13 June 2017

Anniversary Train Ride and Companions of Honour Centenary

Double event, double outfit, double brooch day!

The Queen and The Duke of Edinburgh celebrated the 175th anniversary of the first train journey taken by a British monarch, replicating Queen Victoria's 1842 journey from Slough Railway Station to London Paddington. 
Royal Family

Her Maj must not have been feeling very literal today, or surely we would have had a Queen Victoria brooch to remember Queen Victoria's train trip. 



But a close up of the Nizam's even better, no? There's so much dimension to these roses. The tiara they came from would have been a sight to see in action.



The Queen and The Duke of Edinburgh attended an Evensong service and reception at Hampton Court Palace, London, to mark the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Companions of Honour. 
Royal Family
For more: Zimbio gallery.

For her second outfit and brooch of the day, The Queen brought back the Jardine Star. Much like the recently reappeared Cambridge Pearl Pendant, this perpetual favorite is making its first appearance in 2017 after a lengthy hiatus. We haven't seen it since last October! It returned on an outfit it's seen before.

Royal Family

Quite a game of who's who, this gathering of the Order of the Companions of Honour. The order was founded by George V in 1917 as an award for outstanding achievement.

 Jardine Star Brooch
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10 June 2017

Place Your Bets in the 2017 Ascot Brooch Stakes!

The busiest time in The Queen's year is upon us, and that means that Royal Ascot will be here before we know it. The races run Tuesday, June 20th through Saturday, June 24th this year. (Anyone else note with a giggle that The Queen was willing to ax Garter Day in favor of the State Opening of Parliament this year, but not a single day of Ascot shall be touched? #priorities)

Ascot 2011, in the Williamson Diamond Brooch
Royal Ascot is about the horses, it's about the hats, and - around here, at least - it's about THE BROOCHES. We've seen old favorites and rare picks, and once in a while we get something really special.

In fact, The Queen has used Ascot to debut something new or new-to-her every year since 2013: the Emerald and Diamond Sarpech Brooch in 2013, the Queen Mother's Aquamarine Art Deco Brooch and the Double Swan Brooch in 2014, Queen Victoria's Crown Ruby Brooch in 2015, and the Cartier Diamond Rose Clip Brooch in 2016.

We'll also see The Duchess of Cornwall there for a bit - probably displaying a full range of pearl choker splendor, as is her wont - as well as a rotating array of other family members.

So let's get into the spirit of the event once again. Here is our big Royal Ascot flashback from the past several years, should you wish to waste some time weigh the odds carefully. Place your bets here...

Which brooches do you think we'll see? And, more entertainingly, which brooches and other jewels are you wishing to see? 

Me, I just want the streak of debuts to continue. (Have anything new up your sleeve for us, Your Maj? Pretty pretty please?) If I can be greedy beyond that, it's been a few years since we've seen the Williamson Diamond Brooch. I miss it so...
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08 June 2017

Audiences at Buckingham Palace

The Queen held audiences at Buckingham Palace.

It's been over a year since we last saw the Cambridge Pearl Pendant Brooch in action! Did you notice its absence? Did you miss it? I wonder what it did with all its vacation time...

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07 June 2017

Audience at Buckingham Palace

The Queen received the Governor of Western Australia for a private audience at Buckingham Palace.

Maybe a missed opportunity for the Australian Wattle Brooch - what isn't a missed opportunity for the Australian Wattle, amirite - but instead we have the Pearl Triangle in its second appearance of the year.

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06 June 2017

Flashback: State Visit to Spain, 1988

After yet another postponement, the 2017 Spanish state visit to the United Kingdom is on for July 12-14. That means we're on for coverage of the last state visit exchanged between the two countries.

The Queen and The Duke of Edinburgh visited King Juan Carlos and Queen Sofia in October 1988, returning the trip the Spanish royal couple took the the U.K. in 1986. The Queen brought with her a roster of her favorite day brooches, so we'll focus instead on two glittering evening events.

The Queen used the Delhi Durbar Parure for the big state banquet, wearing the earrings, necklace, and bracelet. But rather than continue the theme with the Grand Duchess Vladimir Tiara in its emerald setting, she stuck to diamonds and the Girls of Great Britain and Ireland Tiara.
Having exchanged lower orders at their last meeting, the two sovereigns used this opportunity for some upgrades. King Juan Carlos was given the Order of the Garter; The Queen is wearing the Order of the Golden Fleece on its red bow. (The announcement that she was granted the Collar of the Order of the Golden Fleece was issued in 1989.)

For Queen Sofia, it was another chance to wear the big Fleur de Lys Tiara, her usual choice when other monarchies came to visit.

For the rest of the Spanish royal family, it was a smorgasbord of tiaras - and unmistakably 80s fashions, too. Infanta Elena wore the Spanish Floral Tiara (close up here). Infanta Cristina wore the Prussian Diamond Tiara (close up here). A baby-faced future King Felipe was given the Royal Victorian Order.

Another glittering night on the tour saw some rubies and diamonds - the earrings and necklace from her Ruby and Diamond Swag Demi-Parure - plus something a little more rare:
A non-tiara hair ornament for Her Maj! This was not the only time in history she used one of Queen Victoria's Hair Wheat-Ear Brooches as a barrette, but they were few (another was in 1991, in the United States). For a trip where everybody involved is a descendant of Queen Victoria, it was a nice little touch. Fingers crossed, the state visit to come will involve a nice touch or two as well...
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03 June 2017

Epsom Derby

The Queen, accompanied by Princess Alexandra of Kent, attended Investec Derby Day at Epsom Downs Racecourse.

Aren't these two a delightfully bright pair? The very picture of spring, they are. The Queen accented her second sunshine yellow Stewart Parvin coat and Rachel Trevor-Morgan hat combo in as many weeks with a delicate sprinkling of diamonds, courtesy of the Singapore Peranakan Diamond Jubilee Brooch.



When she takes her coat off, Her Maj usually transfers the brooch over to her dress, but this one doesn't seem to have made the jump.

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01 June 2017

Buckingham Palace Garden Party

The Queen and other members of the Royal Family held a Garden Party at Buckingham Palace.
For more: Zimbio gallery.

The Queen wore this ensemble to a garden party back in 2014, which gave me an opportunity to praise it as one of the best in her current outfit rotation. And now I get to say it once more with feeling, because she's swapped the Aquamarine Clip Brooches for the Queen Mother's Aquamarine Art Deco Brooch - a piece that has rapidly overtaken its clip cousins as my favorite of Her Maj's aquamarine brooches. Excellent.

Royal Family

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