13 March 2017

Commonwealth Day and Baton Relay Launch

Double brooch day!

The Queen, accompanied by The Duke of Edinburgh and The Earl of Wessex, launched the XXI Commonwealth Games Baton Relay outside Buckingham Palace.

Kicking off on a bright note, the outfit is a delight but the brooch is not the best (this is the second time we've seen it in a month, which is more than enough for me). I preferred this cerise Stewart Parvin coat with the Diamond and Rose Gold Brooch.

Royal Family
Three Strand Pearl Necklace


The Queen and other members of the Royal Family attended the Commonwealth Day observance service at Westminster Abbey.

Keeping the brightness going, this Angela Kelly outfit wasn't just a spot of sunshine in a sea of dark suits, it was the perfect background for a wonderful brooch surprise: the Australian Wattle! The brooch hasn't been seen in action since 2014. Sooooo many diamonds. Watch how it glints in this video, towards the end. You can't even see the entire thing, and yet it's like a strobe light on her shoulder. Yum.

BBC



The Duchess of Cornwall also pulled a double jewel day. 

Her favorite Four Strand Pearl Choker with Large Diamond Clasp accompanied her purple suit for the Commonwealth service. Later, when she and The Prince of Wales attended the Commonwealth Secretary's reception, the suit was the same and the jewels were swapped out for her set of pansy brooches, always a favorite with this outfit.
Clarence House

No complaints about the purple theme here, you know. (The Queen is usually the one that attends this reception, but Charles and Camilla took her place this year.)
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10 March 2017

The Queen Mother's Lily Brooch

Queen Elizabeth kept some loose diamonds at Cartier, the jewelry firm where she and her husband, King George VI, were regular patrons. In 1939, jewelers were commissioned to create a floral brooch with a lily motif from some of those stones.

Queen Elizabeth wears her Lily Brooch, 1951
British Pathe, see video here
The result is one of the longer brooches in the royal collection. Popularly referred to as the "foot long" brooch (actual measurement: around 6.75 inches long), it contains just over 200 of Queen Elizabeth's own diamonds plus an additional 52 added by Cartier. The piece is shown in detail in The Queen's Diamonds by Hugh Roberts, where it is noted that joints in the thin stem originally allowed the brooch to be worn in different positions, but these have since been fixed in place.

The Queen debuts the brooch, 2010
The Queen Mother's use of the brooch seems to have been most heavily concentrated in the 1950s. It passed to The Queen in 2002, and she first wore it for the South African state banquet in 2010. Unfortunately, with her fondness for white evening dresses, the real scale and design of the brooch blended into the background.

Royal Images via Ministry of Defence
Now, in 2017, we have a chance to really admire the brooch. An official portrait included in the program for the Iraq and Afghanistan Memorial unveiling shows the true scale and magnificent detail of Queen Elizabeth's Lily Brooch. It's much larger than the brooches The Queen wears for daily engagements, and is probably difficult to place, but it makes an impressive statement.

Thanks to David for the tip! 

Appearances: 
2010: State Visit from South Africa
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09 March 2017

Iraq and Afghanistan Memorial Unveiling

The Queen, The Duke of Edinburgh, and other members of the Royal Family attended the unveiling and dedication of the Iraq and Afghanistan Memorial, Victoria Embankment Gardens, London. The memorial honors "the contributions by Her Majesty’s Armed Forces and all UK citizens who were deployed in the Gulf region, Iraq and Afghanistan from 1990-2015."
PO Phot Owen Cooban/UK MOD Crown Copyright 2017

The scene stealer of the day is probably the toddler who had more interest in having a little fit (i.e., in being a toddler) than in presenting a bouquet to The Queen, which certainly seems to have amused The Duke of Edinburgh. As has been said many times, the royals tend to enjoy it when things don't go according to plan.

Royal Family

But you can't miss Her Maj, resplendent in blue. Queen Mary's Russian Brooch is always a treat to spot, and I love the angle you in the pic below, displaying the depth of the brooch. The showcase stones really do stick out from their diamond setting.


Three Strand Pearl Necklace

P.S.: The rest of the family will be coming up tomorrow on the other blog!
 
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08 March 2017

Audiences at Buckingham Palace

The Queen held audiences at Buckingham Palace.

An audience where we can see the brooch AND it's an emerald AND it has its pendant! This is an A+ audience day.

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07 March 2017

Investiture at Buckingham Palace

The Queen held an Investiture at Buckingham Palace.
For more: ITV video.

One of my favorite brooches debuted by The Queen in recent years makes its 2017 debut! Delightful. Also delightful, in case you missed it yesterday: Her Maj was spotted out riding her pony at Windsor Castle.

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03 March 2017

Royal Welsh Leek Presentation, and the Royal Welch Fusiliers Badge

The Queen, Colonel-in-Chief, presented leeks to The Royal Welsh regiment to mark St. David's Day at Lucknow Barracks, Tidworth, Wiltshire.
Royal Family

She presented leeks today, but I like to think that an opportunity to meet the new regimental goat, Llywelyn, was reason enough for a visit.


This is a new outfit for Her Maj, a heather wool tweed coat and fuchsia pink dress from Karl Ludwig with a matching hat by Angela Kelly. This is a very typical hat design for HM and for Ms. Kelly, but it seems a bit lower than usual, maybe? I mean, it has baby koosh balls on it and I'm still liking it, so something's different.


The Queen wears the badge in 1989
The brooch - which was transferred to the dress when the coat was removed - is, of course, a regimental badge. It represents the Royal Welch Fusiliers, one of the regiments amalgamated into The Royal Welsh in 2006, and features the regiment's red dragon symbol. Like other badges, it's only worn for events pertaining to the regiment in question, which means it's not seen too often.

Royal Welch Fusiliers Badge
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01 March 2017

Audiences at Buckingham Palace

The Queen held audiences at Buckingham Palace.

The brooch is back! I don't even think this gold number goes with this dress, particularly, but it's nice to have things back as they should be.

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