a fur shall she seems to love. She accessorized with the Emerald Parure from the Crown Jewels which were made in 1840 and include a tiara, necklace, brooch and earrings (I can’t see if she’s actually wearing the brooch for this event).
I hate the fur wrap, but I love the green dress – I don’t mind that it’s a repeat at all. Margrethe joins the All Lace Dress Club, and as she and Queen Silvia have demonstrated, all over lace CAN work… when it’s on an older lady and in a nice bright color. But it just ages the younger ladies, especially when it’s in black.
Crown Princess Mary wore a new white gown with 3/4 length sleeves and a belt. She wrapped up with a blue velvet cape. Mary wore the Ruby Parure which includes the tiara, earrings with pearl drops, necklace, bracelet, and ring.
The dress looks sleek and beautiful; I’d love to see it without the cape.
Princess Marie wore a light pink dress she previously wore to Princess Madeleine’s wedding in 2013. She opted for no wrap. I’m not sure I’m totally sold on the dress in still photos, but I love it in motion in the video. Marie wore the Diamond Floral Tiara she usually wears.
Here’s the Danish Prime Minister Helle Thorning-Schmidt in a gorgeous blue silk/satin gown with gold detailing around the bodice. I’m including her because she’s actually my best dressed at this event. This dress has a sort of Medieval/Knights of Camelot feel in a modern style and I absolutely love it. Gorgeous color as well. She looks fantastic.
Photos: Getty
Hmm, I agree, I would like to see Princess Mary’s dress without the cape. I do like Princess Marie’s dress the best though. I know that she has worn it before, but she looks very very pretty in it.
I will probably be shot for this, but I am not a huge fan of Princess Mary’s fashion. She has gotten it better since her younger days ( says she sitting in front of her laptop in a daggy nightie) but I think that no one can beat Diana when it comes to accessorising. That woman could do it standing on her head.
PS, I am an Aussie so probably love Princess Mary more than I do. I love her charity work but find that she is still nervous in front of the cameras and she tightens her face and gets a false look on it. She is so pretty naturally I wish that she would relax more in front of the camera.
No need to take cover – differences of opinion are very refreshing and cause for debate. I myself love Mary’s fashion choices and I think that she’s really good at accessorizing. And I feel quite the opposite about Diana! Though she improved in the late 90s I think that most of her fashion choices were quite bad though nowhere near the sartorial horrors that Queen Maxima sometiems presents to the world. Granted, Diana’s hey-day was in the 80s and 90s – decades were the fashion (both in clothes, accessories and jewels) was questionable to put it mildly.
Yes, when even Yves Saint Laurent had a bad decade or two (80s and 90s), you know the fashion trends at that time were bad.
Yes – and when Cartier makes expensive jewels that look incredibly cheap, then it is bad.
But it wasn’t bad at the time…it’s important to remember that, at the time, it looked good. Shoulder pads, big hair…think “Golden Girls”…they were considered good dressers! How time changes things.
I gawk at some of the ridiculous things Diana wore. But then again I grew up in the 90s and 00s and am looking back at her fashion with my 10s fashion brain. I’m sure she was the height of fashion at the time.
I grew up in the 80’s and I loved the frills that Diana wore and we all wanted her hairstyle. But as time went by… I grew up, developed my own style and sense of fashion. Diana’s fashion in the 90s did not really impress me with the exception of some gowns. Her hair especially at the time went she gave the interview on TV was terrible. It looked like she copied Duran Duran’s hairstyles.
Don’t worry, I reserve my buckshots for Kate and her lack of hem weights. Mary is a competent dresser, but she’s not super “wow”, you know. She always looks nice and put together IMO, but I’m not usually in love with what she wears.
Mary’s style is very close to my own – so that’s why I love her style so much. But I agree that she’s not a fashionista who makes bold choices like fx Cate Blanchett, but the role of royalty is also different.
I find Kate’s style utterly boring – both in terms of fashion and in terms of what I myself like.
Love the tiaras and fashion.
If it’s tiaras I’m happy….also love the Danish PM’s dress; it is gorgeous…………
DPM Helle looks fabulous- who needs big jewels when you’re rocking a great dress like that? Her necklace and earrings look interesting too, I’d want her for my seatmate. I’m a little surprised that CP Mary went so safe; I did see she’s been getting hit by their press lately for some of her choices but I hope some negativity doesn’t cause her to stop being herself.
Though I really don’t agree with her politics (or rather being terribly disappointed in the reality as opposed to the promises of the election), Helle Thorning is always a very sharp dresser – elegant business suits, nicely accessorized and sometimes in bright colours – and she is always impeccably when it comes to hair and make-up.
I really loved Mary’s night-blue half-cape – it was beautiful and regal though it made it hard to see the dress underneath. Princess Marie looks good in pale rose, and though the skirt and train of the dress looked beautiful in motion, I’m not keen on the bodice because the sheer overlay at the top looked ill-fitted. I really like QMII’s dark green lace dress – she looks good in green, and it is much better than the big and shiny chartreuse dress that she has worn so many times. I actually like the fur stole though I know that it is terribly politically uncorrect.
That chartreuse dress is so ugly to me. So glad Margrethe went with a different color green.
Yep – the ditching of the chartreuse horror has been long overdue.
Helle looked so great in her dress she pulled my focus from all the jewels, and that’s quite a feat.
Happy New Year, all.
Loved these fashions. Loved these ladies. The gowns and tiaras are stunning. The PM looks great, too!
Happy New Year jenny!
Princess Mary looks beautiful as usual, love the cape as well.(I think Princess Marie looks lovely!) Yes I am a Aussie! but I think she gets it right nearly every time. She oozes class and style, from hair, jewellery, makeup , clothes, it always suits the occasion. She acts accordingly at all times. There is nothing false about her, a naturally classy and glamorous princess. I think her loveliness shines through in her personality. A mother of 4 children, and is extremely hardworking and I think goes that extra mile. Yes she has help but the duty she has shown speaks for itself. Her adopted country is very lucky to have her. The Duchess of Cambridge could learn much from Princess Mary but so could the advisors who are helping her with the decisions she is making. The Duchess could really make a difference but the drive, enthusiasm and sparkle is just not there, it seems she only does what is absolutely necessary. Many princesses have done a lot more while pregnant, once health permits. Looking at what Princess Diana achieved in a short space of time, there is really no comparison. So much missed opportunity.
I’m with you Sophia.
I greatly admire Princess Mary for her work ethic. Just recently someone shared an article (http://lux-arazzi.blogspot.se/2014/10/stephanies-first-solo-engagement.html) mentioning she had her FIRST SOLO engagement exactly a month after her wedding. Admirable, especially considering she had to (very quickly) learn a whole new language – I also saw a documentary and heard her speak Danish when they announced their engagement to the press.
And I love her fashion choices 🙂
Kate, ugh, sad. Especially since the world media focuses so much on the BRF.
The Queen always slays in fashion at tiara events. I am not a fan of fur, but she brings it. I love tiara events because there is so much jewelry and fashion. Mary intrigues me. I don’t know much about her. What I do know is that she works and supports many charities unlike she who shall not be named.
Mary has some of the best royal fashion game when it comes to evening wear.
I love seeing pictures of events like this one. Love the gowns and the tiaras (like with the Swedish Royals). I kind of resent the BRF for not sharing their pictures 😛 – For K’s one and only tiara day we have a bad picture of her in the car, BOO! LOL
I think Princess Mary looks the best, but I am absolutely biased. I love her. I would like her to dress younger but then I have to understand she is already in her 40s. Since she she has a great body and is very pretty I think she could pull a younger look. I am sad I didn’t “discover her” until recently. I am sad the US media doesn’t cover her more.
I love her style. She always looks great IMO and is ALWAYS appropriately dressed for every event, i.e. no skinny jeans or ridiculous corks yet a preppy/collegiate look when visiting a school, etc. I also think she is great at “recycling” her clothes and wears them completely different each time, with different accessories and hair-style, keeping it interesting. While I love her fashion choices I love that she isn’t just known for that.
Anyway, she pretty much is my favorite royal.
I didn’t really like the PM’s dress and I think P Marie dressed too summery for the occasion.
Not only was Marie’s dress too summery but I also shudder to think of the damage to the delicate material as the chain of The Order of the Elephant is actually sown onto the dresses of the royal ladies.