Stop treating Catherine Cambridge like she's made of china

Fresh off my post encouraging Catherine to develop her royal role sooner rather than later, imagine my chagrin when discovering an article in the Express. Her father-in-law, the Prince of Wales, has reportedly requested that Catherine use her influence to increase a global brand of tweed.

Not the economic crisis or hunger. Clothing. Not to diminish the cause. All charities think they are worthwhile and important and deserve attention. But it makes me wonder whether Clarence House is underestimating Catherine's ability to be more than just a fashion plate or a part of their arsenal to promote their own interests.

It's obvious that Clarence House is trying to ease her into royal life. There's no denying it's a major adjustment and so far she hasn't put a foot wrong. This is because she isn't allowed to. But are they being too careful with her? Much as been said of Catherine's age, and how this will help her cope with the demands of royal life. When are they going to expose her to those demands? It seems as though Clarence House has her on an extremely short leash. If I were Catherine I would be quite frustrated by this.

Catherine will not shatter into a million pieces if she is given more to do. If she has to shake more hands, give more speeches, take on more causes, glue and paint with more small children. No one is expecting her to compete with Princess Anne in the number of engagements. No one is allowing her to even try. So far her duties have required little of her. This is a mistake. Like with any job, the only way you learn is by doing it. Then challenging yourself to do more. The royal family, of all institutions, should know better than to do otherwise.

I for one believe that Catherine is capable of more than this. One day I hope she will start to believe it too.

© Marilyn Braun 2012

Thank you for enjoying this article. If you use the information for research purposes, a link to credit the work I've put into writing it would be appreciated.

Royal Fashionistas

In honor of New York Fashion Week and the relentless focus on Kate's clothing, I thought I would go  back and revisit some other royals who were quite the fashionistas in their day. Think Kate put the royal family on the fashion map? Au contraire!

No fashion list would be complete without Queen Victoria. She rocked the black dress well before Audrey Hepburn was a glimmer in her parent's eyes. Thankfully she did not pioneer the little black dress (shudder) but she was a true champion when it came to wearing black from head to toe. Pairing it with accessories, such as priceless jewels, a white veil and a ceremonial sash, no royal has ever done the color justice since.

Albert Edward,
The Prince of Wales

While he would later lend his name to an entire era, the future King Edward VII was once a mere babe in a formal portrait.  In this Winterhalter painting, the young prince wears a sailor suit. His mother Queen Victoria was so enchanted with the suits worn by sailors in the Royal Navy that she commissioned a scaled down version for her son, thus setting a fashion trend. It is somewhat ironic that Edward himself did not serve in the Royal Navy, unlike his sons. The original suit is preserved in the National Maritime Museum in Greenwich.

No other royal could be credited with popularizing a physical disability. Just before the birth of her third child in 1867  Princess Alexandra, Princess of Wales, contracted rheumatic fever, which left her with a permanent limp. This started a trend amongst society ladies called the 'Alexandra limp'. Which just goes to prove that the tradition of sycophancy never goes out of style.

Edward, Prince of Wales, was the royal superstar of his day. The man who popularized patterned Fair Isle sweaters, the Windsor Knot (but did not invent it) reportedly owed his boyish figure to spanx. He favored plus-fours, loud check tweeds, as well as two-tone shoes. Chaffing against royal fashion constraints, one of his first acts upon becoming king was to banish the frock-coat from his court. 

The Princess Royal may not be renowned for her fashion sense but well before Kate was recycling her clothes, there was Anne. Case in point, at the 2008 wedding of Lady Rose Windsor, daughter of the Duke of Gloucester, Anne wore a dress older than the groom. The Maureen Baker dress had been worn at Charles and Diana's wedding 27 years earlier. Anne paired the outfit with the same John Boyd hat and it appears the same earrings. Instead of being criticized she was praised not only for her economy, but for still having the figure to fit into a dress at the age of 58 that she originally wore when she was 31.

© Marilyn Braun 2011

Thank you for enjoying this article. If you use the information for research purposes, a link to credit the work I've put into writing it would be appreciated.Read more...

Royal Marriages - It's not all doom and gloom

The House of Windsor’s marital history is well documented with a focus on the failures - Charles and Diana, Andrew and Fergie and Anne and Mark Philips. When Willliam and Catherine married these examples were brought up as a warning, as if it is a foregone conclusion that their marriage will end the same way. It also highlights the pressure the couple are under to not only make it work but also to make up for the past; which neither one had control over. If anything, the positive aspects of royal marriages have all but been ignored. But there have been some success stories.

Yes, believe it or not royal couples can get along and stay married. It’s rare now but it does happen. Prior to Charles and Diana it would have been unthinkable to divorce, too scandalous. Better to stay married and save face. The reason for royal marriages have also changed over time. They used to be arranged, negotiations beginning for some couples while they were still in the cradle. Arranging royal marriages was done for a variety of reasons, to make political alliances or even to prevent them in some cases, to join royal houses, to secure the succession – Henry VIII married six times in an effort to have a son to succeed him, later on King George III’s sons gave up their mistresses and married in order to produce an heir.  If they happened to fall in love then that was an unexpected bonus. The planning of royal marriages was very strategic and a pragmatic approach was taken to choosing the right spouse. Despite this, sometimes they didn’t even meet each other until the wedding day! Sometimes neither attended the wedding ceremony and they married by proxy.

King George III and Queen Charlotte

Inn 1759, the future King George III was in love with another woman, Lady Sarah Lennox, daughter of the Duke of Richmond. But he was advised against the marriage and so he gave up any thoughts of it. He is quoted as saying: "I am born for the happiness or misery of a great nation," he wrote, "and consequently must often act contrary to my passions’ something that many royal bridegrooms can relate to. He became King in 1760 and had to find a suitable Queen. One candidate was seventeen year old Princess Charlotte Mecklenburg-Strelitz. A minor princess who, though intelligent was not particularly attractive but the king announced his intention to marry her in July 1761. Princess Charlotte arrived in London on September 7, 1761 and met the King and the royal family. The next day, September 8^th, they were married. Their marriage was successful, and rare for the time; King George III did not take any mistresses during their marriage. They had 15 children, 13 of whom survived to adulthood.  At the time of her death in 1818, they had been married for 57 years.

Queen Victoria and Prince Albert

When Queen Victoria came to the throne in 1837 at the age of 18, she was not thinking of marriage. She was young and she was enjoying freedom for the first time in her life after years of being overprotected. Prior to this she had slept in the same room as her mother and whenever she went down a set of stairs, someone held her hand.

Prince Albert was her first cousin, and when the first met neither made much of an impression on the other. But in 1839 when Victoria had become Queen, she felt differently about him: falling in love with him and proposing marriage, they were married in February 1840. After her wedding night, Victoria wrote in her diary:

"I NEVER, NEVER spent such an evening!!! MY DEAREST DEAREST DEAR Albert ... his excessive love & affection gave me feelings of heavenly love & happiness I never could have hoped to have felt before! He clasped me in his arms, & we kissed each other again & again! His beauty, his sweetness & gentleness – really how can I ever be thankful enough to have such a Husband! ... to be called by names of tenderness, I have never yet heard used to me before – was bliss beyond belief! Oh! This was the happiest day of my life!"

Their marriage would be a happy one and they would have nine children, most of whom would marry into the royal houses of Europe, thus giving Queen Victoria the nickname – Grandmother of Europe. Prince Albert did not live to become the grandfather of Europe as he died in December 1861. The Queen was devastated and mourned him, wearing black for the rest of her life until her death in 1901. They were married for 21 years.

King George V and Queen Mary

In the early 1890s, Princess May of Teck was in an unenviable position. Due to her father’s morganatic birth, it was thought she would have a hard time finding a husband. Too royal to marry beneath her and not royal enough to marry above her station. She also wasn’t getting any younger either – 26 at the time of her marriage. Luckily Queen Victoria saw past her morganatic background and she became engaged to the elder son of the Prince of Wales, Prince Albert Victor.

It wasn’t a love match, the prince was in actually in love with another woman, Helene, the daughter of the Comte de Paris. Unfortunately, Prince Albert Victor died a month before the intended wedding. Queen Victoria felt that Princess May was too good a bride to slip away so a year later May married Prince Albert Victor’s brother, Prince George. This is not the first time a sibling has married another’s intended. King Henry VIII married his brother’s widow, Catherine of Aragon in 1509.

Theirs was not a love match. Prince George had a purely platonic attitude towards May. But there was affection between them. May wrote to him:

I am very sorry that I am still so shy with you. I tried not to be but failed. I was angry with myself! It is so stupid to be so stiff together and really there is nothing I would not tell you, except that I love you more than anybody in the world, and this I cannot tell you myself so I write it to relieve my feelings.

He wrote back:

Thank God we both understand each other, and I really think it unnecessary for me to tell you how deep my love for you, my darling, is and I feel it growing strong and stronger every time I see you – although I may appear shy and cold..’

George and May were married in July 1893 and were married for almost 47 years. They had six children, one of whom would have a happy marriage himself: Prince Albert, the future King George VI.

King George VI and Lady Elizabeth Bowes Lyon

Prince Albert did not have a lot going for him He was shy, awkward, he had a stammer and he was overshadowed by his older and more glamorous brother, David. When he met Lady Elizabeth Bowes Lyon he was quite smitten with her but too shy to do anything about directly. She was fond of him but not impressed, especially when he proposed through an intermediary. He would propose twice, and on the third try she accepted. They were married on April 26, 1923 and came to the throne in 1936 upon the abdication of his older brother, David. The King died in his sleep in 1952. Had he lived, the couple would have marked 29 years of marriage in April of that year. Their elder daughter would go on to mark a historic royal wedding anniversary.

Queen Elizabeth & Prince Philip 1947

Out of all of the marriages, theirs is the most remarkable. Though to have Prince Philip tell it, their decision to get married wasn’t necessarily romantic. He having claimed it was ‘fixed up’. We’ll never know her true thoughts about that but she became smitten with the 18 year old Prince Philip of Greece and Denmark when her family visited Dartmouth royal naval college 1939, where he was a cadet. This was their first photographed meeting. It is said that they’d met at the wedding of Princess Marina to the Duke of Kent. Though Princess Elizabeth was only 8 at the time. Prince Philip was assigned to escort her and her sister around the college and it is said that the Queen never looked at another man afterwards. After the war, her parents thought she was too young to get engaged. They wanted her to meet other eligible men but Elizabeth was determined. The King asked her to wait before announcing an engagement and the family went on a three month tour of South Africa in 1947. The king finally relented to an engagement and it was announced in July 1947 with the couple being married in November of that year. They had four children and in 2007 marked 60 years of marriage. A first for any British monarch in history.

Prince and Princess Michael of Kent

Prince Michael of Kent married Baroness Marie Christine von Reibnitz in 1978. Marie Christine had a complicated background, her father had been a Nazi party member and she had been previous married (which would be annulled by the Pope in 1978). The biggest strike against her was that she was a devout Catholic. Under the terms of the Act of Settlement, Prince Michael could not marry a Catholic and keep his place in the line of succession, where he was sixteenth at the time. Another obstacle was that due to the Royal Marriages act of 1772, no member of the royal family could marry without the sovereigns consent. Prince Michael and Marie Christine were unsure whether the Queen would give her consent. They turned to Lord Mountbatten, who approached the Queen, who did consent to the marriage, which took place in July 1978. They have two children and this year will celebrate 33 years of marriage.

Prince Charles and Camilla Parker Bowles

After a 30 year love affair and an inconvenient first husband and wife, Charles and Camilla were finally able to marry in 2005. Many people thought it would never happen, nor whether it was even possible. The last Prince of Wales paid a high price for marrying a divorced woman. The late Queen Mother was said to be against Camilla. After she died in 2002 the way was paved for the couple to get married. Though it would take three more years for it to happen. Much to the shock and amazement of many, their engagement was announced in February 2005 and they married in April 2005. Upon her marriage she became Princess of Wales, however, in deference to the memory of Diana, Camilla took the title Duchess of Cornwall instead. It is still unclear what title she will take when Charles becomes king. By most accounts, theirs is a happy marriage, they are compatible and Prince Charles seems to be happier and more content.

Princess Anne and Timothy Laurence

Princess Anne was originally married in 1973 to Captain Mark Philips, who had been unfaithful to his wife during their marriage. They had two children but the marriage ended in 1992.  Six months later she married Commander Timothy Laurence in Scotland in a very low-key ceremony. Anne became the first Royal divorcée to remarry since Princess Victoria Melita did so in 1905.

Prince Edward and Sophie Rhys Jones

Prince Edward, the youngest son of the Queen and Prince Philip, is the only one of her children to stay married, a remarkable feat by today’s royal standards. Edward and Sophie had met in 1993 at a charity tennis tournament and began their relationship soon afterwards. Until Prince William’s courtship of Kate Middleton, theirs had been one of the longest royal courtships. They had dated for six years until they announced their engagement in 1999. They were married in June of that year and now have two children. In June they celebrated 12 years of marriage. 

© Marilyn Braun 2011

Thank you for enjoying this article. If you use the information for research purposes, a link to credit the work I've put into writing it would be appreciated.

The Royal Report for Sunday November 8, 2009 - The Canadian Royal Tour

Upon arrival in Canada, which royal called Canada 'truly deplorable'? Who was the first female member of the royal family to visit? Was the price tag still on Prince Phillip's jeans when he took part in a square dance in Canada?

Listen to this episode to find out.

Publications mentioned

Hello! Canada Weekly No 149 9 November 2009

Website and Blog mentioned

World of Royalty
World of Royalty Blog
The Official Site of the Prince of Wales

Documentaries discussed

Charles - The Passionate Prince - Viewable online

Prince William and Prince Harry: Into the future

Resources used

Canada's Queen by Patti Tasko

The Queen's Tour of Canada Souvenir Edition by Trevor Hall

Fifty Years the Queen Arthur Bousfield & Garry Toffoli

Charles and Diana visit Canada by David Levenson and Trevor Hall

Royal Canada - A History of Royal visits since 1786 - by Trevor Hall

Queen Elizabeth II and the Royal Family in Canada (Golden Jubilee) - Stewart House Publishing

Tune in live to the next episode of The Royal Report on Sunday November 15th, 2009 9:00PM EST.

The topic will be: In honor of the Prince of Wales & the Duchess of Cornwall's visit to Canada, a look back at Canadian Royal Tours - Part Two!

© Marilyn Braun 2009

Question: Title of Queen

Would Camilla attain the title if Charles ascends to the throne? Would Diana have attained this title if she were still Charles wife? Who would ascend to the throne following Charles death?

At the time of their wedding in 2005 there was a lot of controversy over what Camilla's title would be upon her marriage to Charles. Legally she is entitled to be called Princess of Wales but because the title is so associated with Diana, decided to take the title Duchess of Cornwall instead. When Charles becomes king the official line is that she will be known as H.R.H. The Princess Consort. Legally she would be Queen but Camilla reportedly does not want the title of Queen. This move might also be to placate members of the public who would be against her being known as Queen Camilla.

Had Diana lived, and still been married to Charles, she would have become Queen Diana in due course.

Next in line to the throne following Charles' death would be his elder son Prince William. Should something happen to William then the next in line would become monarch - Prince Harry.

© Marilyn Braun 2009

More interesting royal trivia

Did you know...

• Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh, is worshipped as a divine figure by the Iounhanan tribe on the island of Tanna in Vanuatu, in the South Pacific. He has never visited the island but upon hearing of his status, he sent a signed picture which is minded by an official guardian. As well, the Duke of Edinburgh Stone is an integral part of the tribe's daily life.

• The first member of the Royal Family to ride in a motor car was Queen Victoria's son, the Prince of Wales (later Edward VII)

• The longest serving royal consort is Queen Charlotte, the wife of King George III, from their marriage on 9 September 1761 until her death at the age of 74 on 17 November 1818, almost 57 years in total. The longest serving husband of a reigning queen is the Duke of Edinburgh.

• The only monarch to be born and die at Buckingham Palace was King Edward VII. He was born at the palace in 1841 and died there in 1910.

• The Queen does not own the Royal Palaces, works of art from the Royal Collection or the Crown Jewels. These are held by Her Majesty as Sovereign and must be passed to her successor in due course.

© Marilyn Braun 2006