On Friday, The Duchess of Cambridge attended the wedding of her first cousin Adam Middleton and interior designer Rebecca Poynton. Adam, who is the son of Richard, advises executives in his role for the Mayfair firm Manchester Square Partners. The civil ceremony took place at Dorchester Hotel's penthouse and pavilion. Kate was joined by her parents Michael and Carole and her siblings James and Pippa.
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| Dorchester |
However, the venue of the wedding has proved to be a controversial choice. The Dorchester is owned by the Sultan of Brunei who has imposed stringent anti-gay laws, prompting high-profile celebrities including Vogue's Anna Wintour and Richard Branson to call for a boycott of the hotels. I've been following this story in the news for some time and was shocked to read the Sultanate introduced a series of harsh Islamic laws that increase the punishment for homosexuality from a ten-year prison sentence to death by stoning.
More from the Mail Online's Story:
'Acutely aware of the sensitivities over her presence at the controversial hotel, she avoided the front door and sneaked into its underground car park in a blacked-out people carrier. "The wedding was a big boost for the hotel," says my man with a silver salver. "It shows the royals will not let the Brunei business keep them away."
While James drove to the hotel with his parents, Pippa and her boyfriend Nico, Kate arrived separately, accompanied, so I am told, by an astonishing nine police protection officers.'
Reaction has been varied, with campaigning groups furious. The veteran gay rights campaigner Peter Tatchell told The Huffington Post that Kate's attendance was "hugely disappointing".
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| The Huffington Post |
More from Mr. Tatchell:
'She's sending the wrong signal. The Sultan will take comfort in the fact that Kate continues to give her de facto stamp of royal approval to his hotel and is not supporting the boycott. Many gay and human rights campaigners feel let down. She could have taken a stand but declined to do so.
How can anyone go to The Dorchester knowing it is owned by a man who has brought stoning to Brunei? It's particularly offensive when it's done by those in the public eye like The Duchess of Cambridge, who should be setting an example. '
Meanwhile, Princes William and Harry participated in the annual Audi Polo Challenge Coworth Park in Ascot, Berkshire over the weekend. Coworth is also owned by the Dorchester Collection, which is owned by the Brunei Investment Agency, an arm of the country's finance ministry.
Coworth Park is a five-star retreat set in 240 acres of parkland on the borders of Windsor Great Park. The park retains a close affiliation with polo, offering world class polo grounds and hosts the season from April to September each year.
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| Coworth Park |
The two-day event raised tens of thousands of pounds for three charities close to William and Harry's hearts, including The Royal Marsden cancer hospital in Chelsea, which William is president of, and his patronage youth training charity Skillforce. Proceeds will also support Prince Harry's charity Sentebale which he founded with Prince Seesio of Lesotho to help vulnerable children and victims of Lesotho's HIV/Aids epidemic. You'll see the names of the benefiting organisations on the Princes' polo shirts.
While raising money for charity is an admirable effort, many feels the royals should support the boycott and dispel any affiliation with the Dorchester. Personally, I fully support the boycott and feel any endorsement of the Dorchster on the royals part should be seriously reconsidered. Obviously, Kate made every effort to ensure she wasn't seen (why anyone would wish to hold their wedding at an establishment owned by the Dorchester Collection is truly beyond me, though it may have been too late to cancel) and the venue of her cousin's wedding was completely out of her control, but should she have missed it? Should the Princes boycott Coworth Park?
What are your thoughts on the ongoing debate? Photos were taken from the wedding. It remains to be seen when they'll be published, if indeed they are at all.
While raising money for charity is an admirable effort, many feels the royals should support the boycott and dispel any affiliation with the Dorchester. Personally, I fully support the boycott and feel any endorsement of the Dorchster on the royals part should be seriously reconsidered. Obviously, Kate made every effort to ensure she wasn't seen (why anyone would wish to hold their wedding at an establishment owned by the Dorchester Collection is truly beyond me, though it may have been too late to cancel) and the venue of her cousin's wedding was completely out of her control, but should she have missed it? Should the Princes boycott Coworth Park?
What are your thoughts on the ongoing debate? Photos were taken from the wedding. It remains to be seen when they'll be published, if indeed they are at all.
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In other news, William, Kate and Harry attended their biannual Charities Forum at the Natural History Museum on Thursday morning. No photos were taken from the private event. The Forum was founded in 2006 as a way for the royals to bring their individual charitable interests together and to explore how they could best lend their support to them all in an effective and efficient way. Below we see the Cambridges at a previous forum.
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| Duke and Duchess of Cambridge Official Website |
Another engagement has been added to Kate's diary. On Wednesday, 18 June, Her Royal Highness will visit Bletchley Park to mark the completion of the year-long restoration project, which has restored the site to its World War II appearance. During World War II, German secret codes were broken at Bletchley Park and many radio amateurs were involved in decoding and intercepting information.
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| Bletchley Park |
More from Majesty Magazine:
'During her visit, Her Royal Highness will view the restored location, tour the WWII codebreaking huts and will hear about the achievements of the codebreakers whose work is said to have helped shorten the war by two years. The Duchess will be invited to plant a tree to commemorate the visit.'
The visit will be of particular interest to readers who enjoy the highly acclaimed television series The Bletchley Circle. Filmed on location at the Park, the mystery show sees four ex-codebreakers investigate crimes in post-war England.
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| Bletchly Park |
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Kate's first official portrait by Paul Emsley received lukewarm reviews. But a new painting of Kate given to the royal couple during their visit to Scotland last week has been warmly welcomed by the Cambridges. Local artist Tom Sutton-Smith created the painting which was given to William and Kate as they toured the arts and crafts stall at a fete. According to People Magazine: "When William saw it, he said, wow it's brilliant. That's going up in my room. Kate loved it too and reached out to hold it and stared at it."
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| Glennys Andrews |
While Kate's portrait will be bubble wrapped and sent to Kensington Palace shortly, it seems decorating the couple's country home Anmer Hall is proving a more difficult task. Kate revealed obtaining fireplaces is proving quite the task. More from Richard Palmer's story:
'Kate, has revealed she's looking for several fireplaces for Anmer Hall. The Duchess spoke about her renovations to Theresa Edwards from Forteviot when she visited the village fete on Thursday. Theresa, who runs a firm called Strathearn Stone and Timber said: "She said she's doing her house up and she's looking for fireplaces. She said she's been having problems finding a fireplace so I suggested she look at our website."'
This photo of Anmer Hall was taken last month; one imagines it won't be too long before William, Kate and George can move in.
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I was discussing upcoming appearances on Twitter with a fellow blogger and we noted it's been quite a while since Kate had an engagement which calls for an evening gown (surely one will be in the offing soon). With that in mind, for tonight's fashion corner we're taking a look at a selection of to-die-for Jenny Packham gowns available at the moment. We begin with the Beaded Long-Sleeve Tulle Gown and the Boat-Neck Cornet-Beaded Gown.
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| Jenny Packham |
This Nude Silk Beaded Gown features a crew neck, long sleeves, a fitted waist and intricate beaded embroidery. It encompasses several elements we know the Duchess favours and would be a perfect choice for an evening event.
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| Jenny Packham |
The Embellished-Neckline Silk Gown has a vintage feel to it. It's gathered at the waist with a grosgrain ribbon band and features a delicate polka dot print. We also look at the (very Downton Abbey) Floral Embellished Gown.
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| Jenny Packham |
The Draped Embellished Gowns in three colourways.
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| Jenny Packham |
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| Jenny Packham |
The Resort 2015 Collections are coming through at the moment. We'll take a look at some of Kate's favourite designers' offerings when they're available.
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