Skip to Content

An Addition to Kate’s Calendar & Those Weekend Retail Sales

We have a few items of interest to share, beginning with an update to Kate’s calendar.

  • Thursday, June 9: Kate attends the annual SportsAid dinner. This year the event celebrates the organization’s 40th anniversary with a dinner at Kensington Palace. Kate will meet athletes and SportsAid ambassadors at a reception before the dinner; she will then attend the dinner, which begins at 18:30 local time, that is 1:30EDT/10:30PDT.

Kate has been the charity’s royal patron since 2013. The Duchess attended the organization’s SportsBall in November of that year; you see her below at the event wearing the Templeton dress by Temperley London.

©Splash News/Splash News

©Splash News/Splash News

This year’s SportsBall will be of particular interest as it is an Olympic and Paralympic year, athletes competing in those Games will be at the event.

Thursday’s engagement is the first of several functions Kate will be taking part in next week. A quick rundown:

  • Friday June 10, 11am Local/6am EDT: National Service of Thanksgiving at St. Paul’s Cathedral in honor of the Queen’s 90th birthday. I think we can expect Kate and William at the service, along with all of the other royal family members.
  • Saturday June 11Trooping the Colour, the Queen’s Birthday Parade at Horse Guards Parade & Buckingham Palace. Again, I would expect to see Kate at this event; hopefully with George again. (There are rumors Charlotte may also attend because of the event’s significance, we’ll have to wait and see if that transpires.)
  • Sunday, June 12The Patron’s Lunch, a giant street party on the Mall in St. James’s Park, will host thousands in celebration of the Queen’s patronage of more than 600 charities and organizations. William and Harry are Joint Presidents of the event; there is no word about Kate’s participation. Information released today says “The Queen, accompanied by the Duke of Edinburgh, will attend The Patron’s Lunch on The Mall. Other members of the Royal Family will be present.”
  • Monday, June 13:  Annual Order of the Garter ceremonies take place at Windsor Castle. Kate was at the event in 20112012,2014; she did not attend in 2013 because of George’s impending birth, while Charlotte’s recent birth in 2015 prompted the Duchess to skip the event.

We do not have official confirmation about Kate’s attendance at the events. If there is one of the events I would put in the “iffy” column it would be the Patron’s Lunch, but only because that is the function I am least familiar with; the others are ‘regular’ engagements, annual appearances with which we are familiar.

Also today, word about the Queen’s wedding and coronation gowns. The two have never been displayed together, only shown separately. That is until this summer, when they’ll be displayed jointly at Buckingham Palace as part of Fashioning a Reign: 90 Years of Style from the Queen’s Wardrobe, an exhibit beginning July 23rd. Below, the coronation gown and designer Sir Norman Hartnell’s sketch of the design.

Royal Collection Trust via The Telegraph

Royal Collection Trust

More from the Royal Collection Trust:

Unknown to The Queen, Hartnell added an extra four-leaf shamrock on the left side of the skirt for good luck, so that Her Majesty’s hand could rest upon it during the ceremony.

Back to the Royal Collection Trust:

The gown incorporates a 15 foot (4.6m) star-patterned train, woven in Braintree in Essex, inspired by the famous Renaissance painting of Primavera by Botticelli, symbolising rebirth and growth after the war.

In 1947 Britain was still subject to rationing, so Princess Elizabeth collected clothing coupons to pay for the dress.

There are actually three exhibits under the “Fashioning a Reign” umbrella; one is at the Palace of Holyroodhouse in Edinburgh; another is at Windsor Castle; the third is at Buckingham Palace.

Constituting the largest collective display of The Queen’s dress ever mounted, the first exhibition will open at the Palace of Holyroodhouse in Edinburgh for Her Majesty’s birthday on 21 April 2016 until 16 October 2016. The second, and largest exhibition will be at the Summer Opening of the State Rooms, Buckingham Palace, from 23 July to 2 October 2016 and the third will open at Windsor Castle from 17 September 2016 to 8 January 2017.

Two more Norman Hartnell designs: an ‘evening dress of embroidered duchesse satin worn by The Queen with a sash of Royal Stewart tartan for the Gillies Ball at Balmoral Castle in 1971″ and an ensemble of  consisting of a “turquoise-blue dress with a matching bolero jacket of silk taffeta, guipure lace and silk tulle worn by The Queen to the wedding of her sister Princess Margaret and Mr Antony Armstrong-Jones on 6 May 1960.”

At the end of the post there are links to a preview of the exhibit at each location.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

With a holiday weekend comes retailers with discounts. The retail sector has experienced another tough quarter, with mass merchandise department stores like Macy’s, Target, Kohl’s, JC Penney and Sears reporting lower than expected revenue and profits. Many have excess inventory that has not sold; that translates into more ‘promotional activity,’ which is essentially a codeword for discounts/sales. From a Reuters story

Moving the stale stock of mostly clothes, accessories and electronics is likely to lead to bigger discounts and steeper markdowns…

The stores that are doing well are almost all off-price outlets, like TJ MaxxBurlington Coat Factory, dollar stores and other discount establishments.

Let’s look at the promotions running at some of the Kate-centric retailers.

Other retailers offering savings:

NOTE: The post has been updated to correct a misplaced quote implying rationing coupons were collected for the coronation gown, when it was the wedding gown that required the coupons.

LINKAGE:

 

 

Pin It

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Ellen

Friday 3rd of June 2016

I enjoyed this post very much, especially the information about the Queen's wedding and coronation gowns. They're both pretty amazing. The Queen made a lovely bride! And her new husband looks like a Viking god. What a happy couple.

My personal preference is for the coronation gown. It's so gorgeous. The shorter sleeves are more flattering - and as I remember from photos, she did not wear gloves.

I think the Queen was never more beautiful than on that solemn day. Her hair, shorter and brushed up off of her face, was so flattering, and her makeup was perfect. She is the picture of grown-up, still youthful, beauty. I really think that was her golden age. I wish I could see that exhibit in person!

KateZena

Friday 3rd of June 2016

The queen's coronation and wedding dresses have always been some of my favorites. The hand embroidery is simply stunning.

As a note, for those who have been saddened to not find a copy of the British Vogue centennial issue featuring Kate, you may want to still look at Barnes & Noble. Since it is an import, certain B&N stores lag behind by a month in certain import magazines like mine does. Imports take longer to get into the store. You should be able to call ahead and see it if it is in; if not, ask if they can call you when it comes in and put one on hold for you. They will hold a copy for you for one day, so get there when you get a call. In the US or Canada, British Vogue costs $10.99 (less if you hold a membership at B&N.)

Liana

Friday 3rd of June 2016

Hi, KateZena.

I just want to say you're right about the lag with import magazines. I called my local Barnes & Noble after reading about the British Vogue issue here and the woman I spoke to told me to call them back at the end of May. I did and was able to get a copy of the June issue of British Vogue on Tuesday, May 31st, and, in my opinion, the cover photo looks much better than it did in the photo shown here (not that there was an issue with the photo shown here; I think the fact that it was a photo of a photo affected the quality somewhat).

Kate Middleton's Jewelry

Sunday 29th of May 2016

I have never truly seen the details on HM's wedding gown until now. It is definitely an exquisite garment.

ElizaMo

Sunday 29th of May 2016

That's quite a bunch of outings we have building up there early in June -- looks like we could be kept busy!

The displays of the Queen's gowns look amazing, a real treat for anyone who can get to see them. I'm always surprised how tiny her waist was, she was -- and remains -- one very beautiful woman.

I'm embarrassed to think of my younger self when growing up and always thinking of her as "old" and, er, "fat." It is good to be brought up so short by these fabulous gowns. Such opulence belongs to a bygone age I think, and I doubt there'll be much to match them again.

Also congratulations on the epic round-up of sales possibilities for Kate followers. Plenty of options to consider there :-)

Jenny

Saturday 28th of May 2016

As always, thanks for your detailed post, Susan!

Wanted to share a good replikate for the Gianvito Rossi crisscross ankle suede heel sandals from the India trip:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B015GIJ61E/ref=mp_s_a_1_6?qid=1464486818&sr=8-6&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_QL65&keywords=sam+edelman+black+heels&dpPl=1&dpID=51%2BdOFMY--L&ref=plSrch

I purchased the shoes for a formal event and was impressed by their beauty and comfort!

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.