It's May: Royal Wedding Saturdays!

England

Denmark

Wedding Planning etiquette is quite the issue when two European royal dynasties had heirs to the throne getting hitched on Saturdays a week apart. The Windsor family is mega wattage with the 11th in line to throne, Peter Phillips marrying his Canadian bride, Autumn Kelly. Her Majesty, the Queen of England attended the wedding. Well, since the Event was held at her smaller home, Windsor Castle, which has been around since William the Conqueror started building it in 1066. There was a Royal reception featuring the Prince of Wales and the Princess of Wales that goes by the more politically correct Duchess of Cornwall at Frogmore House about a mile away and still part of the Royal real estate holdings. (Peter Phillips & Mrs. Autumn Phillips)

A few hundred kilometers away today was the Scandinavian Royals celebrating the nuptials of Denmark's Prince Joachim to Marie Cavallier. Attendees included Sweden's & Norway's royals at the eight hundred year old Mogeltonder Church in a picturesque Danish village with less than a thousand people, scene of many a Dane royal event. Former royal personages, prior Greek Queen Anne-Marie who is the younger sister of the groom's mother, Queen Margarethe and sister-in-law to former French citizen, Prince Henrik. Schakenborg Castle, the Prince's digs, is where the reception was held a coterie of 300 guests. His first marriage had taken place at Fredensborg Castle scene of royal festivities for Europe's longest reigning monarchy. Now, Her Royal Highness Princess Marie received the use of a royal tiara from her mother-in-law, the Queen.

Joachim's 32-year-old bride wore an off-white gown with a three-meter-long train designed by David Arasa and Claudio Morelli from fashion house Arasa Morelli.

Cavallier, now Her Royal Highness Princess Marie, held her veil in place with a tiara belonging to her new mother-in-law.

The new princess, whose background is Roman Catholic, has become a member of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Denmark and has taken Danish citizenship.

"I think she is beautiful," said Hanne Schoenneman, a resident of Moegeltoender. "She seems happy and positive and straightforward."

In a multitude of irony, the English Princess Royal's soon-to-be daughter-in-law glided down the aisle in St. George's Chapel to Jeremiah Clarke's Prince of Denmark's march wearing one of Princess Anne's tiaras. Something borrowed, check that off the list. Prince Phillip official consort/husband to the Queen of England is by birthright a prince of Denmark who renounced those royal titles upon his marriage to QEII. Meanwhile, Prince William was in Kenya for a friend's wedding leaving his on-again-off again-back on again girlfriend, Kate Middleton, to represent him at his cousin's royal wedding. Prince Joachim had his own plethora of Crown Princesses and Crown Princes, including attending his second wedding to a French citizen along with his two sons from his first marriage on the 73rd anniversary of his grandparents marriage, King Frederik and Queen Ingrid. (Pay attention there will be a test later...) Prince Felix son of Prince Joachim was considerably overwhelmed with the pageantry and promptly fell asleep halfway through, but his father the groom wept when he saw his bride. Wonder what the former James Bond, Roger Moore, thought of that as he sat in the pew as this wedding took place.

She was attended by six bridesmaids: Zara Phillips, her new sister-in-law, Jacqueline Aubie, a friend from Canada, and Susannah Toynbee, a friend from England, each wearing dresses by Vera Wang; and children Stephanie Phillips, Peter's half-sister, Jessica Kelly, Autumn's half-sister, and Rosie Bush, Peter's god-daughter.

Ms Holford, the wedding gown designer, said: "Autumn was incredibly composed but slightly nervous. She was also very excited. … She has been very enthusiastic and so easy to work with.

"She had definite ideas about the style she wanted: one that would befit a society wedding but also reflect her own style."

Interesting that each bride has taken on the religious faith of their new country and royal family. Great jewels, and interesting family trees make royal watching a refined sport.


Royal Note: Author Jerramy Fine left a gracious note and a link to her just released book, Someday My Prince Will Come: True Tales of a Wannabe Princess chronicling her hopes, dreams and the interference of reality on her way to snagging and snogging an English prince. The book details her real life encounters with royal members of the House of Windsor.