Royal style & gossip: from christening gowns to tennis lawns

[QueenOfTheAndals]

Previous thread

And I think we all can agree that it's much more fun if we stick to critiquing the clothes rather than the women!

If the situation was reversed then I wonder how long it would take before Meghan was accused of trying to steal the limelight by wearing an eye-catching outfit?? I like the pink dress better than anything Kate wore to her own children's christenings though.

I love the shape of Kate's dress but not the colour. And I really can't deal with red and pink together!

I hate it when I'm completely out of step with the rest of you but there it is. 😔

I don’t like DofC dress either. But I don’t like her clothes much anyway.

It’s always nice to see Kate out of those tedious coat dresses. She looks absolutely beautiful - best ever I think - in that photo.

I love DoC dress. I’m reading the eye-catching colour as an effort to detract from the W/H awkwardness. You zoom in on Kate and Megan in the picture

I quite like KM's dress and MM and Doria also look lovely.

It can't happen now but I was so hoping to see a christening photo with Meghan, Harry and Archie in the middle surrounded by W&K and their children, Zara and Mike T and their children, Beatrice, Eugenie and even Peter and Autumn Philips and their girls. All of the younger royals celebrating a special day.

Must have missed that. What did he say?

He expressed disappointment that it was a boy, and made an unkind remark about his red hair too, iirc. (Red hair being a Spencer trait).

Yes Charles wanted a girl. Diana already knew it was a boy because she had a scan and didn’t tell Charles. Apparently he said « Oh it’s a boy, and he’s got rusty hair».

Sometimes though, I do wonder whether Diana embellished thé truth for the sake of her own narrative and unhappiness at the time. Would Charles really have said that in a room full,of people; to his wife who had just given birth?

I've heard that story. I think he was probably making an ill-timed joke and didn't realise she'd take it so badly. Still, you'd think he would've known what Diana was like by then.

I don’t see anything wrong with what Charles said but then I’ve never thought Diana was as wronged as she made out.

Yes Charles had affairs ( & not just with Camilla) but their marriage was effectively an arranged one & he was PofW - she only had to look at it historically & realise it was unlikely he’d be faithful!

And before people jump down my throat mine is an arranged marriage, as is most of family & dhs. You go into with a different mindset so I just don’t get why Diana didn’t. It’s not all love & flowers. As my sil says about her dh - she knew she had to marry someone & it may as well as have been him as someone else. Different mindset.

Diana was 19. Charles was 37.

Still an arranged marriage- she came from a circle where arranged marriages were common. It is a different mindset whatever the age. Not much difference in ages actually to my parents or dbil & his dsil.

Prince Charles was born in November 1948, Diana in July 1961. I’m sure it’s just too early.

He was 32 and Diana had just turned 20.

Same age as dbil & sil. Similar ages to my parents except my mum was younger. People who enter arranged marriages generally know it’s not all hearts & flowers

I don't think this was an arranged marriage in the sense most people understand that term as there was an implication / pretence it was a love match. So for Diana at least I don't think it felt transactional, I think she thought they were in love.

I think Diana was a very foolish woman in many ways. But she was treated abominably. And the way Charles was and is exonerated is deeply shocking.

Yes Charles had affairs ( & not just with Camilla)

He did? Who else did he have affairs with @GotToGoMyOwnWay?

I don't think their marriage was arranged in the traditional sense, I'd say it was more "encouraged" as Diana was from the right background, young enough to be malleable (or so they thought!) and it was seen as time Charles settled down.

Arranged marriages had pretty much fallen out of favour with the royal family by then - neither HM or her parents had arranged marriages and all her cousins had married for love too, as had Princess Anne.

I agree Bert especially now I have young adult daughters, they just haven’t had enough life experience to marry a much older man with so much power & prestige, let alone understand what they are giving up.

I wonder how Camilla found it being so close to the sisters of Diana at Archie's christening? Maybe that's why she was sitting down - to steady herself?

But it couldn’t have been a love match. They’d met a handful of times. She surely must have known that. Doesn’t matter that she was 19. She must have known. My mum knew, my cousins certainly all knew, as did dhs family. And the women were similar ages - all under 21. Men late 20’s early 30’s. There may have been pretence to love but it couldn’t have been. And she knew about Camilla before she married him. One of dhs cousins had his girlfriend at his wedding who he carried on seeing after he was married. Not nice but girl he married knew all about it & had to accept it. Not that dissimilar.

Anyway enough of my family history- I was just trying to explain about different expectations.

Not a love match, but I think they were fond of each other and there were expectations that this would deepen. I don't think it was the sort of arranged marriage the royal family had done previously.

Now I'm trying to think what the last totally arranged marriage was - the Duke of Kent and Princess Marina?