Flashback Friday: Queen Margrethe's Birthday Celebrations, Part 2

And now it's time to glance back to the next event of Margrethe's 70th birthday celebrations back in April.  The morning after the gala, the royals attended a luncheon.  We'll get to that in a second, but first - because we need some bling to sustain us - a gala held prior to the big shebang.

Left to Right: Princess Benedikte, Princess Marie, Crown Princess Mary, Queen Margrethe

I must say, this is a pretty good showing all around for the ladies of the Danish house, but Benedikte and Mary here are absolutely schooling Marie and Margrethe in Gown Sleeves 101.  It's all about fit, fit, fit, and Margrethe looks unnecessarily large and Marie looks a little like she's playing dress up, no?  Total toss up between naming Benedikte and Mary the best of this evening, but Mary wins because I just love that red dress.  Looovvvee.


Anyways, now onto the day event of our flashback.  We're back to the day after the gala event we've already discussed, and by this time a few more royals had been able to figure out their transport situations and join the party.  Bit strange, I thought, to don hats for an indoor lunch event, so let's see how the royals handled it:

Best of the Large Hats

L to R: Carina Axelsson, Princess Benedikte, Crown Princess Mary

Oh, not a fan of any of this.  Nope.  Carina's dress looks like someting from The Golden Girls.  Mary's trying to contrast the froufy lines of her skirt and her hat with that strong coat and she is not succeeding.  Benedikte looks like something out of the conservative early 1990s, but who knows - she's probably had this outfit since then, so I'll allow it.

Best of the Small Hats

L to R: Crown Princess Mette-Marit, Princess Alexia, Crown Princess Victoria, Queen Silvia, Queen Margrethe

Much more conducive to eating, these hats.  Except Mette-Marit, who's got some sort of ribbon trailing down from some headband she bought at the dollar store.  Also taking a cue from the school of fascinators for little girls: Alexia.  Silvia and Victoria went feathery, while Margrethe went with some kind of curly thing - but flattering colors and cuts on the clothes for all of them.  Victoria wins because come on, how good does she look in her white dress and sky-high heels?

Best of Retro

L to R: Grand Duchess Maria Teresa, Queen Anne-Marie, Princess Máxima, Princess Nathalie, Princess Marie

Lots of cues from eras past on show here; thank you, ladies, you know I eat this kind of thing right up.  Maria Teresa channeled a 1940s vibe, fur wrap and all.  Anne-Marie went all Jackie Kennedy with her simple coat and pillbox.  Also from the 1960s: Máxima and Nathalie.  Call me the victim of a Mad Men overdose, but I love Máx's look here.  Crazy flattering coat, and she's just nuts enough to pull off the matching turban.  Nathalie's got a more universally flattering thing going on, though, and she gets bonus points for being stylish while pregnant, so she wins.  And as for Marie...this is late 80s, early 90s at best and the hat is just an upturned cloth bucket. No.

Photos: Profimedia/IBL/bt.dk