Royal Style and Beauty - what goes in the Bold Tower? White stilettos, green coats and too much of the flower?

[Maireas]

We're over here!
Welcome one, welcome all!

Pity William can’t go - and make it a 3-4 day useful jaunt but I suppose it is miles. I feel like he might have gone for the men though perhaps I’m wrong.

Don't see why he can't go his calendar is clear thi month and it's somewhere he went as a baby. I hope someone turns up to support them.

If Letizia and Sofia (presumably the younger) can go then I don't see why William can't. It's not like it's a busy month for him. He and Kate haven't been seen since Wimbledon!

I think it’s a bit of shame he can’t. Or someone can’t. It’s a big deal. Kate even - and visit some hospitals or children’s charities or something to make it worth while. But I suppose he thinks climate change is a big deal too. And he ain’t wrong! And it takes months and months to set up these visits and prep etc but I do think the women’s team deserve it. What if they win?

Perhaps if he got a lift with Letizia and Sofia that wouldn’t be classed as extra…?!

https://www.newmyroyals.com/2023/08/crown-princess-leonor-started-her.html
Leonor has started her military training. All the Borbons look good, white trousers are de rigeur and not an espadrille in sight! For the Felipe fans, he's in military uniform...

I thought this was a lovely moment between Letizia and Leonor.

Awe. So sweet. It's tough saying goodbye to your kids, but you want them to move on.

Gorgeous photo of Leti. Very bittersweet and will be doing the same when DS heads off to Uni in 3wks time 💕

@Eaumyword - it's lovely when your kids go to uni, but that moment that you leave them there 😢. Also, I didn't like looking in the empty bedroom, so for ages I kept the door closed!

Just checking in, blatantly place-marking and trying to catch up. 👑

Me too it was weeks before i could bring myself to strip the bed. I did it before his first visit home

That's so lovely!
I think we'll need to fumigate his room though and tackling the under bed fungus/floordrobe will involve Marigolds and Flash!😂

Politically might not be the best move given England knocked the Matildas out.

As president of the FA it's really bad form and the air miles thing really doesn't wash. It's Britain's most popular sport we're talking about here. The grey men are tying themselves in knots bowing to a pot stirring media

I think you can add Felipe's army trousers to the pile of unwanted: they really don't do a lot for him. He's usually so dapper.

Fair point, @KnickerlessParsons ! . I also liked the picture underneath, @Papergirl1968 with Sofia saying goodbye. Plus when the students go into the Academy, Leonor's suitcase is significantly larger than anyone else's!

Lovely photos of the Spanish RF and especially the one of Leti and Leonor.

Meant to say, it's interesting that both Leonor and Elisabeth of Belgium are doing military training as part of their preparations for eventually becoming monarchs, but not, AFAIK, the Princess of Orange?

I think - but I am not 100% sure - that the set up is different in the Netherlands than in other European countries, and so Willem-Alexander is not the military Commander in Chief as, under their Constitution he counts as part of the Government? And the Commander in Chief has to be separate from the Govenment. Hence the Princess of Orange hasn’t undertaken military training because that is not part of her eventual role? Or something like that…😀

Good point, @Serenster .
Princess Salma of Jordan underwent officer training at Sandhurst. It's good that these options are not just the preserve of the boys.

Goodness - in looking into this just now I have discovered that Queen Juliana’s husband Prince Bernhard was the Commander in Chief for a brief period in WWII (in exile, I presume?).

But I also discovered that, like King Albert II of Belgium, he had two illegitimate daughters from affairs long after his four daughters with Juliana was born. 😶 It’s also been rumoured he was former UK MP Jonathan Aiken’s real father. I had never come across that before!

!!!

Naughty Bernie!

Jonathon A's Wiki page makes for interesting reading. He's now married to Richard Harris's widow Elizabeth, so the actor Jared Harris is his stepson. And Jack Davenport aka Miles from This Life is his nephew. One of his daughters has converted to Sikhism too, though I'm not sure if it's the same daughter who was trying to make it as a rapper several years ago, and his illegitimate daughter is a Khashoggi!

What an interesting life he’s had…!