BellaSugar

Bella Donna: Diana, Princess of Wales

BellaSugar — Thu, 30 Aug 2007 16:17:29 PDT

A Bella Donna is more than just a pretty face. Sometimes she starts a trend, other times her impact isn't realized until decades after her debut. And then there are a few who become legendary, like this week's choice, Diana, Princess of Wales. Born Diana Spencer, she was not the "commoner" many people initially imagined her to be; she was born into an aristocratic family, which was a requirement for her to marry Charles, Prince of Wales. Their 1981 wedding was watched by almost one billion people, and their divorce was a hot tabloid topic. But Diana's charity work showed her great compassion, and her death-which happened ten years ago tomorrow-plunged the world into sorrow.

From her early days in the media spotlight to her unexpected death, Diana's personal style inspired countless women to copy her look. Most women couldn't afford her luxurious ballgowns, but they could manage to mimic her short blonde hairstyle. In the early '80s, she favored a feathered look, but it always kept up with the times-often setting off trends with a snip of the scissors. She didn't have a perfect life; she struggled with depression, bulimia and a failed marriage. Still-and maybe partly because of her resilience-she remains one of the 20th century's most influential beauties. Diana would have been 46 this past July.

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An American's Guide to British Royal Titles

Annie Scudder — Wed, 17 Nov 2010 04:00:00 PST

There's no rule that Americans can't marry into the British royal family (although, King Edward VIII abdicated the throne in 1936 to wed an American divorcée), but if you didn't grow up in the UK it might take you a while to tell the Princess Royal from the Duke of Gloucester. Prince William's off the market, so before Prince Harry goes, let's brush up on common royal titles.

King and Queen: If the monarch is a man, he goes by the title king, but the husband of a female monarch does not get the title of king. The title of queen is given in two cases: a queen who rules by her birthright is called a "queen regnant" (think Elizabeth II), while a "queen consort" is the wife of reigning king (so Kate Middleton will be a queen consort).

Duke and Duchess: A duke or duchess is the member of nobility that ranks right bellow the monarch. Often princes and princesses will hold dukedoms. For example, Prince Charles is also the Duke of Cornwall. And while his wife Camilla technically has the title Princess of Wales, she goes by her other title, Duchess of Cornwall.

Prince and Princess: In the UK, the husband of the reigning queen is called a prince. So Queen Elizabeth II's husband is Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh (and he was also born the Prince of Greece and Denmark!). The titles prince and princess also go to the children of the monarch, although in 1987 Queen Elizabeth increased her daughter Princess Anne's title to Princess Royal.

The wife of a prince will get the title princess, however, the husband of a princess will not be called a prince. The monarch can offer another peerage, or title, to a daughter's husband, but any grandchildren born to a daughter do not get the title prince or princess. The grandchildren born to sons, however, do get the titles. So just because you have a king or queen as a grandparent doesn't mean you're a prince or princess! Members of the royal family are called "Her/His Royal Highness," but in the case of divorce the non-birthright royal loses the HRH style.

So, what about last names? In 1917, King George V decided to officially change everyone's last name to Windsor, after the castle, to get rid of the German-sounding house name of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha. But Queen Elizabeth II and her husband wanted their direct decedents to have a different last name than the extended family. To find out what the royal family's technical last name is now, read more!

Our Facebook Fans Interview Royal Expert Jerramy Fine!

Annie Scudder — Thu, 28 Apr 2011 13:52:37 PDT

Today we hosted a live chat with royal expert Jerramy Fine, author of Someday My Prince Will Come and founder of Princess Prep in London. She's rubbed shoulders with Princess Anne, Earl Spencer, and the Duchess of York, and shared her valuable knowledge with us. Read our reader questions about the royal wedding and Jerramy's insightful answers below!

Gi Jane: How do you think Kate will handle her new life? I am sure with the few years she's been with William she would do quite well.
Jerramy Fine: Royal life isn't for everyone, but I think it IS for Kate. She has been pitch perfect so far and I'll be very surprised if she makes any mistakes any time soon.

Libby: How many of Kate's commonor friends are invited to the wedding? I imagine the list had to be approved?
JF: All of Kate and William's friends are a very close knit group and have been in their inner circle for nearly eight years. The cool thing is that Kate invited a lot of the locals from her home town - the mailman, etc!

Lauren: I was wondering how much influence does the queen have over the day? Does she OK the dress? OK the food? I am sure she will OK the guest list!
JF: Although the queen (and hopefully Kate and William probably have some input) I'm fairly certain that every last detail is being seen to by the Lord Chamberlain and Master of the Household in accordance with royal tradition. However, I heard they are actually having buffet during the evening party rather than a sit down dinner and that the queen is not best pleased about lining up for her food!

Mary: I was just reading that all of Kate's bridesmaids besides her sister are really young - age 8 and under, I think. Is that common/part of tradition for a royal wedding?
JF: Yes! The Brits think it's really weird that Americans have grown-up bridesmaids! The tradition is one maid of honor and as many children as you can handle! It's starting to change though - Autumn Phillips had three grown-up bridesmaids - maybe Zara will, too.

Judy: Any rumors about the dress? Get the answer when you keep reading.

Princess Diana's Letters as a Young Newlywed Up For Auction

Annie Scudder — Tue, 07 Jun 2011 10:45:25 PDT

As a 20-year-old new wife and princess, Diana Spencer maintained a connection to her former ordinary life by keeping up a pen pal relationship with a former colleague. Margaret Hodge, a teacher twice Diana's age who worked with the would-be queen when she was a simple kindergarten teaching assistant, acted as Diana's confidant after her wedding of the century. Now, Mrs. Hodge is putting her collection of Christmas cards, royal wedding invitations, and personal letters up for auction, as other friends of Diana's have done before. They're expected to fetch close to $40,000.

Describing Highgrove, one of her royal residences, Diana's desire to play the everyday in-love couple shines through: "It honestly won't look smart," she writes. "Just a cosy nest for Mr & Mrs Wales to roost with bright colours of course!" Yet in another letter, Diana describes Prince Charles's disinterest in her, writing, "I've vanished down many a hole - the husband having not realised - typical."

While Diana's former friend will make a pretty penny off the endearing correspondences, timely again now that her son William is a newlywed himself, it doesn't seem like enough to hand over such personal mementos. Something tells me Mrs. Hodge has kept some for herself.

Kate Middleton Writes Sweet Letter to Young Cancer Patient

Annie Scudder — Mon, 17 Oct 2011 12:10:25 PDT

Nine-year-old Fabian Bate had his day brightened last week when he received a personal letter from Kate Middleton. The little guy pictured above has been battling leukemia since 2006, and he met the duchess last month when she visited the Royal Marsden hospital with Prince William. In the letter, Kate wrote:

"This must be a troubling time for you, your parents and your sisters, but I know I left the Royal Marsden assured by how incredibly talented, kind and clever the team at the hospital are. Combined with your belief and positive energy, you couldn’t be in better hand."

What is believed to be Kate's first personal act of charity, mirrors Princess of Diana's work, as the late Princess of Wales's first solo engagement was a tour of the hospital in 1982. Following her death, Prince William took on her role as president of the hospital. Fabian's family was moved by the personal nature of the letter, telling a British paper that "we were very touched as she must do a lot of this stuff and to remember Fabian is very moving."

See a copy of the letter below.

OnSugar Review: Why the William & Kate Movie Was So Bad It Was Great

OnSugar Blog — Thu, 21 Apr 2011 12:12:26 PDT

The following post was written by disneycouture, who posted it on the OnSugar blog Life, Love & Lace.

OK. Seriously, my DVR was all lined up, Blackberry put aside for me to curl up on my leather couch with a bowl of popcorn to watch Lifetime's William & Kate movie premiere. Ten minutes into the movie, I realized that the tissues I thought I'd need were going to be tears of laughter than of romance.

The actors in the movie were pretty similar in appearances to the real-life people they were portraying, though Prince Harry came across as angry, evil and just plain weird. We got to see the famous sheer-dress, though the movie's version was boring compared to the original, and Kate's wardrobe was the result of a bad wardrobe budget. Never attempt to re-create couture and real labels on a budget. Some of the movie was so cheesy and so unrealistic. I sincerely doubt that Prince William would ever sing to Kate to woo her, and I highly doubt that the conversation between William and his father, Prince Charles, was accurate. Their conversation of how Princess Diana chose the public life seemed a little sad, and I highly doubt there is any concrete evidence of dialogue that the writers chose to use.

The entire movie was was so slow and dragged out that by the time that the finale/engagement was shown, I was more dumbfounded by the bad computer-imaging of a safari background than by William proposing to Kate. Did anybody else laugh at how bad the acting was between Kate and her mother? Or that the "St. Andrews" college looked more community than Ivy League (folding chairs and tables? Paper decorations?). This movie was cast, directed, and launched way too fast. I'd rather see this in two years to see a wedding scene. Ugh. I was so angry that I wasted my time watching such a horrible movie, but at the same time, I was fascinated and easily amused at how bad it was. The only upside of the entire two hours was the actor playing William, Nico Evers-Swindell. He was nice to watch, and seriously much better looking than the real Prince of Wales.

Do you want to have your entertainment posts featured on BuzzSugar? Just join the community or start an OnSugar blog and you may see your submissions here!

Photo courtesy of Lifetime

Gwen Stefani Has More Playdates in London For Zuma and Kingston

Allie Merriam — Wed, 28 Sep 2011 07:32:02 PDT

Gwen Stefani joined friends for a walk on London's Primrose Hill, and afterward the group, including her youngest son Zuma, grabbed dinner at the Princess of Wales pub. Today, Gwen was back out in her North London neighborhood for a walk with Kingston. Gwen's stay in England with husband Gavin Rossdale and their children has been dotted by many reunions with their pals. Gwen Stefani and Angelina Jolie organized a playdate for their young ones earlier this week, giving Kingston and Zuma a chance to paint and play with Shiloh, Knox, Zahara, and Vivienne. The Jolie-Pitts and Stefani-Rossdales have been friends for a long time, with Kingston and Shiloh coincidentally being born just one day apart! Twins Vivienne and Knox are also close in age to Zuma, giving the kids a great deal in common.

Kate and Prince William Make Their First Official Visit in Wales!

Allie Merriam — Thu, 24 Feb 2011 09:05:54 PST

Kate Middleton and Prince William stepped out for an official visit to the RNLI Lifeboat Station in Anglesey, Wales, this morning. They were on hand to christen a new vessel called the "Hereford Endeavour" docked at Trearddur Bay, not far from where the couple have been making their home while Will's doing a stint with the British Royal Air Force. It was the very first state appearance for the couple, and Kate apparently took to the task with ease. The princess-to-be was seen mingling with locals and endeared herself to her townspeople by singing along with the Welsh national anthem! Kate was given the duty of cracking a bottle of champagne over the new ship, while Will addressed the crowd. He said, "I do the talking, she does the fun bit." The duo are gearing up for their big wedding celebration in London on April 29 but for the time being are staying out of the city. New details about the ceremony continue to come out - in addition to their wanting donations, not presents, Kate has decided that she'd like to arrive at Westminster Abbey in a car as opposed to a carriage like Princess Diana chose back in 1982. Invitations have already gone out, with David and Victoria Beckham apparently being among the lucky ones.

Prince William and Kate Middleton Head Back to St. Andrew's Together

Allie Merriam — Fri, 25 Feb 2011 07:02:26 PST

Prince William and his fiancée Kate Middleton kept the public appearances coming this morning with a stop at their alma mater, St. Andrew's University, in Scotland. It was the second big outing in as many days, as they were also together in Wales yesterday to christen a new lifeboat station. Thousands reportedly turned out to greet William and Kate this morning, with the prince once again addressing the crowd. He said, "This is a very special moment for Catherine and me. It feels like coming home." The school was important in William and Kate's relationship, as it's where they met and fell in love nearly a decade ago. The university is also the place William first spotted Kate wearing a particularly eye-catching outfit during a campus runway show. Today, though, Kate was decked out like a princess-to-be in a tailored red suit and her trademark knee-high boots.

Victorian-Era Doctors Gave Patients a Prescription For Pleasure

TresSugar — Tue, 16 Aug 2011 14:48:51 PDT

Hysteria, the upcoming Victorian-era rom-com staring Maggie Gyllenhaal, Hugh Dancy, and Rupert Everett, takes on the creation of the first vibrator. The trailer is out today, and it look likes Hugh Dancy, who plays the inventor-doctor, doesn't hold back in his pursuit of female pleasure.

By failing to acknowledge women as sexual, our prudish Victorian-era ancestors took part in something we would find shocking today: doctors essentially having sex with their patients. The medical community considered female sexual arousal a disorder that needed treatment. Symptoms of so-called "female hysteria" included anxiety, sexual fantasies, pelvic heaviness, and vaginal lubrication. They had the same remedy for such symptoms as we do today, an orgasm, but back then physicians administered them.

Doctors would rub a "hysterical" woman's vulva until she experienced dramatic relief through "paroxysm," aka orgasm. After treating various hysterical women, a doctor's hands and wrists would get tired. So in 1870, one doctor created a steam-powered machine that would administer orgasms and become the ancestor of today's vibrators. Soon even the Princess of Wales would order "Horse-Action Saddles" (seen in this ad) proven to treat hysteria.

Watch the Hysteria trailer below.