I wonder why, with a Spanish theme and many Spanish guests, Caroline and Charlotte didn't choose a Spanish designer for a change, to do their gowns. Ever since Letizia's wedding, they have been very much in the limelight, and they would have known how to give a real Spanish flair to the event, at least costume-wise. In fact, you had only to look at the stage and the Spanish dancers to see what could be done with flames of color on a black background. I remember Valentina Pozzo (sp?), Charlotte's friend, wearing a fabulous Dior gown way back when, with lots of little stripes of color, very Miro like if I remember correctly, that would have been perfect on Charlotte.
Why are the Grimaldis/Casiraghis indentured to Lagerfeld the way they are ? They can't even go to a Valentino's retrospective gala event without wearing Chanel. As far as I know, no other royal house has to show that kind of loyalty to any one designer. And Karl is beginning to have a love-hate relationship with Caroline to dress her that way. Where is her backbone to say no when she knows it's inappropriate ?
Charlotte looked regal and reminded me of Queen Rania on state visits or receiving other heads of state: her culture demands that she "buttons up" to the top, and she does it beautifully. But that is not what we expected from Charlotte, although she has now proved she will make a very suitable queen (but we always knew that).
I always enjoyed the addition of the younger generation's friends, compared to Caroline's time when Caroline was that age, but this time, a lot of the friends were missing, and you could tell there was a different current going through the room than say 2 years ago. I agree with the member who pointed out that the expressions were sometimes odd. Caroline looked sleepy, even, in some pictures, a little sick. (It seems last year she had been coming down with a cold or the flu just before the Ball, but she concealed it well.) But I sensed no great joy and miss the usual pictures of her and Ernst, their complicity when they dance together.