Today, Princess Mary attended the commemoration of the 20th anniversary of the ‘Rights of the Child’ conference. She paired a loosely-knotted black scarf with her dark blue textured coat.

Andrea Casiraghi let his scarf hang free, for a casual look, despite his tie. He as the guest of honor at the 149th Hospices de Beaune Wine Auction in Beaune, France, on November 15, 2009. Side note: Check out his purple loafers too!

Both of these looks show that the mega-scarf trend is continuing this season. It’s all a matter of choice how you wear it!

images: Bauer Griffin

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Very little varies from year to year in the ceremony at the House of Lords in London’s Westminster Palace. Several parts of the ceremony, such as a search of the palace cellars and Buckingham Palace’s taking of a “hostage” from the House of Commons, are performed purely for the sake of tradition, which may go back as far as 1605 (in the case of the cellar search).

Queen Elizabeth, accompanied by Prince Philip, arrives, wearing the King George IV Diadem, which was made in 1820.

The Imperial State Crown is taken to Westminster on a separate horse-drawn carriage from the Queen. The monarch swaps her diadem for the State Crown, proceeds to the throne and delivers her speech to the combined House of Lords and House of Commons.

In her speech, she outlines the British government’s plans for the coming year, as well as State Visits that have been planned. (Full text of this year’s speech here.)

After her speech, the Queen leaves, and the ceremony continues in her absence.

And so, another year begins in the British parliament and the Imperial State Crown returns to the Tower of London for safekeeping.

Till next year’s Parliament Opening!

images via Zuma Press

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The monument, made of granite from Bornholm island, was created by Danish artist Bjoern Noergaard. Danish Minister of Defense Søren Gade also attended the ceremony yesterday. Another memorial, created in 1958, stands at the Rosenborg Palace in Copenhagen to commemorate more than 2000 soldiers who have died since the regiment was established in 1659. (source)

images via Zuma Press

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Six months after the birth of her son, Prince Henrik Carl, Princess Marie of Denmark is taking on more royal duties in support of the Danish royal family. The princess, who is the wife of Prince Joachim, became patron of the Danish National UNESCO Commission yesterday. The ceremony was held at the Danish Ministry of Education in Copenhagen, Denmark.

It’s good to see Princess Marie being engaged in a more public life and getting involved in her own causes, and not just those of her husband.

Recently, the Skive Barracks in Mid-Jutland re-named a road in Princess Marie’s honor. The Princess Maries Vej (Princess Marie’s Road), which is located within the military base, was formerly called the Princess Alexandras Vej. It’s another sign that Princess Marie is being integrated more and more into Danish royal life.

images: Zuma Press

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Princess Amalia, Princess Alexia and Princess Ariane all had prime views of what what was going on. Every year, Saint Nicholas arrives in the Netherlands by ship and leads a parade through the city. Huge crowds of children and their parents gather every year to welcome him.

images: Zuma Press

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16 – Princess Sana of Jordan (1960)

19- Lady Davina Lewis (1977)

20 – Princess Theodora of Liechtenstein (2004)

20 – Prince Umberto of Bulgaria (1999)

20 – Princess Sofia of Bulgaria (1999)

20 – Crown Prince Otto von Habsburg (1912)

20 – Alexandra Princess zu Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg (1970)

21 – Maria Teresa Sartorius y de Liechtenstein (1992)

via Royal Forums

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Prince Charles and Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall have wrapped up their visit to Canada. The visit, which was from November 2-12, 2009, was Prince Charles’s 15th and Camilla’s first.

The royal couple visited 12 cities, including Montreal, Toronto, Ottawa and Vancouver. Their activities ranged from meetings with businesses, charities, and the Canadian military to a stop at Dundurn Castle. Prince Charles also awarded the Canadian Heritage Award to the city of Edmonton in Alberta province.

The Royal Channel on YouTube has released several videos of the 11-day visit. Below is the one of Prince Charles and Camilla’s arrival in St John’s, Newfoundland to kick off their Canadian trip.

On November 5, the Duchess visited Dundurn Castle in Hamilton near Toronto. The castle was built by her Great-great-great Grandfather Sir Allan Napier NcNabas.

On November 9, the royal couple took part in ceremonies celebrating 100 years of the Canadian Navy.

You’ll find even more videos of the royal visit at The Royal Channel.

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Queen Beatrix wore a print dress in electric blue, a shade which made her look vibrant. She kept to the blue palette, down to her necklace and earrings. I’m very much drawn to this shade of blue, and the print, though busy, is subtle enough. I like it!

Princess Maxima chose an above-the-knee dress in eggplant (or is it brown?), under a black and white coat. The colors are okay, but I think the cut of the coat – and the dress – isn’t really flattering for her. What do you think?

images: Zuma Press

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King Carl Gustaf and Queen Silvia attended the formal affair which celebrated the 50th anniversary of the Swedish board of trade in Hamburg. King Carl was dashing enough, but he had nothing on his wife. The queen in the sequin-covered number was sure to have been a head-turner that night.

images: Zuma Press

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Reports quote sources close to the couple as saying that the two are “officially back together”. Over the summer, both Chelsy and Prince Harry were reported to be having flings with various personalities. In the end, though, it looks like they really can’t stay away from each other. I hope that whatever really caused their break-up has been ironed out.

The Daily Mail has more photos of the couple at the rugby match on November 8, 2009.

image: Zuma Press

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