
Kylie Jenner risks breaking huge dress code rule at Jeff Bezos & Lauren Sanchez's wedding as fans rage ‘inappropriate!'
KYLIE Jenner has risked breaking the biggest dress code rule at Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sanchez's over-the-top wedding in Venice, Italy.
Jeff, 61, and Lauren, 55, tied the knot on Friday, June 27 in a beautiful ceremony in Italy in front of family and friends, including A-listers.
8
8
8
Kylie, 27, was seen arriving to the nuptials with her older sister Kendall, 29.
Photos reveal Kylie wore a floor-length corseted gown with cutouts under the breasts and two small black bows on the straps.
She topped off the look with black sunglasses and her hair in an updo.
Kendall stunned in a black sheer gown, as she completed the wedding look with a matching scarf.
FASHION FAUX PAS
But fans were up in arms over Kylie's dress, as the silver satin could be easily mistaken for white.
One fan rage on Reddit, "A WHITE DRESS???!"
Another wrote, "This family just refuses to dress appropriate to an event."
A third slammed, "I'd be pissed as hell if I was the bride and someone wore what Kylie has on to my wedding like wtf."
A fourth fired, "Black and silver to an Italian wedding?? Wtf lol"
Kylie Jenner fans spot embarrassing wardrobe malfunction as she spills out of skintight dress on Venice water taxi
A fifth slammed, "I don't get how she's not embarrassed because no other woman is wearing white or anything close to it from what I've seen."
Kim flaunted her curves in a low-cut slinky brown gown with sequins.
Khloe wore a plunging pink sequin down with a feather shawl.
Matriarch Kris looked youthful in a black dress with white tulle sleeves.
8
8
8
WARDROBE MALFUNCTION
Earlier on the trip, Kylie suffered a wardrobe malfunction.
Kylie flaunted her curves in a strapless lace yellow dress alongside her sister Kendall while riding a water taxi in Venice.
Fans were quick to insist that in one shot, her boob appeared to have popped out without her noticing.
Writing on social media, one insisted, 'It really looks like it…'
While another argued, 'It's just angle and shadow.'
STAR-STUDDED WEDDING
The Amazon founder and the former journalist, 55, said 'I do' at the stunning San Giorgio Maggiore monastery in Venice.
The couple exchanged vows at a ceremony at the island's Teatro Verde, according to Today.
Jeff couldn't stop smiling as he stepped off a classic boat in a black tux and shades, waving to crowds outside the Aman Venice hotel.
Lauren has been reported to be wearing a white gown designed by Dolce & Gabbana after attending a dress fitting at the Italian designer's Milan shop in March.
Other A-listers outside of the Kardashian family include Oprah Winfrey, Sydney Sweeney, Leonardo DiCaprio, Tom Brady and Orlando Bloom.
At least 95 private jets are said to have landed for the occasion.
Jeff Bezos – who is he?
Here's what you need to know...
Jeffrey Preston Bezos, better known as Jeff Bezos, is an American tech billionaire
He made his fortune by founding online retail giant Amazon
Bezos became the first centi-billionaire according to the Forbes wealth index
And he was named the 'richest man in history' when his net worth grew to $150 billion in the summer of 2018
Bezos was born in Albuquerque, New Mexico and then raised in Houston, Texas
He graduated in 1986 with a degree in electrical engineering and computer science from Princeton University
Bezos went on to work on Wall Street until 1994, before founding Amazon
Amazon began as an online bookstore but has since become a global tech giant in retail, streaming, cloud computing and gadgets
And the billionaire also runs spaceflight firm Blue Origin, which has been operating since 2000
Estimates in 2024 put his net worth at $196billion
Bezos' personal life came under scrutiny in 2019 after he and his wife of 25 years, MacKenzie, announced their decision to divorce
The divorce was finalised on April 4, 2019
Bezos is now dating Lauren Sánchez, a media personality, entertainment reporter, and news anchor
On July 5, 2021, Bezos took up the role of executive chairman at Amazon, stepping down from his former position as CEO and president
The U.S. Sun previously reported that the event took 'months of planning' with the couple wanting 'everything done exactly their way.'
'This is the biggest wedding ever organized,' the source told The U.S. Sun. 'Not just because of the money spent, but also due to the extraordinary level of luxury and detail involved.'
Jeff dropped $9 million to reserve spots in the marina for anyone arriving by yacht, with another $6 million laid out to cover parking and security for private jets.
'Jeff insisted on covering the cost,' continued the insider. 'He wants everyone to feel fully taken care of, from arrival to departure.'
A staff of 150 waiters and waitresses were hired for four days, with the cost of service totaling $1.8 million.
He hired 20 chefs, each paid $5,000 per day, adding up to $500,000.
They were supported by 40 sous chefs and assistants, paid $2,000 per day each, for an additional $400,000 over five days.
Elton John will reportedly be performing alongside a group of Italian musicians—including harpists, cellists, pianists, and guitarists—who were brought in to create a curated 'Venice experience.'
8
8
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


The Sun
an hour ago
- The Sun
I went on a wild sex rampage with dozens of men decades younger than me after my hubby got his secretary pregnant
1 DEAR DEIDRE: MY husband of 22 years left me for a younger model and so I did what any other self respecting single woman in her late 40s would do - I hit the dating scene hard and what I discovered has truly shocked and thrilled me. I've learned more in the past 20 weeks about sex and fun than I did in two decades of marriage. And there are plenty of men, most of whom are A LOT younger than me, who like the fact I'm older and more self assured. I've learned to expect questions about my sexual preferences within the first message or two, understand that sending nudes is this generation's version of flirting and the biggest difference - that everyone expects you to keep your options open while dating. So far I've been out with ten men and I don't regret a single date. So while my ex made me feel washed up and undesirable these men have reignited something in me. After discovering our marriage had become a cliché - he was having an affair with his secretary - he moved out and set up home with her within one month. I was still unravelling when weeks later he told me he was going to be a dad to their unborn child. Our son and daughter are young adults now but it still hurt that he was moving on so quickly. Feeling low and rejected, I decided I needed to pick myself up and start having some fun myself. One night I asked a good girlfriend around and together we tentatively made a profile for me. Within ten minutes of uploading I was getting matches and a significant number of them were in their 20s. I'm 47 and thought it was a joke but my friend encouraged me to respond to a couple of them who looked fun. Dear Deidre: Spotting the signs your partner is cheating Since then I have been on the wildest ride and have discovered that dating has changed an awful lot since I was in my 20s. I've gone from, boring stay-at-home wife, to having a huge sexual re-awakening and the time of my life. The first time I went on a date was with a 28-year-old electrician. Suspicious, I asked if he was taking the mick. He convinced me he genuinely thought I was gorgeous and wanted to see an older woman 'because we aren't as needy'. And since then the young men keep on coming. I can't believe it and my married girlfriends are so jealous. The only time I felt out of my depth was when one man started squeezing my throat during sex. I was so shocked I demanded to know what he was doing. Surprised, he replied that he thought women liked it. He stopped straight away but that rattled me. I'm currently seeing three different men and they all bring different things to the party. But there is one guy in particular who I really like and he's started to make sounds that he'd like to settle with me. But how can I settle with a 29 year old? That's nearly two decades difference! DEIDRE SAYS: It is good that you have built your confidence back up and you're having fun. You are right to be wary of hurtling head first into a relationship with a much younger man. There is lots to consider - first and foremost how your children will react. And just as importantly; do you both want the same things from life? The biggie is the question of children of course. You've had your kids, do you realistically want the responsibility of a tiny newborn again? There is no two ways about it, two decades is significant but he is an adult, so you could of course both make it work. But you need to be realistic and society, your social network and family may not be so accepting. It sounds like the time has come to have an honest conversation about what you are both looking for. And as hard as it will be to end it with him, better to do that now before your lives become further entwined, if there is realistically no future. If you are ready to settle down (and the fact you have started to fall for this one man, suggests you are) but things don't work out with him, perhaps it's time to slow down and make sure you are seeing men with the same outlook as you. My support pack Age Gaps gives more advice. Dear Deidre's Age Gap Files Deidre's mailbag is stashed full with age gap relationship problems. One reader struggled to move on after her younger lover dropped her after sex, a different subscriber wrote in because he fell head over heels for the older woman who uses him as a booty call, while one woman couldn't move on after her toyboy dumped her for his ex. AGE GAPS – CAN THEY WORK? It's a question that gets asked a lot - often with a raised eyebrow: can relationships with a significant age difference actually work? In short: sometimes yes, sometimes no. The success of an age-gap relationship isn't always about the numbers, it's about how those numbers show up in our every day life. When both partners are at similar life stages - emotionally, socially and sexually - an gap of five, ten or even 20 years can feel irrelevant. But when one person is still figuring themselves out and the other is settled into long-term routines and commitments, those differences in lifestyles can quietly drive a wedge and cause problems in the relationship. Age gaps often bring hidden power dynamics. Who has more money, more life experience, more social capital? Who's compromising more to bridge that gap? These imbalances don't automatically mean a relationship is unhealthy, but it's important that they're acknowledged. Society tends to judge these pairings differently depending on who is older. Older man, younger woman? Often framed as classic or aspirational. Older woman, younger man? Cue the jokes, suspicion or backhanded compliments. However, for some women, dating younger is about energy, openness and sexual chemistry. For others, it's about finally being able to pursue what they want without being tethered to patriarchal expectations of settling down, caregiving or shrinking themselves. However, the power dynamic isn't always as one-sided as people assume. Many younger men are drawn to older women because of their confidence, emotional intelligence, and clarity about life. These are not naive boys and predatory women - they're adults navigating attraction that often feels more genuine than conventionally 'suitable' pairings. The reality is, all relationships come with challenges. Age-gap dynamics are just one version of that. If you share values, communicate well, and genuinely want the same things, an age difference doesn't have to be a red flag. But if you find yourself constantly adjusting your behaviour to fit into someone else's life - or if the age gap is being used to control, impress or mould you - it's worth asking why that person was attracted to the dynamic in the first place. Ask me and my counsellors anything Every problem get a personal and private reply from one of my trained counsellors within one working day. Sally Land is the Dear Deidre Agony Aunt. She achieved a distinction in the Certificate in Humanistic Integrative Counselling, has specialised in relationships and parenting. She has over 20 years of writing and editing women's issues and general features. Passionate about helping people find a way through their challenges, Sally is also a trustee for the charity Family Lives. Her team helps up to 90 people every week. Sally took over as The Sun's Agony Aunt when Deidre Sanders retired from the The Dear Deidre column four years ago. The Dear Deidre Team Of Therapists Also Includes: Kate Taylor: a sex and dating writer who is also training to be a counsellor. Kate is an advisor for dating website OurTime and is the author of five self-help books. Jane Allton: a stalwart of the Dear Deidre for over 20 years. Jane is a trained therapist, who specialises in family issues. She has completed the Basic Counselling Skills Level 1, 2, and 3. She also achieved the Counselling and Psychotherapy (CPCAB) Level 2 Certificate in Counselling Studies. Catherine Thomas: with over two decades worth of experience Catherine has also trained as a therapist, with the same credentials as Jane. She specialises in consumer and relationship issues. Fill out and submit our easy-to-use and confidential form and the Dear Deidre team will get back to you. You can also send a private message on the DearDeidreOfficial Facebook page or email us at: deardeidre@


Telegraph
an hour ago
- Telegraph
Lady Rothschild interview: ‘I'm proud to have been a Page 3 girl'
Loretta Rothschild is contemplating the term 'trophy wife'. As a former Page 3 model who married Nat Rothschild, heir to the centuries-old European banking dynasty, she's grown used to the tabloid sobriquet. 'I've been described as worse things,' she laughs. 'But on Page 3 – honestly, I really want to make this clear: I'm so proud to have been a Page 3 girl and I will always celebrate that achievement.' This is the first time Lady Rothschild, to use her official title, has ever given a proper, sit-down interview. Until this point, the billionaire couple, who married in the Swiss ski resort of Klosters in 2016, had not even made it public that they have a son – whose name and age she has requested I withhold. Why such secrecy, when her only child will one day become the 6th Baron Rothschild, inheriting a vast wealth that has made the family one of the most famous in the world? 'There are downsides,' the 34-year-old admits. To being a Rothschild? 'No, to being in the press,' she caveats. 'I've had photographers turn up outside my sister's home and at my mum's… I've always said I won't talk about my son until he is 18 years old and then he can decide for himself.' Which goes some way to explaining why Rothschild boasts a Burke's Peerage entry – but not a Wikipedia one. So far, any articles that have been written about her have tended to be of the Essex girl/arm candy variety. One praised her 'fantastic figure, great boobs, small waist, good bum, and long, chestnut hair', while another described her as 'looking gorgeous in black undies, stockings and suspenders'. That rather tawdry narrative is set to change, with the publication of Finding Grace, Rothschild's page-turning first novel, which is already on Goodreads' list of the hottest debuts of 2025. Described as a 'gripping and emotional love story exploring grief, motherhood and an explosive secret', the book chronicles the lives of Tom and Honor – a husband and wife torn apart by a shocking event. The Tell Me Lies author Carola Lovering has said it 'feels like a movie… with characters and scenes that explode off the page' – and plaudits have been flowing in from bestselling authors including Plum Sykes, Julia Whelan and Imogen Edward-Jones. The American writer, Jodi Picoult, who has sold more than 40 million books, enthused: 'Loretta Rothschild's debut novel has one of the best first chapter cliffhangers ever…and then it just keeps getting better.' As we meet at the offices of Rothschild's publicist in central London, I find the budding novelist dressed casually in a pair of blue Levi's and black ribbed Cos jumper – with her navy Habsburg military-style blazer hanging over a nearby chair. Although she was born in Essex, and brought up by her mother Sue, an East Ender who encouraged Loretta and her older sister Olivia into child modelling, there isn't a false eyelash or fake fingernail in sight. Instead, the well-spoken Rothschild, who as far as I can tell is wearing no make-up at all, exudes the kind of wholesome, natural beauty that Page 3 girls were famous for before The Sun discontinued the topless photography in 2015, after more than 44 years. 'There were not a lot of us,' she recalls, her piercing blue eyes staring straight into mine. 'And we were all natural. The images weren't airbrushed or touched up or anything like that. It was a very comfortable environment. I mean, at the time, I didn't think of it as a career or anything like that. It was just great to be able to earn my own money and support myself. But I was probably never very good at it, because my head was somewhere else. You know, I was always away with the fairies, whatever I was doing.' Alison Webster, the paper's official Page 3 photographer, remembers her rather differently, once describing 'Elle', as she was known to fans back then, as 'a bright girl who was sure of herself and always in control'. She adds: 'And she was ambitious. We'd sit with a glass of wine after a day's shoot and she'd tell me she wanted to make something more of herself. And I always felt that she would.' After appearing in The Sun and modelling under her real name Loretta Basey, Rothschild went on to date the comedian Steve Coogan, who she met during a cover shoot for the now defunct lads' mag, Loaded. He was guest-editing in the guise of his alter-ego Alan Partridge and, in one photograph, was snapped cupping her breasts in his hands. The couple lived together at his home near Lewes, East Sussex, before breaking up in 2014. The actor's 2015 autobiography Easily Distracted thanks 'Loretta for making me laugh with her gentle mockery, and for her love'. The pair remain friends. 'I mean, I adore Steve, I really do,' insists Rothschild. 'We had a great relationship. You know, nearly five years of my life.' But it was Eton-educated Rothschild, 53, who ultimately stole her heart. Not that it was love at first sight – far from it, in fact. Denouncing as 'nonsense' reports that the couple met while Loretta was working for a private jet company, she explains: 'We'd been friends for quite a long time. I wish there was some romantic story but my husband's pretty straightforward. I think we were on a dog walk and he said: 'I want you to be my girlfriend.' I can't quite remember but I think I replied: 'What, no dinner?' or something like that. We were ambling along and I was very much sort of covered in mud. 'I didn't become his girlfriend in that moment. We were friends, and we continued to be friends, even after the 'I want you to be my girlfriend'. He was very nervous all the time around me – very shy. And it took me a few years to fall in love with him. 'When it was just us, he could be quite quiet, but he came to life with his friends, when there were other people around. When I really started to fancy him was when he started to be very funny. Nat is so funny, to the point where sometimes I can't breathe.' I ask if she was worried about the 19-year age gap – or, more importantly, the weight of the Rothschild name. Describing the former member of Oxford University's notorious Bullingdon Club as 'the least kind of society person I know', she adds: 'I can't even think of him in that way. He's not a snob. Nat's Nat. He comes into your life, and that's it, he's in. That's the blessing. That's why I probably never felt like I was in a certain world because Nat is someone I deeply admire for the way he walks through the world. He's very, very true to himself. There's never a moment where a façade is up. He is totally authentic, 100 per cent of the time. And that's very attractive.' After marrying at an intimate ceremony in the Swiss Alps nine years ago, the pair then held a second wedding reception at Stowell Park, Nat's parents' sprawling estate near Pewsey, Wiltshire. But the groom did not invite his father Jacob to the wedding and they remained estranged until his death, aged 87, last year. The former investment banker and hereditary peer would tell friends their strained relationship was similar to that of the King and Prince Harry. Nat's mother, Serena, a thoroughbred-racehorse owner, did not attend either, although the pair remained close until her death in 2019, aged 83. Reluctant to comment on the family feud, Rothschild insists she 'wasn't ever worried' about what she was marrying into – or indeed how she might be treated as an 'outsider'. 'I just had no idea. I probably made some terrible mistakes, seemingly to some people, and would ask questions I probably shouldn't have asked, but Nat and I just got on so well that we were in our own world. I was never intimidated by anything. I think after Page 3, if any negativity came my way, I just thought, well, that's your view, but I can't control what other people think of me. I'm never going to please everyone. So if I can please my mum or Nat or the people that answer the phone every day and really know me, then that feels nice to me.' The couple live quite a nomadic lifestyle – with a superyacht and homes in London, Wiltshire, Los Angeles and Klosters. They are currently spending most of their time at another home, in Italy. Estimates of Nat's wealth range between £1 billion and £40 billion following his father's death. Yet Loretta insists that she remains rooted 'in the principles that my mum really nailed into me', adding: 'There's two things in life I cannot stand. One of them is snobbery about anything, and the other is intentional cruelty towards others. Cruelty and snobbery are just non-starters for me.' Like Nat, she is estranged from her father – Phillip, an accountant and a former treasurer of UKIP and the Brexit party. The couple appear to be much closer to her family than the wider Rothschild clan. She explains: 'You know, our family chat (group) consists of me, Nat, my mum and my immediate family. He's very much in the Essex chat group. At recent Christmases I've enjoyed watching just how much Nat loves my mum. The whole thing is so small. I don't honestly think about 'the family'. Do I feel like someone's wife? No, Nat sort of has to get on with us!' And if she ever gets any ideas above her station, she's brought back down to earth by her sister. 'I would sometimes call Liv and say: 'You don't understand what's just happened to me' and she'd be like: 'Yeah, can you babysit tonight?' 'When I react, I react as an Essex girl. I mean, I wish I didn't sometimes but that is fundamentally who I am. I've worked really hard to do what I have – whether it's Page 3 or my book. When I look at that – I achieved that and I want to carry on achieving things.' Despite being 'appalling at school', and later being diagnosed with dyslexia, she developed a passion for literature. 'School was tough,' she admits of her all-girls, private secondary education, saying she preferred the mixed state primary school she attended when she was younger. She adds: 'The teachers would all say: 'She's in her own world', which was absolutely correct. 'I left school, went to college for a bit and did a year at Manchester Metropolitan but, on reflection, I should never have gone to university. I was always walking around with characters in my head, making up stories – I didn't realise that other people didn't do that.' When the Covid lockdown happened, Rothschild began 'devouring everything I could find about writing novels'. She cites Noel Coward's Blithe Spirit, William Boyd's Any Human Heart, Alan Hollinghurst's The Line of Beauty and Max Porter's Grief is the Thing with Feathers as inspirations, alongside writers including Saki and Somerset Maugham. 'I started to learn why some novels work and why some don't. And then Honor [the book's main character] kind of came into my head. She was this very vocal voice and I couldn't do anything without her voicing an opinion. It was like she was suddenly there.' The book, she admits, is essentially a series of love stories. 'It's a love story, but it's also about paternal love, platonic love, unexpected love, past loves, and how they are intertwined.' She's a romantic, then? 'I think I am. I think that falling in love, that freefall of infatuation is so quick and so rarely experienced that it's the most dangerous. At that moment, you're at your most vulnerable.' I wonder if she worried about the book being branded 'chick lit' when actually the 'first chapter cliffhanger' Picoult referenced makes it more in the vein of Gone Girl or The Girl on a Train. 'I like the fact that I've written a love story. I've written something that is considered a romance. So chick lit, for me… if I am in any way in that kind of window or associated with those authors, I would be thrilled. Those books are so fantastic – they're popular and have a fan base that will queue around the block for them.' She adds, 'It's strange that that is something that isn't celebrated in the right way, or dismissed when those authors are writing about really important subjects. It's just snobbery.' She did every online writing masterclass she could find during lockdown and then attended a creative writing course in LA for a year. 'I'm quite methodical. I've got a lot of ideas but I needed some structure. I needed to find a style that suited me.' Finding a publishing deal was, she admits, 'terrifying'. Acknowledging that most people will assume she only got the book published because of her husband, she says: 'I never really said to people, I'm going to do this thing. I said, hey, I've done this thing – it already exists, here it is. Because I remember, back in my 20s, mentioning to one person that I want to write – and they sort of gave me this face. So I thought, 'I'm not going to do that.' Don't tell people what you're planning to do – just tell them what you've done. 'I had quite a lot of naivety about it in the sense that I was so excited I finished this thing. But my first thought was: will it even get read? In the few weeks before we sent it out, I reread the first few chapters and thought, this is terrible, why am I doing this?' Just 72 hours after the draft was sent out to UK and US publishers, St Martin's Press, based in New York, replied. 'I remember it exactly,' smiles Rothschild. 'I opened my email and they came back and said, 'We want it, and we want the next one as well', so it ended up being a two-book deal. But in England, there were a lot of rejections. It certainly didn't happen because of my surname. That doesn't really happen, unless you're a Tolstoy! Actually writing a book and getting it published is bloody hard.' Admitting she did 'drive my husband a bit mad' with the whole process, she says: 'He was extremely supportive, to be fair, bringing me endless cups of tea. He was always up for it.' Rothschild would get up at the crack of dawn and write before anyone else had woken up. 'I felt like that time was so precious, when the whole house was quiet. I'd get three hours of writing in.' There is now rarely a day that goes by when she doesn't write something, and she is already halfway through her second book. Naturally, her mother Sue remains her biggest fan. 'My mum is so proud of every breath I take. Before she'd even read anything, I was already one of the Brontë sisters to her.' Reader, she may have married him – but when it comes to this Page 3 girl turned published author – it's probably best not to judge the book by its cover.


Telegraph
an hour ago
- Telegraph
Sacred Mysteries: John the Baptist as guide to the Ghent Altarpiece
St John the Baptist was lying face up on a table and Adam and Eve were standing beside one another. This was in the workshop at the Ghent Museum of Fine Arts where, since 2012, the Ghent Altarpiece, that stupendous work by Hubert and Jan van Eyck, has been undergoing restoration. From Tuesday to Friday until next March, you can watch the restorers at work. I saw damaged flecks exposed on the two panels of angel musicians. The whole polyptych, when its two wings are open, is 15ft wide and 11ft 6in high. It is now housed in the easternmost chapel, behind the high altar, of St Bavo's Cathedral in the old city of Ghent. I found visitors quietly contemplating it or taking photographs with their mobiles. I suspect that many were unaware that only four of the 12 panels on display with the wings open are the originals. The panels are arranged in two storeys and the upper storey (Adam, Angel Choir, the Virgin Mary, God, St John the Baptist, Angel Musicians, Eve) has been replaced with good colour photographs while the panels are away being restored. Someone at the Museum of Fine Arts regretted that the former practice of replacing absent panels with black and white photographs was not still being followed. One other panel is not original: a lower storey scene of Just Judges was stolen in 1934 and never recovered. It was replaced in 1945 by an indirect copy. Does it matter that visitors think they are seeing the full original? I'm not sure. I certainly didn't like the introductory presentation in the crypt where visitors are invited to wear virtual reality headsets. The visuals didn't give a convincing view but a 21st-century simulacrum, like something from a Lord of the Rings film. The audio was unconvincing too, speaking of the 'adoration'of saints in the Middle Ages, which is far from fair. One object in the crypt linked up with the Van Eycks' project in painting the altarpiece. It was a silver reliquary in the form of a head, enclosing a small relic from the skull of St John the Baptist. The cathedral was dedicated to this saint before it acquired the dedication to St Bavo, or Baaf in Flemish. John the Baptist is shown on two prominent panels: on the back in imitation of statuary, and on the front next to the central figure of God. To be sure, the widest panel shows the mystic scene of the Lamb of God, standing upon an altar, with blood flowing from its side. But John is the guide, as it were, who introduces the viewer to the heavenly tableau. The altarpiece was inaugurated on May 6 1432, when the son of Philip the Good, Duke of Burgundy, was baptised in the church. John is depicted not only as the baptiser but also as a citizen of heaven, flanking God, with the Virgin Mary in the place of honour on the other side. So John retains his ascetic garment of camel hair, but over it he wears a cloak of rich green hemmed with jewels. He points to God, but with his left hand holds a book open at a prophetic text that we can see includes the illuminated word Consolamini – 'Comfort ye, comfort ye my people, saith your God,' the words of Isaiah familiar from Handel's Messiah. Isaiah continues with words that fit John the Baptist as 'The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord.' Part of the genius of the Van Eycks was to include the smallest detail without it swamping the overall images. Standing before the altarpiece behind its glass screen, it is impossible to discern every detail, which can be seen online. But I am glad I went to look at the altarpiece not virtually but in reality.