Previously, on Order of Splendor... (it's just like a soap opera, guys) we took a freakishly long look at royal brides and their updos. And we left off with this gem:
Princess Margriet of the Netherlands, and a little taste of what's coming at you right now. Today we finish up all things fancy in royal bridal updos with the ladies that really went for it. I mean, if Team Updo had mascots, these ladies would be it, hair do's and hair don'ts included.
Don't Date Yourself...
Hair styles come and go just like the rest of fashion. This is one of the problems with an updo: you might accidentally stick yourself permanently in the past.
L to R: the Princess Royal; Duchess Marie von Württemberg; Princess Caroline of Monaco; Princess Michael of Kent
Oh, Princess Anne. She really is the MVP of Team Updo; seriously, I think she sleeps in one. The hair really adds a certain je ne sais quoi to the Star Wars feel of this gown, no? With her simple fringe tiara and light veil, she had room to show off her beehive, which dates her to the 1970s bride she actually was. This isn't a major updo in scale, just in style. Also dated, but curiously to the wrong era, is Marie von Württemberg. She married in 1993, but that Anne-esque do comes straight out of the another decade.
Speaking of Star Wars, next up is Princess Caroline at her first wedding. (Anne predates Princess Leia, by the way. Caroline has no such excuse.) Earmuffs made of some kind of baby's breath-looking flower are no substitute for a tiara. Princess Michael went for a fancy substitute for a tiara at her civil wedding, being that not even she can pull off the tiara-and-suit combo. It might be the first time something qualified as "fancy" while also appearing to use a fisherman's net in its construction. Actually, this isn't really an updo, but it's so done I'll just stick it here.
Hair on Show
I suppose it takes a long time to whip up these creations. Might as well make them the star of the show, right?
L to R: Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon; Viscountess Linley; Queen Rania of Jordan; Princess Alexandra of Denmark at her first wedding and then as Countess of Fredericksborg at her second
Princess Margaret put her hair on show as the backdrop for the fantastic Poltimore tiara, the height and dazzle of which was all designed to give this pint-sized royal some extra height on her big day. When Serena Linley married Margaret's son, she opted for shameless flattery with a look designed to mimic Margaret, right down to the hair. Queen Rania made a similar move at her wedding, though instead of a tiara she just choked off her updo with a bedazzled hair ornament to match her dress.
And then we have the lovely Princess Alexandra (now Countess of Fredericksborg), a lady that loved a ferocious updo even more than the Swedish ladies and their fancypants Nobel Prize hair. Not only did she opt for a serious barnet at her first wedding to Prince Joachim, she went the Rania route at her second wedding too. No offense to Joachim's current wife, Marie, but I quite miss Alex. Well, her stylist, at least.
MAJOR Updos
Occasionally, the hair is the entire point of the show.
Occasionally, the hair is the entire point of the show.
Just like Princess Michael: not an updo, per se, but deserving of a place in the category nonetheless. This is Princess Victoria of Bourbon-Two Sicilies, and she wins the You Did What? With Your Veil? prize.
This is Isabel and she is the Duchess of Braganza. She wins our ribbon for Most Precariously Placed Tiara.
This is Princess Clotilde d'Orléans. And she wins the crown for Most Disappointing Front View. Such a wee tiara (hair ornament? bracelet?) and so far back. Not a good combo.
And now, to finish us out, more ladies from the house of Württemberg: truly a family of updo lovers.
This is Princess Diane of France, Duchess of Württemberg, and I'll bestow upon her the prize for Most Likely Assembled by Fairies and/or Singing Birds.
And this is her daughter, Duchess Fleur of Württemberg. Is this 'do a tribute, or is it just in the genes? Either way, she wins the title of Most Likely to Have Been Caught In a Flower Storm Just Before the Ceremony.
Et en fin:
This is Diane's other daughter, Duchess Mathilde of Württemberg. And she wins the prize for Ruining Team Updo For Me.
How about you: is there a point at which you hop off the updo train? Or are you keen to ride it straight into gimic territory?