King Charles and Queen Consort are making a three-day state visit to Germany. On the evening of March 29, President Frank-Walter Steinmeier and First Lady Elke Büdenbender held a State Banquet at Bellevue Presidential Palace in honour of King Charles and Queen Consort. The King and Queen Consort are visiting Berlin and Hamburg.
The Queen Consort's dress is lovely. Very regal and just right for the occasion. Like the colour of Frau Büdenbender's dress, though not sure of the style. As a lady in her 60s, I am totally envious of how thin she is. Of, and the Queen's tiara is just fab
ReplyDeleteCamilla's dress is not very attractive in my view.
ReplyDeleteAgree. Don’t like the purple dress either.
DeleteCamilla looks wonderful! The cut of the dress is flattering & the pattern looks fresh, yet classic. Wonderfully selected jewellery, too. Ms Büdenbender's dress looks better from afar, I'm afraid. The fabric looks dated & the structured top part isn't particularly flattering. She has a figure to die for, though!
ReplyDelete-Nika-
Well Frau Büdenbenders dress and fabric might be a bit dated, but, you know, we germans are ein wenig sparsam, lol...
DeleteAh, the famous Greville Honeycomb Tiara paired with the City of London Fringe Necklace. The gown of Q Camilla is lovely as well, however, I might need to criticise the way the skirt is attached to the bodice. The pattern mismatches, if I'm not mistaken. Nice purple on our president's wife, Mrs. Büdenbender. And Mrs. Merkel just her usual self, but good golden colour on her evening jacket.
ReplyDeleteDSC - Agree with all of your comments, especially your eagle eye for the mismatched sections on the Queen’s gown. This tiara has been a favorite of hers over the years and it’s a big one! I like the necklace with the neckline but there is a lot going on with all of the outfit elements. Like the purple on the First Lady and, boy, is she thin!
DeleteI see what you mean about the join between skirt and bodice. In TV photos taken from the back, it also looked as if the pattern was awry. The Queen Consort needs an equivalent to Angela Kelly to design and make her outfits.
DeleteAnnieM
There is more fabric in the skirt than in the top and needs rushing at the seem. This makes it impossible to match the pattern. Problem can be solved with different cutting or using different materials for top and bottom. I don't like the dress because of its busy pattern.
DeleteLadyofthemanor
You know @AnnieM, when I saw Camilla in her turquoise ensemble yesterday with the president and his wife at the Brandenburg Gate, I immediately thought of Angela Kelly, the late QEII’s dressmaker.
DeleteI thought they had done a makeover of one of the late Queen’s outfits.
I’m sure a lot of thought went into this outfit but I don’t think it works. The shape of the dress is unflattering and I think the silver design is too much. A solid color would have looked better as there is already a lot going on with the tiara, necklace and earrings. I also don’t think black is a good color for Camilla.
ReplyDeleteFully agree with you, my thoughts exactly. And I cannot get past the odd line where the bodice meets the skirt - is it supposed to be a dropped waist style? Not at all flattering for her body shape, it highlights her widest part, made even more visible by the mismatched patterns between the two parts. She seems to have lost weight on her face or she is very very tired. I cannot begin to imagine how stressful these weeks before the coronation must be for all of them. The First Lady's dress is outdated but she looks fab.
DeleteE.d'A.
The golden color doesn’t suit Frau Merkel. The purple dress is hidious.
DeleteThe dress on Queen Consort is not becoming
ReplyDeleteThe dress on the Queen Consort is not attractive
ReplyDeleteI love the dress of the first lady - gorgeous colour and great fit!
ReplyDeleteQ. Camilla's jewelry is quite impressive however I think a plain coloured gown would be more harmonious. (V.M.)
I think that generally, plain coloured outfits for Camilla are the best for a person who appears to have very little interest in fashion.
DeleteThe gown the Queen is wearing, I like the design but the pattern on the fabric is a miss for me, very busy. I love the choice of her jewels, tiara and necklace, she looks resplendent.
ReplyDeletePattern much too busy and above that the pattern is of silver. Jewelry outstanding however
DeleteThe dress on C is dreadful! Crawling chaotic vines that look like a deathly prison and totally distract and detract from the historic jewels. Truly hard to even look at her. And I did try! But the exquisite jewels deserve better.
ReplyDeleteThe first lady looks stunning, I love her gown, it fits her perfectly, love the design. The color is gorgeous, she looks very elegant.
ReplyDeleteCamilla’s dress is beautiful and elegant. Great look for the event. Tiara and necklace look very regal!
ReplyDeleteThis dress fits Camila very well. Let's not forget that Camilla is a 75-year-old senior lady and yet she is elegant, she looks really royal.
ReplyDeleteThe president's wife's dress is too tight, especially on the stomach. It seems to me - in photo no. 9 (with Angela Merkel) that I can see the navel.
Stephanie
Elke Büdenbender, the President's wife is 62 years old.
DeleteThe tiara is stunning and Camilla wears it well. I would not wear earrings to enhance the fringe necklace. Irene
ReplyDeleteCamilla's gown is a 'no' for me. It reminds me of Ursula the Octopus, with the 'tentacles' reaching down from the waist. I also think that her tiara, combined with her usual bouffant hair style, makes her head look huge.
ReplyDeleteMrs. Budenbender's side profile looks pretty odd as well, given that this is a state banquet event.
Overall, this is as awkward and a mismatch of styles as it gets!
- Anon 9:13
I like the color and pattern of Queen Consort Camilla's dress, but the waist seam is off. Like an unflattering drop waist. However, her jewel choice-fabulous.
ReplyDeleteChel
Love QC Camilla’s look from above the waist, would have liked another base color but I understand the black and gold for Germany and it works for her. I do not care for that drop-waist line (not a flattering look at all). I really a think a thinner black sash at about where the upper part of her order star would have been more flattering and drawn a longer line from her waist to the floor.
ReplyDeleteGlo
How nice to see Frau Merkel again! She looks great!
ReplyDeleteYou seem to be a fan of Frau Merkel (and her politics). No, I don't
Deletethink she looks great. She seems to have put on weight and I am not sure whether this colour really suits her.
Pauline
I would not overinterprete the mention, how good Angela Merkel looks, it does not have to do with politics. I think too, that she looks quite nice with the silk blazer, now she is eine Rentnerin. e.
DeleteAgree, she looks fresh. And i like the reuse of her jacket (Bayreuth together with a matching skirt). e.
DeleteWow!!! Camilla looks amazing here! Love the big gun tiara (she has amazing tiara hair and always has) and the fringe necklace--exciting to see her in lots of diamonds. I'm a bit on the fence about the gown but I am leaning towards liking it because its dazzle too.
ReplyDeleteJanet
The jewelry she chose are perfect for this dress, the beading compliments it very well. I cannot wait for her to open the late Queens vault and go all out with them! Fitzhugh
ReplyDeleteThe dress looks terrible ,it clashes with the silver of the crown;the dress needed to be royal blue;and then the gems would have looked stunning.Angela Merkel looks good with the gold jacket.I like Elke's dress. It is interesting how all these Presidents live in Palaces.(Tara)
ReplyDeleteTara. It is normal that presidents are living in Government buildings. Generally there are apartements in these buildings where a modern household can live. Before countries had presidents they had kings and emperors. Their palaces belong to the state of these countries now. In general state buildings also serve for government services not only for the housing of the president and his wife.
DeleteBellevue Palace is the official residence of the Federal President, but he does not live there. Bellevue is only used for official purposes.
DeleteC
Like C and 07.53 mentioned, there is nothing unusual here. By the way, Bellevue is rather a large house und quite ungemütlich...
DeleteI think that Camilla’s gown would have more impact in a color other than black, but it is flatteringly tailored, and the pattern on it has an interesting, attractive “feathery” quality. The jewels, though — poorly chosen, imo, as the necklace and tiara of such contrasting designs that they look all wrong together. (Also, I think smaller tiaras more closely fitted to the head would look so much nicer on Camilla than the gigantic ones like this…a tiara doesn’t have to be enormous to be beautiful, and imo the towering ones always risk making the wearer look slightly ridiculous. However, if the wearer is Camilla I’m sure King Charles would disagree.) — Jane
ReplyDeleteI don't think I am going to be able to get used to Camilla wearing the Queen's beautiful jewelry.
ReplyDeleteMe too I had the same reaction.
DeleteYes, I quite agree.
DeletePauline
Yes, about 20 years ago Queen Elisabeth II wouldn't allow "that woman" anywhere near her jewlery. And so life goes on.
DeleteMy dearest, we have to get used to it
DeleteThe greville tiara, the late queen never wore it herself.
DeleteThe necklace was a wedding gift to the Queen. It doesn't sit well with me, especially when I consider the circumstances that brought her to her current position. I have a long memory.
DeleteEveryone looked lovely, I only wished the skirt on Q Camillas dress was solid black. This is a bit overwhelming., The jewels are stunning. Germany is a special country, also for me. css
ReplyDeletePerhaps a fellow blogger could put me on the right track.
DeleteI understand that Germany is a Federal Republic. From what I have read about protocole and jewelry, I understand that when Kings, Queens and Princesses visit a Republic for a state visit, dinner etc, they go “low-key” with tiaras and jewelry. This is not the case with Camilla and those stunning jewels.
I don’t remember seeing Queen Mathilde wearing a tiara at the state dinner in South Africa.
deadeggs, perhaps i can help. In 2015 there was a Staatsbankett at Bellevue zu Ehren von Queen Elisabeth and look what she was wearing...
Deleteanna e.
Hi dead eggs, both countries’ diplomats discuss and plan the events for these visits. If part of the planning includes a white tie dinner, then tiaras, orders, etc.; however, if it is black tie, then no tiara.
DeleteGlo
It is only in recent years that some of these receptions/banquets have been altered from White Tie to Black Tie (or even more casual) events, oftentimes in countries without a monarchy. The thing is that there are no rules you can truly go by like in a rule-book. Generally speaking, White Tie is considered a full gala, so orders, tailcoat (for men), and long gowns (for ladies) should be worn. Tiaras, of course, too, no matter the country being a republic or something else. Black tie means tuxedo, long gown or cocktail dress. Tiaras - and that's the trick! - might be worn when agreed upon beforehand (often when the visited country also is a monarchy). Sadly, although the banquet yesterday was a white tie affair, only few people apart from the Queen would be able to sport a tiara (Germany has some aristocracy around, but they all go very low profile), and those ladies who actually own one, really forebear doing so. So, yes, Queen Camilla was the only one with that glittering headgear, but she was perfectly wearing it within protocol. What she could have done to lessen the "impact"? Wearing a smaller one, like her very own Cubitt-Shand Tiara, perhaps. However, she seems comfy wearing the Greville, so who am I, who are we, to judge?
DeleteI love this dress on the Queen. I think it flatters her figure.
ReplyDeleteNeither dress is my cup of tea. I would have expected a sash if she wore a tiara. The outfit is too ornate and discombobulated.
ReplyDeleteThe violet gown has some merits, but mostly related to the way Frau B wears it (the same dress on Camilla for example would be a disaster).
List opportunities in my opinion.
CH
I think Q. Camilla looks amazingly
ReplyDeletestunning: impressive and regal.
The slightly uplifted shoulders are exquisitely done.
The pattern of the dress is a bit over the top but let us know she is the Queen and rightly so.
Well done Camilla!
Mabel
The slightly uplifted shoulders appear in all her clothes. It makes her look broader than she is. It makes her also look stiffer. Without these shoulder pads she could look more relaxed.
DeleteQueen consort Camilla's dress has a good shape, but that is all the positive I can say about it. The pattern is too busy. Like somebody said plain dark blue would be wonderful. The 3 pieces of regal jewelry is too much. The necklace or the earrings have to go. Mrs Budenbender's dress is lovely but a bit too tight. I like the color. She needs a better looking necklace : Mr President next anniversary or christmas ???
ReplyDeleteMismatched pattern on the dress makes the entire outfit look as if it came out of an stage wardrobe from a silent movie actress. Sorry to say, but they both looked rather odd. Charles wearing new shiny shoes, one pant leg stuck up on his leg, probably by his stocking, and she the only one wearing a tiara stood out and not in a good way. The German ladies are dressed elegantly, without 'over dressing', like Camilla did, sad to say. She could have pulled off an elegant gown, minimal jewels, and done it well. Huge miss-step on this night. G & C
ReplyDeleteG & C. Now that you mentioned it, I took a good look at King Charles shoes. Do men still wear this kind of ballerina's when they have to dress for a gala ? His trousers are too short anyway. I prefer the shoes of the German president, his trousers have the right length.
DeleteCamilla est élégante même si je trouve qu'il y a trop de décalage entre le haut et la jupe qui aurait mérité une coupe plus près du corps ; les bijoux ont été très bien choisis par rapport aux motifs de la robe ! La couleur violette de Madame Büdenbender est très seyante sur sa silhouette mince même si je n'aime pas son style ; étonnée de voir Madame Merkel vêtue d'une très jolie veste dorée !
ReplyDeleteTotally agree. Angela Merkel wore this blazer with a matching skirt at bayreuth 2017, the media went crazy... e.
DeleteI think one of Camilla’s qualities is her lack of vanity, so I doubt that she is wearing more jewellery than necessary. If you look at the late Queen’s jewellry during state visits to Germany in the past, you will observe the same pattern, i.e.
ReplyDeleteeverything is done according to strict protocol and not personal likes or dislikes.
Queen Consort Camilla does not represent herself, she represents her country and is most certainly not over-dressed.
🌞 Virginia
From the waist up, it’s a lovely dress. The visibility of the dropped waist and the glaring seam,spoils it!
ReplyDeleteThe jewellery nearly makes up for the dress.Camilla is playing it cautiously when wearing her late Majesty jewellery. She paired the necklace with the Greville tiara and her earrings.
The 1st Lady looks lovely. TM’s have received such a warm welcome from their hosts,I doubt they’ll forget this their 1st state visit. Bea
Oh wow, our Bundespräsi is still alive. Mr. Steinmeier is quite a rare sight. I will never understand why the biggest tiaras have to be worn when visiting republics as the counterpart (in this case the wife of the head of state) will definitely not wear anything similar. It‘s just odd looking on the pictures.
ReplyDeleteFashionwise I really don‘t like any of the dresses. They look old fashioned and outdated and ill fitting. Scarlett Witch
I have to think that if Mrs. Budenbender had taken a look at her side view in this gown, she'd have been absolutely horrified. Yes, she is enviably slim, but the tailoring here would not flatter any woman, slim or otherwise. As others have remarked, the gown is a gorgeous color. With a skirt that was sightly bouffant, it would have looked wonderful.
ReplyDeleteCamilla's gown is too "busy" for such an ornate tiara. Speaking of tiara's...why is she even wearing one when her hosts are republicans??
ReplyDeleteBecause her late mother in law did the same, when invited in germany.
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