Princess of the Week: HRH Princess Elizabeth Tudor of Englandt

(Sorry PotW is late this week, I had a meeting yesterday morning and wanted to make sure I had time to devote to writing a full post.)

This week’s Princess of the Week is Princess Elizabeth Tudor, who would eventually become Queen Elizabeth I of England. I would link to a portrait of her, but I’ve had relative trouble finding one from her Princess years.

Princess Elizabeth was well educated, and taught to speak five languages. As a girl she translated texts from French into English, including in 1544 at the age of 11 translating a French prayerbook. The translation itself is an accomplishment, but so is the fact that by that age she was educated enough to grasp the nuances of the language well enough to translate a religious text.

In addition to the host of academic subjects she was taught (including mathematics, theology, and history) she was an accomplished craftswoman and athlete. She learned needlework, dancing, hunting and archery as a young woman.

She was also responsible for the running of the estate of Hatfield, and while she received an allowance from the crown and had advisers to help her run it, the ultimate authority for this estate lay with her. She was responsible for maintaining good relations with the farmers and craftspeople who lived on the estate, and settling disputes between them.

She was also a supporter of the “reformed” Protestant religion, and even when Queen Mary, a staunch Catholic (and her elder sister) took the throne, she maintained the courage of her convictions and retained her religious practice. Though she was offered inducements to convert back to Catholicism, she believed that consistency and faith were more important than temporal rewards, providing an example and spiritual leadership for her people.

As well as all this, as a Princess, she had to navigate the strange political waters of the English Court during a time of great turmoil. Between the religious disputes and the uncertainty of England’s allies (first Spain, then France, then Spain again…) she was in a precarious position that required all of her wits and intellect. Domestic scandals were also never far from hand, including her step-father making inappropriate advances in what is now suspected to be a bid to get closer to the throne of England.

All in all Princess Elizabeth was well trained to be queen, but her overlooked accomplishments as a Princess stand in history as a guidepost for all young women. They demonstrate that grace and intellect are not opposing forces.

I hope you enjoyed this week’s Princess, and please remember if you have thoughts, comments, or suggestions for future subjects, you’re always welcome to leave them with me!

Princess of the Week: HRH Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden

I chose HRH Crown Princess Victoria Ingrid Alice Désirée as the first Princess of the Week because she’s a modern princess and a very accomplished woman, who puts to bed the idea that being beautiful and royal means you’re useless.

From an early age, Princess Victoria had a rigorous education. When she reached adulthood she studied in France for a year to work on her French language skills, before attending Yale University. Before all this, however, she travelled extensively through Europe to develop other language skills. From what I’ve been able to gather, in addition to Swedish, she speaks French, German, and English.

In addition to her studies in formal university, Princess Victoria has served in two periods with the United Nations, and also with the Swedish Embassy in New York. Both of these diplomatic jobs will prepare her for ruling her country, but more importantly, show that even as a Princess she has had the responsibility for representing her country and enhancing relationships with other nations. She also travels extensively on behalf of Sweden as a diplomatic representative, business supporter, and in pursuit of her support of humanitarian aid.

Meanwhile, the Crown Princess Victoria Fund is dedicated to supporting accessible recreation activities for disabled children, another issue she’s taken an interest in. She uses her fame and connections to support her subjects, even though she’s not yet Queen. As a Princess she has already found ways to ensure that the power she has isn’t going to waste.

She’s also had military training! As is expected of many heirs to the throne, Princess Victoria has served with Sweden’s military, before studying at the Swedish National Defense College in the areas of conflict resolution and International Relations.

In terms of romance and marriage… Far from being a political pawn who is being married off to solidify a family line, Princess Victoria chose her own fiance! At the age of thirty-two, she announced her engagement to a man she cares for very deeply (as opposed to someone chosen by political advisors, or her parents).

Princess Victoria also remains committed to truth telling about the pressures of being a woman. Once a sufferer of anorexia, and now a survivor, she is publicly vocal about the pressures women face in today’s society and how damaging they can be.

As you can see from this brief listing of things she’s done, she remains responsible for many diplomatic jobs. She doesn’t just wait at home for the world to come to her, but works hard to make her mark on it while supporting her nation.

So, that’s it for this first Princess of the Week. I hope you’ve enjoyed it! If you have any suggestions for a Princess you’d like to see featured, comments, or thoughts, please feel free to leave them! Thanks for stopping in.

Not so daily outfit and thoughts.

I dyed my hair black. I did it because I broke up with the Other Boyfriend. (It leaves me with only one boyfriend.)

Last night I went out in a vintage inspired dress of black chiffon over a black slip, nude fishnets, and black t-strap spectators. I did fifties makeup, it’s amazing how glam red lipstick makes you feel.

There’s a sort of devastating emotional honesty to dressing. You pick clothes that express how you’re feeling, who you want to be. That project things about yourself, but they’re tiny details. You focus on the smallest parts of yourself, little facets of a greater person. That fantastic vintage inspired dress says you’re a romantic or a femme fatale. It doesn’t reveal your vulnerability, or the way your heart is breaking. That fantastic string of pearls that you wear with your metal t-shirts says you’re secretly a girly-girl, but it doesn’t tell anyone that you know how to change a tire.

Clothes, then, become the way of painting who we want the world to see us as. It’s one of the reasons I’m so frustrated by the lack of options for a “girl of size” such as myself. I’m a weird inbetweenie, some of the most hideous of the “fat girl” options fit, but mostly I find myself picking over already picked through racks in an attempt to find something that fits that doesn’t project “I’m a fat girl who hates herself and is ashamed of her body” to the world. Because regardless of how I feel, that’s not how I want people to see me.

And so, last night, in the wake of a break up, I put on clothes that said I was fine and makeup that made me look it, and I went out and faced the world. Because that’s how I wanted to be seen.