European Royals

Summer shows young royals that every move can bring a controversy not of their making

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30th August 2023
Summer and the royal news agenda is easy, mostly because very little happens. Holidays beckon, diaries thin out and the constant spotlight seems to dim. Or does it? This summer has shown several young royals that scrutiny is never more than a moment away, even if they are doing nothing more than going about their daily business. In the last weeks, Princess Ingrid Alexandra of Norway, 19…
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Norway

The royal bride whose wedding dress came via a department store

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29th August 2023
The marriage of Sonja Haraldsen to the future King of Norway, on August 29th 1968, marked a moment of joy in a relationship that had caused huge debate as soon as it was known about. For the bride had no royal blood in a monarchy where princes were expected to wed regally. However, love prevailed and Sonja married the then Crown Prince Harald in front of crowned heads from across Europe. This…
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Features

A royal rarity - an emerald engagement ring

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28th August 2023
It’s rare to see a royal engagement ring with a flash of green about it. Emeralds aren’t the most popular pick for royal betrothals but the few that have hit the headlines are all rather striking. Here’s our rundown of that rarest of royal sparklers…
Features

The royal wedding that led to the creation of the House of Windsor

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27th August 2023
Picked as a royal bride by Queen Victoria herself, Princess Mary of Teck would find her way to the altar in the most unusual circumstances. For Mary ended up saying ‘I do’ to the second king in waiting selected as a husband for her. But her marriage proved to be a happy one as well as a royal success story. Victoria Mary Augusta Louise Olga Pauline Claudine Agnes of Teck walked…
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Norway

The royal wedding bouquet that was so unusual it was given a name all of its own

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25th August 2023
It’s not often the bridal bouquet gets its own name but that’s just what happened at the first major royal wedding of the 21st century. When Mette-Marit Tjessem Hjoiby married Crown Prince Haakon of Norway, on August 25th 2001 in Oslo, she carried an unusual arrangement of flowers that had a title all of its own. The creation was called ‘Brudeloperen’ and it remains one…
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