18 May 2019

The Wedding of Lady Gabriella Windsor and Thomas Kingston

The Queen, The Duke of Edinburgh, and other Members of The Royal Family attended the wedding of Lady Gabriella Windsor and Mr. Thomas Kingston at St. George's Chapel, Windsor.
Royal Family Channel

Another family wedding at St. George's Chapel, yay!

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Starting with this site's leading lady: bright pink and one of her mother's brooches is about as trusty a combo as it gets for Her Maj, and this is no exception.



Now, the bride:

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From the Royal Family's press release:

Lady Gabriella’s wedding dress was a bespoke design by Luisa Beccaria. It was made of lace, embroidered with flowers and embellishments. Its blush shade came from layers of tulle and organdie beneath the lace, which created the body of the gown. The skirts fanned out into a long train. Her veil was made from layers of white tulle, together with embroidered flowers.

 The Bridesmaid and Pageboy outfits were also designed by Luisa Beccaria. Bridesmaids wore cream dresses with blush underlays and sashes, with flower rings in their hair to echo the bridal bouquet. Pageboys wore cream shirts and knickerbockers. Their shoes were by Papouelli.

Lady Gabriella wore a Russian Fringe style diamond tiara also worn by her grandmother, HRH Princess Marina, Duchess of Kent, and her mother, HRH Princess Michael of Kent, on their wedding days.

 Lady Gabriella’s bouquet featured a creamy ivory ‘Ella’ rose by David Austin, named for the bride, and myrtle, which has formed part of many Royal wedding bouquets in a tradition started by Queen Victoria. Other flowers incorporated included Juliet roses, Lily of the Valley and white and apricot sweet peas.

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The aforementioned Russian Fringe style diamond tiara is the Kent City of London Fringe Tiara, covered here at the other blog. (Some will say that the Royal Family has their information wrong and Princess Marina wore a different fringe tiara on her wedding day. That's the trouble with fringe tiaras - too many twin pieces!)

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Luisa Beccaria was a surprise designer choice to me; Lady Gabriella is usually dressed by the same designer for major royal events (previously, Catherine Walker; more recently, Claire Mischevani). You never have to convince me of the merits of a fringe tiara, but the sharp lines work as a nice contrast to the rest of this tremendously romantic bridal outfit. The overall effect gives me a strong flashback to the wedding ensemble worn by the bride's aunt, Princess Alexandra of Kent. Gabriella made a stunning bride.

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Also in romantic mode - if we assume that loads of feathers = romance - were the rest of the ladies in this branch of the Kent family. I'd lose at least half of the layered elements of Princess Michael's outfit. Lady Frederick Windsor, on the other hand, I find charmingly festive in her Catherine Walker coatdress and hat. (Much like her sister-in-law, Sophie tends to be designer-loyal for major events. Catherine Walker's serving her well of late.)

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Mustard and navy might be the opposite of charmingly festive, as color combos go. The Princess Royal dug straight into her usual repeats for this occasion.

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Speaking of digging into one's closet...The Duchess of Gloucester wore this headband for Trooping the Colour in 1984. I suppose we should just be glad she left the '80s hair in the decade it belonged.

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You never have to sell me on this shade of pink for a wedding guest, so Sarah, Duchess of York was an easy win for me. Updated and understated.

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Princess Beatrice was decidedly not understated in her mess of a navy dress. Let's have a do over without the criss crossy deal at the top and see how it goes next time, shall we?

These are not all the guests, but I'll leave you to further spotting. Happy royal wedding weekend!

13 May 2019

Royal Windsor Horse Show

May 8-12: The Queen attended the Royal Windsor Horse Show at Home Park, Windsor.

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The Royal Windsor Horse Show: lots of sightings of a jolly monarch in casual mode, and a few more dressed up occasions for us to take a look at.

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May 11: The Singapore Peranakan Diamond Jubilee Brooch was paired with some other Windsor Castle staples, the Pearl Stud Earrings and a Single Strand Pearl Necklace.

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May 12: Sometimes Her Maj ditches the pendant on the Round Cambridge Emerald Brooch when her outfit color leans toward the teal end of things, but - needless to say - I'm always happier when the pendant's in place.

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May 12: A sparkly jacket took the place of any brooch for the final pageant. The rest of her usual accessories were back in place on the last day.

08 May 2019

Meeting Baby Sussex

Chris Allerton/@sussexroyal

Here's a cute twist on our usual coverage of Her Maj's current events: The Queen and The Duke of Edinburgh met their eighth great-grandchild, Archie Harrison Mountbatten-Windsor, at Windsor Castle today! Awwwww. The royal social media accounts shared this sweet family picture with The Duke and Duchess of Sussex and The Duchess' mother.

(Since this is the Jewel Vault, I shall note for you that The Queen is wearing her Pearl Stud Earrings and at least one strand of pearls - her usual "casual" uniform.)

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And the happy family, for good measure.

In other queening news, the Royal Windsor Horse Show is underway. We will have a round up some of The Queen's appearances at the end of the event.

07 May 2019

Order of Merit Luncheon

The Queen hosted a luncheon for members of the Order of Merit at Windsor Castle.
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Well, well, well, a rare sighting of The Duke of Edinburgh! He is not just accompanying The Queen here, of course; he is a member of the Order of Merit himself.

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The Centenary Rose is also making its first appearance in some time (last seen at Ascot 2018). I think it definitely improves with a jewel tone as a background instead of the pastels and sweeter pinks Her Maj often wears it on.

06 May 2019

Church at Windsor

May 5: The Queen attended church at the Royal Chapel of All Saints, Windsor Park.

Seems like all the baby commotion around Windsor brought us a bonus glimpse of The Queen this weekend. No complaints here, although it's a little hard to make out the brooch. I'll turn it over to you for guesses.

Unidentified Brooch

01 May 2019

Audiences at Buckingham Palace

The Queen held audiences at Buckingham Palace.
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The Queen is back in London after her traditional Easter break at Windsor and *squints* it looks like the Diamond and Pearl Navette Brooch is making its 2019 debut.

26 April 2019

Funeral of Jeanie, Countess of Carnarvon

Thursday: The Queen attended the funeral of Jeanie, Countess of Carnarvon, at St. Michael and All Angels Church, Highclere.

It's not often we see The Queen attend a funeral, but this was a close friend. Jeanie, Countess of Carnarvon, was the widow of the 7th Earl of Carnarvon (Lord Porchester or "Porchie"), The Queen's racing manager and friend. Their daughter Carolyn is married to The Queen's current racing manager, John Warren.