Royal Weddings

Royal weddings always evoke great interest among the public. In the creation of the royal wedding are taking the very best designers, fashion designers, chefs. Elegant gifts, luxurious tables and clothes.

01. Marriage of Prince Rainier III of Monaco and American actress Grace Kelly.

The civil ceremony took place on April 18, 1956, and the Catholic mass was held the following day, April 19. Press called it an event not only as "wedding of the century". Dowry for the bride was a $ 2 million to sew her wedding dress it took 6 weeks working 35 most skilled seamstresses. To carry out the entire wedding palace in Monaco has been carefully decorated, the streets of Monaco, has gathered more than 20,000 people to wish the royal couple happiness. 20 more after the break...

02. Marriage of British Queen Victoria and Prince Albert, February 10, 1840.

 The ceremony was extremely lush and held in compliance with all traditions, except for one - the bride walked down the aisle is not in a white and colored clothes.

03. Marriage of Prince Edward and the American Wallis Simpson, June 3, 1937.

 Prior to becoming the wife of Prince Wallis Simpson had time to visit twice married. Such a marriage of King Edward VIII was absolutely inconceivable, therefore, to be able to marry his partner Eduardo had to abandon the British crown and keep only the title of Prince, who was his birthright. This wedding is formally no longer belonged to the king, and the ceremony was extremely modest. At the wedding was attended by a total of 16 guests.

04. Marriage of Princess Elizabeth (who is now Queen Elizabeth II) and Philip Mountbatten, Duke of Edinburgh, 20 November 1947. 

 Wedding bridal dress created Norman Hartnell, the official tailor of British royalty. The newlyweds received more than 2,500 wedding presents, and almost 10,000 telegrams of congratulations from around the world.

05. Marrying younger sister of Queen Elizabeth II, Princess Margaret with an English photographer Anthony Armstrong-Jones, May 6, 1960.

 It is this royal wedding of the world's first broadcast on television. Broadcast gathered nearly 300 million viewers. As a wedding gift from a Scottish nobleman Colin Tennant Princess Margaret received a parcel of land on the Caribbean island mystic.

06.Marriage of Princess Anne, only daughter of Queen Elizabeth II, and Lieutenant Mark Phillips on 14 November 1973, just as Prince Charles' birthday (the day he turned 25 years old). 

 The ceremony was broadcast on television and attended by about 100 million viewers. Having lived in wedlock 19 years, the couple divorced 23 April 1992. That year, Queen Elizabeth II named her "unhappy Year» (annus horribilis).

07. Marriage of Jordan's King Hussein Bin Talal and American Lisa Najeeb Halebi, June 15, 1978.

 It was the fourth and last marriage of the king of Jordan. The ceremony took place in accordance with Muslim tradition and was surprisingly modest. CNN is even described the wedding as a modest royal wedding ceremony of all time.

08. Marriage of Princess Caroline of Monaco and the Grimaldi French banker Philippe Junot, June 28-29, 1978.

 Within two years after the wedding the princess blamed her husband's infidelity and actually divorced him. The Vatican annulled the marriage in 1992 alone.

09. Marriage of Prince Charles of Wales and Lady Diana Spencer, July 29, 1981.

 The ceremony was held at St Paul's Cathedral, and was attended by 3500 guests. The wedding was broadcast on television and watched by 750 million viewers. Press called this event "the wedding of the century" and "fabulous wedding." Gorgeous wedding dress with an 8-meter cable for the bride created British designers David and Elizabeth Emanuel. The dress was sewn from silk taffeta, decorated with lace, embroidery, sequins, and 10 000 small pearls. The cost of this fabulous dress was 9,000 pounds.

10. Getting married the second son of Queen Elizabeth II Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson, 23 July 1986.

 Prince Andrew served as a helicopter pilot in the Royal Navy, so designers have decorated the 5-meter trail bridal gown bride anchor.

11. Marriage of Crown Prince Naruhito of Japan and diplomat Masako Owada, June 9, 1993.

 His future wife prince courted for five years, and he twice had to make a proposal to her before she gave her consent. During the wedding ceremony watched 800 guests and 500 million viewers. In 2001, the prince and princess had a daughter - Princess Aiko. Because of the impossibility of having a son Princess Masako for several years suffered from depression.

12. Marriage of Prince Abdallah of Jordan and a Palestinian Rani Faisal Al-Yassin, 10 June 1993.

 Six months after the wedding, the prince became King of Jordan Abdullah II, and his wife Queen. Queen Rania is very energetic woman, so in 2009 she won the 76-th place in the list of 100 most influential women in the world.

13.  Marriage of an American millionaire's daughter Marie-Chantal Miller and Crown Prince Pavlos of Greece.

 The ceremony took place in London and televised in Greece. The bride's father spent the device of Weddings $ 8 million. At this wedding was attended by even more royals than at the wedding of the Prince Charles and Lady Diana.

14.  Getting married the youngest son of Queen Elizabeth II, Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex and Sophie Rhys-Jones, June 19, 1999.

 The ceremony was held in the chapel of St. George at Windsor Castle, and in contrast to the weddings of brothers and sisters of Prince Edward, was quite modest. Design of pearl necklaces, adorned the bride's neck, was designed by Prince Edward. As Edward in 1987 ceased to serve in the army, he attended a wedding is not in military uniform, as in the usual costume.

15. Marriage krnonprintsa Norway Haakon and Mette-Marit of Norway, 25 August 2001.

 Prior to her wedding to Prince Mette-Marit has always been a waitress in a cafe in Oslo, in addition, she was a single mother and the father of her child has been convicted of crimes related to drugs.

16.  Marriage of Prince of Asturias Felipe and Letizia Ortiz, a journalist Rokasolano, May 22, 2004.

 The ceremony took place at Madrid's cathedral of Santa Maria la Real de la Almudena. In the entire history of the cathedral royal wedding was held here the first time. Television broadcast the ceremony around the world watched about 1,5 billion viewers.

17.  Marriage Brunei Crown Prince Al-Muhtadi Bill Bolkiah and Princess Sarah September 9, 2004.

 This event is called "the Asian wedding of the century." Celebrations cost $ 5 million. The bride and groom in traditional dress and sumptuous gold jewelry sitting on golden thrones, and flowers in a bouquet of 17-year old bride were made of gold and decorated with diamonds.

18.  Marriage of Prince Charles and Camilla Parker-Bowles, April 9, 2005.

  The ceremony was quite modest, and attended by all members of the royal family except the Queen Elizabeth II and her husband Prince Philip. The completed wedding novel Camilla Parker-Bowles and Prince Charles went on for almost 30 years, and is considered the longest in the history of the royal house of Britain.

19. Marrying a Japanese princess and designer Sayaka Yoshiki Kuroda, 15 November 2005.

 As a result of this misalliance bride as required by law in Japan was deprived of his title and took her husband's surname. Nevertheless, at a ceremony attended by all members of the royal family. Bride's dowry was 1.3 million dollars.

20.  Marriage eldest grandson of Queen Elizabeth II by Peter Phillips and Canadian Otemn Kelly, May 17, 2008.

 Peter was able to preserve their right to succession, his bride had to abandon Catholicism and go to Anglicanism. The newlyweds have sold the British magazine Hello! their wedding pictures for $ 700,000, which caused a scandal in the royal circles.

21.  Marriage of Prince William of Wales and Kate Middleton have not yet taken place. While it is known that the wedding is scheduled for April 29, 2011.

The 10 Strangest Laws Around the World

01. Singapore

In a bid to keep the streets of this super-efficient city clean, the authorities in Singapore decided in 1992 to ban chewing gum completely. Stick to a mint. 09 More after the break...

02. Eraclea, Italy

Many holidaymakers head to the sandy beach at Eraclea to escape the hordes of tourists in nearby Venice. Unfortunately, those who enjoy building sandcastles can think again – it’s forbidden.

03. Amsterdam, Netherlands

A curious loophole in the law means that smoking tobacco in a public place such as a coffee shop in Amsterdam is banned, while puffing away on pure cannabis is entirely legal.

04. South-East Asia

The durian, a fruit native to Brunei, Indonesia and Malaysia, has a smell so incredibly strong that it is banned from many public places in South-East Asia.

05. Florida, USA

For those who are young, free and single and enjoy jumping out of planes in their spare time, be careful if you’re in Florida – unmarried women who parachute on Sundays can be jailed.

06. Switzerland

Bizarrely, flushing the toilet in a Swiss apartment is illegal after 10pm. It is also against the law for a man to relieve himself while standing up after 10pm.

07. Eboli, Italy

Honeymooners might be best to avoid hiring a car in Eboli, just south of Naples. Kissing in a moving vehicle here can carry a fine of up to €500.

08. Capri, Italy

Locals in Capri, northern Italy, must value their peace and quiet – a couple were arrested recently for wearing excessively noisy flip-flops, following the introduction of a ban on ‘noisy footwear’.

09. Alabama, USA

The Southern American state has a quite superfluous law in place which states that it’s illegal to be blindfolded while driving a vehicle.

10. Dubai, UAE

Dubai’s luxurious resorts and stunning beaches may seem like the ideal place to spend a romantic holiday, but don’t get too affectionate – kissing in public here is illegal, and many tourists have fallen foul of this law in recent years.

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Modern Paris and Paris 1940

Very interesting historical project of Sergey Larenkova. On each of his work combines modern Paris and Paris 1940.

By early June 1940 the main forces of the French armies were broken or cut off to the north. The road to Paris with the German troops had broken through was open. 14 July 1940 the German army entered Paris. Started during the occupation. Upper picture - Paris, 1940. Hitler leadership of the Reich at the Trocadero | Paris, 2010. Military governor, General Henri Fernand Denz declared Paris an "open city", the empty three-quarters of the capital a month after the beginning of Germany's active military operations against France, were without fighting German troops. Paris, 1940. German soldiers marching down the Arc de Triomphe. 17 More images after the break...

Occupation of Paris

By early June 1940 the main forces of the French armies were broken or cut off to the north. The road to Paris with the German troops had broken through was open. 14 July 1940 the German army entered Paris. Started during the occupation. Upper picture - Paris, 1940. Hitler leadership of the Reich at the Trocadero | Paris, 2010. Military governor, General Henri Fernand Denz declared Paris an "open city", the empty three-quarters of the capital a month after the beginning of Germany's active military operations against France, were without fighting German troops. Paris, 1940. German soldiers marching down the Arc de Triomphe.

Remaining in Paris, residents were awakened by a speech from the speakers in French with a strong German accent on establishing a curfew from eight o'clock till five in the morning. It also stated: "The Parisians! In the next two days, troops of the Reich will take a solemn march to Paris, all stay home! "New authority to command all the clocks move forward one hour. Paris lived as a Nazi laws and Berlin time.

Paris, 1940. German cavalry in the streets of the occupied city.

Paris, 1940. Montmartre | Paris, 2010.

It turned out that the photo is the one restaurant, which in 1814 first called the "Bistro." According to legend, the name comes from the Russian Cossacks who wanted to eat quickly.
There is a story, according to which Hitler was able to climb the Eiffel Tower, as the elevators were knocked out do not want to obey the new authorities of the French. He could only be photographed against the backdrop of the towers.

Paris, 1940. Against the backdrop of the Eiffel Tower | Paris, 2010.

Paris, 1940. Parade of the occupiers on the Champs Elysees. | Paris, 2010

Paris, 1940. Rue de Rivoli. | Paris, 2010.

Paris, 1940. The parade of invaders | Paris, 2010.

Paris 1940. Wehrmacht at Place de la Concorde | Paris, 2010.

Paris, 1940. The parade of invaders from the Arc de Triomphe | Paris, 2010.

Paris, 1940. The parade of invaders from the Arc de Triomphe | Paris, 2010.

Paris, 1940. German cavalry on the Avenue Foch | Paris, 2010.

Liberation of Paris

Summer 1944. The Red Army liberated Belarus leads fight for Poland. Landed in Normandy on 6 June the Allies advance eastward. Plans for the American command did not include the immediate release of Paris, they rush to Germany.

Without waiting for the Americans, August 18, 1944 French Resistance fighters raised a rebellion in Paris. With extensive experience in the revolt and revolution in Paris residents go to the barricades.

Paris, 1944. Paris uprising. Barricade on the waterfront Grand Augustin | Paris, 2010.

To the credit of the Paris police, from the very beginning of the uprising actively sided with the people and with the resistance fighters clashed with the Nazis.

Paris, 1944. Parizhkoe rebellion. Place de la Concorde | Paris, 2010.

The uprising swept the city, the Germans entrenched in strongholds provide enhanced resistance, which finally succeeded in breaking with the approach of General Leclerc tank shell of troops fought the French, led by De Gaulle. Thus, 24 August, Paris was completely liberated by the French themselves. On the streets of Paris came a crowd of enthusiastic townspeople to meet liberators.

Paris, 29 August 1944. Victory Parade | Paris, 2010.

The protagonist of the liberation of Paris future French president General Charles De Gaulle marched at the head of the column on the Victory Day parade.

Paris, 1944. De Gaulle led the parade in honor of the liberation of the city | Paris, 2010.

Solemn steps walked along the Champs-Elysees and the U.S. Marines, who for the liberation of Paris had no direct relationship, but his blood shed on French soil.

Paris, 1944. Parade in the liberation of Paris | Paris, 2010.

Paris, 1944. U.S. Marines on the Champs Elysees | Paris, 2010.

And yet Paris helped to liberate our fellow citizens who are former prisoners who participated in the Resistance, who also participated in the parade.

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10 Spectacular Cliff-Side Villages in Europe

There are some places in the world where living on a rock doesn’t carry a negative connotation. We caught up with ten in particular which offer spectacular sanctuary and brilliant views.

01. Metéora, Greece

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Meaning “suspended in the air”, the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Metéora, in the Pindus Mountains of central Greece, spans six Orthodox monastery museums. A total of two dozen were built in the 14th century but most of were destroyed during the Ottoman occupation and Second World War. A famous landscape from the James Bond film For Your Eyes Only, Metéora provides a peaceful haven not only for monks, but also for tourists that choose to take a hike up the mountains to see these gems. All six monasteries are connected through asphalt roads and are accessible by steps hewn into the rock. You will need at least one full day to visit Metéora, but the experience is certainly worth the time and effort. 09 More after the break...

02. Cuenca, Spain

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Another UNESCO World Heritage Site, the Historic Walled Town of Cuenca is a wonderful destination in Castilla-La Mancha, Spain. What makes it unique is its location on a steep cliff with some superb 15th century “hanging houses”. Take pictures of the beautiful scenery, then head to Plaza Mayor in the Old Town for a tapas and drinks in one of the numerous bars and pubs. While in Cuenca, don’t miss the Ciudad Encantada (“Enchanted City”), a site with otherworldy geological formations.

03. Cinque Terre, Italy

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Cinque Terre is composed of Monterosso, Vernazza, Corniglia, Manarola and Riomaggiore, five small villages built on a precarious stretch of rocky Liguria coast. A UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1997, the car-free area is accessible by train, eco-friendly electrical bus, ferry, bike and of course, on foot. Each town has its own quaint charm: Riomaggiore is home to many artists and great beaches; Vernazza is a natural harbour overlooked by a ruined castle; Monterosso has gorgeous sandy beaches and excellent seafood; Corniglia sits on a hilltop, attracting many hikers and Manarola offers remote rocks for private sunbathing. Visitors will have to pay a small entrance fee to help preserve Cinque Terre’s beauty, but it is definitely worth it.

04. Bonifacio, Corsica, France

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Set on Corsica’s southernmost point, Bonifacio owes its charm to medieval houses built on dazzling limestone cliffs. Built by the Genoese, Bonifacio’s Old Town is a fascinating maze of narrow streets, where you can wander around for hours. More Italian than French, the town has strong Renaissance influences and an old dialect from the times of the Genoese is still spoken to this today. Bonifacio’s natural harbour has been transformed into a chic marina, where tens of yachts from the Mediterranean come to drop anchor. You will find a vibrant display of trendy bars, restaurants and hotels, with a landscape of superb unspoilt beaches and rugged mountains. This all results in high prices and large crowds all through the summer months.

05. Castellfollit de la Roca, Spain

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This small village in Girona, Catalonia is set on a steep cliff overlooking the Fluvià river. The basalt cliff the village is on is a result of two lava flows that took place thousands of years ago. Due to its unique location, Castellfollit de la Roca is illuminated after nightfall until midnight for 6 months throughout the year. The village was built during medieval times with dark, narrow streets and houses made from volcanic rock. Apart from its spectacular location, Castellfollit is a gateway to the Natural Park of the Volcanic Area of the Garrotxa, where you can admire beautiful volcanic scenery.

6. Mont Saint-Michel, France

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Located on a cone-shaped island in Normandy, France, Mont Saint-Michel is the small islet home of a Gothic castle built during medieval times and several monastic buildings originating from the 13th century. The structure that trumps the rest is a beautifully-preserved Romanesque church made of pure granite. Mont-Saint-Michel is one of the most popular UNESCO World Heritage Sites in France, attracting over four million visitors a year. Apart from its castle and monasteries, there is a small town at the base of the island offering good accommodation and scrumptious meals.

07. Santorini, Greece

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The Aegean Sea gem of Santorini is part of the Cyclades volcanic archipelago. A good deal of the the island’s architecture, from Santorini hotels to private villas, is built on high cliffs. As a result this island of natural white, black and red beaches offers remarkable views.

08. Siurana, Spain

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Unless you practice mountain-climbing, you most probably have not heard of Suriana – a superb small village set on a cliff edge, bathed by clouds. For climbers, the Girona, Catalonia town with steep limestone walls is a must. An affordable campground lures a wide variety of travellers. Once there, don’t miss Siurana’s old village, formed of centuries-old buildings, crowned by a beautiful church perched on a mountain top.

09. Ronda, Spain

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Within the province of Málaga, Spain, Ronda is a supremely popular tourist destination that retains much of its historic charm. The town is divided in two by a river gorge and connected by the Puente Nuevo. On one side, you will find many historic buildings in the old Moorish town, while on the other – El Mercadillo – lies a more modern settlement. Visit the art museum in Old Ronda or follow the cobbled alleys to Plaza Duquesa de Parcent, a superb public space with numerous historical buildings. Palacio de Mondragón, the home of the Moorish King Abb el Malik, is one of Ronda’s highlights, offering its visitors a look into the city’s past, as well as beautiful gardens and courtyards for a relaxed stroll. The Arab baths dating back from the 13th century can be found below the city.

10. Rocamadour, France

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Rocamadour and Ronda have a lot in common. The spectacular town in southwest France is a Christian pilgrimage site, with chapels and churches set high on a rocky plateau. The town’s sanctuary of the Blessed Virgin is accessible via a 216-step stairway which many pilgrims climb on their knees. Do not miss the city’s caves, with art from the Paleolithic era, and the delicious local cheese.