it's not always about the dress

.

Mabel van Oranje on her wedding day, April 24, 2004, in a Viktor and Rolf   

duchessse satin gown created for her by the Dutch the designers-with a 3 metre train and 248 bows.

with all the speculation about wedding dresses of late, Kate-Catherine- soon to be, wife of William, what is the title to be- anyway?  " Her actual title upon marriage is as yet unconfirmed as it depends on whether or not Prince William is offered, and accepts, a royal dukedom. The duchies of Sussex and Cambridge are available but the whisper is that William does not wish for either. Technically this would make Kate the rather ungainly 'Princess William of Wales’, which also sounds hopelessly old-fashioned. "(from the telegraph online)

so- at this point-it's-
no word on the title,
no word on the dress.

what's all this about  a dress- the dress?
Well you may ask, 
Unfortunately, this can make or break a girl. especially if the girl is  Catherine- and Queen in waiting.
I wish her well on the dress.

what about life AFTER the Dress? here I wish her more so.
After style comes the substance. This Catherine would be Queen will be just shy of 30 years old and should be very able to make something of substance. Her age will help tremendously. No better example- than the charitable Diana when she was not vacillating between her love hate relationship with the press or her Prince.  Looking to Mabel might be a very good idea. Mabel though less in line for the Dutch throne-actually not in line since her marriage (here), is a longtime advocate of human rights. She married her Prince when she was in her 30's-already known for her advocacy and charity work.

Mabel's avant garde wedding gown was created by the Dutch designers Viktor and Rolf -appropriately so -as Mabel is actually a Princess and married to Prince Friso of Oranje-Nassau and daughter in law to Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands. She is fairly beautiful but with quirky Meg Ryan features and along with all that, she has heavy credentials as an international human rights activist.

A first draft of her gown created by Viktor and Rolf was nixed by Mabel and the pair of designers were easily persuaded to rethink the design-something less conservative. According to the gentlewoman story about HRH, Mabel says "she was not the sort of little girl to dream about her future wedding dress, neither was she going to miss the opportunity to create a wow." (that's style and substance) I think she hit the mark.

Never one to shy away from making an entrance or setting her own style as an Original, Mabel van Oranje always shows up to official family photographs, royal appearances with a gorgeous smile &  almost always wearing Viktor and Rolf.

her most controversial Viktor and Rolf to date-

was worn to last spring's wedding of Swedish Crown Princess  Victoria. Said to be the design duo's
21st century take on the traditional evening dress, it definitely expressed the idea of Mabel's dual role as CEO and Royal. Described as Glamorous, Daring, , Shameless and Inappropriate, the design was  much discussed-with one Dutch commentator saying- 'Not a dress is always wrong' but  'How dare she upstage the bride.' Of her critics- as you might guess, Princess Mabel paid little heed, acknowledging there are many more important things to worry about. It's obvious- her work and the world.

Perfectly timed for the British Royal wedding, Princess Mabel is featured in issue no. 3 of the gentlewoman. the story is written by Paul Flynn and the photographs of Mabel are by Inez va Lamsweerde & Vinoodh Matadin.

Now Mabel serves as CEO of the ELDERS, working alongside Desmond Tutu, Nelson Mandela, Kofi Annan & Aung San Suu Kyi to collectively lend their influence to support peace and address the human suffering.

.