92 thoughts on “Royal Round Up: Letizia, Madeleine, Victoria, Sofia, Eugenie”

1. I really love how the king and queen of Bhutan introduce their son to the people, and how he will no doubt be learning the ropes from an early age! Oscar is a male mini Estelle, and Leonore and the cow get a thumbs up from me. Wish we could have seen what Leonore did and said! King Felipe and his nuclear family seem to be very down to earth and I think they work hard to keep the monarchy alive in Spain after the past years’ scandals with Felipe’s father and brother-in-law. I’m very disappointed with Juan Carlos, he always seemed to be so down to earth and keep his country’s best interest in mind. Interesting to see when and if Eugenie gets married, one would think that getting married is a step one would like to take after a long relationship, but it’s their decision what they want to do, and since Eugenie won’t be queen, I somehow think she’s free to get engaged whenever she wants, such planning-to-get-engaged-by-the-end-of-the-year stories sound a bit stupid. Of course it’d not be appropriate for her to overshadow events like the Queen’s birthday, but that’s over and done with now. Don’t even want to think someone should plan their engagement announcement according to e.g. the Cambs’ upcoming tour, but really, since Eugenie is down in line, I doubt she’d need to plan when to get engaged that carefully and could be more spontaneous. I hope you’re able to follow me, haven’t had my morning coffee yet! And one last thought – just wondering if the christening robe will still fit Alexander in September, he’s growing so fast!

   1. I don’t understand the whole idea of leaking that they’re “going to get engaged by the end of the year” to the media. Why not just wait and make an official announcement? The same thing happened with Pippa and it annoyed me then, too.

      I’ve wondered about the babies fitting into the Christening gowns since Charlotte was Christened at just two months old. How do the parents know how big the kids will be at a certain date to plan the Christening for? And what happens if the baby is too big?

      1. I guess you can’t stop the gossip press from printing this sort of thing – doubt Eugenie is behind any leaks. With the Midds – well they are after all the press they can get – so no surprises there. I feel sorry for the future “grooms” – placed in an invidious position really. Any one who Pippa has dated has been presumed to be a future husband – but all bar the latest took to the hills. Brooksbank is probably not yet of financial means to marry and maintain Eugenie’s lifestyle – but no doubt she has some sort of trust fund.

         1. I don’t see why Eugenie can’t maintain her own lifestyle from her trust fund and whatnot – plus whatever her job pays her. I don’t think it should fall on the man she marries to maintain her lifestyle if he cannot afford to.

            1. I think so, too. However I can imagine it’s not necessarily easy for anyone to “fit in” if you don’t make enough money as it seems Beatrice and Eugenie (who I think are lovely, don’t get me wrong) and their circle of friends definitely are used to spending lots of money.

            2. The whole royal lot are about “why spend mine when I can spend yours”- maybe that’s why Eugenie’s bf worries that he may not be able to provide Eugenie wit the lifestyle that she’s accustomed to. Of course, as modern women, you, me or many others would say that a woman does have the freedom to earn her own money and take pride in maintaining her own lifestyle. But these fairytale princesses of yore are not exactly raised to believe that, are they? They are raised to depend on others, in this case, the British public, Daddy Andy, Mafia Queen Granny (I think QEII is a corrupt woman. Some of her actions are majorly shady).

      2. Me neither, I just can’t understand why such stories have to be leaked or written about at all!

         I know that some christening gowns are pretty loose and babies fit in them even when they’re bigger, but I’d think in general they’re rather small as most people have the babies baptized at a pretty young age. I think there have even been rules in some countries that kids had to be baptized before they reached a certain age in the past, and maybe there still are. But even newborns can be very different in size, one of my cousin’s kids was just six weeks old and they still had to leave the gown open in the back as he was huge! What comes to royals, if I remember correctly Eugenie was baptized with the gown open in the back as she was like nine months old then.

         1. Growing up in CoE, i was told that christening had to be at the 3mths mark.

            I’ve never bothered to find out if that was a CoE rule or family rule.

            Anyhue, the christening dress is always a very loose fitting thing. It is designed that way. Baby is not swaddled. Not sure if this is a church directive or societal tradition carried on from generation to generation. Probably both.

            Consequently, the dress fits many different sized 3mths babies and can be passed around the family.

            On an engagement note, that Eugenie story may be the result of the reporter finding out about the move to Ivy cottage and interpreting that to mean an engagement.

            The recent trend with the *current generation of royals is to make real estate moves when marriage is on the cards.

            *current being The Queen’s children and grandchildren.

            However, the flat at SJP was always for B not E. E was essentially slumming it in her sister’s flat, so this move to KP may only be a move to have her own place. Like Harry did once he moved out of CH. She’s hardly going to rent/buy on the open market, the security costs of a flat/house in London for someone of her profile is not worth it. Unless she moves outside London completely in which case it is easier to secure a house with land that can be secured cheaply.

            There are a few secure blocks of flats in central London that have that level of security, but their cost is exhorbitant. Anne used to live in one, and even she moved back into the Palace.

            All of them have Palace digs in London.

            On the other hand, the Middletons use media to advance their personal family agendas. A lesson they learnt from Diana and Charles. An engagement story from them isn’t a simple, speculation. Ditto any other type of statement directed by them. It’s a statement of intent designed to bring pressure on the target to acquiesce to their goals.

            1. I’m surprised that the ‘targets’ – men with money and power, used to doing things their way – accept being cornered by the Middleton’s and don’t call their bluff or walk. The lead up in the press to Pippa’s engagement definitely looked like the noose tightening around James Matthews’ neck. It was not remotely subtle.

            2. In Pippa’s case, most of them bolted. In Kate’s case it worked on William.

            3. The press coverage showed Pippa looking more relieved than anything else. Since William had shut out his family, plus advice that accompanying such a big step, he was a more vulnerable target.

            4. The Yorks are just as close in Line as the entitled bill middleton. W&k and family of 4+ middletons is given the highest tax funds of the young royals, when Prince Henry could is very much King material – that is if there is a King Charles or another of HM heirs {York or Wessex), take the throne.

               Entitled bill middleton and family has KP 1A and lives at AH without any charity work or real duties. The blood princesses deserves the same; compared to millions per year to useless bill and the middletons. The princesses do some work for HM/the people and would more if allowed,and they are close to cousin Harry.

               Lazy waity can suck it up and made to curtsey.

            5. It is very highly unlikely that Andrew and especially Edward would take the throne. Six people would have to die for Andrew to take the throne, and eight for Edward to take the throne.

            6. It’s really not unlikely for Andrew or Edward to take the throne. Even if they are 6th and 8th in the line. Nothing is impossible where the British throne is concerned. More spares than heirs have taken the throne, without people dying or usurping. Ok more Usurping/war in the Stuart/ Plantagent and pre-England eras, but even in the modern age, the throne has always been taken by someone unexpected.

               As a reminder, no one saw the 1936 abdication coming, and that King was safely on the throne.

               Both the Queen’s father and grandfather were 2nd sons.

               Queen Victoria was 6th in line to the throne. In her way were 4 others including an heir, Princess Charlotte of Wales who died in childbirth at 21.

               George 3 was 3rd in line after his father Frederick who never made it to the throne.

               And that’s not forgetting that entire Hanovarian line were no 51 in the line of succession, pulled from obscurity after the last of the *cadet branch of the Stuarts couldn’t produce heirs whilst the main Stuart line had been removed by Parliament because they were Catholics.

               * No one expected Mary and Anne to be their Uncle (Charles 2) and Father’s(James 2) heirs at all. Especially when they had both been married off to Holland and Denmark and expected to follow that path. And especially when their father had successfully birthed a son.

               The Stuarts themselves were a very low placed cadet branch of the Tudors after Elizabeth died without heirs and after the Tudors killed all potential heirs in England, everybody from Plantagenet Heirs like the Poles to their own acknowledged legitimate line of succession Tudor cousins, the Greys.

               The entire Tudor dynasty is a dynasty of reshuffled line of succession and the least likely to succeed, Elizabeth, being the furthest from the Throne.

               Ditto entire Plantagenet dynasty. The line kept shuffling and bringing people further from the throne to the throne than the designated heir or heirs.

               And if you go back further than England, and look at Angles and Saxons and celts, if such a thing as a line of succession existed, it was rarely the heirs that inherited. Mind you, lots of warring usurpations, but the point remains that you can’t dismiss Andrew and Edward for simply being in 6th and 8th positions.

            7. Wow Herazues! Thank you for that information. I had no idea how “spare-filled” the British throne was.

            8. You are welcome Beaniebaby. I was trying really hard not to go into too many details because the British throne’s line of succession in terms of who ruled has always been a convoluted mess that advances sideways instead of the expected clearly defined linear advance.

               In theory, at all times, the line of succession has always been straight-forwardly clear and expected to advance accordingly, but in practise, it’s gone sideways many, many times.

               We haven’t used war or armed usurpation to advance it since the Glorious Revolution of 1688, but that hasn’t stopped the convoluted sideways advance.

      3. I was christened at six months, and my mom had to lace up the back of the family gown with ribbons. No way the buttons would do up.

         1. Our family christening gown has a rather tightly fitted bodice and sleeves, too. It was hand made for my mom who was a rather small baby, and she was christened at the age of six weeks. My entire generation has been much bigger as babies and so have our kids, so the gown has been a bit tight to some of us.

2. The baby prince from Bhutan is a beautiful baby – he looks like a wise spirit in a small body ! The Spanish princesses could almost pass for twins – really like their clothes. And Princess Leonore has so much energy – she probably gave chase to the cow ! As for Eugenie and boyfriend – It is Summer and slow news season in UK so who knows if there is any truth to the story – I guess the wedding speculation will just continue to grow – if they do get engaged I too will be interested to see ring, and wedding dress and tiara choice – I imagine she will be loaned something from the vaults if Sarah no longer has her tiara

   1. I think Sarah still has her tiara? I’m pretty sure some stories would have emerged if she’d have sold it.

   2. Sarah had the tiara in 2001 when she wore it to Elton John’s White tie and Tiara Ball. But on subsequent White tie and Tiara Ball appearances she didn’t wear it. I would think she would have kept it planning on her daughters wearing it for their weddings, and to pass it down to one of her daughters eventually. But knowing how strapped for cash Sarah constantly is, I wouldn’t put it past her to sell it.

      I think if Sarah still has that tiara, then both Bea and Eugenie will wear it for their weddings. If Sarah no longer has it, then they’ll be loaned something from the Queen. But I think a loan from the Queen will only happen if Sarah doesn’t have her tiara anymore. Both Autumn and Zara wore tiaras borrowed from Anne, not the Queen. I think the York girls will follow suit and wear the tiara from Sarah (if she still has it).

      1. Yes I agree. I would be surprised if Sarah’s tiara eventually gets passed down – there are Death Duties to pay on her Estate – I can see it being sold – similar to what Princess Margaret’s children had to do.

         1. I wonder if the tiara could be sold to either Bea or Eugenie at an extremely discounted price to avoid a large estate tax? Is that possible? I don’t know anything about estate taxes and stuff like that.

            1. As we constantly get to hear how short of money Sarah constantly is, I wonder if there will be any estate left after her…

      2. Yes, it’s true Sarah is constantly short of means. But I still wonder if she could have sold it quietly. Wouldn’t wonder if she’d have swapped it for some cash from the Queen or her ex-husband so that it could be preserved for her daughters somewhere in the royal vault.

         1. It actually occurred to me that maybe Sarah sold it to the Queen or something. But I agree with you that unless the sale was done completely privately, then I don’t think the sale of the tiara would have gone unnoticed. There have been several tiara sales over the last few years which have been found out because the sales via auction houses are publicly available.

            1. Exactly! I actually quite like her wedding tiara, so hopefully it will re-emerge some day.

            2. I doubt the Queen would buy Sarah’s tiara. I think it was deliberately purchased a a wedding gift, so that no family heirlooms ever go to the sale rooms. Sarah also had some small (by royal standards) diamond jewelry which was also bought. I think all these may be gone from her jewel case.

            3. She could of had it broken down and just sold the diamonds. Considering her past financial situations I think it would be interesting if she did indeed still have it. I think it’s interesting that supposedly she and Andrew bought that chateau in Switzerland together. Wasn’t it valued at 13 mil? I don’t know if that means he really bought it and just added her name on to or not. Strange tho.
               Other option is that she put her jewels in some sort of trust for the girls

3. Wow! How refreshing to see Felipe and Letizia greet the press. They show them so much respect by saying hi and shaking their hands. They actually treat them as human beings . That is something William needs to learn. It’s amazing how treating someone with kindness gets you further than being aloof and grumpy. And it’s great they do a photoshoot before vacation si that photographers leave them alone.

   And seriously, I love how natural Victoria is. She comes off so normal and warm. Just a real woman who happens to be royal

4. I’m constantly surprised that the Spanish daughters aren’t twins. They look so similar in terms of their physicality and their dress.

   Adore the Bhutan baby.

   Have to keep reminding myself that Oscar isn’t Estelle. He is identical to how she looked as a baby. Surprised expressions and all.

   That baby and cow pic is glorious.

   As for Alexander….fat cheeked babies slay me.

   1. +1 I want to eat Alexander’s cheeks. He is so adorable.

      1. All the babies are darling! I wish I could cuddle each one.

         And, Leonore with the cow! That photo is etched forever on my brain! Maddie’s caption was great, too!

         It is so wonderful to see the other Royal Families. I appreciate the fact they are covered here, KMR.

         Such warm and loving people. Beautiful kids and happy couples. Who doesn’t like seeing that?

   2. Herazeus Thanks for the history breakdown upthread.

      Do we know the status of Bhutan? I mean I love this couple, but I know there has been an outpouring of Bhutanese refugees over the last handful of years. I want to make sure I am not following a despot… 🙂

      1. Bhutan is a poor country trying to move quite swiftly from being almost totally isolated into being a 21st century economy. Also trying to maintain the beauty of their country , not destroying it. But a lot of hydro electric projects selling electricity to India have been controversial. But the King is not a despot, you can follow him happily.

         1. Plus, it’s a constitutional monarchy albeit a relatively new transition from absolute monarchy to constitutional but they do have a PM

5. The King of Bhutan interacting with his son is very cute.He just comes across as a humble,dutiful and honest person.As for Queen Jetsun she comes across as capable.

   1. I saw a picture of him cooking lunch for school children. Made me like him even more

6. Okay let me break this down:

   1.) Tbe Spanish RF are sweet and the girls are darling. I too like how the acknowledge and greet the press during the photoshoot instead of giving them the stink eye (a la you-know-who ?). Both young ladies are quite poised for tbeir ages.

   2a.) I saw the picture Madeleine posted on Facebook and was wondering if Leonore got scared or chased tbe cow! LOL! I love following her on FB.

   2b.) CP Victoria and Prince Daniel are one of my favorite royal couples so I’m loving how they’re introducing Estelle and Oscar to the public. I also love how Victoria is letting the baby weight come off on its own, especially in light of what she went through in her late teens. Oscar is a male version of Estelle!

   3.) That little prince from Bhutan is the cutest! There is a picture floating around (from this same event) of tge king holding the little boy in his lap and kissing him on the cheek, absolutely precious!

   4.) Now to Eugenie and Jack: call me cynical but usually, Camilla Tominey is right when it comes to her royal insight/gossip and I just have a hunch tbat the two are engaged *but* because of the recent break up between Beatrice and Dave Clark, Eugenie decided to delay the announcement so as not to pour salt into her sister’s wounds. Instead of respecting that, Camilla blabbed which bothered the you-know-what out of the Yorks.

   I can’t help but have a hunch that that’s what happened.

   I can’t wait to see both York girls all dressed up and married Eugenie’s hair is shorter than her sister’s but thicker so both will look lovely in a tiara.

7. First of all, I want to say THANK YOU VERY MUCH to all people here who sent me best wishes about my mother. She is now recovering.

   OMG, I am having a very difficult day but when I saw the blog there were these gooooooooorgeous children. I won my day and I am still smiling. Nothing like a cute baby (or babies) to bring joy to my day and the Spanish girls are wonderful. Leonore, well, she is AMAZING. Thanks KMR.

   Have a good day everybody.

   1. It’s good to hear about your mom. I am sure that your heart is at peace with her recovery. Don’t forget to take care of yourself as well 🙂

   2. Great news Jamel. Am I right you are Brazilian? I am loving the Olympics, I wondered if I would be after getting so into Lonodn, and I am. The views of Sugar Loaf and Copocobana are magnificent. Well done Brazil, I know it’s been difficult and controversial.

   3. To Jamel and your mother, continued good news. How stressful for you, Jamel. And, now, you have better news, so we are all happy for you and your mom.

      I have not had the chance to watch the Olympics as much as I would like, but when I do, I think of you. Brazil has done an amazing job and I hope Rio is enjoying hostin the world and having an ecomonic boost, too.

8. Thanks for the update on the Bhutan royal family! I think they are one of the more underrated royal families. They always look so precious and in love. I love the first pic of the prince. He’s like, “Yep, I’m the dragon prince, just hangin’ around being carried by my dad, the dragon king.”

9. How I love this post! I can totally see Leonore giving chase to that cow in the surf. I would have paid good money to see it. The Spanish infant and princess are two poised young ladies. Felipe and Leti have done a good job.

   Oscar and Alexander are adorable babies. I want to hold Gyalsey Jigme Namgyel. He is such an adorable and loved baby. I don’t think his doting dad would give him up.

   Good luck to Eugenie. I do agree that it might be hard on Jack if he wasn’t planning on proposing. I do hope there is a royal wedding soon.

   Here’s to a wonderful day on purpose to all of you!

10. Thanks for such a great post KMR!!! You’ve outdone yourself once again!!

    I love how the Spanish royal family coordinates their clothing, not matchy-matchy but all nicely put together. And the young princesses look so fresh and pretty, not too little-girl looking but just right. I do have to say…sigh…on the use of the color blue. Is this color the new royal standard?

    I’m happy that the SRF has continued with the tradition of the photo call, as have the Swedes and the Danes and the Dutch. As I recall Charles and Diana used to do photo calls with W&H when they were younger, too bad that W&K don’t continue with this tradition. It’s such a nice way to include one’s country men (and women) and give us all a brief glimpse into their private life, very smart PR in my opinion.

    OMG, the Dragon Prince is too cute for words!!! His parents look totally smitten with him and I can see why, those cheeks are just too much! And I love the way his father is so openly affectionate with him, clearly so proud of his son. This is one prince I do envy.

    1. It would be lovely to see the Cambs do a proper photocall to see George and Charlotte be kids and show their personalities.

       1. +1

       2. I think the reason they don’t is it wouldn’t be carefully micromanaged by them to show them as they would wish to be seen with two silent, perfectly behaved children with no personality. It makes me sad for them, especially George whose exuberance seems massively tamped down.

          1. Agree! Luckily, George is also curious, unlike his parents, so fingers crossed he is dissimilar to them in other ways. Let’s hope Charlotte will be her own person too. It’s their only hope.

          2. Every time i see Mia Tindall, i think that she may have a similar exuburance as George, given the glimpses we saw in NZ/AUS. The difference is that Mia appears to be free to express her exuburance whilst George is tamped down. Every time we see live video of WK with him, they are restraining him in some way and fussing over his appearance to keep it/him perfect. And he has become more reserved in his behaviour.

             It makes me sad to see that little boy from NZ/AUS turning into this anxious child.

             1. Yes, I’ve noticed and remarked that George is anxious in the presence of his parents who seem to care more about perception than about reality, as we see played out time and time again.

             2. I get the feeling Mia is kid whose parents spend a lot of time with her. Not that I am saying that Kate and William do not spend time with their children. It is just that there are no real stories about the children. In that photo of the grandchildren/great grandchildren, George was not connecting with the other kids.

11. Baby Bhutan is so cute. And, how he has grown. I would also enjoy having the chance to hold him. What a darling little boy.

    Loved that Leonore photo with the cow. She looked a bit uneasy from the back. Not much, but a bit. She is such a little scamp. I can see her winning the stare down with the cow! Maddie’s quote was cute, too.

    The Spanish Royals are a really lovely looking family. The King is most handsome. Leti, always impeccable. The princesses are so cute.

    Eugenie in the white dress and holding the flowers looked lovely. Preparing for her big walk down the aisle, perhaps?

    And, i loved her in the black leather. Wow! She is really beautiful.

    Nice to have the chance to view all these people. Thanks, KMR.

    1. Looking at Eugenie, i’m always struck at how pretty she is AND how much she resembles the QM. Yet, i never thought the QM was pretty at all. I guess it’s a question of styling. Early 20th Century women were styled in the worst way that did nothing for their looks unless they were exceptionally beautiful eg Diana Mitford.

       1. I thought that as well about the QM and Eugenie. I cannot see Princess Margaret in Eugenie but she reminds me of her.Beatrice looks a lot like Queen Victoria. The Hanoverian genes are strong. The Mitford sisters are a fascination for me. Not their politics mind you.

    2. I think all the women were given flowers. I think from the photos of the Chelsea Flower show.

12. I enjoyed this article and all the pictures so much! Great job, KMR! I do have a couple of questions: 1) How close in age are the two beautiful Spanish princesses? 2) What is the provenance of Sarah Ferguson’s tiara? I don’t remember that whole story. I do remember that she wore flowers as she walked down the aisle to the altar and the beautiful tiara as she came back down the aisle as the wife of Prince Andrew.

    1. Leonor was born in October 2005 and Sofia in April 2007.

       This website gives excellent info on the tiara:
       http://orderofsplendor.blogspot.fr/2016/07/tiara-thursday-york-diamond-tiara.html

    2. HM bought her the tiara as a wedding present. It remains her personal property post-divorce.

       We rarely see it because she’s not attending tiara events anymore, but it’s likely to make a showing when her daughters marry.

    3. I think Sofia takes after Felipe more in physical build. I expect her to be taller than her older sister eventually.

13. Leonor was born in October 2005 and Sofia in April 2007.

    This website gives excellent info on the tiara:
    http://orderofsplendor.blogspot.fr/2016/07/tiara-thursday-york-diamond-tiara.html

14. The Bhutan princeling looks much loved. It’s refreshing.

15. I might get slaughtered for this but I just bring it up because it struck me with the above post noting that Princess’ Leonor and Sofia are 11 and 9. They appear poised and the comments don’t seem to think its extremely out of the ordinary for them to interact with the public and shake hands or be present for photos. If I recall correctly earlier this year was Lady Louise Windsor’s first public walk out and she will be 13 this November and it was sort of a big deal. Is it odd that other royal families seem to introduce their children into public life earlier and the BRF seems to not wish to do so? I understand wanting to provide all of these children with a childhood but they are also afforded a great deal of privilege and will likely eventually be called into some form of public service. Wouldn’t it be easier to gently introduce them at a younger age as the Spanish, Swedish and Netherland royal families do? Be kind. I don’t mean this critically of Lady Louise who seems a very sweet young girl.

    1. The Spanish princess will be queen. Lady Louise will have to go out and get a job. Her position is more junior than Bea and Eugenie. So it’s a completely different situation really. Whilst I think Louise is a lovely girl I thought it quite unusual/odd that she needed to do a walkabout. But then there a lot of commenters here who adore Sophie so they may hope Louise plays a bigger role in the future. I think it is very unlikely.

    2. Hi HCP, imo it was a big deal when Louise made her first public walk in November because it was her first one. Edward and Sophie tend to keep their kids out of the public eye, so this was really our first chance to see Louise doing a little walk-about. As noted by Birdy, the likelihood that Louise or her brother will play any kind of public role is pretty slim, maybe the rare balcony appearance like the Kent’s and Gloucester’s sometimes do but probably nothing beyond that.

       I think it’s great that the other royal families regularly include the children in events, like Victoria Day in Sweden. Of course, Estelle will one day be Queen (fingers crossed) so it makes sense to have her out and about. Perhaps, the reason the BRF isn’t bothering with introducing their youngsters to public life is that Charles as made it pretty clear that when he becomes King he plans on reducing the number of “working” royals to his immediate family,

    3. HCP: Louise had serious medical issues for the first 5yrs of her life. It’s been a slow process to correct all of them and to have her be confident enough to do a public walkabout.

       Historically, the BRF do not have a set time table for adding their kids to public walkabouts. They’ve been introduced at different ages. Louise is the oldest to be introduced and that’s largely due to her medical issues.

16. Thank you for the round up KMR.

    A) It is good to see King Felipe and Queen Letizia and Leonor and Sofia enjoying their summer break. I can never tell which girl is which. The girls are darlings and excellent posture. What pretty dresses as well. I like how the royal couple are greeting people. It makes them more down to earth. With no ridiculous comments along with it. William certainly doesn’t know how to work the crowd.

    B) Leonore looks cute and slightly scared of the cow. I saw the photo on facebook and like the fact that Madeline just took the photo. At least the cow was a good distance away.

    C) How warm and pleasant is CP Victoria. Taking cute little Oscar out and getting him used to the public. I also like Princess Sofia with Alexander. Such chubby cheeks and good of Princess Sofia to support her husband.

    D) It is lovely seeing the Royal Bhutan couple. It is such an amazing photo of the king with his son.

    E) I wonder if the rumor about Princess Eugenie and her boyfriend Jack are true. Maybe they are moving to Ivy Cottage before or after the wedding. I can believe out of respect for Beatrice that Eugenie would keep the engagement under wraps though I cannot think that there mother would sit on the news for long. I think the tiara will look lovely on Eugenie. Probably get married at Windsor Chapel. I don’t understand why does Kate have to curtsy to the York girls? Surely it should be the other way round. It will be lovely though to have another Royal wedding.

    1. The York girls would normally curtsy to Kate, and that was the rule when Kate first married in, but then the Queen changed it so that married ins have to curtsy to blood royals if the married ins are not with their blood royal spouses (no matter their place in line).

       So if Kate/Camilla were with William/Charles then Kate/Camilla would not have to curtsy to the York girls, but if Kate/Camilla were not with William/Charles then Kate/Camilla would have to curtsy to the York girls.

       1. There are times when I think the Queen is quite malicious. Do you think it had something to do with the reported mean things Kate did to Bea in the past? Did she consider how such a rule would have affected her mother, who was a married-in, had King George V done the same?

          1. Based on what I’ve read, I don’t think HM was much of a Kate fan, even during the dating years. At one point, she point-blank asked William, “What does she do all day?” hence the ever-so-brief “job” at Jigsaw (which didn’t last very long) so, on top of that, with the mean girl episodes on her own granddaughters, I can’t blame The Queen for wanting to remind Kate that she could just as easily be removed from the royal family as she entered into it.

             Kate married William to become a royal. B & E are born royal. Huge difference.

          2. The ‘rules’ are all pretty petty in the scheme of things; a family all puffed up with their own self-importance… However, I’d bet that favourite son, Andrew, didn’t like his daughters having to bow to the blow-in and had a word to his mother. Plus, the blow-in and blow-in’s sister had been exercising their ‘mean girls’ streak to B and E. It’s all about Kate getting some deserved comeuppance, at least in this instance. So, go Queenie.

             1. I actually read awhile back that it was done because people didn’t want to have to curtsy to Camilla. Don’t know how true that is.
                It’s all a bit outdated if you ask me.

          3. Hi Fifi, I don’t think the Queen did this to be malicious as much as she is very proper and conscious of rank/position etc… I imagine that a “rule” such as this has existed before because I can’t see many of the “born” royals being thrilled with bowing to a “married in”, we are probably just hearing about it now because the Savior of Monarchy was involved.

             1. I agree, it isn’t malicious and it isn’t limited to this royal family. Precedent is precedent. Royal vs. married in. . The royal will always be royal, the married-in may leave the family and become ex-royal.

                We’re seen Henrik in Denmark’s periodic fits about precedence. He kept complaining about not being king. About his son having precedence over him. Well, gee, the son is the heir. Henrik is no one in the overall scheme of things.

                The rules might seen silly or unfair to those of us on the outside, but we’re talking archaic institutions. If you cannot live with the rules or order, don’t marry in to the family firm.

       2. Actually the rule was changed because Anne/Alexandra refused to curtsey to Camilla back when Camilla married in.

          At the time the media didn’t fuss because Camilla wasn’t a popular new member of the family.

          When Kate married in, the media made a big fuss because the obvious implication was that the Yorkies had precedence over Kate. Nevermind that the change had already placed them above other inlaws for several years, as blood Princes. The Palace simply emphasised rules that had already been put in place.

          The media misreported this as a new rule and moreover one that pitted Kate against the disliked Yorkies.

          This entire change of precedence rule made me review my feelings about Anne because it showed that despite her public image of not caring about titles, she clearly cares about status. Enough to insist on a change. Ditto Alexandra. Perhaps not as blatant as her brothers, but just as status obsessed as they are.

          1. I think it was also changed earlier than that, so that Anne would not have to curtsy to Diana and Fergie if their husband’s weren’t around. Anne was also given the Princess Royal title during the era of big media attention on Diana and Fergie (1987).

             Typically the married-in person’s status comes from their royal spouse. If the spouse isn’t around the status disappears. If Harry were to marry a princess from another country, the resulting OoP could be very interesting. Being HM, she’d probably say Kate Middleton has to curtsy to Harry’s wife when William isn’t around.

             I don’t think these are malicious rules. This is a big family with people who do not get along with each other behind closed doors. In order to keep peace, make rules. Never let Uncle Bob sit next to Great Aunt Sally, and make sure everybody knows the Order of Precedence.

17. Thank you KMR, for the explanation. I still can’t get over Eugenie elbowing Kate out the way at Sandringham. I guess Eugenie and Beatrice stick together which is good.

    1. Hmm, I have looked at the video of that incident and it looked to me that Eugenie was called over to help and Kate just stood in her way. Like if that happened to me, someone behind me was called over to help someone in front of me then I’d step to one side to let them walk passed. Or Kate could have zoned out and was not paying attention?

       1. I like the Yorkies. I like the fact that they are not stick thin perfect. I like the fact that when they buy expensive clothes they experiment and take a few risks. I like, most of all, the fact that they support their grandmother who they clearly adore, because they understand duty. Watch and learn Kate.

          1. “…they support their grandmother who they clearly adore…”

             And their grandfather too.

    2. Kate was definitely just standing there when there was a job to do.

       After the service, it’s customary for HM to receive flowers and gifts from the waiting crowds. Usually, her grandkids help rather than her LIWs, so Kate just standing there was really odd given what’s going on infront of her AND HM is looking around her for some help. Perhaps Kate was waiting for instructions, which she eventually gets from Camilla because she finally moves along to join the flower/walkabout.

       William was too far back to issue instructions plus he is chatting to family members. Infact, until Camilla says something to Kate, no one speaks to her. They are all chatting away to each other. I guess this is why William is forever prodding Kate in the back when they do engagements, to get her to move along because she doesn’t appear to know when to move along or develop a sense of what is happening that might require her to move along and or get involved.

       1. I have noticed too Herazeus, that Kate does tend to wait until shown or asked to do something. It seems her total lack of ambition extends to all areas of her life, except getting the ring, of course.

       2. Beatrice and Eugenie have been her flower gatherers at this event ever since they were little, little girls. Eugenie was trying to get through to help her grandmother, as she had done for 20 years. KM either wasn’t paying attention or refused to give ground.

18. I cannot express in words how adorable the Royal babies are in this post!!! Don’t get me wrong, all babies are cute but I seem to enjoy looking at the Swedish babies and the Bhutanese nugget so much more than George and Charlotte. George was cute with his dumpling cheeks and frowning face but Charlotte? Erm … photos don’t show it for me …

    I got the whole Lion King vibe seeing King Jigme presenting his baby son! Hahaha! THAT is how a prince should be presented to his people.

    Prince Alexander and the ear protectors?! WOW. Why didn’t The Lazy Duo think of that for their kids? *rolls eyes* Because they will not and can not take initiative for just about anything!

    It really seems to me that the Swedish Royals are reading blogs and learning the mistakes made by the British Royals and then avoid making similar ones! They can’t possible get it right almost every time, can they? If they aren’t, then I just cannot believe how inept the young British Royals (except for Harry) are!

    1. Lion King. LOL spot on! I love the fact that they are sharing their son with his future people. I see the Japanese Emperor is visiting Bhutan soon, it’s clearly the It place to visit at the moment! Their majesties are really working at putting their country on the map.

19. What totally makes this post are the pictures of all the cute, happy and chubby cheeked babies! I ADORE baby’s chubby cheeks and legs! Wayyy too cute!

    And the picture of Leonore and the cow is so funny! Someone could really write a hilarious children’s story based on that photo alone.

    And the Spanish Royal Family are a good looking bunch. But is it just me or do King Felipe and Queen Letizia look a little distant- in terms of their body language?

    1. My initial feeling too regarding the Felipe-Letizia body language.

20. KMR- I do not always get to read all of the comments on the blog. But I commented on the post about Beatrice breaking up with Dave Clark some time ago. I just checked the thread again and it looks like some anonymous poster must have responded to my comment and said something insulting and then you had to delete it but it doesn’t look like I can comment on that thread again. Did you have to delete someone’s response to my comment? It’s totally fine if you don’t remember. I just wanted to make sure that I didn’t say something wrong because without that comment there I am not sure what exactly happened. And I didn’t want to email you directly since it’s not that big of a deal. I was just curious. Thank you for all your work!

    1. Yes. A someone replied to your comment with a very insulting comment and I had to delete it. Sorry if it now seems like my comment was directed at you, it’s because it was directed at the insulting comment before I deleted it. But now with that comment gone it looks like my comment is directed toward you and that’s not the case. The reason you can no longer comment on that thread is because I close comments on articles older than 7 days to help with spam.

       1. I understand. I just wanted to make sure I didn’t say anything to insult anyone because I definitely didn’t mean to. The original comment I made was a short one that I wrote quickly because I happened to be watching some YouTube videos of Queen Maxima’s and Queen Letizia’s weddings since I didn’t pay attention to royalty when they got married and didn’t remember them when a short video for W and K’s wedding was suggested. I saw Dave Clark in that short video and thought it was interesting because lots of people (not just commenters on this blog, but reporters in the media) said he wasn’t at the wedding. Because I don’t know anyone in my real life who is as interested in royalty as I am I figured I would share that info on this site since it might be interesting to those who comment here. But I certainly never meant to come across as offending anyone or correcting anyone in a patronizing way, if that’s what the anonymous commenter thought. I just wanted to add a comment with some info that might add to the conversation on that particular thread. It’s sad that some people feel the need to insult others but from the comments on that thread it seems that the poster insulted a few people, not just me. So maybe they were just being grumpy and having a bad day or something! 🙂

21. I’m finally getting caught up on posts as I’ve been having nothing but fits with my desk top and Windows 10. I have been nothing short of bewildered and pissed off dealing with Microsoft for the past week and a half. So seeing these babies perked me right up.

    It is always, always wonderful to see photos of the royal babies! Little Jigme just does me in every single time I see a photo of him. He is beyond adorable and will know what is expected of him very early on. He always looks so very happy and calm. I imagine it’s a combination of his own little personality and how his parents are bringing him up. I love that he seems so comfortable meeting people outside of his family. Some babies get very wary looks or just flat out scream when they come across people they don’t know.

    Leonore and the cow in the water. I want to frame that and put it in my crafting room. It’s such an adorable picture.

    The Spanish girls really do look a lot alike. I wonder if this will continue as they get older. They are both gorgeous girls.

    Little Oscar always brings a smile to my face with that little grumpy/surprised look he does so well. Again, another example of a royal baby being introduced to people and taking it all in stride.

    On the Eugenie front, I learn so much from Herazeus’ comments! I think the move to KP doesn’t necessarily signal an imminent engagement rather than having her own space. I am keeping my fingers crossed that maybe PC is reconsidering his slimmed down to nearly nothing BRF for engagements as he’s realizing his eldest and his wife aren’t going to pull nearly as much weight as they should and he’ll need to younger generation to step in.

    That being said, I wouldn’t turn down keeping up with her wedding if it does happen next year.

    Thank you for another wonderful post KMR!

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