Showing posts with label Coronation Necklace. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Coronation Necklace. Show all posts

19 March 2016

"Our Queen at 90" Preview: 2015 Diplomatic Reception

It wouldn't be a milestone occasion for The Queen without a new documentary. Her Majesty's big birthday year brings us Our Queen at 90, airing on Easter Sunday on ITV, which has been making headlines since it was revealed that it would feature a sit-down solo interview with The Duchess of Cambridge. Previews just released promise fun tidbits from interviews with many members of the Royal Family (Kate reveals that George calls The Queen "Gan-gan") and a look inside the year's most elusive tiara engagement: the Diplomatic Reception.

Though the Buckingham Palace Diplomatic Reception is a staple on the annual royal calendar for December, photos are only rarely shown from inside. Documentary crews, however, have proven to be the exception. Let's take a look at what we can see in this short clip:

The Duchess of Cambridge made headlines when she was spotted heading to the reception wearing the Cambridge Lover's Knot Tiara for the first time, together with a pair of diamond earrings on loan from The Queen. She may have also worn same set of bracelets from The Queen that she did for October's Chinese state banquet, The Queen's Wedding Gift Bracelet and Queen Mary's Diamond Bar Choker Bracelet, although a better look is needed.

This is our first proper look at Kate in that iconic tiara. I have to say, she wears it extremely well. She seems to cover the base more than her late mother-in-law did, which is definitely to her advantage. This is also our first good look at this pale blue Alexander McQueen dress, and it is not what I thought it would be, but I think I like it.

This is a very formal occasion, and it is one at which you see the a part of the Order of the Garter insignia not often seen elsewhere: the actual Garter. The gentlemen are wearing knee breeches with the Garter attached just below the left knee.

Perhaps the most exciting thing here - as far as this blog is concerned - is that we get to see The Queen, finally! Her unseen tiara occasion for 2015 delivered the Garter insignia as well as her Royal Family Orders.

A favorite suite of diamonds was present as well: the Girls of Great Britain and Ireland Tiara, the Coronation Necklace and Earrings, the Baguette and Brilliant Bracelet, and her current favorite Diamond Evening Watch. Combined with one very sparkly dress, this is as classic a look as you can get from The Queen today.

Our Queen at 90 airs Sunday, March 27, at 8 pm on ITV. ITV and the Mirror offer more quotes and clips.

Photos: Oxford Film & Television / ITV video screencaps
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27 May 2015

State Opening of Parliament

The Queen, accompanied by The Duke of Edinburgh, traveled in State to the Palace of Westminster to open the Session of Parliament. The Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall were also in attendance, as was The Princess Royal. 
After two years of pearls, The Queen returned to diamonds and one of her most frequently worn combinations for today's State Opening of Parliament. The Coronation Necklace and Earrings are among the most historical and important pieces she wears regularly, and they're always a nice choice for an occasion with as much pomp and circumstance as the State Opening. 

George IV State Diadem (worn arriving and leaving)
Imperial State Crown (worn during the speech)
Coronation Necklace and Earrings
Modern Three Row Diamond Bracelet
Diamond Evening Watch
Collar and Great George of the Order of the Garter


The Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall were in attendance for the third year running.
Camilla is settling into her own routine of favorite jewels for the occasion: the Greville Tiara, together with her Everyday Pearl Pendant Earrings and her Four Strand Pearl Choker with Large Diamond Clasp, the same combination she's worn for the past two years. She is also wearing the Royal Family Order of Queen Elizabeth II and the Star, Riband, and Badge of the Royal Victorian Order.
There were a couple new things this year, though. She usually anchors her sash with a diamond rosette brooch on her shoulder, but she's gone for a rather geometric diamond number this time around, which is a first. She also has a new court dress (well, coat and dress). The white court dresses worn to the State Opening always walk the bridal line and this might be stepping a wee bit close to that line, but she looks fab nevertheless. 


Also present: The Princess Royal! 
In her position as Gold Stick-in-Waiting (which she fulfills as Colonel of the Blues and Royals), she accompanied The Queen. Looking spiffy in her uniform, as though it could be any other way. Anne, Charles, and Philip are all wearing the Collar of the Order of the Garter, and the dark green Riband of the Order of the Thistle.


And finally, because this is a jewel blog and we do the jewels, some peering around for other tiaras in attendance: 
The Queen's Ladies-in-Waiting wear their tiaras. Standing to the right of Her Maj above are The Lady Susan Hussey and The Hon. Annabel Whitehead. (Lady Susan, like The Duchess of Cornwall, wears the Riband of the Royal Victorian Order.)
And for those with eagle eyes, there's always some tiara spotting to be done among the assorted peeresses in attendance in the audience.


Links & More:

Photos: via Getty Images and UK Parliament screencap
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21 October 2014

State Visit from Singapore, State Banquet

The Queen and The Duke of Edinburgh, with other members of the Royal Family present, gave a State Banquet in honor of the President of the Republic of Singapore at Buckingham Palace.
For more: Zimbio gallery.
There's red in her sash and that means of course my first thought is that we have another missed opportunity for the Oriental Circlet to appear. But never mind, Her Maj likes her favorites and the ubiquitous Girls tiara is reigning for the night. She paired this with another selection from her collection of bow brooches and the massive diamonds from the Coronation Necklace and Earrings. I have not yet seen a good enough photo to identify her bracelet, but hopefully will be able to update later. Her watch is one she's worn many times, but it doesn't have its own post here yet.

Darjah Utama Temasek (Order of Temasek, from Singapore), Riband and Star
Diamond Bracelet
Evening Watch

Sitting at the banquet table, the guest of honor has The Queen on one side and another female royal on the other (at least when the guest of honor is a male). It's usually Camilla, and when she's gone, the honor travels down the line. The Princess Royal was also absent this evening, and we ended up with a special treat: Sophie!
She sported her newest tiara, the Five Aquamarine Tiara from HM's collection, and I don't blame her for wearing it so often - it's my favorite of the ones she wears too.
Also present were Princess Michael of Kent, in her Kent Festoon Tiara, and Princess Alexandra of Kent, wearing the pearl version of her Ogilvy Tiara. Click here for that. In the Zimbio gallery linked above, it appears the Duchess of Gloucester is wearing the Cartier Indian Tiara.

Update: A couple videos are out of the banquet. The British Monarchy's video of The Queen's Speech is below; ChannelNewsAsia also offers some additional views. Screencaps have been added above.

Update Again: For those sore that the lovely Duchess of Gloucester did not get a proper close up at the state banquet, enjoy this look at HRH shining in the Gloucester Honeysuckle Tiara at tonight's (10/22) Guildhall banquet for the President and Mrs. Tan.

Photo:Justin Tallis/AFP via Getty Images, @MajestyMagazine, British Monarchy video, ChannelNewsAsia video
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06 June 2014

State Visit to France, State Banquet

The Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh attended a State Banquet hosted by President Hollande at Élysée Palace.
Video: The Queen's speech, delivered in both French and English. (For those of you wondering, yes, she does speak French, and apparently declined a translator for the trip.) For more: Article from the Daily Mail, gallery from Zimbio.
One Queen Mum brooch for the day, one for the evening - and a rarely seen ruby number too. I confess I had a sliver of hope that she might go the full Queen Mother, if you will, and give us an outing of the Oriental Circlet with the Crown Rubies. But alas, it was not to be. Regardless, it was nice to see her stick to a white tie dress code with her French order and tiara, even as the banquet was black tie. She did it up right.

We even got to see the bar brooch she wore on her back to secure her sash, courtesy of a tweet from banquet attendee, chef Raymond Blanc:

Girls of Great Britain and Ireland Tiara
Coronation Necklace and Earrings
Queen Mother's Ruby and Diamond Bouquet Brooch
Diamond Bar Brooch (on back)
National Order of the Legion of Honour (France), Riband and Star
Diamond Bracelet (unidentified)
Evening Watch (seen previously, but not posted in depth yet)

Photos:Chesnot/Getty Images and @raymond_blanc Twitter
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02 June 2013

Flashback: The Coronation

Queen Elizabeth II was crowned at Westminster Abbey on June 2, 1953.
The 60th anniversary of the Queen's coronation is being marked with several celebrations, including the rebroadcasting of the coronation film and a service coming up this week. Last year, for the Diamond Jubilee, we had a series of posts on the other blog commemorating the coronation, including the Queen's ornate Norman Hartnell gown and some of the crown jewels used, so this flashback will be brief.
We haven't touched much on the crown jewels here, but we have covered the Imperial State Crown (which she wore after the actual crowning, which was done with St. Edward's Crown), and the Sovereign's Ring. She arrived wearing the George IV State Diadem and carrying her coronation bouquet. She followed tradition and wore the Coronation Necklace and Earrings, as well as her engagement and wedding rings and a petite Jaeger-LeCoultre watch. Her mantle was draped with the Collar and Great George of the Order of the Garter.

Above: The Coronation on YouTube, Part 1 of 7 (click through for more)
If you're in the mood for more coronation fun today, in addition to the film embedded above, The Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II is a great documentary available on YouTube, as are many other gems.

Photos:Royal Collection/Hulton Archive/ITV/PA
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27 November 2012

State Visit from Kuwait, State Banquet

The Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh, together with other members of the Royal Family, gave a state banquet in honor of the Emir of Kuwait at Windsor Castle.
Isn't that terribly kind, Her Maj saw we were reviewing some of her wedding gifts this month and now she's worn another to follow the Williamson Diamond worn earlier in the day: it's the Girls tiara! (My fave.) Bless her sparkly little heart, that's ever so helpful.


Photo: Getty Images
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28 September 2012

Australian Diamond Jubilee Portrait

A Diamond Jubilee portrait of the Queen was unveiled at the National Portrait Gallery in Canberra, Australia. The portrait by Australian artist Ralph Heimans is entitled "The Coronation Theatre, Westminster Abbey: A Portrait of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II".
This is breathtaking. The choice to paint her in her robe but without a crown on the spot she was crowned is genius: it allows her to have this humble and pensive look, as though she's looking back on the 60 years since and forward to the next all at once. What an impressive work, made all the more impressive when you learn that the artist had just one hour with the Queen total, and that one hour was in daylight at Buckingham Palace. A truly stunning and powerful portrait.

(And, since we are a jewel blog, I must note that he's managed to bring a tremendous amount of light to the diamonds, which is no easy feat.)

I like the above video as it gives you a sense of the scale of the work; click here for an article with more information on the painting and click here to see it close up at the artist's site.

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The Coronation Necklace and Earrings

The Coronation Necklace and Earrings are an important set in the Queen's collection not just because of overall diamond weight but because of historical significance.
The Coronation Necklace
The necklace was created for Queen Victoria in 1858 and has been worn by queens for every coronation after Queen Victoria's death, hence the name. It currently has 26 stones: 25 in the necklace itself, plus the 22.48 carat Lahore Diamond as a pendant.
The Coronation Earrings
The matching earrings were also made Queen Victoria in 1858 from reused stones - the pear drops were originally side stones in an armlet with the famous Koh-i-Noor diamond and were also used in a setting for the Timur Ruby Necklace. The two drops are slightly different sizes; one is about 12 carats, the other about 7.

The Queen usually wears the set together for formal events like the State Opening of Parliament and state dinners, or for portraits.

 Read more at Order of Splendor.

Appearances:
13 June 2016: Garter Day (Earrings only)
8 December 2015: Diplomatic Reception
27 May 2015: State Opening of Parliament 
26 March 2015: Canterbury Cathedral Statue (Earrings only) 
21 October 2014: State Visit from Singapore
6 June 2014: State Visit to France
27 November 2012: State Visit from Kuwait
28 September 2012: Australian Diamond Jubilee Portrait
2011: State Visit from Turkey (Necklace only) 
1998: State Visit from Japan  
1978: State Visit to Germany
1967: Visit to Malta (Necklace only)
1961: Commonwealth Visit to India and Pakistan 
1954: Visit to Australia, Parliament Opening
1954: Visit to New Zealand, Parliament Opening
1953: The Coronation 
Various Years: State Opening of Parliament  
Various Years: The Garter Service
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06 February 2012

Official Diamond Jubilee Portrait

Official portraits of the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh were released to commemorate the Diamond Jubilee.
Standing in front of Queen Victoria, wearing jewels she wore: that’s the way to do your Diamond Jubilee portrait, I’d say.


Photos:Royal Collection
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