The wedding of Prince William & Kate Middleton helped reclaim the fashion cred of Britains royal family ushering in a generation of hip but genial personalities that appeal to every age & station. But royals have been setting fashion trends for centuries. This fascinating overview of aristocratic icons reaches back to the middle age & from Europe to the Middle East to profile the most renowned promoters of elegance & style ever to don their empires crowns. Author & royals watcher Luise Wackerl juxtaposes the fifteenth-century Duke of Burgundys penchant for black with Elizabeth Is taste for virginal white. She presents historys first It Girls": Marie Antoinette Louisa of Prussia Empresses Sisi of Austria & Eugenie of France. She relates how Queen Victorias sorrow & propriety transformed her country & how an impeccably styled Americans love for Edward VIII upended the British monarchy. From the irreproachably elegant styles of Grace Kelly to Lady Diana Jordans Queen Rania to Princess Letizia of Spain we move on to the newest icons: couture-loving Princess Marie-Chantal of Greece Princess Marie of Denmark & Princesses Beatrice & Eugenie of York whose faces & party antics grace the tabloids on a weekly basis. Hundreds of photos & a lively text make this irresistible reading for anyone interested in fashion royalty & the lively intersection of both worlds."