Royal Fashion Awards: Monaco's National Day

It's always a mixed bag with the crew from Monaco, isn't it? For every well-dressed turn, you're bound to have someone else show up woefully misguided. Not that I'm naming names. Alright, I'm naming names:

Best Ridiculous

Charlene Wittstock, Day Events

Well, alright then, Charlene! This is ridiculous. Ridiculous in the most amazing way. I won't lie, when I first saw the pictures, I thought, "Yeesh, someone's trying awfully hard on their first National Day." But the more I thought about it, the more I liked it. With a suit like this, you've got to go big or go home on the rest of the outfit, and she certainly did that, right down to the gloves. And hey, if Charlene's decided to bring more attention to tiny Monaco this way instead of through scandal (you know, the usual way), I'm all for it.

Most Typical

Princess Caroline, Day Events

And here we have an extraordinarily typical Caroline outfit. A little snooze-worthy, but I suppose too much oomph next to Charlene would have given me a sartorial heart attack.

Most Guilty

Princess Stephanie

It's the expression. She just has a knack for looking like she's done something wrong. In this case, she's taken a perfectly average coat and attempted to wear it like the Red Baron with that scarf. Maybe she was flying around, daredevil-style, beforehand: it's the only excuse I can think of for that hair.

Best of the Day Events

Charlotte Casiraghi

I should probably go gaga for Charlene here, but in truth, Charlotte's the one that has me lusting after her outfit. I'm loving the casual way she's got the jacket over the black and white dress (which is perfectly ladylike and flattering), and the all-black touch of tights. It's appropriate yet still completely in character.

Cutest Touch

Princess Alexandra

It's Hello Kitty. At National Day. Cute.

Best Reminder

Princess Caroline, Evening

Caroline can look a bit dowdy sometimes, I think, despite her couture-filled wardrobe. What an excellent reminder this look is: she's still got it. A touch of bling, a flattering dress, perfection.

Best Theme Commitment

Charlene Wittstock, Evening

She started the day on a retro kick, and she ended it with the most fantastic retro hair. She's also finishing her commitment to the Armani theme, with the second of two outfits I previously begged for a royal to sport. The only thing I'd change here is to get rid of the hand hold for the train of the skirt. It's a little awkward, especially considering there weren't even any pictures (that I saw, at least) of her not holding it up.

Best Men

Andrea and Pierre Casiraghi

You didn't think I'd let this day go by without an appearance from two handsome royal men, did you? Of course you didn't. Glad to see Andrea looking good - he's been looking a little rough around the edges of late.

Who topped your best-dressed list in Monaco?

Photos: Daylife/Zimbio/Getty/HuffPo

Gold Star: Sheikha Mozah's Glamorous State Visit

You know, we've been seeing a lot less designer clothes lately. Royal families are trying to be a little more down to earth, I guess, not going around shoving the fact that they have money in the faces of those that are dealing with recession and unemployment. Buckingham Palace went out of it's way to point out that the Queen has an evening dress with detachable ornamentation for maximum reuse, and that it was made by her dresser. Victoria's been out and about in H&M, and then of course you have the Queen (or Princess, rather) of this: Letizia, and her wardrobe of high street staples.

Nothing wrong with that, quite sensible really. Sheikha Mozah, though...now she seems to belong more in the "you know I'm rich, I know I'm rich, let's not play games about it" camp. Her wardrobe from the recent state visit to England is pure couture: Armani Privé, Jean Paul Gaultier, Valentino, Chanel, Dior.

I love it. It's like eating a decadent dessert after a day of salad. And if there's a woman alive that can carry off those names without looking like she's trying to hard, it's the Sheikha.

It's not just the clothes, either. How about those jewels? Bestill my little magpie heart.

And while we're accessorizing...

Heh. The mind of Karl Lagerfeld at work. Couture is the highest form of fashion as art, which means sometimes you'll get it and sometimes you won't. I say if you're going to go couture, go all the way, fug or not.

Gold star: awarded for pure glamour.

Photos: Getty/AP/HuffPo

The Duke of Westminster's Beautiful Boxes

I would love to be given these luxurious boxes. The Duke of Westminster gave them to the gamine and ambitious Chanel.

The Designing Duchess

Marie and Wilhelm's Wedding

Grand Duchess Marie Pavlovna, Dmitri's sister, became a famous fashion designer in France and America. She started an embroidery business called Kitmir in Paris and worked for Chanel. Chanel had a difficult rags-to-riches struggle and allegedly treated aristocrats, including Marie badly.

The Grand Duchess had a long and interesting journey from imperial splendour in Russia to attempting to make it on her own as a business woman.

She was the daughter of Grand Duke Paul and Alexandra of Greece. Her mother died when Marie was very young and her father married again some years later. The Tsar disapproved of Paul's new wife and sent the couple into exile. Marie and Dmitri were looked after by Grand Duke Sergei and his wife, the Tsaritsa's sister, Grand Duchess Ella. Marie found Ella very cold and difficult to get along with. Sergei was very much disliked by many Russians, but he was kind to the children. She did apparently find him very possessive, however.

Sergei was assassinated in 1905. Marie and Dmitri watched GD Ella as she knelt over his blood-stained body. This experience must have been incredibly traumatic for the children and they probably never got over it.

Ella became friendlier after this but she dragooned Marie into a marriage with the Swedish Prince Wilhelm when she was only 17. Marie's father, Paul, was against this but couldn't do much about it. Marie married Wilhelm in 1908. He was apparently rather cold and probably gay. Marie made many friends at the Swedish court but she didn't care for the excessive formality there. They had a son, Lennart, in 1909, but the marriage was eventually annulled. Prince Wilhelm raised Lennart.

Marie returned to Russia where she worked as a nurse in the First World War. (She strangely described this time as 'the happiest of her life'.) She married Prince Putiatin and had another son, Roman. She was lucky enough to flee the Revolution According to Grant Menzies's excellent article on the Grand Duchess, Marie fled old Russia 'in July on a "beautiful summer day" filled with daisies and grasshoppers and yellow butterflies.'1. She fled to Queen Marie in Romania but her son tragically died.

Her second marriage also broke up and Marie never married again.

Marie Works For Chanel

Marie joined her brother, Dmitri, in England and financed her exile by selling many of her gorgeous jewels and selling lovely clothes which she knitted. She and Dmitri went to Paris where Marie set up a textile and embroidery business called 'Kitmir'. Legend has it that she established the business to provide work for the many Russian exiles in Paris.

Chanel became one of her favoured clients but they fought because Chanel wanted to be Marie's only client. Chanel unfortunately won this battle.

Marie's Travels

Marie decided to go to America where she established a perfumery and worked as a vendeuse for department stores, such as Bergdorf Goodman.

She then lived in Buenos Aires for many years where she sold perfumes and worked for Elizabeth Arden.

Marie eventually went back to Europe where she lived near her son. She is buried with Dmitri in the grounds of Mainau, an inheritance of her son.

1. Marie Pavlovna

The Glamorous Grand Duke

Legend has it that Grand Duke Dmitri Pavlovitch and Chanel met on a beach, although they may have been introduced to each other by Dmitri's sister, Marie Pavlovna. One wonders what the dark and handsome Dmitri and the petite Chanel first said to each other! They soon became lovers.

The Grand Duke and Grand Duchess certainly had a strong influence on Chanel's fashion career. Dmitri introduced her to the former perfumier to the Tsars, Earnest Beaux, and Marie made gorgeous embroidered clothes for the business before becoming a designer herself. Beaux created the celebrated Chanel No.5.

Dmitri was the son of the Tsar's uncle, Grand Duke Paul, and his wife, Princess Alexandra of Greece, who died giving birth to him. After Paul made a morganatic marriage and was sent into exile by the Tsar, Marie and Dmitri were looked after by the Tsaritsa's sister, Grand Duchess Ella and her husband, Grand Duke Serge. Ella was beautiful but rather cold and Serge was greatly disliked. Although they were surrounded by splendour and played with the Tsar's children, it must have been a strange childhood. Ella was obsessed with Serge, who was secretly gay. Serge was rather cruel, but apparently he was kinder to the children than Ella. He was regarded as a petty tyrant and assassinated in 1905.

Dmitri had many lovers before he met Chanel, including the ballerina, Vera Karalli and his cousin's morganatic wife, Natasha. The greatest scandal involving the grand Duke occurred when he and the flamboyant Felix Youssopoff had an affair. Dmitri was considered as a husband for Grand Duchess Olga by the Tsaritsa at one stage.

When he and Felix got fed up with Rasputin's evil influence over Alexandra and the Tsar, they decided to murder him. They thought that this would solve the many problems of the royal family and the country. Rasputin was very difficult to get rid of. His killing involved poisoning, shooting and drowning. The Tsar was horrified when he found out that Dimitri was involved and sent him into exile. This, of course, saved his life.

Dmitri always had money problems and his love affair with Chanel didn't last. However, he eventually married a wealthy American heiress, Audrey Emery, moved to Florida and had a son, Paulie. Paul eventually became the Mayor of Palm Beach.

They eventually divorced and Dmitri died young of tuberculosis in Switzerland during the Second World War. He was reburied in the palace chapel on the island of Mainau in Lake Constance in southern Germany. Marie's son owned the property there and she wanted him buried there.