Princess Isabella turns 18 today. To mark the occasion, official gala portraits of Her Royal Highness have been released for the first time. The Princess was photographed in the Knight’s Hall at Frederik VIII’s Palace at Amalienborg by photographer Steen Evald.
For the portraits, Princess Isabella wore a new orange dress designed by Carina Grønning. The 39-year-old launched her own brand in 2017 and previously worked for Jesper Høvring from 2010 to 2013. Originally from Funen, Grønning is now based in Odense.
In the portraits, Princess Isabella wears the antique Turquoise Daisy Bandeau and matching turquoise and diamond earrings — both gifted by her grandmother, Queen Margrethe II. She also wears the Order of the Elephant and a miniature portrait of her father, King Frederik.
The miniature portrait of King Frederik is set in a gold frame encircled by 12 white pearls and 12 small diamond crosses, symbolizing the Order of Dannebrog. The portrait was painted in watercolor on a thin slice of mammoth ivory by British miniaturist Tom Mulliner.
The tiara is a so-called 'bandeau' — the French word for headband — as this relatively narrow piece is designed to be worn nearly horizontally, like a jeweled ribbon in the hair. It is crafted in gold and embellished with 11 rosettes resembling daisies, arranged in gradually decreasing sizes and set with turquoise and diamonds.
The tiara was created in the late 19th century and originally belonged to Crown Princess Margareta of Sweden. After her untimely death in 1920, her daughter, Princess Ingrid, received the tiara as a confirmation gift and later brought it to Denmark upon her marriage to the future King Frederik IX.
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ReplyDeleteVery Aristocratic, a Lady of High Society
DeleteQuelle parfaite combinaison de la couleur turquoise avec le jaune tirant sur l'orange ; tout cela fait ressortir ses yeux bleus. Elle est magnifique !
ReplyDeleteShe is a stunning, natural beauty!
ReplyDeleteYes she is very elegant
DeleteShe is lovely !
DeleteWhat a beautiful Princess and beautiful dress too…
ReplyDeleteThe princess looks beautiful! I love the color of the dress and the fit! Stunning! The tiara and the earrings complement the dress and her frame so well. Happy 18th birthday to her!!!
ReplyDeleteHappy 18th 🎂! She looks beautiful!
ReplyDeleteEverything beautiful, position and positioning, posture, dress, colours, the light arrangement and last not least, Isabella herself are like a traditional painting of royal ladies in the olden days. Really wonderfully made, no unpleasant shining-through of the photographs' own ambitions. I mean, those ambitions serve the purpose extremely well (and not the other way round).
ReplyDeletePortrait officiel donc pose mais elle reste une très belle princesse
ReplyDeleteFroufrou
Happy Birthday to this beautiful young lady!
ReplyDeleteI love the color and cut of the gown. The tiara is perfect for a young Princess,not too imitating,and matched with the earrings give a perfect finish.
Lowri.
The beautiful gown and colour, the bandeau, the styling, and most of all, Isabella herself: all stunningly beautiful. Happy Birthday to this lovely young lady.
ReplyDelete- Anon 9:13
Beautiful! Fantastic, regal portrait of a young princess who is at the moment second in line to the danish crown. Love the rich colour and texture of the dress. The tiara (bandeau) is very pretty and suits her well. I would not have thought of matching turquoise with this dress colour but it works beautifully.
ReplyDeleteAgree! I never liked this bandeau on Queen Margrethe, but it suits Isabella perfectly.
DeleteHow wonderful to be a princess. This look is straight out of childhood fairytales, as are the jewels. What a lot she has been given for her 18th birthday, not just tiara and earrings which suit her beautifully, but a couple of royal orders. I hope to see her wear this tiara and this dress many times in the future. Gorgeous.
ReplyDeleteThere is something classic about this portrait that reminds me of a 19th century painting. Her posture, the beautiful dress, the tiara, the perfect combination of colors and the setting all contribute to this. She looks absolutely stunning.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful princess, dress and jewellery, but in the first photo the way she looks at the camera is a bit arrogant imo.
ReplyDeleteAnonymous 15:03 let’s not criticise the young people; they’ll get enough. For sure, hundreds of photos were taken, and quite a few people have then chosen the very best of those. It’s hard to pose for photos and get the look just right, especially as the photographer is giving instructions “lift your head”, “tilt left”, eyes towards me, etc… I always worry that in the age of social media these young people have the same access as us to reading a page like this. Let them find only kindness here. - Mary
DeleteArrogant ? She looks more serious than on the other pictures where she smiles more, not arrogant. Maybe she looks proud and frankly I don't know what one must do to have an arrogant look. And I bet the princess doesn't know that either. One can be arrogant when one speaks to another person or when one talks about somebody, but to have an arrogant look one must be an experienced actress already, I think.
DeleteI see what you mean - the first photo is a bit, "smug" in expression, but the princess looks beautiful! I think it was an attempt to smile without showing teeth, but also not appearing to grimace.
DeleteI may be the only one, but I am not impressed by this look at all. First I don't like the heavy make-up, she is only 18 after all.
ReplyDeleteThe dress is plane old fashioned, makes her look like a 45 year old woman. Why not a more modern look? Look at Princess Catherine for instance, she would never wear anything like this. And indeed, this girl has rather arrogant facial expressions.
Princess Catherine doesn't wear a modern look either. Besides she is another type of woman. Princess Isabella is shorter and blond. In every day life she doesn't wear this dress, it is a gala dress that reminds a bit the historic pictures of princesses in the 19th century. Maybe she will transform this dress into something totally different later on. Her make-up is not heavy at all. That is how she looks almost the same as without make-up. There are other young princesses in Europe who use much more make-up than she does. I do not see any arrogant facial expressions. Do you know what you are saying ? She is young and it is all very new for her. You sound jealous of this young beautiful girl.
DeleteCatherine Catherine Catherine, she has worn gowns like this. Take alook at the portraits in the red dress where she didn’t even look like herself
DeleteI totally agree with you Anonymously 14:54.
DeleteT
Thank you @anon 14:54, wise words!
DeleteI do not want to say anything bad about Catherine (or others), but she isn't that perfect either. It's not fair to compare royals in different countries because they have different values and habits.
She looked happier and more smiling in the other celebration pictures. I love her dress; the tiara, not to my liking, suits Queen Margarethe better.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful princess in a beautiful dress. Her portraits remember me a bit the portraits of Kaizerin Elisabeth ( Sisi) von Österreich. Princess Isabella looks older than 18 years on these pictures.
ReplyDeleteIn reply to 15.03, she is only 18, a few years yet to learn to be more humble.
ReplyDeleteYou are assuming she is not. What a thing to say!
Delete@ Anonymous 16:44
DeleteBetter being a bit more humble yourself. You should be ashame of yourself to express such an opinion on a young girl who is just starting her adult life.
If one takes a good look at the picture of the bandeau, one can see that the bandeau is missing some turquoise stones (on the right at the picture). In the middle on the right side of the daisy, there is a bigger turquoise stone than the other but this has perhaps a special meaning ?
ReplyDeleteWhat a beautiful young Princess as such wonderful dress and colour!
ReplyDeleteI really think she has style
No words, stunning! I do not see any arrogance at all. I just see a little nervousness in the first official photos of a beautiful young woman.
ReplyDeleteI like everything what I see in these pictures. Stunning qown.
I don't see any speckle of arrogance here. What I see is that she is learning that beautiful straight posture Queen Mary has. And this is something so unusual especially in young people that it can easily be misunderstood - that elevated posture, looking straight ahead into your eyes, not more and not less. - On another note, who made this gown? The draping is perfection, from top to bottom, again: not too much, just enough. Really majestic, this young woman and her gown.
ReplyDelete@ Anonymous 18:11
DeleteThat beautiful straight posture she has is something almost every aristocratic has. It is something unique. Maybe a civilian can learn it but not everyone succeed.
Very regal! She looks good in such a glamorous outfit and she looks good in jeans and t-shirt!
ReplyDeleteVery nice portraits. I love that the bandeau is daisy flowers given to her from her grandmother. The colour of her gown complement her orders. She is very poised, and will be an asset to her brother when his time comes.
ReplyDeleteWhat I like about her is the natural look of her makeup. No exaggeration of her features. Beautiful , elegant
ReplyDeleteDid anybody noticed how much she is looking like her grandmother when she was young. The resemblance is amazing.
ReplyDeleteI have always said that, but everyone always said she looks like her mother which is not true. She has probably something of her mother but not her face. They say she looks like her father. This is because in her father's face is also a ressemblance with his mother.
DeleteYes same thought here, i think she looks very much like her grandmother. Can see Queen Mary in Josephine and Christian but definitely King’s Frederik’s look and features in Isabella. Stunning portrait. Beautiful and lovely young lady.
DeleteClaire
I agree with Claire.
DeleteYes I see the resemblance to her father especially in the shape of her face. You see this in her baby pictures. To me she has more of her features from her grandfather too.
DeleteI am in the minority, I don’t like this. She is a really beautiful girl but I don’t think the colour is the best on her, and I think the style of the dress is too old. It would not have surprised me if we had been told this had been Mary’s dress. It will be interesting to see the role she may play in supporting first her parents and then her brother in the years to come. LRB
ReplyDeleteI agree. I thought the dress was one of Q. M.'s dresses and I don't like the color. She should have had a light blue dress to match the tiara and jewelry. She's a very pretty young lady.
DeleteYou and I are both in minority. I think this portraits show too much stiffness and are too old school, even if they are meant to show her royal roots. As a spare, she will very likely have little or no role (see prince Joachim’s famous travels through a “slimlined monarchy” before jumping to argue otherwise). It’s surprising to me how the royal families seem to have both a need to demonstrate pomp and circumstance but don’t care to reconcile that with the practical, realistic situation they find themselves in, in particular the diminishing financial support. A good quality set of photos of an 18-year old young contemporary lady dressed up for the occasion but not bogged down by her un existent role seemed more appropriate.
DeleteLily
Interesting how differently we see this. I think this is not Mary's style at all, very different. This style is really regal, absolutely timeless (no makeup makes this impression and the likeness to a painting even stronger), has a certain gravitas and it fits this young woman excellently.
Deletehttps://www.instagram.com/p/DIvG2YVtRx0/?igsh=MTd3cm1sMTRkZWM2Ng==
DeleteIs this better? ;)
@ Lily
DeleteNot every European princess (not even a CP) has been photographed like this for her 18th birthday. Some of the princesses didn't even had a gala diner-dansant where one can wear this kind of dresses. They just had a diner with family and friends and no pictures of that have been published so far.
@Lily, what you’re talking about are future things that have yet to happen (that is, if they will happen). Currently the young princess is the daughter of the reigning king and is coming out into society for the first time, so it is fitting to have these portraits taken. The future while tell where life takes Isabella, but currently she is the King’s eldest daughter.
DeleteT
On dirait que c'est elle la future reine ! D'ailleurs Christian va bientôt lui dire :
ReplyDelete"Ok, vas-y, prends ma place, moi je passe mon tour, je renonce." ;-)
Plaisanterie mise à part, Isabella a une belle posture, un beau visage et de beaux cheveux, mais la couleur de la robe n'a pas ma préférence. Paloma.
I much prefer this portrait than that of Princess Ariane. It seems these 18th birthday portraits are meant to be dramatic. Not the colour I would of choose but it is a very rich colour
ReplyDeleteI find it very odd to see these young Princesses having to wear their Mother's formal dresses that are meant for women 20 years older. They are young women and should be able to dress that way.
ReplyDeleteUba it’s a new dress just for her. I think she’s absolutely stunning in it.
DeleteImportant point! Let her grow into a human being with her own personality.
DeleteMESH
Uba read the post, it is stated in the text above that the dress is new
DeleteFor her still young years she looks both regal and elegant. I don’t like the orange colour but she looks very striking. Her jewels are perfect.
ReplyDeleteI think she looks beautiful. and poised. I do love the dress. The gold color surprised me, but she carries it off well. Her job, as I see it, is to project a sense of regal and tradition. It's up to her generation to work out how they want to incorporate contemporary issues and concerns while maintaining Danish traditions. This photo suggests that.
ReplyDeleteOrange color is difficult to pull off but she looks so pretty in this colorful dress. Her hair style, makeup, jewellery...all work so nicely together.
ReplyDeleteVery poised and elegant! Love the photos!
Kaarin
What elegant and Aristocratic look. Beautiful Princess Isabella of Denmark.
ReplyDeletecss
I wonder if grandma had a hand in this choice, since she has a great eye for colour. Isabelle is the first granddaughter after 3 grandsons so great opportunity to dress up in a regal gown of her own.
ReplyDeleteI didn't like grandma's style of dressing, never has. This dress however is beautiful. Someone said she should have worn a light blue dress. Lucky she choosed something totally different. I think she would not wear a dress that she does not like herself. Totally different than CP Ingrid Alexandra of Norway on her 18th birthday gala. She wore a dress that once belonged to her mother. She looked beautiful too in that dress and it was said that she had no interest at all to wear something new. Apparently she is someone who is concerned very much about the climate change and all of its consequences. She is according great importance to sustainability.
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