State Visit from The Netherlands, Welcome Ceremony

The Queen, with The Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall, welcomed King Willem-Alexander and Queen Máxima of The Netherlands at the beginning of their State Visit to the United Kingdom.

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Let the state visit show begin! The Queen started us off with a repeated outfit and brooch selection in my favorite shade.

Amethyst Bouquet Brooch

Queen Mary's Button Earrings

Three Strand Pearl Necklace

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The Duchess of Cornwall also selected a repeated outfit - one of the smartest in her rotation right now, and one I'm always happy to see. She paired it with her tried and true pearl favorites.

Everyday Pearl Pendant Earrings
Four Strand Pearl Choker with Small Diamond Clasp 

Royal Family

 
Queen Máxima reliably brought a new outfit for the trip, a soft pink in interesting fabric by Claes Iversen. Looks sparkly. And she definitely sparkled with her suite of pink jewels. These gems are usually reported as kunzite and diamonds; the brooch, which can be worn as independent pieces, is almost an homage to the mega Cullinan III and IV Brooch. The Cullinan, of course, was cut in Amsterdam, and The Queen wore her "chips" for a visit to the jeweler in 1958.

Updates:

Royal Family

 The Queen's brooch was transferred to her dress when the party moved inside for lunch and a look through the Royal Collection's special exhibit of Dutch-related items. Gifts will also have been exchanged; The Queen appointed The King a supernumerary Knight of the Garter, so we'll see him wear that at the state banquet.

Royal Family

Royal Family

Other members of the Royal Family present included The Countess of Wessex and The Duke and Duchess of Gloucester.

Clarence House

Later in the day, The King and Queen joined The Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall for tea at Clarence House. Camilla wore her Cosmos Clip Brooches.


Coming up tonight: The state banquet! According to reports, The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge will be present and Princess Mabel of Orange-Nassau has been invited.

British Champions Day at Royal Ascot

The Queen visited Ascot Racecourse for the QIPCO British Champions Day.

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It's Her Maj's annual autumn Ascot appearance, with the Pearl Triangle and one of my favorite newer outfits. Love this shade of blue with an orange accent.

Pearl Triangle Brooch

Queen Mary's Button Earrings

Three Strand Pearl Necklace

Visit to Bracknell

The Queen visited Bracknell to reopen The Lexicon shopping center.

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Although I love this clip brooch, the hat flowers here would be so great paired with the Small Pink sapphire. (Not matchy enough for Her Maj, of course.) We've also seen this minty fresh outfit with The Queen Mother's Shell Brooch.

Royal Family

Perhaps she picked up some new color ideas while having a look around the shopping center, hmm?

Diamond Art Deco Double Clip Brooch

Queen Mary's Button Earrings

Three Strand Pearl Necklace

Audiences at Buckingham Palace

The Queen held audiences at Buckingham Palace.

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Just the third appearance of the year for the Small Pink sapphire. It's gonna have to step up its game if it wants to make the annual favorites list again.

Small Pink and Diamond Brooch

Queen Mary's Button Earrings

Three Strand Pearl Necklace

Gold Watch

Engagement and Wedding Rings

RAF Club 100th Anniversary and Audiences at Buckingham Palace

The Queen, Patron, visited the Royal Air Force Club on Piccadilly, London, to mark its centenary year.

Royal Family

Her Maj is fully back in action after her Balmoral break, huzzah. The Flame Lily Brooch is back in action for the first time in over a year, double huzzah.

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The RAF Club commissioned a new portrait for their 100th anniversary. Details from the Royal Family: "Started in February 2018 and set in the White Drawing Room of Windsor Castle, the portrait was painted by Benjamin Sullivan – who won the BP Portrait Award in 2017. The portrait includes a number of RAF elements: in the background is a Spitfire – ‘S’ for ‘Strike’ - from 253 Squadron from which the artist's grandfather, F/Lt JM Sullivan, flew over Albania during WW2. The image on the right is a portion of ‘Hurricanes in Flight‘ (1944), by Eric Ravilous, painted as part of his work for the War Artists’ Advisory Committee. Ravilous lived and worked near Benjamin Sullivan, and in the 1930’s, as a member of the Great Bardfield Artists, whose body of work is now housed at the Fry Art Gallery in Saffron Walden."

Royal Family

The portrait also includes all The Queen's daily essentials: the Three Strand Pearl Necklace, Queen Mary's Button Earrings, the Gold Watch, the Engagement and Wedding Rings, the black Launer handbag. And the brooch, of course: The Queen Mother's Aquamarine Art Deco Brooch.

Flame Lily Brooch

Queen Mary's Button Earrings

Three Strand Pearl Necklace

October 16: The Queen held audiences at Buckingham Palace.
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Thank goodness for pendants; otherwise, we'd miss out on spotting the Round Cambridge Emerald Brooch for the first time this year.

Round Cambridge Emerald Brooch

Queen Mary's Button Earrings

Three Strand Pearl Necklace

Gold Watch

Engagement and Wedding Rings

Princess Eugenie Wears One of Queen Victoria's Wheat-Ear Brooches

For the private evening dinner held after the wedding of Princess Eugenie and Jack Brooksbank, the bride debuted another loan from her grandmother, The Queen.

Alex Bramall/Royal Family

The catch is that we can't actually see the loan. The Royal Family's press release was kind enough to let us know anyway that Eugenie wore one of Queen Victoria's Wheat-Ear Brooches in her hair:

"Princess Eugenie also wore a hair slide belonging to Her Majesty The Queen. Queen Victoria’s Wheat-Ear Brooches were originally commissioned by William IV in 1830 for Queen Adelaide. They were passed down to Queen Victoria in 1837, and eventually to The Queen in 1952. Her Majesty has worn them as both hair slides and brooches."

I believe this is the first time The Queen has loaned out any of the Wheat-Ear Brooches. It's a significant loan, since these are heirlooms of the Crown and are some of the oldest pieces The Queen still wears. It's lovely to see them in use by a new generation of Queen Victoria's descendants. (Or at least to know one is in use, if not exactly to see.)

The Greville Emerald Kokoshnik Tiara

The Greville Emerald Kokoshnik Tiara
Boucheron

Boucheron made this tiara for Mrs. Greville in 1919, featuring brilliant and rose cut diamonds pavé-set in platinum with a central 93.70 carat emerald and six emeralds on either side. It was left to Queen Elizabeth (later The Queen Mother) as part of the Greville bequest in 1942. The tiara later passed to The Queen and it remained unworn by the Royal Family until 2018, when it was loaned to Princess Eugenie for her wedding day.

Read about the tiara's full story here, at Order of Splendor.

Appearances: 
12 October 2018: The Wedding of Princess Eugenie and Jack Brooksbank