Princess Politics #5

Queen Elizabeth II

Queen Elizabeth, born on April 21, 1926, was the eldest child of King George IV, the Duke of York and his wife Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon. Her highness spent her early years in 145 Piccadily, the London house and at White Lodge in Richmond Park. In 1942, Princess Elizabeth was appointed Colonel-in-Chief of the Grenadier Guards, and on her sixteenth birthday she carried out her first public engagement, when she inspected the regiment. On 6 February 1952, whilst visiting Kenya, Princess Elizabeth received the news of her father's death and her own accession to the throne. Her coronation took place in Westminster Abbey on 2 June 1953. Her highness was still a princess when she got married to Prince Philip of Greece and Denmark in November 1947 and are happily married till date. The Queen’s personal relationships with a host of world leaders have been particularly warm and informal, developing friendships with Nelson Mandela, Mary Robinson, and George W. Bush. Despite a number of controversies surrounding the rest of the royal family, particularly throughout the 1980s and 1990s, Queen Elizabeth remains a remarkably uncontroversial and widely respected figure. Her Highness is the second longest serving British monarch and has presided over half a century of continual change both within the Royal Family, Britain and the Commonwealth. Even with her schedule, the Queen never forgets to look like a gem. With a care for co-ordination, she loves to match her outfits from head to gloves. From powdery shades of pink to vibrant shades of blue, Her Highness isn’t afraid to experiment with colours. She also adds spice to her coloured ensemble with quirky hats, bling brooches and fur details. Although round necks and fuchsia pink seem to be the Queen’s favourites, she has branched out to polka-dots, paisley prints and monochrome which she pulls off with grace. Let’s not forget her grand entrance in a head-to-toe sparkle gown at the Royal Albert Hall, London, which obviously shows that the Queen isn’t afraid of going all out.

Princess Politics #4

 Diana, Princess of Wales

Diana, Princess of Wales, formerly Lady Diana Frances Spencer, was born on 1 July 1961 at Park House near Sandringham, Norfolk. Lady Diana was educated first at a preparatory school, Riddlesworth Hall at Diss, Norfolk, and then in 1974 went as a boarder to West Heath, near Sevenoaks, Kent. At school she showed a particular talent for music, dancing and domestic science and won the school's award for the girl giving maximum help to the school and her schoolfellows. She was born in an aristocrat family and later received the title of “Her Royal Highness Princess Diana of Wales” upon her marriage to Prince Charles in 1981. She is survived by Prince Charles, and her two sons Prince William and Prince Harry. During her life she was often said to be the most photographed person, appearing on the cover of People magazine more than anyone else. She symbolized feminine beauty and glamour. At the same time, she was admired for her ground-breaking charity work; in particular her work with AIDS patients and supporting the campaign for banning landmines. Princess Diana had a penchant for carrying anything quite naturally. From her 25 foot-long trail wedding gown to jeans and sweatshirt at the Guards Polo Club, no matter what Diana wore, she looked like a million bucks.

Princess Politics #3

Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis

Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy Onassis was born on July 28, 1929 in Southampton, New York to father John, a wealthy New York stock broker and mother Janet Bouvier, an accomplished equestrienne of Irish Catholic heritage. Eldest of two, Jackie has a younger sister Caroline Lee Bouvier. Jacqueline enjoyed a privileged childhood of ballet lessons and French lessons from the age of 12. At a dinner party in 1952, Jackie met the dashing young congressman and senator-elect John F Kennedy from Massachusettes who asked her out on a date and they got married a year later on September 12, 1953. In January 1960, during Kennedy’s candidacy for U.S presidency, Jackie worked tirelessly from home due to her pregnancy at the time which prevented her from joining her husband on the campaign trail. In this period she answered letter, gave interviews, taped commercials and wrote a weekly column called “Campaign Wife”. Her mission as the First Lady was to transform the White House into a museum of American history and culture that would inspire patriotism in public service those who visited. The public became enchanted with her simple approach to clothing and beauty and eventually this helped women get out of tight waists and crinolines and into sleek shifts, pillbox hats and a natural approach to makeup that focused on the eyes. Jackie Kennedy brought shift dresses, three-quarter sleeves, jeweled sandals, silk scarves with big sunglasses to the masses that endures strongly up to this day. She showed us that if you’re going to wear white, make it as blinding as possible having the effect of a spotlight on you all the time. Jackie’s buttoned-down sleeveless shirt is such a good alternative to tank tops which we still follow and she made a grand gesture that pink is more powerful than red with diamonds ofcourse. A scarf was an iconic alternative to a ponytail for Jackie. Ever seen an elastic around her wrist? We think not!

Princess Politics #2

Michelle Obama

Michelle Obama was born as Michelle LaVaughn Robinson on January 17, 1964 in Chicago, Illinois. She was raised in a one bedroom apartment by her father, Fraser Robinson, a city pump operator and a Democratic precinct captain and mother, Marian, a Spiegel’s secretary. She was often mistaken to be her brother Craig as they were 21 months apart in age. Michelle learnt J.D from Harvard Law School in 1988 after which she worked as an associate in a law firm called Sidly Austin in the area for marketing and intellectual property. In 1989, she was assigned as an advisor to Barack Obama who was a summer intern and soon their relationship began. Two years post-dating, the couple got married at Trinity United Church of Christ on October 3, 1992. Michelle Obama first caught the public’s attention while at her husband’s side when he delivered a speech at the Democratic National Convention in 2004 on being elected as U.S Senate from Illinois. In 2007, Michelle helped attend family and campaign obligations and look after their daughters, Malia and Sasha, during Barack Obama’s presidential nomination. It was at the first session of Democratic National Convention in NYC, when Michelle’s fashion was exposed to the national audience when she entered in a pretty pink and gold toile Tracy Reese dress. Following that, she kept surprising us with bold prints and structured silhouettes wearing green-blue Barbara Tfank at a Kids’ “States Dinner” and an embellished J. Mendel jacket on a white pleated dress on her 2nd visit to Queen Elizabeth II at Buckingham Palace. Michelle kept the bar up high by wearing floral and color-blocked dresses with pastel cardigans for campaign events, fundraisers and interviews that had us go GUAU!! But when the First Lady wears a Michael Korrs black one-shoulder with a gold Dior belt, an elegant blue Jason Wu dress or a bottle-green Marchesa gown for major formal events, she pulls off to be a hero and a diva, at the same time.