While the release of Disney’s live-action Cinderella may qualify Lily James as the princess of the moment, the common folk been looking to royals for style inspiration for centuries.  From Princess Grace of Monaco  and Diana, Princess of Wales , to  Crown Princess Mary of Denmark , these are the  Six royal style icons inspiring the Class styling of the last century.

Princess Grace of Monaco

Grace Patricia Kelly (November 12, 1929 – September 14, 1982) was an American actress who, after marrying Prince Rainier III, became Princess of Monaco.

After embarking on an acting career in 1950, at the age of 20, Kelly appeared in New York City theatrical productions and more than 40 episodes of live drama.  She won  a Golden Globe Award and an Academy Award nomination in 1954. She had leading roles in five films, including The Country Girl, for which her deglamorized performance earned her an Academy Award for Best Actress.

Kelly retired from acting at the age of 26 to marry Rainier and begin her duties in Monaco. She  had three children:Caroline, Albert, and Stéphanie. She retained her American roots, maintaining dual U.S. and Monégasque citizenship.She died on September 14, 1982, a day after a stroke caused her to crash her car.

Princess Grace of Monaco holds her 5 day old son Prince Albert, 1958.

Now, Prince Abert of Monaco reveals that his mother was a ‘loving and caring hands-on mom’ who only ever sought the best for her three children.

FASHION

While pregnant with her daughter, Caroline, in 1956, Kelly was frequently photographed clutching a distinctive leather hand-bag manufactured by Hermès. The purse, or Sac à dépêches, was likely a shield to prevent her pregnant abdomen from being exposed to the prying eyes of the paparazzi. The photographs, however, popularized the purse and became so closely associated with the fashion icon that it would thereafter be known as the Kelly Bag.

 

Kelly was inaugurated into the International Best Dressed List Hall of Fame in 1960.

Numerous exhibitions have been held of Kelly’s life and clothing. The Philadelphia Museum of Art presented her wedding dress in a 2006 exhibition to mark the 50th anniversary of her marriage, and a retrospective of her wardrobe was held at London’s Victoria and Albert Museum in 2010.The V&A exhibition continued in Australia at the Bendigo Art Gallery in 2012.

 

This famous dress, seen around the world, took thirty five tailors six weeks to complete.

 

 

An exhibition of her life as Princess of Monaco was held at the Ekaterina Cultural Foundation in Moscow in 2008 in conjunction with Monaco’s Grimaldi Forum. In 2009, a plaque was placed on the “Rodeo Drive Walk of Style” in recognition of her contributions to style and fashion.

After her death, Kelly’s legacy as a fashion icon lived on. Modern designers, such as Tommy Hilfiger and Zac Posen, have cited her as a fashion inspiration. During her lifetime, she was known for introducing the “fresh faced” look, one that involved bright skin and natural beauty with little makeup.

 

Her fashion legacy was even commemorated at the Victoria and Albert Museum of London, where an exhibit titled, “Grace Kelly: Style Icon” paid tribute to her impact on the world of fashion. The exhibit included 50 of her legendary ensembles.She is remembered for her “college-girl” everyday fashion, defined by her pulled-together yet simple look.

Diana, Princess of Wales

Diana, Princess of Wales (Diana Frances; née Spencer; 1 July 1961 – 31 August 1997), was the first wife ofCharles, Prince of Wales, who is the eldest child and heir apparent of Queen Elizabeth II.

Diana was born into an aristocratic British family with royal ancestry as The Honourable Diana Frances Spencer. She was the fourth child of John Spencer, Viscount Althorp and the Honourable Frances Ruth Roche, the daughter of British aristocrat the 4th Baron Fermoy. After her parents’ divorce, she was raised in Park House, which was situated near to the Sandringham estate, and was educated in England and Switzerland. Diana became Lady Diana Spencer after her father later inherited the title of Earl Spencer in 1975. She became a public figure with the announcement of her engagement.

JULY 1968 – Lady Diana Spencer was born in 1961 to in Norfolk, England.  This photograph of her in a nautical ensemble was taken on her seventh birthday in Cadogan Place Gardens.

Her wedding to the Prince of Wales on 29 July 1981 was held at St Paul’s Cathedral and seen by a global television audience of over 750 million. While married, Diana bore the titles Princess of Wales, Duchess of Cornwall, Duchess of Rothesay, Countess of Chester and Baroness of Renfrew. The marriage produced two sons, the princes William andHarry,

 

 

who were respectively second and third in the line of succession to the British throne for the remainder of her lifetime.

After her marriage, she undertook a variety of public engagements. As the Princess of Wales, Diana assisted the Prince of Wales on his official duties. She was also the patron, president and a member of numerous charities and organisations.

She was well known for her fund-raising work for international charities and as an eminent celebrity of the late 20th century. She also received recognition for her charity work and for her support of the International Campaign to Ban Landmines. From 1989, she was the president of Great Ormond Street Hospital for children, in addition to dozens of other charities.

 

Diana remained the object of worldwide media scrutiny during and after her marriage, which ended in divorce on 28 August 1996. If the Prince of Wales had ascended the throne during their marriage, Diana would have become queen consort. Media attention and public mourning were very extensive after her death in a car crash in Paris on 31 August 1997.

FASHION

AS much as she was known for her philanthropy, kindness and the scandal that surrounded her marriage, Diana, Princess of Wales, was also known for her unerring sense of style that influenced a generation of women.

From her early days in the limelight as a shy and blushing nursery school teacher, and afternoons spent at the polo, to figure-skimming dresses byVersace and Catherine Walker – we remember the style of a true fashion icon.

 

For Diana, Princess of Wales, clothes played an important part in creating an image loved by the camera and the public.

‘Few people have had an impact on fashion in the same way as Princess Diana. As a public figure, the Princess’s dress style was closely scrutinised by the press and the public. As a young princess, her clothes were romantic and demure but as her confidence grew, her style developed into that of an international celebrity: glamorous, elegant, and completely her own.

‘ ‘For Diana, clothes were part of a charisma captured in the camera eye. But the process became increasingly thought-out and planned as the Princess took control of how she was represented.’ ‘Diana, Princess of Wales, has often been called a ‘fashion icon’ and has been credited with almost single-handedly reviving the British fashion industry…

Susan Maxwell, who brought out an illustrated biography of the Princess of Wales as early as 1982, declared: ‘For the first time, the Royal Family had in their ranks a woman whose age, size, coiffure and taste reflected the mass of the market. Because she was beautiful, others wanted to look like her’.

Queen Paola of Belgium

Queen Paola of Belgium (born Donna Paola Ruffo di Calabria on 11 September 1937) is the wife of King Albert II. As such, she was Queen of the Belgians from 1993 until 2013.

She was born in Forte dei Marmi, Tuscany, Italy, the seventh and youngest child of the World War I Italian flying aceFulco, Prince Ruffo di Calabria, 6th Duke of Guardia Lombarda (1884–1946). Her mother was Luisa Gazelli dei Contidi Rossana e di Sebastiano (1896–1989), a matrilineal descendant of the Marquis de Lafayette, a hero of theAmerican Revolution. She is of Italian and Belgian ancestry and was hailed as one of the leading beauties of Europe in her youth.

In the 60s Queen Paola of Belgium was known as Princesse Paola, the glamorous Italian aristocrat who married Prince Albert, heir to the thrown of Belgium.

Queen Paola is fluent in Italian, French, German and English. Less fluent, and the cause of occasional criticism, is herDutch, the mother tongue of nearly 60% of Belgians.

Queen Paola is related to historically eminent Roman and southern Italian noble families, including the Colonna, Orsini,Pallavicini, Alliata and Rospigliosi. Among her distinguished ancestors of the French aristocracy were the American general Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de Lafayette and the Dukes of Noailles.

Since the fall of the Italian monarchy in 1947, the Princes Ruffo di Calabria have become connected by marriage, in addition to the Belgian royal family, to such formerly reigning dynasties as the Orléans, the Savoys and theBonapartes.

In 1958, the Prince of Liège went to the Vatican to witness the inauguration of Pope John XXIII. At a reception at the Belgian embassy, the Prince met Italian Donna Paola Ruffo di Calabria. “We were both shy, so we only talked a little,” Paola said later about their first meeting. Shy but smitten, Prince Albert later proposed marriage to Paola, and she accepted. Their engagement was announced at the Chateau of Laeken in 1959.

The Royal Household wanted to organise the wedding in the Vatican, and to have it blessed by Pope John XXIII. Albert’s father, King Leopold III of the Belgians, his aunt ex-Queen Marie-José of Italy, and Paola’s brother, the Prince Ruffo, sent a diplomatic mission to the pontifical court. However the Belgian Government never accepted, and objected to the wish of the court. The Pope understood the government’s concerns, and never agreed to participate in the wedding. Finally, avoiding an international scandal, the Prince of Liège married Donna Paola Ruffo di Calabria at St. Goedele Cathedral in Brussels on 2 July 1959.

The couple have three children:

• Philippe, King of the Belgians, who married Countess Mathilde d’Udekem d’Acoz
• Princess Astrid, who married Lorenz, Archduke of Austria-Este;
• Prince Laurent, who married Claire Louise Coombs.

By the late 1960s, the marriage had deteriorated. There were even rumors of divorce plans. By the early 1980s, however, the couple’s relations had improved. In the end, Albert and Paola chose to stay together.

For her 70th birthday interview, Paola, by then Queen of the Belgians, said, “we’ve had our problems, but now we both say that we were meant for each other. We are very happy now.”

FASHION

SHE was an icon of beauty and elegance just as Grace Kelly and Caroline of Monaco were at the time andKate Middleton, Princess Mary of Denmark   are now.

 

Blessed with an irresistible charm, she began writing her own life story after her marriage to Albert of Belgium, with whom she had three children: Prince Philippe, born on 15 April, 1960, Princess Astrid, born 5 June, 1962, and Prince Laurent, born on 19 October, 1963.

Her power of seduction made her front cover of many magazines and she marked fashion trends around the world.

 

 

Queen Rania of Jordan

Queen Rania of Jordan (born Rania al Yassin on 31 August 1970) is theQueen consort of Jordan. She is also known as Rania Al Abdullah. Since marrying the now King of Jordan, Abdullah bin Al-Hussein, she has become known for her advocacy work related to education, health, community empowerment, youth, cross-cultural dialogue, and micro-finance. She is also an avid user of social media and she maintains pages on Facebook, YouTube, and Twitter. She has two daughters and two sons.

Crown Prince Hussein, born June 28, 1994, who was appointed heir to the throne in July 2009; Princess Iman, born September 27, 1996; Princess Salma, born September 26, 2000; and Price Hashem, born January 30, 2005.

Rania Al-Yassin was born in Kuwait to Palestinian parents Faisal Sedki Al Yassin and Ilham Yassin from Tulkarm. She attended the New English School in Jabriya, Kuwait, then received a degree in Business Administration from the American University in Cairo. Upon her graduation from the American University, she worked briefly in marketing for Citibank, followed by a job with Apple Inc. in Amman.

She was ranked as the most beautiful consort (or first lady) in the world by Harpers and Queen magazine in 2011.

Since her marriage, Queen Rania has used her position to advocate for various sectors of society in Jordan and beyond.

 

The Queen is Chairperson of Jordan’s first interactive children’s museum. Opened in May 2007, it aims to encourage and nurture lifelong learning for children and their families.In April 2008, the Queen launched “Madrasati” (“My School”), a public-private initiative aimed at refurbishing 500 of Jordan’s public schools over a five-year period.  In higher education, the Queen Rania Scholarship Program partners with several universities from around the world. Queen Rania is also Chairperson of the Royal Health Awareness Society (RHAS).

 

 

In November 2000, in recognition of her commitment to the cause of children and youth, the United Nations Children’s Fund(UNICEF) invited Queen Rania to join its Global Leadership Initiative. The Queen worked alongside other world leaders, including former South African President Nelson Mandela, in a global movement seeking to improve the welfare of children.

 

 

In January 2007, Queen Rania was named UNICEF’s first Eminent Advocate for Children. In August 2009, Queen Rania became Honorary Global Chair of the United Nations Girls’ Education Initiative (UNGEI).

 

 

SHE’s  an international style icon who is undeniably charismatic and modern.

 

Queen Rania of Jordan is a powerful female voice in the Arab world; Her power status and glamorous beauty instantly made her something of an international icon. She was photographed at fashion shows and high-society social events worldwide.

Queen Máxima of the Netherlands

 

 

Queen Máxima of the Netherlands (born Máxima Zorreguieta Cerruti on 17 May 1971) is the wife of King Willem-Alexander. On 30 April 2013, she became the first Dutch queen consort since 1890.

Máxima Zorreguieta Cerruti was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, on 17 May 1971. Queen Máxima is the daughter ofJorge Zorreguieta (born 1928), secretary of agriculture under President Jorge Rafael Videla during the National Reorganization Process dictatorship, and his second wife, María del Carmen Cerruti Carricart (born 1944).

She grew up in the Recoleta neighbourhood of Buenos Aires city, and studied at Northlands School, a bilingual school of the city of Olivos. She graduated with a degree in Economics from the Pontifical Catholic University of Argentina in 1995, and later completed her studies with a Master in the United States.

 

 

She subsequently worked for large international finance companies in Argentina, New York, and Brussels. She also worked as a teacher of English language to children and adults, and of Mathematics for high school students and freshmen.

 

Through her father, she is a descendant of King Afonso III of Portugal, and other noble families of the Iberian Peninsula.

 

 

Máxima met Willem-Alexander in April 1999 in Seville, Spain, during the Seville Spring Fair. In an interview, they stated that he introduced himself only as “Alexander”, so that she did not know he was a prince. She thought he was joking when he later told her that he was not only a prince, but the Prince of Orange and heir apparent to the Dutch throne. They agreed to meet again two weeks later in New York, where Máxima was working for Dresdner Kleinwort Benson. Their relationship apparently began in New York, but she did not meet his parents, Queen Beatrix and Prince Claus, for some time.

The couple announced their engagement on 30 March 2001; Máxima addressed the nation in fluent Dutch during the live televised broadcast. Máxima was granted Dutch citizenship by Royal Decree on 17 May 2001 and now has dual citizenship: Argentine and Dutch.The engagement was formally approved by the States General later that year—a necessary step for Willem-Alexander to remain heir to the throne.

Máxima and Willem-Alexander were married on 2 February 2002 in a civil ceremony in the Beurs van Berlage, Amsterdam, which was then followed by a religious ceremony at Amsterdam’s Nieuwe Kerk (“New Church”). She remained a Roman Catholic after her marriage.Máxima’s parents were not present at the wedding; her father was told he could not attend due to his role as a cabinet minister during the National Reorganization Process, and her mother chose not to attend without her husband.

 

The couple has three daughters:

• The Princess of Orange (Catharina-Amalia Beatrix Carmen Victoria), born 7 December 2003.
• Princess Alexia Juliana Marcela Laurentien of the Netherlands, born 26 June 2005.
• Princess Ariane Wilhelmina Máxima Inés of the Netherlands, born 10 April 2007.

 

 

Queen Máxima currently serves as the United Nations Secretary General’s Special Advocate for Inclusive Finance for Development (UNSGSA). The UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon designated her to this role in September 2009 in order to raise awareness on the importance of inclusive financial systems for achieving economic and development goals such as  poverty alleviation, food security and education.

In her work as UNSGSA, the Queen focuses on how formal financial servicessuch as savings, insurance, credit can prevent people from falling into poverty due to expenditures on healthcare, and people who are not able to protect themselves against rising food prices and poverty because they do not have access to basic savings accounts. The role of the UNSGSA is to foster action by governments, private sector, financial system standard setters, and others towards a more inclusive financial system that works for the poor.

SHE ‘s an International style icon , inspiring many women in her country and worlwide.

 

Mary, Crown Princess of Denmark

Mary, Crown Princess of Denmark, Countess of Monpezat, née  Mary Elizabeth Donaldson, born 5 February 1972 in Hobart, Tasmania, Australia) is the wife of Frederik, Crown Prince of Denmark. Frederik is the heir apparent to the throne of Denmark, which means that at the time Frederik inherits the throne, Mary will automatically become Queen consort of Denmark.

The couple met at the Slip Inn, a pub in Sydney, when the prince was visiting Australia during the 2000 Summer Olympics. Their official engagement in 2003 and their marriage the following year were the subject of extensive attention from Australian and European news media, which portrayed the marriage as a modern “fairytale” romance between a prince and a commoner.

Mary Elizabeth Donaldson was born the youngest of the four children of mathematician and professor John Dalgleish Donaldson and his first wife, Henrietta (née Horne), both Scottish. She was named after her grandmothers, Mary Dalgleish and Elizabeth Gibson Melrose. Henrietta Donaldson was executive assistant to the vice-chancellor of the University of Tasmania. In 2001, four years after her death, John Donaldson married the British author and novelist Susan Moody.

Mary Donaldson was born and raised in Hobart. In childhood, she was involved in sports and other extracurricular activities both at school and elsewhere. She studied piano, flute and clarinet, and played basketball and hockey.

Mary began primary school in Clear Lake City, near Houston, Harris County, Texas, while her father was working there. On returning to Hobart, she attended Sandy Bay Infants School, then from 1978 to 1982 Waimea Heights Primary School. Her secondary education was at Taroona High School in Tasmania and Hobart Matriculation College.

She studied at the University of Tasmania from 1989 to 1994,  completing a combined degree in Commerce and Law and graduating on 27 May 1995. Between 1994 and 1996, she attended a graduate program and qualified with certificates in advertising from The Advertising Federation of Australia (AFA) and direct marketing from the Australian Direct Marketing Association (ADMA).

 

Mary Donaldson and Crown Prince Frederik married on 14 May 2004 in Copenhagen Cathedral, in Copenhagen. Mary wore a wedding gown designed by Danish designer Uffe Frank and had a small bridal party which included her two sisters and her friend Amber Petty, a radio announcer on commercial radio in Australia. Frederik was supported by his brotherPrince Joachim. Three of Mary’s nieces, Erin and Kate Stephens and Madisson Woods, were flower girls; Frederik’s nephewPrince Nikolai of Denmark and first cousin once removed, Count Richard von Pfeil und Klein-Ellguth were pageboys. The wedding was celebrated in Copenhagen and at Fredensborg Palace. The couple reportedly spent their honeymoon in Africa.

The couple has four children:

• Prince Christian Valdemar Henri John, born 15 October 2005
• Princess Isabella Henrietta Ingrid Margrethe, born 21 April 2007
• Prince Vincent Frederik Minik Alexander, born 8 January 2011（twin）
• Princess Josephine Sophia Ivalo Mathilda, born 8 January 2011（twin）Since 2004 Crown Princess Mary has steadily worked to establish her relationships with various organisations, their issues, missions, programmes and staff. Mary’s patronages range across areas of culture, the fashion industry, humanitarian aid, support for research and science, social and health patronages and sport (golf and swimming). The organisations for which she is patron have reported positive outcomes through their relationship with Mary and there are various reports in the Danish media and on some of the websites of the organisations themselves about Mary being quite involved in her working relationship with them. Mary is currently involved in supporting anti-obesity programs through the World Health Organization, Regional Office of Europe.
• Mary’s current patronages include cultural organisations, the Danish fashion industry humanitarian aid,^[research and science, social, health and humanitarian organisations  and sporting organisations.Crown Princess Mary is also an Honorary Life Governor of the Victor Chang Cardiac Research Institute based at the Garvan Institute/St Vincent’s Hospital, Sydney, a member of the International Committee of Women Leaders for Mental Health and a member of various sporting clubs (riding, golf and yachting). In June 2010, it was announced that Crown Princess Mary has become Patron of UNFPA, the United Nations Population Fund, “to support the agency’s work to promote maternal health and safer motherhood in more than 150 developing nations”. Mary lends her support to a number of other ‘one-off’ Danish causes, industry events and international conferences. In 2011, the Westmead Cancer Centre at Westmead Hospital in Sydney was renamed the Crown Princess Mary Cancer Care Centre Westmead.
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  Mary Foundation

  On 11 September 2007 Crown Princess Mary announced the establishment of the Mary Foundation^[63] at the inaugural meeting at Amalienborg Palace. The initial funds of DKK 1.1 million were collected in Denmark and Greenland and donated to Frederik and Mary as a wedding gift in 2004. Crown Princess Mary is the chairwoman of eight trustees. The Mary Foundation aims to improve lives compromised by environment, heredity, illness or other circumstances which can isolate or exclude people socially.

  Mary is an active patron of Denmark’s third-highest-earning export industry, the fashion industry and is Patron of the Copenhagen Fashion Summit.

  

  FASHION

  She has been named one of the world’s most fashionable people in Vanity Fair’s annual International Best-Dressed List  and has posed and given interviews for magazines including Vogue Australia (where she used pieces of foreign designers, such as Hugo Boss, Prada, Louis Vuitton or Gaultier, and Danish designers, as Malene Birger and Georg Jensen), Dansk (Danish Magazine, dedicated to Danish fashion), German Vogue (where she was photographed between pieces of Danish modern art in Amalienborg Palace.   

• Mary also posed for other magazines during her life as a royal, such as Women’s Weekly Australia magazine (to which she spoke in several occasions about her life as a royal and her family) and Parade Magazine.

Meet more Classy Royals here soon…