Showing posts with label Ladies of Devonshire Earrings. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Ladies of Devonshire Earrings. Show all posts

10 June 2016

(Updated) The Queen's 90th Birthday Service and Governors-General Luncheon

The Queen, accompanied by The Duke of Edinburgh - celebrating his 95th birthday today - and other members of the Royal Family, attended a service of National Thanksgiving in celebration of her 90th birthday at St. Paul's Cathedral, London.

You can find a full fashion round up at the other blog, but over here: THAT BROOCH. Oh, Her Maj went big for her big birthday, busting out the Richmond Brooch from Queen Mary's stash. She's only worn it a few times, the last being in 2014. She still did not choose to use the brooch's optional pearl pendant, but it was the perfect accompaniment to her sunshine yellow Angela Kelly outfit, which included motifs that seemed a nod towards the design of the Richmond. She also upped her game with the larger of her pearl and diamond button earring options from Queen Mary.



Chief among the 50-plus members of the Royal Family in attendance were The Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall, of course. Repeating a Bruce Oldfield outfit and Philip Treacy hat, Camilla wore the smaller of her diamond clasp pearl chokers and some of her favorite bug brooches. This is a fabulous outfit, though rather understated on her scale - jewelry and all.


Later, a luncheon and reception was held at Buckingham Palace for visiting Governors-General. The Queen, The Duke of Edinburgh, The Prince of Wales, and The Duchess of Cornwall were in attendance.

For later, a shout-out to her fellow longest reigning sovereign, Queen Victoria. This is already the fifth appearance of Queen Victoria's Bow Brooch for the year, so it's well on its way to earning a spot on the 2016 list of favorite brooches (again). For The Duchess of Cornwall, she appears to have simply removed her coat and its brooches, sticking to her pearl choker for ornamentation.

Queen Victoria's Bow Brooch

Photos: BBC screencap, via Getty Images as indicated
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08 November 2015

Remembrance Sunday

The Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh, accompanied by The King and Queen of the Netherlands and other members of the Royal Family, attended the Remembrance Sunday ceremony at the Cenotaph, London. The service honors those that have died in armed conflicts.
As she does each year, The Queen selected one of her of diamond bow brooches to fasten her poppies for today's service at the Cenotaph. Queen Victoria's Brooch is actually not a regular selection here, because she often goes for one of the larger bow options. She wore the larger set of Queen Mary's diamond and pearl earrings, which is also not a usual selection for this event.
Ministry of Defence/Crown Copyright
Three Strand Pearl Necklace




Also unusual: The Queen invited another monarch to the ceremony. King Willem-Alexander was invited to mark the 70th anniversary of the liberation of the Netherlands.

Het Koninklijk Huis Facebook / BBC screencap
 The note, signed by both King Willem-Alexander and Queen Máxima, says: "In remembrance of the British men and women who gave their lives for our freedom. The Kingdom of the Netherlands will be forever grateful for the British role in its liberation."

Queen Máxima cut a striking figure in her large black hat as she joined Vice Admiral Sir Tim Laurence, The Duchess of Cambridge, and The Countess of Wessex to watch the ceremony from the balcony above. (We'll talk more about this coat business tomorrow on the other blog.)


On another balcony, Princess Michael of Kent, The Duke and Duchess of Gloucester, and Princess Alexandra of Kent looked on. The Duchess and Princess Alexandra both wore military badges.

Ministry of Defence/Crown Copyright
In another first for the day, Prince Harry laid his own wreath. Though Harry has laid a wreath on behalf of his father in the past, this was the first time he has done so in his own right. He joined The Duke of York and The Duke of Cambridge, above.

Ministry of Defence/Crown Copyright
Apart from The Queen and The Duke of Edinburgh, other members of the Royal Family laid wreaths in groups this year to help shorten the ceremony, after discussions about cutting down the amount of time veterans are required to stand during the event. Above, The Duke of Kent, The Princess Royal, and The Earl of Wessex give their salutes together after placing their wreaths.

And finally, after the Cenotaph ceremony, Prince William took the veterans' salute at Horse Guards Parade (another first, I believe).


For more on Remembrance Sunday: BBC article and video, Zimbio gallery.


Photos:BBC video screencaps, unless otherwise noted
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25 December 2014

Christmas Service and Christmas Broadcast, 2014

The Queen, accompanied by members of the Royal Family, attended Christmas service at St. Mary Magdalene Church, Sandringham.
For more: Daily Mail photos, Zimbio gallery.
A very merry Christmas to you all! Here's Her Maj's present for you: another look at the Tudor Rose Brooch, which first appeared in 2012. I'm not a huge fan of that brooch on this particular color coat (though my love for HM in brights never ceases), but I love that it serves as something of a symbol of this year of unusual brooch selections. (Stick around for our year in review post here, which goes up on the 31st! It's going to be a doozy. Also, we'll be covering other family members at the service on the other blog later on.)



The Queen's annual message was broadcast on Christmas Day.
For more: Article from the BBC, video embedded below.
The Queen talks much about this year of remembrance, including the centenary of World War I. The photos on the table are of her grandparents, King George V and Queen Mary, who were king and queen back in 1914, and the brass box sitting in front would have been filled with presents for the troops back then as part of an effort organized by their daughter, Princess Mary.
Her selection of a brooch which came to her via Queen Mary has a bit of additional significance in that context. The Cambridge Pearl Pendant has made several appearances in Christmas broadcasts past, most recently appearing in 2012 and 2004. She's gone slightly fancier for this occasion, abandoning her usual earrings and triple strand of pearls for the larger version of those earrings, also from Queen Mary, and a longer double strand of pearls (as you'll see from the post linked below, I rarely attempt to differentiate between her many, many pearl necklaces). Very elegant, and on a final and tremendously superficial note...bonus points from me for a purple outfit and purple ornaments to match!


Photos:Chris Jackson via Getty Images, British Monarchy video
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19 May 2014

Chelsea Flower Show and Royal Windsor Horse Show

Today, the Queen and other members of the royal family visited the Chelsea Flower Show.
Click here for more from the Daily Mail.
Looks like the appearance of the Chelsea Iris Brooch - a gift from the Royal Horticultural Society - is going to become an annual thing, no surprises there. This is the second year in a row we've seen it.



The Queen has been in attendance for multiple days of the Royal Windsor Horse Show.
There are so many days and events, many of which get little coverage, it's always a bit hard to track the Queen at the show. But it's worth a try, behold the linkage:
May 14: She was a spectator, in her single strand of pearls, pearl stud earrings, black strap watch, and of course her engagement and wedding rings. (I've mentioned this one before.)
May 16: Spectator again, in everything as above but without the pearl necklace.
May 17: Spectator during the day (in the same accessories). Then, watching the Services Team Jumping Event with the King of Bahrain...
...wearing Prince Albert's Sapphire Brooch with a double strand of pearls and her pearl studs. Later that day, she apparently put in an appearance at the evening event...
...which was a Musical Ride of The Household Cavalry Mounted Regiment. For this, she sported a larger and fancier double strand of pearls, Queen Victoria's 11 Pearl Brooch, and the Ladies of Devonshire Earrings. I'm exhausted just reading about all these outfit changes.
May 18: More prizes to present! This time, back to her regular day set of Queen Mary's Button Earrings and her triple strand of pearls, plus the top part (without pendant) of the Round Cambridge Emerald Brooch. And phew, that's all for this year's Royal Windsor Horse Show.
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10 November 2012

Festival of Remembrance

The Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh, accompanied by other members of the Royal Family, attended the Royal British Legion Festival of Remembrance at the Royal Albert Hall, London.
This is very fancy, this little outfit. But even with diamonds and pearls blazing, she's still out-blinged by the DoE. Those suits must be steel reinforced to support all that hardware.


Photo: Bauer Griffin
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05 June 2012

Governors-General Reception

Her Majesty gave an evening Reception for visiting Governors-General at Buckingham Palace.
Hard to tell on this patterned dress, but I think we might have a triple Cullinan day on our hands: first III and IV, and now this sure does look like Cullinan V. Go on, Lizzie! Somewhere in magpie heaven, Queen Mary just did a backflip.


Photo:Pool/Getty Images
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The Diamond Jubilee Thanksgiving Service

The Queen, accompanied by members of the Royal Family, attended a National Service of Thanksgiving for Her Majesty's Diamond Jubilee in St. Paul's Cathedral. After the service the Queen attended a Reception given by the Lord Mayor at Mansion House and a Luncheon given by the Lord Great Chamberlain at Westminster Hall. Following a Carriage Procession, the Royal Family appeared on the Balcony of Buckingham Palace.
Diamonds are a queen’s best friend, baby! Cullinan III and IV, 158 carats of pure diamond bling: doesn’t get more queen-y than this. Uh-mazing. Also of note: she's upgraded the size of her traditional earrings as well. Way to go all out, Your Maj!

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04 June 2012

The Diamond Jubilee Concert

The Queen was present at the BBC Concert at Buckingham Palace to celebrate Her Majesty's Diamond Jubilee, at which other members of the Royal Family were also present. Afterwards, Her Majesty lit the National Beacon to commemorate the Diamond Jubilee.
With that much dress ornamentation, you really have to power through to see the jewels, don't you.

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01 January 2012

The Pearl and Diamond Button Earrings

The Queen has several variations of pearl and diamond earrings in her collection, but the two best known examples are shown here.

Queen Mary's Button Earrings
Despite the fact that she must have a plethora of earrings to pick from, The Queen almost always wears the same pair for her daytime official engagements: a single pearl with a small diamond on top.
Queen Mary (left) and the current Queen
These came, like so much of The Queen’s jewelry collection, from her grandmother Queen Mary. Photographs show that Mary wore these from fairly early on in her marriage.

Appearances: Since these are seen at most engagements, I will not link each post individually. Each event where the earrings are seen is tagged, and you may click here for those posts.


The Ladies of Devonshire Earrings
For her 1893 wedding to the future King George V, Princess May of Teck received a pair of pearl and diamond earrings from the Ladies of Devonshire. The Devonshire committee was headed by Lady Clinton, and the earrings they selected were made to match another of Princess May's wedding gifts, a pearl and diamond necklace given by the 'Ladies of England'. (The Ladies of England necklace can be seen here and was later dismantled by Queen Mary and used to create the Cambridge Lover's Knot Tiara.) This pair of earrings features a single round diamond above a single round pearl. They are similar to the everyday button earrings, but on a larger scale. Queen Mary gave the Devonshire Earrings to her granddaughter, Princess Elizabeth, as a wedding present in 1947. The Queen uses these earrings for fancier day events, such as her Diamond Jubilee service or the Order of the Garter service, and for evening occasions.
The larger pair worn by both queens
In both The Queen's Jewels by Leslie Field and The Queen's Jewellery by Sheila Young, the smaller pair of pearl and diamond button earrings (Queen Mary's Button Earrings) is identified as the Devonshire (or Devon) earrings. However, the Royal Collection has identified the larger pair as the gift from the Ladies of Devonshire, and photographs of the display of wedding gifts in 1947 do appear to show the larger pair as well.

As is the case with the smaller pair of earrings, these are a basic design, and it could be that multiple pairs of similar style exist in The Queen's collection.

Appearances:
10 June 2016: The Queen's 90th Birthday Service
8 November 2015: Remembrance Sunday
25 December 2014: Christmas Broadcast, 2014 
17 May 2014: Royal Windsor Horse Show 
10 November 2012: Festival of Remembrance
5 June 2012: Governors-General Reception
5 June 2012: Diamond Jubilee Thanksgiving Service
4 June 2012: Diamond Jubilee Concert
2000: State Visit to Italy, Papal Audience  
1999: Opening of the Scottish Parliament
1980: State Visit to Vatican City  
1960: Wedding of Princess Margaret and The Earl of Snowdon
Various Years: The Garter Service
Various Years: Remembrance Events  

Photos: Getty Images
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