Celebration of the coronation of King Willem-Alexander & Queen Maxima of the Netherlands
In celebration of the upcoming coronation of the new King & Queen of the Netherlands, Willem-Alexander & Maxima, here is an article from the Spanish edition of “Vanity Fair”.
**for Prince Harry fans**
Sketches of maternity wear created for Diana, Princess of Wales, are to go on display, showing how she personalised designs to stamp her own style on her pregnancy wardrobe.
Now, a new exhibition featuring designs for her maternity wear will include sketches tweaked by Princess Diana, demonstrating how she closely collaborated with designers on her wardrobe.
They include the “fairy princess” dress she wore shortly before announcing her first pregnancy, and several glamorous outfits on to which she stamped her personal style.
The designs will feature in a retrospective of the fashion house Bellville Sassoon, founded in the 1950s by Belinda Bellville, the socialite, and David Sassoon, the designer who worked closely with Princess Diana from her engagement to the Prince of Wales in 1981, through to the 1990s.
Sketches from Sassoon’s personal archive will go on display at London’s Fashion and Textile Museum, including the design for the hand-painted, off-the-shoulder white and blue chiffon dress that Princess Diana wore to an opening at the V&A Museum in November 1981, while two months pregnant with the Duke of Cambridge.
A floral day dress (The Glamour of Bellville Sassoon by David Sassoon and Sinty Stemp/Empics)
Sassoon, 80, said: “We called it the fairy princess dress because we received so many letters about it, especially from children, who thought that was what a fairytale princess should look like. Diana loved this dress – it appealed to her sense of romance.”
During Princess Diana’s pregnancy, Sassoon sent sketches to Kensington Palace, on to which she scribbled her ideas to be incorporated into the designs before fittings.
One sketch of a turquoise, bouclé maternity dress features her notes: “Please could I have this one without the high collar and bow?”
Sassoon said: “She had a very clear idea of what she did and didn’t like and she’d look at sketches and make notes asking if we could put a sleeve or a neckline from one design on to another dress.”
Another sketch for a claret taffeta dress with bows, shows her enthusiasm to have the dress made up, with the words “Yes please!” next to the design which she wore to the opening of the Barbican Centre with the Queen in March 1982, when she was six months pregnant.
The claret dress the Princess wore to the Barbican opening (The Glamour of Bellville Sassoon by David Sassoon and Sinty Stemp/Getty)
“We had to let it out at the very last minute because her bump had suddenly grown,” said Sassoon. “She was very excited about the baby but also conscious of looking appropriate for the occasion during her pregnancy.”
He added: “Diana didn’t like coats. I used to ask ‘are you going to be warm enough wearing that?’ and she’d say, ‘don’t worry, I’ll wear my thermals underneath’. She was a great one for thermals.”
Also on display will be the design for a velvet maternity dress with a lace collar including her notes: “This one in dark blue please.” Sassoon made the dress in 1982 using lace which had belonged to Queen Victoria.
The original sketch for the white chiffon empire-line dress which the Princess wore to a West End production of The Little Foxes, starring Elizabeth Taylor, will also be exhibited.
A maternity gown she wore while expecting Prince Harry (The Glamour of Bellville Sassoon by David Sassoon and Sinty Stemp/Tim Graham)
Sassoon said: “Diana enjoyed fashion and getting a reaction from her outfits. In fittings, she’d say ‘this will get them going – this will get a response’.
“Everyone thought she was fussy about clothes but she wasn’t. Many other members of the Royal family would ask for hundreds of changes in fittings and ruin the whole outfit, but not Diana.”
With the pregnant Duchess of Cambridge undertaking her first official engagement of the year this week, royal maternity wear is likely to be under the spotlight once again.
The Princess chats to David Sassoon (Getty)
The Glamour of Bellville Sassoon will open in September, featuring designs spanning more than 50 years from the fashion house whose clients include the late Audrey Hepburn, Helen Mirren and Jerry Hall.
Sassoon also designed for the late Princess Margaret, the Princess Royal and Princess Michael of Kent, whose wedding dress will go on display.
* The Glamour of Bellville Sassoon at the Fashion and Textile Museum, September 20 to January 11, 2014, www.ftmlondon.org
I am very pleased to announce that Ancestors of a Princess will now be regularly Updated. This section has been sadly neglected due to my new work Schedule at the Library So I enlisted to help of a wonderful person who loves Diana and who knows her royal history. Tina Serafini will be posting some fabulous pieces pertaining to Diana and her ancestors through out history.Her first post can be found here http://dianaslegacy.com/aop/?p=119 . Please leave your comments at the bottom of her post. Welcome Tina to the Diana’s Legacy Team.
Earl Spencer, Princess Diana’s brother, has announced he will close the museum he set up to exhibit Diana’s dresses and treasures at their ancestral home, Althorp. Lord Spencer, who vowed to protect Diana’s memory during her funeral, will hand over its contents to his nephews, Prince William and Prince Harry. Lord Spencer says Diana’s will stated that her belongings were to be “looked after” by him until both of her sons turned 30, at which point the contents would transfer into their possession. Prince Harry will be 30 next year. “It will close worldwide in August 2014,” confirms a spokesman for Charles Spencer, who took the show,” Diana: A Celebration,” on tour to America.
The collection includes 28 of Diana’s dresses, two tiaras and other priceless family jewels as well as pictures, letters and home movies. No definitive plans have been made yet but there a possibility that Diana’s clothes and other belongings will go on display at Kensington Palace, were she lived until her death.
The royal said he had always planned on attending the London event despite the terror attack at the finish line of the US race Prince Harry arrives at the finish line prior to the Virgin London Marathon Getty Prince Harry has praised the “absolute remarkable” way the people of Boston has dealt with the marathon bombings. The royal, who was handing out medals to London Marathon runners, said his attendance at today’s race was never in question despite the deadly terror attack which killed three and injured 176. He told the BBC: “It was never an option as far as I was concerned. “Certainly everyone that was planning on coming is still here, no one’s changed any plans – the volunteers, the security, everyone is here, nothing’s changed. “It was always going to be really well run and it always is, typically the British way the London marathon has been running for years. “The way that Boston has dealt with it has been absolutely remarkable. It’s never going to get anyone down here, the great thing about the marathon is no matter what colour you are, or religion, no matter what nationality you are, everyone comes together to run a certain distance to raise money for amazing causes. “I think that you can never that take away from people.” Praising the large turn out of spectators who have lined the streets of the capital to cheer runners on, he added: “It’s fantastic, it’s typically British I think. “People have been saying they haven’t seen crowds like this for eight years around the route, which is remarkable to see. “We’re always stuck here at this bit of the finish line but maybe next year I can try and get out on the course and soak up the atmosphere a bit.” Harry said the marathon raises millions of pounds for the charities that he and other members of the Royal Family are patrons of. “It’s a great opportunity for people from all walks of life to come along and raise money for their own personal charities, small or big,” he said. “For us we’re very lucky, we get a huge amount of places given to us by the marathon for all of our charities – my sister-in-law and William as well. “We’re hugely fortunate for what the marathon does for us. We’re immensely grateful to them so I will continue to show my support where I can.” The prince also spoke of the recent announcement that he will take part in a race to the South Pole with a team of wounded British servicemen and women later this year. “Walking with the Wounded is something that I’ve been involved with for sometime now,” he said. “It’s an amazing opportunity. “The only reason that I’ve signed up myself for this is well, firstly, because I only managed to do four days last time. I got dragged back, which was a horrible thing to do. “But any way that I can support these guys I will, if that means walking 280 miles or whatever it is – no one told me that when I signed up for it – now I know it’s a hell of a long way and I’ll do my bit, get fed enough because I don’t want to hold the guys back. “It’s going to be a fantastic race and a wonderful cause to raise awareness for all these remarkable people around the world that are having to continue their lives with injuries, whether they be mental or physical.”
On July 10, 1986 the Prince & Princess of Wales attended the christening of Prince Philippos of Greece, son of King Constantine II of Greece. Prince Philippos was born on April 26 and Diana was chosen to be one of his godmothers.
Princess Diana and Princess Kate Collectors Group
Queen Diana Group
Recent Comments