My Favorite Postcards

London
Diana,
Princess of Wales
1961 - 1997
(1 July 1961 – 31 August 1997)

This unused, shaped postcard was bought in England in 2014.

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The Spencer Tiara has been in Diana's family for nearly a century. 

Britain's
Prince George and Princess Charlotte

This postcard is postmarked in 2016.

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The two children of Prince William, Duke of Cambridge, and Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge are:

Prince George of Cambridge (George Alexander Louis)
(born 22 July 2013)
and
Princess Charlotte of Cambridge (Charlotte Elizabeth Diana) (born 2 May 2015)

Sovereign Series No. 3
Charles and Diana in the Antipodes
No. 27 (of 30)
23 April 1983.  For his encore, giggling with exuberance, a rather wobbly Prince William took his first tottering steps in public, entirely unabashed by the massed batter of cameras.

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Prince William was born on 21 June 1982.

HRH The Duchess of Cambridge and
HRH The Duke of Cambridge with their new son Prince George of Cambridge born on July 22nd, 2013 at 4:24pm.  They are leaving the Lindo wing of St Mary's Hospital, London, the birthplace of HRH Prince William.

Photographer: James Veysey Camera Press London

This postcard is postmarked in October of 2014.

The sender writes:
They are going to have another baby  already.  The rumor is that it will be twins.

Down the aisle!
On July 29, 1981, the fairy tale romance of the century culminated in the marriage of Charles Philip, Prince of Wales and Lady Diana Frances Spencer.  It was solemnized at St. Paul's Cathedral by the Archbishop of Canterbury.  The 2,500 fortunate guests were enchanted during 70 minutes of music by massed choristers, trumpet fanfares and by the recitation of vows by the two young people everyone loves.  July 29, 1981

unused postcard from Mike Roberts

translation:
Group Photo King Willem-Alexander, Queen Maxima, Princess Ariane, Princess Alexia and crown princess Amalia

Foto: Jerry Lampen

postmarked in 2013 with three Netherlands stamp

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On 28 January 2013, Queen Beatrix announced that she planned to abdicate in favour of Willem-Alexander. The official programme for the abdication and investiture took place on 30 April 2013. After the abdication of his mother Queen Beatrix, Willem-Alexander was inaugurated as king on 30 April 2013.

So now Willem-Alexander (born 27 April 1967) is the reigning King of the Kingdom of the Netherlands which consists of the countries of the Netherlands, Curaçao, Aruba, and Sint Maarten. Upon coming to the throne he became the first male monarch of the Netherlands since the death of William III in 1890.

 

To celebrate the engagement of William and Catherine using the ring of his late mother

postmarked in 2012 from Great Britain

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The engagement ring of Diana, Princess of Wales is an engagement ring that was given to the then Lady Diana Spencer in her engagement to Charles, Prince of Wales in February 1981. The engagement ring consists of 14 solitaire diamonds elegantly surrounding a 12-carat oval blue Ceylon sapphire set in 18-karat white gold.

After the divorce of Charles and Diana, the possession of the engagement ring came back to the Prince of Wales. It remained at Kensington Palace. After Diana's death occurred, Charles took the mourning Princes William and Harry to the palace to select mementos from their mother's possessions. Prince Harry selected the engagement ring, whereas Prince William selected Diana's yellow gold Cartier Tank Francaise watch. They eventually exchanged mementos. Prince William decided to give his longtime girlfriend, Catherine Middleton, the engagement ring on October 20th, 2010.

After stepping from the famous Glass Coach, Britain's royal Cinderella, Lady Diana, accompanied by her father, the eighth Earl of Spencer, gives the crowd their first full-length view of her secret taffeta wedding gown and veil.  July 29, 1981

Colorphoto: David Burnett

This unused postcard was printed in 1981.

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The wedding dress of Lady Diana Spencer was worn by Lady Diana Spencer at her wedding to Charles, Prince of Wales on 29 July 1981 at St Paul's Cathedral. Diana wore an ivory silk taffeta and antique lace gown, with a 25-foot (7.62 m) train. It was considered one of the most closely guarded secrets in fashion history. The dress was designed by David and Elizabeth Emanuel with hand embroidery, sequins, and 10,000 pearls.

The traditional Carrickmacross lace-making technique used on the wedding dress was later used on the wedding dress of Kate Middleton in her marriage to Prince William, Diana's eldest son.

Due to the length of the train, Diana's father found it difficult to fit inside the glass coach to accompany his daughter to the cathedral.

 

The Marriage of HRH Prince William of Wales with
Miss Catherine Middleton at Westminster Abbey, 29 April 2011.

Both of these postcards are unused.

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The wedding of Prince William, Duke of Cambridge, and Catherine Middleton took place on 29 April 2011 at Westminster Abbey in London. Prince William, second in the line of succession to Queen Elizabeth II, first met Catherine Middleton in 2001, when both were studying at the University of St Andrews.

The build-up to the wedding and the occasion itself attracted much media attention, with the service being broadcast live around the world, and being compared and contrasted in many ways with the 1981 marriage of William's parents, Charles, Prince of Wales and Diana, Princess of Wales.

As Prince William was not the heir apparent to the throne, the wedding was not a full state occasion and many details were left to the couple to decide, such as much of the guest list of about 1,900.

Hours before the service, the Queen conferred the titles Duke of Cambridge, Earl of Strathearn, and Baron Carrickfergus upon William. Upon her marriage, Middleton therefore became Her Royal Highness The Duchess of Cambridge.

Wien - Vienna - Vienne - Viena (Austria)

Kaiser Franz Josef I. von Osterreich, 1830 - 1916
(Regierungszeit 1848 - 1916) und seine Gemahlin
Kaiserin Elisabeth von osterreich, 1837 - 1898
Gemalde von F.X. Winterhalter

translation:
Emperor Franz Josef I of Austria, 1830 - 1916
(Reigned 1848 - 1916) and his wife
Empress Elisabeth of Austria, 1837 - 1898
Paintings by F.X. Winterhalter

unused, from 2011

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It was generally felt in the court that the Emperor  should marry and produce heirs as soon as possible. Various potential brides were considered: Princess Elisabeth of Modena, Princess Anna of Prussia and Princess Sidonia of Saxony. Although in public life the Emperor was the unquestioned director of affairs, in his private life his formidable mother still had a crucial influence. She wanted to strengthen the relationship between the Houses of Habsburg and Wittelsbach, and hoped to match Franz Joseph with her sister Ludovika's eldest daughter, Helene ("Nené"), four years the Emperor's junior. However, the Emperor became besotted with Nené's younger sister, Elisabeth ("Sisi"), a girl of sixteen, and insisted on marrying her instead. Sophie agreed, despite some misgivings about Sisi's appropriateness as an imperial consort, and the young couple were married on 24 April 1854 in St. Augustine's Church, Vienna.

Their married life was not happy. Sisi never really adapted herself to the court and always had disagreements with the Imperial Family; their first daughter Sophie died as an infant; and their only son, Crown Prince Rudolf, died, allegedly by suicide in 1889, in the infamous Mayerling Incident. The Empress was an inveterate traveller, horsewoman, and fashion maven who was rarely seen in Vienna. She was stabbed to death by an Italian anarchist in 1898; Franz Joseph never fully recovered from the loss. According to the future Empress-Consort Zita of Bourbon-Parma he usually told his relatives: "You'll never know how important she was for me" or, according to some sources, "She will never know how much I loved her" (although there is no definite proof he actually said this).

On a personal note, they were married on the same date as my husband and me.

Their Royal Highnesses
Prince Charles & Princess Anne (I love this picture of her!)

From a portrait by Marcus Adams

real photo postcard
unused, from 1952

Hennes Kungliga Hoghet Kronprinsessan Victoria och Herr Daniel Westling
Her Royal Highness Crown Princess Victoria and Mr Daniel Westling

Den Officiella Brollopsserien
The Official Wedding Series
(This is one of their official engagement photos)

Foto: Mikael Jansson 2010

unused

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On 24 February 2009, Westling and the Crown Princess received official permission to become engaged from King Carl XVI Gustaf and the Government of Sweden. Such permission is necessary according to the terms of the Swedish Act of Succession.

Westling suffered from a congenital (but not hereditary) ailment causing impaired renal function. Three months after his engagement, on 28 May 2009, Westling underwent a kidney transplant at Karolinska University Hospital. His father was the donor. The operation was a success. Victoria could not be present when the operation took place because she was performing royal duties in Greenland.

The wedding took place in Stockholm Cathedral on 19 June 2010, the 34th anniversary of her parents' wedding.
After their wedding on 19 June 2010, the Duke and Duchess of Västergötland moved in to Haga Palace.

1952 - 1977
Silver Jubilee

postmarked in 1977 with 6 Great Britain stamps (three maroon, two light blue and one light green)

Where the writing on the back is, it is mostly covered up with stamps, I can make out this:
Windsor Castle
Westminster Abbey
The Tower of London at Night

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The Silver Jubilee of Elizabeth II marked the twenty-fifth anniversary of Queen Elizabeth II's accession to the throne of the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and other Commonwealth realms. It was celebrated with large-scale parties and parades throughout the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth throughout 1977, culminating in June with the official "Jubilee Days," held to coincide with the Queen's Official Birthday.

On 6 June, the Queen lit a bonfire beacon at Windsor Castle, whose light spread across the night in a chain of other beacons throughout the whole country. On 7 June, crowds lined the procession to St Paul's Cathedral, where the royal family attended a Service of Thanksgiving alongside many world leaders, including United States President Jimmy Carter, as well as all of the living former Prime Ministers, stretching back from Harold Macmillan all the way to Harold Wilson. The service was followed by lunch in the Guildhall.

          

The Duke of Edinburgh pays homage to the queen.

The scene in Westminster Abbey at the Coronation of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth, June 2nd, 1953

A Tuck Card - Real Photo

unused

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The Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II was the ceremony in which the newly ascended monarch, Elizabeth II, was crowned Queen of the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Ceylon, and Pakistan, as well as taking on the role of Head of the Commonwealth. Elizabeth ascended the thrones of these countries upon the death of her father, the late King George VI on 6 February 1952, and was proclaimed queen by her various privy and executive councils shortly afterward. The coronation, however, was held more than a year after the accession, on 2 June 1953; this followed the long-standing tradition that a joyous festival such as a coronation was inappropriate during the period of mourning that followed the death of the preceding sovereign.

T.R.H.
The Prince and Princess of Wales with Prince William, photographed in their home in Kensington Palace.

Photograph by Tim Graham

postmarked in 1983 with two Great Britain queen stamps

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Prince Charles - born: November 14, 1948
Princess Diana - born: July 1, 1961 - death: August 31,1997
Prince William - born: June 21, 1982

LL.AA.RR. Ie Grand-Duc Henri et la Grande-Duchesse Maria teresa entoures du Grand-Duc Heritier Guillaume, des Princes Felix, Louis et Sebastien et de la Princesse Alexandra.

From Google Translate:
TRH I Grand Duke Henri and Grand Duchess Maria Teresa surrounded 'by their children' Grand Duke Guillaume, Princes Felix, Louis and Sebastian and Princess Alexandra.

postmarked in 2010 with a Luxembourg Olympics stamp from 2006

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Grand Duke Henri Albert Gabriel Félix Marie Guillaume of Luxembourg is the current Grand Duke of Luxembourg. He was born on April 16, 1955. He was married on February 14, 1981 to Maria Teresa Mestre and became grand duke when his father, Jean, abdicated on October 7, 2000. Their children are:

Hereditary Grand Duke Guillaume Jean Joseph Marie of Luxembourg, the Grand Duke's eldest son, born on November 11, 1981. He is the Hereditary Grand Duke of Luxembourg, Hereditary Prince of Nassau and holds the title Prince of Bourbon-Parma.

Prince Félix Léopold Marie Guillaume of Luxembourg, born on June 3, 1984.

Prince Louis Xavier Marie Guillaume of Luxembourg, born on August 3, 1986. He is Prince of Luxembourg and Prince of Nassau. He was married on September 29, 2006 to Tessy Antony, who was born on October 28, 1985. Upon marrying, Prince Louis renounced his right of succession to the Luxembourg throne.

Princess Alexandra Joséphine Teresa Charlotte Marie Wilhelmine of Luxembourg, born on February 16, 1991.

Prince Sébastien Henri Marie Guillaume of Luxembourg, born on April 16, 1992.