State Visit from Spain, State Banquet

The Queen and The Duke of Edinburgh, along with other members of the Royal Family, hosted a state banquet at Buckingham Palace for The King and Queen of Spain during their State Visit to the United Kingdom.

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My wish for the Spanish state banquet was the Oriental Circlet and Queen Victoria's Crown Rubies. (Which is...pretty much my constant wish.) My prediction was that we'd get at least something from Queen Victoria, you know, because of the family ties and all. Her Majesty, however, is full of surprises.

House of HM the King

It's not just the Brazilian Aquamarine Parure that surprises me - and that is, by itself, a surprise; we haven't seen the tiara used since 2011 - it's the dress! There's color on The Queen's dress, are you seeing this? For someone so dedicated to her white dresses, even this amount of embroidery is a departure. Anyway, with all of this, she's wearing Spain's Order of the Golden Fleece (the red bow on her shoulder).

Brazilian Aquamarine Parure: Tiara, Earrings, Necklace, and Bracelet

Order of the Golden Fleece

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 Meanwhile, we are very much back to Business As Usual for The Duchess of Cornwall's state banquet gear: the same choker she wore for the welcome ceremony, with her regular diamond tiara. There is, however, a new pair of earrings! Another pair from Van Cleef & Arpels, and there's more info in the link below. 

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Greville Tiara

Van Cleef & Arpels Snowflake Earrings

Four Strand Pearl Choker with Large Diamond Clasp
Royal Family Order of Queen Elizabeth II
Star, Riband, and Badge of the Royal Victorian Order
 Art Deco Diamond Brooch on her shoulder, previously worn
Diamond Bracelet, not yet covered here but regularly worn

CasaReal Screencap

I went into detail on The Duchess of Cambridge over at the other blog, but her loans require mention here too. Mainly, this is the first loan of the Ruby and Diamond Floral Bandeau Necklace, which the palace referred to today as the King George VI & Queen Elizabeth Bandeau Necklace. It's one I've been hoping to see on her, as I know many of you also have. A treat!

Cambridge Lover's Knot Tiara
Collingwood Pearl and Diamond Earrings (from the private collection of the late Diana, Princess of Wales)
Ruby and Diamond Floral Bandeau Necklace
Diamond Bracelet (possibly one of the two she's borrowed from The Queen in the past)


That's that. Again, more in depth coverage and coverage of others in up in full at the other blog, so check it out!

The Duchess of Cornwall's Van Cleef & Arpels Snowflake Earrings and Pendant Necklace

The Duchess of Cornwall's impressive collection of Van Cleef & Arpels jewelry has grown once again. For the Spanish state visit, she debuted a pair of the maison's Snowflake Earrings, a part of their Snowflake High Jewelry collection inspired by (what else?) flakes of snow.

Van Cleef & Arpels Snowflake Earrings, Large Model

The earrings come in large and small sizes; The Duchess of Cornwall has the large model. These earrings are made of round diamonds in platinum and white gold. They have 190 stones and weigh in at approximately 13.73 carats. Van Cleef & Arpels lists their retail price at $138,000; Luxury Exchange has a pair for sale at $82,645.

The Duchess wears them at the Spanish state banquet, 2017

As with most of Camilla's VC&A items, provenance is unconfirmed but I assume they were acquired by either Camilla herself or by The Prince of Wales. What we do know is that these sparkled like mad in action - which is a wonderful surprise when it comes to The Duchess of Cornwall, whose hair often hides the earrings below. They're a great fit for her.

Snowflake Earrings and Pendant with Snowflake Chain

Snowflake Pendant, Large model

In 2018, The Duchess debuted a matching necklace. It is the Pendant with Snowflake chain; this also comes in large and small models, and Camilla has the large model. Made with 85 round diamonds totaling approximately 6.05 carats, and platinum, the necklace retails for $71,000.

Appearances:
12 July 2017: State Visit from Spain, State Banquet