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Original poster

Royal style and gossip: the frocks, the rocks, the shocks

999 replies

QueenOfTheAndals · 29/10/2018 20:25

Here we go again!

And by popular demand, here are the previous threads:
Thread 1
Thread 2
Thread 3
Thread 4
Thread 5
Thread 6
Special edition: Eugenie wedding thread

Harry and Meghan have 2 days more in NZ before they head back to London and, if I was her, I'd put on pyjamas, get Netflix fired up, and not leave my bed for several days! William and Kate will be out for a sporty engagement in Essex tomorrow and I'm sure we'll start to see them more as she's now officially back from maternity leave..

No idea what the continental royals are up to but New My Royals (does that title even make sense?) is my go-to link for them!

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Thread gallery
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Original poster
QueenOfTheAndals · 03/11/2018 07:57

Not a fan of Beatrice's outfit there, it looks more suited to someone her mothers age!

Victoria B looks fab, funny to compare her ensembles from 10-15 years ago to now. She's undergone a complete transformation.

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thatone · 03/11/2018 08:35

Totally agree AhoyDelBoy about Zara quality - it's often very over-priced for what it is.

And I also agree with PP about Meghan's dresses being very samey - KM is really good at mixing up and re-wearing things and she looks like she's having fun with that. Doesn't always work IMO but at least she's expressing her taste.

I think that MM's dresses are so samey I'm not sure where she is going to go with it. Will it just always be black or navy evening wear? And very simple clean lines in general, which I usually like but I think she could add a few touches to add interest.

It's funny because pre-engagement she did wear a lot more colour and variety and, while it would not all be appropriate now, she doesn't need to lose that completely.

AhoyDelBoy · 03/11/2018 08:50

I can’t find Fergies instagram if someone wants to share her username? Smile

Original poster
QueenOfTheAndals · 03/11/2018 08:52

@AhoyDelBoy https://instagram.com/sarahferguson15

OP posts:
owlshooting · 03/11/2018 09:01

There are an awful lot of photos of Andrew, aren't there? A bit odd. I know there is talk they will get back together, but at the wedding there was no interaction between them and zero chemistry it appeared.

AhoyDelBoy · 03/11/2018 09:18

Thanks Queen I was looking for ‘Sarah the Duchess’ or similar Blush. Yes all the photos of Andrew are very weird indeed. Strange.

IdaBWells · 03/11/2018 09:21

I think the Queen made a mistake chucking out Fergie without a dime and huge debts (apparently because Prince Philip couldn’t stand her after all the public humiliation) as it has meant she is a constant presence trying to drum up money to keep her head above water. She apparently lives in the same house as Andrew at Windsor, it previously belonged to the Queen Mother. I think she would be penniless without her connection to Andrew. I don’t know about a romantic connection but as a family unit they seem to get on very well and are really close.

Both Andrew and Fergie have caused numerous embarrassing dramas over the years for the RF and neither of them seem to have a great deal of common sense or humility. Andrew seems resentful if not jealous of Charles’ position as he has gone from second in line to the throne as a young man to fading further and further into irrelevancy as he falls down the pecking order but still insisting on 5 star royal treatment for himself and his daughters.

AhoyDelBoy · 03/11/2018 09:24

Having a good nosy at Princess Eugenie’s instagram (I wish I’d had a better look at Meghan’s before she deleted it). She’s funny, sometimes she looks stunningly beautiful and then in other photos she looks completely different and ordinary. I wish Kate and Meghan were allowed instagram (or at least pages we know about, I’m sure they’ve got private pages to look at stuff from).

owlshooting · 03/11/2018 09:30

Ida - I think the Queen goes to great lengths to keep her relations with Fergie cordial. Apparently she was invited to Balmoral recently. Also, the house the Yorks live in was built for them I think, at vast expense. It's a sort of Southfork ranch type property. I think you are confusing it with Clarence House where Charles and Camilla live. That property was owned by the Queen Mother.
I think the Queen probably tries to keep cordial relationships with Fergie as she is close to E and B.

serenmoon · 03/11/2018 09:37

Fergie kept up a lavish lifestyle when she had no income to match it. Beatrice looks really stunning in some of those Instagram photos, she has gorgeous eyes.

missclimpson · 03/11/2018 09:38

The Yorks live in Royal Lodge, the former country home of the Queen Mother. It was also the country home of George VI and Queen Elizabeth when they were Duke and Duchess of York and a childhood home of the Queen and Princess Margaret.
If you can still get it The Little Princesses by Marian Crawford gives lots of detail of the childhood of the Queen and PM. She was their former governess and was cut off completely after she wrote about them.

beanaseireann · 03/11/2018 09:41

I agree re the zero chemistry between Fergie and Andrew.
I think there's more to that odd relationship than is reported in the press.
Fergies Mum sadly was killed in an accident and her sister lives in Australia so there is no one close enough to her to advise her.
She can be very OTT and gushing.
I didn't like her outfit at the wedding - it gave her 'a well upholstered matron' look.
She has great legs though.

DontCallMeCharlotte · 03/11/2018 09:44

Shortly before Queen started these threads, I found a slideshow of Bea and Eugenie and they looked fabulous in all of them. Course I can't find it now.

As an aside, when I thought Eugenie was pronounced You-janey (with the j/g having an almost szhh sound), I thought it was the most lovely name. But now? Nah.

IdaBWells · 03/11/2018 09:55

Owlshooting that house “Sunninghill” became a White Elephant and there was a scandal about a decade ago when it was found that Andrew sold it for 3 million above the asking price in what seemed a dodgy deal avoiding tax. One of the many “embarrassing incidents” that Andrew and Fergie have wrought on the Queen.

Apparently Andrew did quietly retire a few million pounds of Fergie’s debt and the gossip is that money must’ve come from the Queen as Andrew didn’t have it. So I think the Queen did realise leaving Sarah deep in debt was making things worse.

IdaBWells · 03/11/2018 10:02

Owlshooting to clarify Sunninghill was built at the Queen’s expense near Windsor while the house they currently live in is in Windsor Great Park. Sunninghill was left to rot after it was sold and demolished in 2016.

missclimpson · 03/11/2018 10:09

I seem to remember that we used to call it SouthYork or Chateau Tesco when they first had it.

Clionba · 03/11/2018 10:13

The Queen paid Fergie's debts off more than once. She paid off a massive bill that Fergie had run up at Garrards, among others. Then the photos came out, and it's possible that was what stuck in Philip's craw - HM had helped her out, and this was how she was repaid. At no point was Fergie left penniless.

Want2bSupermum · 03/11/2018 10:23

I think with the DofS the reason for looking to more expensive designers is because here in the US the high street isn't great. Yes we have H&M (would be ironic if they wore their clothes!) and Zara but places like Top Shop, Reiss, Karen Millen and LK Bennett just don't command the same presence as they do in the UK. I shop for clothes when home. A £100-200 dress in the UK is about $500-750 here. J crew and banana republic just don't compare in terms of quality of tailoring. When doing my shopping here I spend so much more. I buy St John instead of LK Bennett.

Original poster
QueenOfTheAndals · 03/11/2018 10:26

Fergie and Andrew were very chummy at Ascot in the summer so not sure what happened between then and Eugenie's wedding.

@DontCallMeCharlotte I knew how Eugenie pronounced her first name but was surprised to hear her say "Hel-AY-na" for one of her others as I always thought it was pronounced "HEL-enna".

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DonkeysDontRideBicycles · 03/11/2018 10:28

As an aside, when I thought Eugenie was pronounced You-janey (with the j/g having an almost szhh sound), I thought it was the most lovely name. But now? Nah.
I liked it a lot more than 'Yoo - juh-nee' !

Original poster
QueenOfTheAndals · 03/11/2018 10:28

@Want2bSupermum Meghan may also struggle to find her size on the high street in the US as I've noticed labels like the ones you mentioned are very generously cut, and she is very petite. I'm a U.K 10-12 and a size 8 dress I tried on recently in J Crew was far too big.

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Moononthehill28 · 03/11/2018 10:37

Ah! I stand corrected! Didn’t know the original house had been demolished.

Want2bSupermum · 03/11/2018 10:47

J crew 8 is about a 12/14 in typical UK sizing. I would think she is about an 8 in the UK. She is probably a 2/4 here in the US.

For J crew try a 4 and 6. Their tailoring is awful so don't expect anything to fit right. I always get it tailored after.

Horsemad · 03/11/2018 10:50

How is Eugenie pronounced? I always say 'You szhay nee'

CurlyWurlyTwirly · 03/11/2018 10:54

Eugenie once said, to pronounce her name correctly you have to.say "Use your knees"!