10 July 2017

Flashback: The Engagement of Princess Elizabeth and Lieutenant Philip Mountbatten, 1947


It's been seventy years since The Queen and The Duke of Edinburgh announced their engagement. Seventy!

First confirmation of the engagement came in the Court Circular on July 9, 1947, where an announcement read: "It is with the greatest of pleasure that The King and Queen announce the betrothal of their dearly beloved daughter, The Princess Elizabeth, to Lieutenant Philip Mountbatten, R.N., son of the late Prince Andrew of Greece and Princess Andrew (Princess Alice of Battenberg), to which union The King has gladly given his consent."

On July 10, the happy couple made their first official public appearance together.


It was also, of course, the first public appearance of a jewel that hasn't left The Queen's side since: her diamond engagement ring, made with diamonds taken from a tiara that belonged to her fiancé's mother (this one). The bride-to-be also wore a double strand of pearls around her neck and a brooch on her shoulder. We don't have a confirmed provenance for the Six Petal Diamond Flower Brooch, but I've always wondered if it had a special origin since she chose to wear it on engagement day, or if she just chose at random from what was then a much smaller jewel collection. (Update: The brooch was likely a 21st birthday gift from palace staff.)


Pearls, a brooch, and The Duke of Edinburgh by her side: some things never change.
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07 July 2017

Holyrood Week: Royal Society of Edinburgh Visit

The Queen, Patron, visited the Royal Society of Edinburgh to present the Royal Medals.

That's a wrap on Holyrood Week for 2017! I think Her Maj saved her best outfit of the week for last. And her best brooch of the week, too, for one can never go too wrong with Jardine Star.


The Queen now has a bit more business to take care of in London before her upcoming Balmoral break, including one big event: next week's State Visit from Spain.

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06 July 2017

Holyrood Week: Highland Spring Factory Visit

The Queen visited the Highland Spring factory in Blackford.
Royal Family

These buttons cry out for one of the pearl and diamond brooches, right? Instead, this is the outfit's second appearance with a gold and diamond brooch. Maybe next time!

Royal Family

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05 July 2017

Holyrood Week: Canal Opening, Stirling Castle Visit, and Audience at the Palace of Holyroodhouse

The Queen and The Duke of Edinburgh officially opened the Queen Elizabeth II Canal and visited The Kelpies in Scotland, followed by a visit to Stirling Castle for a service marking the 70th anniversary of The Queen's appointment as Colonel in Chief of the Argyll & Sutherland Highlanders.
Royal Family
For more: Zimbio gallery.

Today is a rare triple brooch day, including a doubled up badge appearance! Badges from both the Argyll & Sutherland Highlanders and the Royal Regiment of Scotland (of which the Highlanders are a part) made the cut for the first events of the day - although just the Highlanders badge was transferred over to the dress when the coat was removed.

Cpl Ben Maher/MoD/Crown copyright 2017

Today was also a triple horse day, which HM probably appreciated as much as we here appreciate a triple brooch day. The royal couple met a pair at The Kelpies, and then HM had to defend her posy of flowers from a hungry mascot.




Also today, The Queen received the Prime Minister of Canada, Justin Trudeau, for an audience at the Palace of Holyroodhouse.
For more: Zimbio gallery.

Our third brooch of the day has been getting quite a workout over the past year, hasn't it? I don't think the Maple Leaf has seen this much action since it was a Queen Elizabeth fave during World War II. A country's big birthday will do that do a brooch, I suppose. You can see the brooch a bit better on video:



And you can add this to the list of reasons she carries her handbag inside the "house": so nobody takes her spot.

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04 July 2017

Holyrood Week: Audiences, Investiture, and Garden Party

The Queen received the First Minister of Scotland and the Presiding Officer of the Scottish Parliament for audiences at the Palace of Holyroodhouse. Her Majesty also held an Investiture at the Palace.
For more: Video at  YouTube.

The brooch many thought may have been a 90th birthday present last year finally makes a 2017 appearance. It really does look like an eye from a distance...

Engagement and Wedding Rings 


The Queen, accompanied by The Duke of Edinburgh and The Duke of York, attended a Garden Party at the Palace of Holyroodhouse.
For more: Zimbio gallery.

I'm so curious to hear what everyone thinks of this new outfit. It's a lot of pink with the most sugary of pink brooches, plus a lot of textures. The pink buttons are a step too far for me. (Beneath the ever-present pearls, really?)
Royal Family

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03 July 2017

Holyrood Week: Ceremony of the Keys

The Queen arrived at the Palace of Holyroodhouse, Edinburgh, at the start of her annual week of Scottish engagements. Her Majesty was presented with the Keys of the City which she returned in the traditional Ceremony of the Keys. A Guard of Honor mounted in the Forecourt of the Palace was reviewed. 
Cpl Ben Maher/MoD/Crown copyright 2017

June's annual traditions roll right into July's annual traditions, and The Queen's working week in Scotland. Plus her other usual tradition of wearing the appropriate military badge for the occasion, of course.

Royal Regiment of Scotland Badge
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01 July 2017

New Portrait for the 150th Anniversary of Canada's Confederation

A new portrait of The Queen has been released to mark the 150th anniversary of Canada's confederation, as well as The Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall's current Canadian tour and Canada Day.

A very happy Canada Day and happy 150th birthday to you, Canada! The Queen of Canada is here to celebrate with you in copious amounts of gold and diamonds. To the press release:


In the portrait by Canadian photographer Ian Leslie Macdonald, Her Majesty is pictured wearing the Canadian maple leaf brooch she inherited from her mother in 2002. The brooch, which is made of platinum and set with diamonds, was given to Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother by her husband, King George VI, and was worn for the first time during the Royal couple’s visit to Canada in 1939. Over the years, the brooch was loaned to Princess Elizabeth (1951), The Duchess of Cornwall (2009) and The Duchess of Cambridge (2011) during their first visits to Canada. 

“Her Majesty has served Canada with steadfast devotion and remarkable skill for 65 years,” the Governor General said. “The release of this photographic portrait of The Queen wearing the maple leaf brooch is a fitting image of her love for this country and its people on the 150th anniversary of Confederation.” 


Just like Her Majesty's December message for the confederation anniversary, the diamond Maple Leaf Brooch was the obvious choice. She is otherwise wearing her standard set of day jewels, although the usual gold watch she wears - which was a gift to her on her first Canadian tour in 1951 - does take on a bit of extra meaning on this occasion.

The Maple Leaf Brooch does blend in an awful lot on this gold background, which is unfortunate. But all that gold certainly does make for a seriously regal picture.

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