Hi Joan and Elizabeth, I hope that you managed to see a bit of the Danish Royal wedding. It was the "stuff that fairytales are made of". It was so romantic - the crown prince and half the kingdom of Denmark were literally moved to tears as his beautiful bride made an entrance into the church. She really was a dream in a wonderful creation by Danish designer, Uffe Frank, who works in Milan. Her dress was so, simple so elegant and it set off the fabulous Carickmacross lace veil magnificently. I hope that you can see some close ups of this either on the web site I mentioned or in magazines. It was a lovely gesture that the Queen of Denmark allowed her new daughter-in-law to wear her grandmother's veil, which up until now had only been worn by mother-daughter relationships in the royal family. The new crown princess Mary, also carried a much needed handkerchief of Tonder lace - Denmark's Big Heart. It was made by a very special person in the Danish lace world, Astrid Elton Hansen. Those of you who subscribe to Knipling i Danmark will have seen the many Tonder lace patterns, which she regularly contributes to the magazine. She is now retired from teaching lace but many of us have had been introduced the the art of Tonder lace under Astrid's expert tuition. She started making the handkerchief when the couple became engaged and handed it into the office of the crown prince before the wedding. I am so happy for her, to see that the handkerchief was used for this royal occasion. She will be thrilled. On Thursday an exhibition, "White bride -in the royal tradition" opens at Amalienborg, the Danish royal Palace in Copenhagen. The wedding dress of the new crown princess will be on display (probably the handkerchief too!) together with the dress of the present Queen Margrethe, the dress of the former queen mother, Queen Ingrid and also the dress of the queen before that, queen Alexandrine (who was a lacemaker! and she was given the Tonder lace eventually used on queen Margrethe's train). The exhibition is running for the summer and so those of you visiting Denmark should make an effort to come to Copenhagen if you would like to see it - also the royal dresses at Rosenborg too, which I have mentioned previously. Today I went to see Copenhagen cathedral whilst it was still decorated with the beautiful floral decorations for the royal wedding. I had to stand in a queue for 45 minutes but it was worth it. I have never seen such a wonderful sight and the perfume as you entered the church was heavenly. Yes, you have guessed correctly - that most of us here in the little kingdom of Denmark are still floating on cloud nine. AND, as an exiled Scot, I was extra proud to see Mary's father, John Donaldsen, wearing in his kilt of Dress Macdonald to lead his daughter up the aisle. He and Mary's mother emigrated to Tasmania, and he hasn't lost his Scottish accent, as we clearly heard in his moving yet amusing speech to his daughter. But you Australians can be proud too, as she is a real beauty and the couple seem a perfect match. Best wishes and keep bobbin' along from Avril -- And on the 8th day, God created golf courses and lacemakers........
Avril Bayne Denmark To unsubscribe send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] containing the line: unsubscribe lace-chat [EMAIL PROTECTED] For help, write to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
