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| Official photograph, Anna-Lena Ahlström/Kungahuset.se |
Princess Leonore of Sweden (daughter of Princess Madeleine and Christopher O’Neill) was christened on her parents’ first wedding anniversary yesterday, and you know what that means: RETURN OF THE BABY SASH.
Yes, Leonore’s grandfather, King Carl Gustaf, gave her the Order of the Seraphim (Sweden’s highest order) and just as he did
with Princess Estelle, he made it complete with a miniature sash and badge to add to the antique family christening gown. The most successful royal bid for extra cute points of our time, this is. Keep it up, Sweden.
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| Official photograph, Anna-Lena Ahlström/Kungahuset.se |
Leonore’s entourage went with a coordinated pastel scheme. Both mother Madeleine and grandmother Silvia were in lace dresses from Valentino. A classic blue for Silvia with a Philip Treacy hat and a pink baby doll-type number for Madeleine with a piece of fishnet draped over her face for good measure. (Which I dislike primarily on the grounds that it would annoy me constantly if I wore it, so I’m full of logic as usual today.)
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| King Carl Gustaf and Prince Carl Philip were in uniform, and Chris and Daniel, like most of the male guests, wore morning suits. Bottom left above: with all the godparents. |
Madeleine was radiant, veil and all, and Silvia was elegant, but aunt Victoria was my favorite for the day. She and her partner in crime Princess Estelle showed us that thing that Sweden does particularly well: providing throwbacks to their history without knocking you over the head with the sentimentality. In this case, Estelle was wearing a dress her mother wore back in 1980 and Victoria’s Philip Treacy headpiece was clearly designed to honor the one worn by Queen Silvia for the baptism of Prince Carl Philip in 1979. (Comparisons below.
)Truth be told, I like Victoria’s gesture more than the actual result, but her Dolce & Gabbana dress was enough to sell me on the win. Actually, Victoria didn’t have to sell me on it – the work was already done for her the day before, when Princess Marie-Chantal of Greece wore the very same dress to the Epsom Derby.
Memo to Victoria: try this one with a big hat next time. It's a good look.
For more on the christening: a
link to the broadcast if you'd like to watch and more details from the weekend post, a big
gallery and some video clips from Aftonbladet.
P.S.: It's a two post day! Keep scrolling.Photos: As indicated and SVT/IBL/Lyst/Krueger Jewellery
