Should we get organized for the Queen's Jubilee? By using the Royal We ("How appropriate, Betty JoDee." "Thank you; I try.") I mean, of course, you and your graphics.
Tot ziens, Betty JoDee
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| What better graphic than Betty JoDee modeling an uncrushable grey dress, black court shoes, plus hat and gloves? How about Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth, in her coronation robes?  |
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| Who is the strange woman in the second row wearing the matching cape and scarf? All the other women (members of the royal family watching the coronation) got to wear their whacking great crowns and tiaras. |
Queen's Jubilee! Callou Callay! I have to admit that I had to google the dates...June 2-5(link here). I'm thinking this might be just the occasion we've been looking for to hand out some prizes ( pieces from The Betty Neels Collection are looking for new homes).
Some of our dear readers might have missed The Great Bettysday Celebration of 2010 - wherein Bettys around the world well, at least in Philadelphia and Maryland celebrated the birthday of the Great Betty herself. Court shoes were worn, custom t-shirts printed and gallons of tea imbibed (pinky fingers extended). Prizes were awarded in several categories. You yourself won the coveted Tulips for Augusta Award!
In order to enter for the chance to win one of our fabulous prizes, worth dollars, pictures and an explanation of your activity/craft/whatever will be required (sent via email).
Thanks so much for your timely reminder,
Love and lashings of whipped cream,
Betty Debbie
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| If only Betty JoDee had had the foresight to have planted a tree in honor of the occasion...she would be a shoe-in for the grand prize. |
Is it party-poopery to note that Betty Betty (La Neels her own self) never took much truck with the queen? Other than the Dutch Queen Juliana trotting through the Keukenhoff, and occasional glimpses of one palace or another, we never hear a whisper about royalty in The Canon. And those characters who do have aristocratic leanings (Dutch or English) always downplay those with a becoming modesty.
ReplyDeleteTrue story: my mother was 'presented' at the English court shortly after WWII, when the presentations were held in a garden, I think at Buck House, rather than at an evening ball. When asked about it, she replied briefly and dismissively, as if the event were slightly distasteful. It reminds me of Kate Fox and her view of the English (my mum was American, but grew up outside London) as painfully embarassed by any sort of "fuss," especially those involving class distinctions.
Betty van den Betsy,
DeleteRe.: we never hear a whisper about royalty in The Canon
Minor royalty arrived exactly on time, made a brief speech, received the bouquet the hospital director's small daughter had been clutching, and declared the affair open ...
I remembered that we had a bit of a discussion on the question of what (or who) is considered minor royalty here on TUJD.
The Course of True Love - Reprise
A Valentine for Daisy
There was a good deal of talking before everyone settled down—Lady Thorley to go back to her drawing-room and Miss Thompson and the children, taking Daisy with them, to the nursery where she was shown the twins' latest craze. They had discovered the joys of Plasticine, which they had not been so keen on when Daisy had looked after them [...]
'I'm no good at making things,' confessed Miss Thompson as they sat down at the table. 'I can just about manage a dog or a cat but Josh wants a model of Buckingham Palace.' [...]
So Daisy embarked on the royal building while the twins, their tongues hanging out with their efforts, started on their various versions of the Queen and Prince Philip, all the while talking non-stop.
page 98 (of 192)
This may just be the merest whisper...
Betty Anonymous
Yes, Betty van den Betsy, it is party-poopery to point out the Great Betty's aloof treatment of English hereditary aristocracy and nobility. We are, after all, always looking for excuses to don our hats (set at a stylish angle, if in reality fancied up with a department store ribbon) and court shoes. Not to mention the food....
ReplyDeleteOkay, mentioning food--however, it was dirty pool of Betty Debbie to use a photo of my more-and-more-splendid figure next to the Queen's willowy one. Guess I had better lay off the clotted cream....
I do wish I had the foresight to plant a tree before I was born to honor the coronation so that I could secure a Betty Prize.
(Is that Prince Charles bored on the front row?)
re: splendid figures, Betty JoDee...
DeleteBetty Debbie and I were speculating on the world-class foundation garments Her Majesty was sporting. It put me in mind of a something I read recently from Carrie Fisher about the making of Star Wars: Carrie Fisher was a beautiful 19-year-old actress when she was cast to play Princess Leia, but Lucas did everything he could to tone down her femininity. At one point, he even ordered that her breasts be strapped to her chest with electrical tape. "There's no jiggling in the Empire,"
When mothers of four who look "plump" only in the Neels-est sense of the word (and, incidentally, unlined, smiling, toned and fit -- you could be a 15-year old at her Honor Society induction dinner), the rest of us, as our dear former-queen would say, are not amused.
DeleteBetty Barbara here--
DeleteYes Betty JoDee, the dark-haired tyke is Prince Charles. He is flanked by his grandmother(the Queen Mother), and his aunt(Princess Margaret).
Betty van den Betsy, you're my new BFF....
Delete(Wasn't "There's no jiggling in the Empire" Queen's Victoria's motto? *laugh)
That was supposed to read:
DeleteWhen mothers of four who look "plump" only in the Neels-est sense of the word (and, incidentally, unlined, smiling, toned and fit -- you could be a 15-year old at her Honor Society induction dinner) start whinging about their figures, the rest of us, as our dear former-queen would say, are not amused.
Sorry - shouldn't comment at work...
Delete
Betty Debbie,
ReplyDeleteThe lady in the plain outfit is Prince Philip's mother, born Victoria Alice Elizabeth Julia Marie (Princess Alice of Battenberg) later Princess Andrew of Greece and Denmark. She was born deaf but learned to lip-read in English and German. After her husband died she founded a NURSING order of Greek Orthodox nuns, The Christian Sisterhood of Martha and Mary. That is her order's habit she is wearing. She was declared "Righteous among the Nations" and a "Hero of the Holocaust" for hiding Jews during WWII. That's maybe a tenth of all her accomplishments. Amazing human being.
Betty von Susie
Betty von Susie,
DeleteThank you! I never would have figured it out. Betty Keira and I were discussing her - we both thought she looked like a nurse, but it didn't occur to us that she was not only that, but also family. She sounds amazing.
Betty Debbie
However, my vague memory is that she also was pretty emotionally unstable and left her youngest son (Philip) to be shuttled about amongst whoever would take him and never really was a mother to him, even by royal standards.
DeleteBetty JoDee, you're right Alice had some physical and emotional issues that prevented her from taking care of her son. Thus he was shuttled around to his Uncles, George and Louis and his sisters in various German states. Alice was never actually a nun, she just wore the habit. Her mother, Victoria Milford Haven (the woman of whom I wrote a biography), was heard to remark, "who ever heard of a nun who smokes and plays canasta?"
DeleteIlana, remind me of your book title, website, etc., as I remember thinking it looked fascinating, then dropping the ball on ordering. Thanks!
DeleteOh sure... shameless of me. The book is called THE FOUR GRACES: Queen Victoria's Hessian Granddaughters. It's available on Amazon and Amazon UK.
DeleteOn a more human note, she was no plaster saint, she liked to smoke and play canasta.
ReplyDeleteBetty von Susie
Ha ha. Clay feet. Or is that plaster feet?
DeleteAnd Betty JoDee, you look lovely in your English outfit.
Re Prince Philip's card-playing, smoking nun mum: not so far-fetched. I once hosted an older nun who was on holidays in London (from Australia). She drank me under the table. The second night, she advised me not to try to keep up. She never got drunk (big, tall, social-worker nun. Could hold her own with the toughest families in the tough neighbourhoods. Wore blue jeans, shirt, a fish-pin. Cropped white hair. Twinkly blue eyes (mesmerisingly sparkly eyes) but as tough a woman as you'd ever meet and the person you'd want on your side in a showdown with a man who was abusing his wife and kids in a drunken rage.) Have to admire her. Her best friend was a monk, 20 years her junior. The oddest not-romance you ever saw, but lovely. Very Betty. Relationship, regard, connection, but an unscalable, complete obstacle when it comes to bedrooms.
ReplyDeleteHey, everybody -- Check out this FABULOUS photo by the Fugly Girls (if you don't know about them or their name, don't ask -- they're delightful, but the name is a bit rude) of the Queen of The Netherlands.
ReplyDeleteIn fact, the whole post (with its 17 photos) is worth a look. Queen's Jubilee, indeed!
Oh, my, yes. I particularly enjoyed taking a really close look at the ladies jewellery, shoes, or the pattern of their clothes. Queen Elizabeth's knitted two-piece(?) dress, the sleeves of her coat (love the pattern, not my colour). Kate's sapphire(?) ring (in the picture with Charlene). Queen Beatrix's swinging purse and her tasteful bracelet! (Click on "View Original" (bottom right-hand corner) and then click on the original to enlarge.) And you absolutely have to look at those slippers!!!
DeleteBetty Anonymous
Dear Bettys-
ReplyDeleteI am an anonymous reader, but that doesn't mean you and the world of Betty don't have a place in my heart.
I was just in England and my adorable RAT (Rich (I wish) American Technocrat) took me to Fortnum and Mason to look at hampers! He also pointed out the Uncrushable Jersey Dress on display in the Victoria and Albert's show on British Design from 1948-2012. The dress was, of course, designed by Mary Quant, in the pre-mini skirt days. It was displayed directly across from Vivienne Westwood's design for the Sex Pistols' t-shirts. I can't imagine that Betty Neels ever heard of the Sex Pistols.
HOW DID I MISS THIS LAST MONTH?!! Betty RAT-wife (hee hee hee hee -- that's funny! -- but seriously, you can't be Betty Anonymous b/c there's one already, so you have to pick some kind of name), I am *frothing* with joy at the thought of a vacation trip that includes both F&M hampers and Vivienne Westwood punk fashion. It's almost enough to make me risk the vile, putrid, horrific and offensive exchange rate for a quick jaunt to the Old Country.
Delete*Of course* Betty heard of the Sex Pistols -- she just stiffened her upper lip and pretended such ill-mannered persons were mute and invisible. The kind of attitude, of course, that gave rise to punk in the first place...
In all fairness, I don't think such "ill-mannered persons were mute and invisible" to her. During her working hours as a nurse, even if this was in pre-punk times, she came into contact with people from all walks of life, well-, not-so-well-, and ill-mannered. So I don't think she ignored their existence. I believe she was very open - for information, I mean. Of course, I am not saying that she liked the Sex Pistols. But then, neither can I claim to have a fondness for them.
DeleteBetty RAT-wife. That is sooo cute!
Betty Anonymous
Wellll, the gypsies did not come off well in her writings, nor the Belgians, Americans, rich industrialist's wives, aristocratic sons/daughters, photographers,skinny chicks,female doctors.....Our Betty seems to have marched off her last nursing post with one thought "It's payback time!".
DeleteFunny how she loved the Dutch nobility, possibly because she felt they had suffered so much in WWII, (I'm sure you read about it, it was in all the papers)or maybe,her "fame" as a writer caused her to be treated more as an equal by the adel than the (famously snobbish) English aristocracy ,whom she certainly would have seen at their absolute worse during their hospital stays.
As an American I can definitely assert that it is easier to look at the British nobility with a hazy sentimental eye now that they no longer have any power over me OR my tea! Now I can just smile indulgently at their antics and say "Ooooh, look at the pretty hats..."
B von S
Re.: Funny how she loved the Dutch nobility
DeleteNot all members of the Dutch nobility in the Neels œuvre are nice people. There is conceited Freule Keizer in her very first book Sister Peters in Amsterdam. And in Uncertain Summer we have Laurens van Amstel's mother = Gijs's aunt, Tante Emilie, "In Holland adel marry adel."
And I don't believe Betty's '"fame" as a writer caused her to be treated more as an equal by the adel' in the Netherlands. She wrote favourably about fictive Dutch noblemen and their families before she became well-known - well-known in the somewhat limited circle of romance readers, mostly in the English-speaking world.
However, the Great Betty spent thirteen years living in the Netherlands and she did work there as a nurse. She may have come into contact with members of the Dutch nobility during that time. And since she claimed to have based her male protagonists on the medical men she met... Perhaps one or more of those doctors/surgeons were noblemen?
Ha! Among the surgeons formerly (?) listed at the Medisch Centrum Leeuwarden - Leeuwarden, Bettys! That’s where Becky and Tiele worked at the hospital in The Promise of Happiness . Tiele, the Baron, Some Call Him Hot, he of the I was not your cup of tea 'But I do believe you’re my glass of champagne, Becky'-fame <sigh> - Er. Where was I? There were two surgeons listed at the Medisch Centrum who are jonkheren. There are pictures if you move the cursor onto the names in the list.
(Abbreviation for jonkheer = jhr.)
jhr. M.G. van Andringa de Kempenaer – Ties de Kempenaer. Vascular surgeon.
Cute Picture – with A Pledge?
He worked in Groningen at some point. (Tiele had beds in Groningen too.) http://lib.bioinfo.pl/auid:1566743
(He is Linkedin.)
If you read Dutch you may be interested in the history of the family van Andringa de Kempenaer: http://www.spanvis.nl/Van%20Andringa%20de%20Kempenaer/index.htm
If you don’t read Dutch you may want to look at the images and read all those long names!!!
Making fortunes, marrying fortunes. Losing fortunes.
A lot of the members of the family were in politics, a great number either burgemeester or grietman (a position which was kind of a mix between burgemeester and judge in Friesland), some of them were in politics at a higher level. http://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/De_Kempenaer
jhr. dr D.B.W. de Roy van Zuidewijn – Diderick de Roy van Zuidewijn. Surgical oncologist, teaches too. Busy man, apparently. Could have been a role model for a Neels hero from that point of view. (He is Linkedin.)
AAAWWWW – Cute. Three Pledges? And A Dog.
Betty Anonymous
Huize Zuidewijn
ReplyDeleteHi everyone! I've been reading Betty Neels books since about January of this year, and have read just about all of them (most of them on my Kindle). I want to re-read a particular book but I don't remember the name of it. I've been searching on your sight but I haven't found anything like what I'm looking for. If I give a short description, I'm hoping someone could tell me what book it is. Actually, I don't remember much, just this: The heroine goes to Holland and works in an orphanage, and I believe it's somewhere in the northern part of Holland, and, if I remember correctly, the orphanage is close to the sea. Any ideas???
ReplyDeleteThanks for any info you can give me!
By the way, I LOVE your site - AWE. SOME. I look stuff up on it all the time.
You might be thinking of The Quiet Professor. It's the one wherein Megan's younger sister Melanie steals her fiancee. Megan goes off to Professor Baron Jake's little orphanage by the sea for a change of scenery.
Delete