Wonderful Weekends (Commemorative Portrait of the Duchess of Aragon)

To honour her recent induction into the Hispanic Order of the Triad, the Duchess of Aragon posed for two official portraits. Her Grace was honoured by Queen Maria of Hispania with the Order of Knighthood for services rendered to the Crown and Royal Family of Hispania. Several years back, the Duchess was made honourary representative of the Queen and honourary head of the Order of the Triad but was never an actual member until now. The Duchess is quoted as being "...very blessed by the privilege...". 

Here we see the Duchess wearing the same dress she wore to the private dinner held in her honour at the Hispanian Royal Palace to commemorate her induction to the Order of the Triad. She wears the blue sash and triangular badge of the order. The Duchess also wears what seems to be a new sapphire tiara which is very reminiscent of another diamond only tiara owned by the Queen of Hispania's retired mother. 

Her Grace the Duchess of Aragon, Knight in the Order of the Triad. 

What's Up Wednesday (Wedding of Viscount Hayz and Donna Hernanda of Aragon)

This past weekend saw yet another wedding in the string of weddings we have celebrated over the last year or so. This happy event, held in the ancestral home of the Duchess of Aragon in Hispania, was the first wedding for 2014 and even though the couple may be considered quite prominent, the ceremony was tiny and low key. Let us take a brief look at the wedding of the I.T. millionaire, Viscount Hayz and the heir to the preeminent Hispanic Duchy, Donna Hernanda of Aragon. 

This photo shows the very stylish couple and the bride is wearing a positively awesome Madame Frumsetta dress for this day time wedding. The spectacular feature of the hat finishes the ensemble in a way that a super nova finishes a solar system. Donna Hernada also chose to add the small detail of her mother's sapphire brooch as her something blue. 

From left we see the mother of the bride, the Duchess of Aragon wearing a distinct Hispanic National colour scheme, then the bride and groom and to the right, Drealle Mormaer close friend and business associate of Viscount Hayz. 

The bride looked awesome for her special day.

It is rumoured that the couple will settle in Arcwhite to accommodate Viscount Hays' commitments to his various business contracts with the government of Arcwhite. Their jet-set lifestyle however will certainly allow us to see them gracing red carpets the world over. 

Fascinating Fridays (Orders of Knighthood Part 5)

To think that I originally planned to do all the knighthood orders in one blog post was crazy. This is already part 5 and there are two more to come. If you have always wondered why Royalty often appear at very formal function wearing coloured sashes you will now find out. We have discussed the origin and rank of the title, Knight, in a former Fascinating Friday post. There are currently six active Orders of Knighthood and two Family Orders of Honour. They all rank in an order of precedence which ranks one above the other in prestige. Normally the date of the specific Order's founding gives it precedence over younger ones but also its exclusivity gives it higher prestige Last week we dealt with the Grand Duchy of Hanoveria's Order of the Polar Star and its interesting history.

Today's order has the least eventful history. It is called the Hispanian Royal Order of the Triad. The fact that it has remained undisturbed since its inception makes it the second oldest order in the world. This gives it its prestige as the second highest honour on our list but it is the highest honour within the borders of the Kingdom of Hispania. The Order of the Triad was introduced to honour those who have done most for the country's foreign relations. As such its first three member were kings, King Ferdinand III of Hispania, King Christian of Scotney and King Richard of Britania. The three kings, who were also best friends is what gave the order derives its name from. The monarch ruling in Hispania is always the Head and Grand Master of the order.

The insignia of the Order of the Triad includes a royal blue sash hung over the left shoulder and set with a three sided star badge set with clear stones.

The order has expanded in recent times to become the highest honour of merit in Hispania but retains its "foreign relations" flavour. There are never more than 30 members although since the 96 Revolution numbers have dwindled. Current members include the Crown Prince Imperial and the Duke of Swann and all of the Hispanian direct Royal Family. Since after the 96 Revolution till 2011 when Queen Maria assumed full responsibility for her duty, the Order of the Triad was officially overseen by a government committee eventually headed by the Duchess of Aragon. She stood in for her cousin as ceremonial substitute Grand Master and formally handed back all her functions to the Queen. Ironically, the Duchess of Aragon was never inducted into the order but wore the insignia for her tenure as official substitute for the Queen.

At the 2009 Annual Knights Meeting, the Order of the Triad was represented by the Duchess of Aragon in the blue dress at right and Princess Isabella, the Queen's sister second from left.

In this photo we see the current Queen Maria's grandparents sporting the Order of the Triad in the 1980's.

The Order of the Triad is also included in Queen Maria's personal Royal Crest. This is required as she is the Grand Master of the Order. Note the blue ribband and badge hanging from the bottom of the crest.

Memory Monday (Jewellery Auction 2009)

This weekend the press team managing this blog was kept very busy with the Annual Knights Meeting. Expect the report on that this coming Wednesday on our current events installment, What's Up Wednesday. This business around the Knights meeting has taken the place of our customary State Portrait on a Sunday but should resume as normal next weekend. 

For today's Memory Monday I have selected a piece of more recent Royal History. Sporadic jewellery auctions take place among the wealthy of the world when and where sudden cash might be of an urgent necessity. In 2009 such an auction was arranged by Princess Augusta, the world renowned jewellery trader. The pieces that came on the market were from more than one source but the world famous D'Pont du Lac Sapphire Parure was the main drawing card and was to fetch a record high price. In 1993 the D'Pont du Lac Emeralds were bought by Empress Crystobel in a similar auction and those historic jewels were subsequently spared the fate of some other jewels destroyed in the 96 revolution. The emeralds were sold when their owner, the Dowager Baroness D'Rothchild needed to raise cash in order to alleviate vast medical expenses incurred by her brother's illness. 

The 2009 auction saw the D'Pont du Lac Sapphires come on the market by virtue of an exstention of the same problem. Technically the jewellery were the property of the Dowager Baroness and she, refusing help from her wealthy son, stubbornly insisted on selling them to raise cash for her brother's family. She also prohibited him from buying them, saying: "...The past is the past, let it go. Make your own future..."  is what the Baron D'Rothchild told the press. 

Princess Augusta with the unprecedented historic jewellery collection up for auction.

Princess Augusta set up a special auction venue in the Grand Hotel in Swann City. Attendance was by special invitation only, whether for physical attendance or for phone bidding. The list of lots was released officially to the press one hour before the bidding started at 8:00 a.m. Attending bidders were; Gloria Van der Bilt, Count Nikolas Von Bismarck, the Duchess of Aragon, Michael Jenning and to oversee on behalf of the D'Rothchilds, the Baroness D'Rothchild. It wasn't known at the time but the Crown Prince Imperial was to be bidding through a broker by phone. It was however known that Prince Paul Karageorgevich was going to bid by phone as he was in the market for some jewellery to celebrate his first wedding anniversary. At 9:00 a.m. the bidding started with lot nr.1: Pearl Loop Necklace and Earrings from the collection of the Shahbanu of Perlistan. They went to Prince Paul Karageorgevich. Lot nr 2: Art Deco Tiara of unknown original provenance and owner remaining anonymous. It remained unsold and entered the stock for sale of Princess Augusta. Lot nr. 3: Ruby Loop Earrings from the collection of the Shahbahnou of Perlistan. Sold to an anonymous phone bidder later known to be the Crown Prince Imperial who gave it to his mother as a present. Lot nr. 4: A Yellow Topaz and Diamond Demi-Parure from the collection of Prince Felix Youssopoff. These sold after a slight bidding war between Michael Jennings and the Duchess of Aragon, to the Duchess. She has since sported the set on several occasions and also lent it to her daughter. 

At left, lot 1 and 2. At right lot 3 and 4. In the center, the D'Pont du Lac Sapphires.

Lot nr. 5: The D'Pont du Lac Sapphire Parure caused a massive bidding war at first between several parties. As the bidders fell by the side only, Gloria Van der Bilt and the "anonymous" phone bidder remained. Gloria stopped bidding when the price exceeded the long term investment value. It then became clear that the bidder on the phone was buying for more than just investment value. He did because he was buying to add it to the Imperial Jewellery Collection, to be left to his descendants for he was the Crown Prince Imperial. Gloria left the auction empty handed. The Crown Prince Imperial was revealed to be the bidder the moment his new wife wore the sapphires for the first time in 2010 just over a year after the purchase. 

From left, Gloria Van der Bilt, Count Nikolas Von Bismarck, the Duchess of Aragon, Princess Augusta, the Baroness D'Rothchild and Michael Jennings. 

These auctions seem only to take place when the Royals or other wealthy clients wish to sell jewellery fast. Normally the sale is more the motivation than the purchase. When the purchase is the motivation however it is a private affair between jeweller and client. These transactions could involve the sale of an antique piece in the stock of the jeweller or the lengthy process of design and manufacture of an entirely new piece. 

Wonderful Weekends (Fashion)

“We are not a fashion company, we are a fashionable name. Fashion is our greatest enemy.” – Cartier (the world’s number one jewellery firm)

Clothes are added to the person like colour to a canvas. It tells a story but not just of personality. It gives subtle hints to attitudes, convictions and even belies demographics like financial wealth and mental capacity. There are two sides to the coin of dress. The one is fashion, the other  is side this coin spins on to fall on its head or tail is, style and practical function.

Fashion is governed by the “latest trends”. It is essentially a pack mentality where competition to be what is perceived to be the best, by being first, sets the trends. What you wear is more important than how you look in it. It is often modeled and advertised on people who look good in anything. The good thing about fashion is its innovation and experimentation. It also gauges general “vibes” of the public and as such era’s of fashion has emerged from different generations exhibiting their unique tastes, world views and sentiments. These aspects of fashion are fueled by the different approaches of style.

Style is governed by who the individual person is (or think they are) and how they want to present themselves. This might be in a trendy fashionable way or in complete disregard of fashion. It is an individualist mentality at its extreme. How you look and what it communicated is the primary goal and source of satisfaction of the wearer. What is interesting is that these people are normally artists and designers themselves who’s job in life is to come up with the out-of-the-box concepts that keep ahead of the fashion race. So the two sides of the coin feed each other and every person falls on the scale somewhere between the two extremes.

Ultimately whether it’s a fashion or style approach, it can be a success or failure. Let’s look at some of our Royals and how they contend with this dilemma. Remember Royalty face an added obstacle, the one of protocol and regalia. For them it’s not just about fashion or personal style, but depending on the event they are required to add certain jewellery, medals and/or sashes to outfits. This also distinguishes them and that is when you get something you could call a “Royal look” telling a far more intricate story.

Lets look at some "fashionable" moments.

The Crown Prince Imperial gets engaged to Odeliah Sorgenfrei at his cousin Princess Kirsten of Hanoveria's birthday party in 2010. The dress code for this event was, Evening "semi-formal" by Royal standards. Thus an evening suit or dress of any length and tiara was required. This was only Odelia's second "public appearance. Was it a success?

In 2009, Queen Gloria I of Normandia was still plain Gloria van der Bilt, a spoilt rich girl. Here she attends an auction of some antique jewellery in the Big Apple and is dressed in her version of a city-slicker going to a corporate event. Success or fail?

The Duchess of Aragon attended the same auction in 2009 wearing this ensemble. She bought most of the jewellery at the auction and also settled a private sale with the Van der Bilt family. Style or fashion?

Because of her "homey" personality, the Crown Princess Imperial, despite her rank, can often fail in the "dress-up" department. Here is one of her success stories at a Fashion Week dinner in Pariseum 2011. Do you agree?

The annual Knights of the Realms Meeting is an event with a lot of protocol requirements on dress code. Here the Crown Prince Imperial couple is seen in Court Formal Dress. Did the Crown Princess Imperial pull it off? 

Finally a Royal icon and icon of style. Princess Augusta at the 2011 Premiere of the movie Captain Americanium in the Big Apple. She sports evening wear without tiara and makes a total killing. Do you agree?

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