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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State Visit to France, D-Day Anniversary Commemoration

The Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh commemorated the 70th anniversary of D-Day at Bayeux Cemetary and Sword Beach during their State Visit to France. The Prince of Wales and Duchess of Cornwall were present as well. The Queen and the Duke also attended a luncheon for Heads of State at Château de Bénouville.
For more: Piece at the Daily Mail.
This is only the second time the Queen has worn the fringe brooch, and the first time during the day. It's a poignant choice, not only because its size and rarity of use mark this as a special occasion, but because it was often worn the by Queen Mother, and you know the Queen must be thinking of her parents and the role they played in the war effort today. Really lovely. I also like her choice of vibrant green, which feels quite right for place as a guest of honor (she is, after all, a head of state that is actually a veteran of the war herself).

Queen Victoria's Fringe Brooch

A day full of wonderful moments, like this one with the Duke and a fellow WWII veteran:

The Prince of Wales and Duchess of Cornwall were also present:
Update #1: The Duchess of Cornwall's outfit has plenty of connections too. Her Philip Treacy hat was paired with a special outfit from French label Christian Dior, a nice touch. (She visited the Dior atelier and its Belgian designer Raf Simons during a visit to Paris last year.) Her brooch is a badge representing the Lancers, her father's cavalry regiment. The late Bruce Shand won the Military Cross twice and was held as a prisoner of war during World War II.

Check out the comments for more heads of state, plus the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge!

Update #2: Here's a video of the entire service at Ouistreham.

Dignitaries start arriving on the red carpet around 43:00; the first royals on the red carpet I believe are the Belgians at 50:45. Footage of the Queen serving in the ATS is incorporated into the service around the 2:13:50 mark, and footage of her with the royal family on the balcony is at 2:34:25. You can even see her reaction from the crowd (or non-reaction, really - though the Duke does seem amused to see her in mechanic mode!).


Photos: Chris Jackson/Getty Images, Poppy Legion Twitter
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05 June 2014

State Visit to France, Embassy Reception

The Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh attended a reception at the British Embassy in Paris on Day 1 of their State Visit to France.
For more: Gallery from Zimbio (this has been linked before, and includes the whole day).
OUTFIT #4 FOR THE DAY, KIDS. (Seems like a caps lock-worthy thing.)

And another new brooch alert! I'm thinking about it, but I'm not sure I've ever seen this one before. Does anyone recognize it? Updated to add: This does indeed appear to be a first. See the link below.

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State Visit to France, Welcome Ceremony

The Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh were officially welcomed at the start of their State Visit to France by President Hollande.
For more: Gallery from Zimbio, article from the BBC.
We're on our third hat of the day, and there was bound to be one I didn't like - this is definitely one of my least favorite shapes. However, I shall never complain about an outing for the amazing Williamson brooch, one of my favorites. Another point of interest:

Just for those of you tired of black accessories.


And finally, here's a look at President Hollande's gift for the Queen: photos from her prior visits in triptych form, made by Hermès.
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State Visit to France, Arrival

The Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh arrived at the Gare du Nord in Paris for the beginning of their State Visit to France.
For more: Gallery from Zimbio.
Exciting brooch business: I believe this is the first time we've seen this brooch, the Botswana Flower Brooch, worn in public (please, correct me if I'm wrong). It's delicate, but larger than I thought it would be. A "new" brooch and a good hat is a good start for this visit!

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The Botswana Flower Brooch

The Botswana Flower Brooch
Depicting a spray of sorghum (or millet) with 11 pear shaped diamonds and gold, this delicate brooch was given to the Queen by the President of Botswana, Festus Mogae, during the 2007 Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting. The plant is a major crop for Botswana. Though the brooch was exhibited in 2009, I believe its first public outing was not until the 2014 state visit to France.

Appearances:
6 July 2017: Holyrood Week: Highland Spring Factory Visit
13 April 2017: Royal Maundy Service
19 June 2015: Royal Ascot, Day 4
5 June 2014: State Visit to France, Arrival

Photo: Royal Collection/Queen Elizabeth II
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St. Pancras Visit and State Visit Departure

The Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh marked the 20th anniversary of the opening of the Channel Tunnel at St. Pancras International before departing for Paris via Eurostar for their State Visit to France.
This little brooch just came up in the comments not too long ago, and now here's the Queen to model it properly for you! Delightful. I've said in the past that this one can be a bit twee - indeed, my entry on it notes it might be the cutest brooch in the collection, which is not always a good thing - but when it's worn like this, I'm totally on board. The hat mirroring the composition of the brooch with a navy base and big white bow and the simple white coat as a background are the perfect way to showcase this brooch while keeping it sophisticated. A promising start to the state visit to come!


Photos:ITNSource video/EurostarUK Twitter
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