OF ROYALTY and missing height

... goodness gracious me! Diana, where did that height of yours go?
And no, it ain't the heels...

... oh, would you believe how incredibly LUCKY I was - some days ago, on one of my flea market trips, I found an original souvenir from THE Royal Wedding that marked the second half of the 20th century - I'm talking about Prince William's parents of course, and the couple that could have been Kate Middleton's parents-in-law. Well. 1981, at St Paul's Cathedral, this man and this woman were married, we all know about what Diana, herself apparently not an uncomplicated person, said about her marriage, and from the start: "there were three of us, so it was a bit crowded". Too bad, and the end was tragic of course. Now, my "The Royal Wedding. Official souvenir" gives readers insight into many wonderful details. Photographs were tsaken by Lord Snowdon, or simply Snowdon, who was of course the first husband of Queen Elizabeth's younger sister, Princess Margaret.

the beginning of a not so happy marriage...

... very amusing: in one of the portraits that shows the couple together, Prince Charles seems to be far taller than his future wife. Alas, you also get a portrait of the two of them together with the Queen, and not even the heel-situation could explain where that missing height of Diana's went. Mmmh. I also like the trail of the Queen's dress from when she got married, it seems like it were flowing down the stairs. And then we also get a particularly artsy photograph of Lady Diana's engagement ring - the same one that has now been put on Kate Middleton's finger, and Prince Charles' "Ich Dien" (my oh my) signet ring which he never takes off. And then there's a lovely portrait of the two designers of Diana's wedding gown (which was not done by Bruce Oldfield, interestingly, because that's what I'd ve thought, Elizabeth and David Emanuel. The married couple of designers later divorced, but David Emanuel still is in fashion, doing BRITISH COUTURE. Even if we may still be in the unclear regarding who will design Kate Middleton's wedding dress, I think it's a pretty safe guess that David Emanuel won't be the one ...

the Queen's trail is lovely, wonderful material, rich and soft. Prince Charles' parents married in 1947...

... il y a quelques jours, j'avais beaucoup beaucoup de chance en trouvant un exemplaire du "souvenir authentique" du mariage royal qui a marqué la fin du 20ème siècle, celui de Diana et Charles bien sûr (c'était en 1981). Le volume contient un grand nombre de photographies faites par Lord Snowdon le mari de la sœur plus jeune d'Elisabeth II, Margaret. J'ai trouvé particulièrement amusant la juxtaposition de deux images dont une montre Diana et Charles avec la reine, où l'on voit très clairement qu'ils ont à peu près la même taille, et quelques pages plus loin on en voit une autre avec Charles en version maxi, cette fois-ci. Trop drôle, non ? Car c'est bien cela, la CONSTRUCTION DU SEXE. Bon, sinon, on y voit aussi la bague de fiançailles portée par Diana (qui orne à présent l'annulaire de Kate Middleton) ainsi qu'une photo du couple de créateurs qui ont dessiné la robe de mariée pour Diana. C'étaient David et Elizabeth Emanuel, à l'époque, plus tard ils ont divorcé. Et même si Monsieur Emanuel continue à être actif dans la mode, j'oserais parier que lui ne sera pas le créateur honoré par le goût de Kate Middleton ...

the world currently marvels at the very same ring on Kate Middleton's finger...

... pochi giorni fa sono stato fortunatissimo perchè ho trovato, su uno dei mercati delle pulci che con tanta assiduità sto visitando, un esemplare dell'opuscolo che è stato prodotto per il matrimonio di Charles e Diana nell'81. Bellissimo, e anche abbastanza divertente. Per esempio, mi ha impressionato il fatto che vediamo un ritratto ufficiale della coppia regale dove Charles è nettamente più alto della sua fidanzata - mentre su un altra pagina, li vediamo accanto alla Queen con nettamente più o meno la stessa statura. Poi, mi è piacuta la foto (tutte le immagini sono state realizzate dal primo marito della sorella di Queen Elizabeth, Lord Snowdon) dove vediamo l'anello di fidanzamento di Diana sul suo dito che ormai (l'anello, e non il dito) è passato sulla mano di Kate Middleton. E poi e poi, c'è la foto degli stilisti David e Elizabeth Emanuel che hanno disegnato l'abito da sposa portato da Diana (figuratevi che io ero convinto fosse disegnata da Bruce Oldfield!) - anche questa coppia si spaccò più tardi, e mentre il signor Emanuel continua a lavorare nella moda, sono quasi convinto che non sara lui lo stilista invitato a creare l'abito da sposa per la bella Kate ...

Elizabeth and David Emanuel designed Diana's wedding dress - their marriage didn't last, either ...