28 June 2013

Howe Barracks Visit

The Queen, Royal Colonel, this morning visited The Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders, 5th Battalion The Royal Regiment of Scotland at Howe Barracks, Canterbury.

So, this is amusing:
A Union Jack onesie! Now I know what my wardrobe's been missing all these years.
The Queen was far more standard, of course, in her corresponding badge.


Photo: PA
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26 June 2013

Grenadier Guards and Audience

The Queen, Colonel-in-Chief, hosted the Grenadier Guards in the gardens of Buckingham Palace. She inspected The Queen's Company, presented New Colours to Nijmegen Company, and held a Garden Party for the Grenadier Guards Association. Earlier, she received the Governor-General of the Bahamas for an audience.
Click for a video from ITN Source.
For the audience, it looks like the Pearl Trefoil (maybe? Eh, these printed dresses), but the Grenadier Guards is far more straightforward: regimental badge it is.


Photo: ITN Source screencap
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Grenadier Guards Badges

The Queen was appointed Colonel of the Grenadier Guards back in 1942, when she was still Princess Elizabeth. As Queen, she is their Colonel-in-Chief, and she has at least two badges she uses in connection with the regiment.
Badge examples
The first features a crown over the Royal Cypher mirrored within the blue Royal Garter bearing the words Honi soit qui mal y pense ("Evil be to him who evil thinks," or as it is translated elsewhere on this site, "Shame on he who thinks ill of it" which is also the motto of the Order of the Garter). Today's badges would include The Queen's ER cypher (Elizabeth Regina), though she still wears a badge bearing her father's cypher.
She has also worn the cap badge, which depicts a fired grenade, in brooch form. As with the rest of her regimental badges, these are worn as appropriate when on engagements pertaining to the Grenadier Guards.

Appearances:
22 March 2018: Grenadier Guards Ceremony for The Duke of York
26 June 2013: Grenadier Guards Colours and Garden Party

Photos: Grenadier Guards/WikiCommons/Cecil Beaton/PA
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25 June 2013

Queen Elizabeth Prize for Engineering and Audiences

The Queen presented the inaugural Queen Elizabeth Prize for Engineering, a £1 million global prize for groundbreaking engineering work with a worldwide benefit to humanity, at a reception at Buckingham Palace. Earlier, she received several people for audiences.
Click above for video from ITNSource.
For her audiences, she wore the Cambridge Pearl Pendant, but the prize reception is a little less clear - I'm going with the larger Nizam Rose brooch. Yes? No? (Updated with a clearer look via video: yes, this is the Nizam.)


Photo: ITN Source screencap
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23 June 2013

Al Habtoor Royal Windsor Cup

The Queen attended the final of the Al Habtoor Royal Windsor Cup at the Guards Polo Club and presented the prizes.
 
She's been on a winning streak in the blues lately, why not keep it up?


Photos:PacificCoastNews
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22 June 2013

Royal Ascot, Day Five

The Queen honored Ascot Races with her presence today.
And that's it! Ascot is over, and the Queen's going out in her Wedgwood best, complete with diamonds and pearls.
I'm quite pleased with the Ascot brooch show this year, aren't you? Something old, something new (and something kinda new), something borrowed (from the Queen Mother's look, that is), and something blue.

Photos:Getty Images
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21 June 2013

Royal Ascot, Day Four

The Queen honored Ascot Races with her presence today.

I love this tweet sent by @BritishMonarchy:
Somebody's still riding yesterday's high! Grinning from ear to ear indeed.
And she continues to celebrate her win with more delicious jewels. I never object to an outing of Albert's sapphire!


Photo: Getty Images
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20 June 2013

Royal Ascot, Day Three

The Queen honored Ascot Races with her presence today. Her horse, Estimate, won the Gold Cup, making Her Majesty the first reigning monarch to take home the prize.
Click above for an article with video and pictures from the Daily Mail.
There is literally nothing about this that doesn't give me the jumpy claps. Right?!

Photos:Mail/Channel 4 screencap/Getty Images
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19 June 2013

Royal Ascot, Day Two

The Queen honored Ascot Races with her presence today.
Click here for an article and pictures from the Daily Mail.
I watched the carriage procession today, and listened to the fashion correspondent talk about the Queen's mint green coat and floral dress by Peter Enrione with a matching Angela Kelly hat...and then she mentioned an emerald and diamond brooch that we see frequently.
Au contraire! This is something new, or "new" as the case may be. I don't think I've seen this one before, an Art Deco diamond brooch with a central emerald. I'm not sure I like it, necessarily, but I sure do like surprises.


Photos:Getty Images
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The Emerald and Diamond Sarpech Brooch

The Emerald and Diamond Sarpech Brooch
This brooch is labeled as a sarpech, or "a turban ornament that was worn by significant Hindu and Muslim princes". Made in 1920, it is an Art Deco design with Indian inspiration featuring a curved central shape set with multiple cuts of diamonds in platinum and white gold. Below, an emerald set with a diamond surround sits between diamond tassels with diamond pendants. The brooch was sold at Christie's* in the Paris Jewels sale in November 2011 for €49,000 ($65,643) and was first publicly worn by the Queen in June 2013, during Royal Ascot. It seems likely it was a gift to the Queen, though a personal purchase is also possible.

*Thanks to Lorenzo for sharing this find in the comments, and to Gill for linking to it at the Royal Jewels of the World Message Board!

Appearances:
19 June 2013: Royal Ascot, Day Two

Photo: Getty Images
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18 June 2013

Royal Ascot, Day One

The Queen honored Ascot Races with her presence today.
Click above for video from 7News; click here for an article from the Daily Mail.
And we have a winner! As requested by commenter Katharine Naomi on our Ascot flashback, the Queen wore the Rose Gold Brooch. We haven't seen it on this color before (looks pink to me, though peach was the official description), and it certainly complements the colors of gold that seem to be present in this mystery brooch.
Many of you asked for a hat shape variation. Well, we didn't get that, but we did get some design variation: this is not an Angela Kelly original but an ensemble from two of the other designers that serve Her Maj, a Stewart Parvin coat and dress and a hat by Rachel Trevor-Morgan. You like?


Photo:7News
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17 June 2013

Garter Day

The Queen gave a Luncheon Party for the Companions of the Most Noble Order of the Garter. A Service was held in St. George's Chapel this afternoon.
Click above for an article, pictures and video from the Daily Mail.
Well, Her Maj ignored my request for sapphires, but she's compensated by giving us another look at a little pair of earrings we've seen once before on the blog, these diamond pendant jobs. I'll take it.
I didn't really see a bracelet or watch, though - possibly under the gloves, not that extra jewels are ever easy to pick out from under the robe.


Photos:MalOnline screencap/WPA Pool/Getty Images
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16 June 2013

Flashback: Royal Ascot

Royal Ascot is a fun week on the Queen's calendar. The five day race meeting, held at Ascot Racecourse, gives the Queen a chance to indulge her passion for horses and gives us a chance to see a string of brooch appearances. She's based at nearby Windsor Castle for the week, arriving via a procession of horse-drawn landaus around the racecourse before taking her spot in the Royal Enclosure to watch the races. The meeting is held in the third week in June in the thick of the royal busy season, coming right after Trooping the Colour and Garter Day.

If you combine the multiple decades the Queen has attended Ascot, plus the multiple days each year, you get hundreds of appearances. That's far too many to attempt to cover in a flashback, so we'll stick to the line up from the most recent years (some previously appeared at the other blog). These all include the standard three strand pearl necklace and button earrings, plus a wide range of brooches.









Current Ascot Years:


Photos: Getty Images/Daylife/Polfoto/Corbis/Bauer Griffin
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15 June 2013

Trooping the Colour and Hospital Visit

Her Majesty, accompanied by members of the Royal Family, was present at The Queen's Birthday Parade on Horse Guards Parade at which The Queen's Colour of the 1st Battalion Welsh Guards was trooped.
Click above for an article with video and pictures from the BBC.
It was a quiet end of the week for the Queen's actual events (on Thursday she held an investiture, though I saw nothing to give a brooch hint, and took the salute at the Household Division Beating Retreat in the Guards' Badge) but other problems made headlines: someone defaced the Queen's portrait at Westminster Abbey (why couldn't they have picked one of the dodgy portraits to mess with and not such a brilliant one, le sigh) and the Jubilee barge crashed and lost a crown. Oy.
Thankfully, Trooping the Colour went well as always (well, except for a slight fainting issue, I guess). The Duke of Kent, the Queen's cousin, rode with her in place of the Duke of Edinburgh - a good solution for both parties, since the DoK had a mild stroke earlier this year and wasn't quite up to such a long period on horseback. For the second year running, they traveled by glass coach instead of a phaeton (open carriage) due to weather concerns. The Queen was lovely in blue and wore the Guards' Badge as her brooch, as she always does.

Later, she made a quick clothes switch and donned her trusty Aquamarine Clips for a visit to the DoE at the London Clinic.

Three Strand Pearl Necklace
Photos:BBC screencap/PacificCoastNews
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12 June 2013

Flashback: The Garter Service

June is always a busy month for the Queen, and it includes one particularly packed week: usually Trooping the Colour on Saturday, Garter Day on Monday, and Royal Ascot beginning on Tuesday. Garter Day is the annual meeting of the Order of the Garter at Windsor Castle, an event full of color and steeped in tradition - with a few jewels for added interest.

Started by Edward III in 1348, the Most Noble Order of the Garter is the oldest order of chivalry in Britain. It is the most senior order, with members personally chosen by the sovereign and limited to just 24 knights, plus additional royal knights and ladies (both from the British royal family and selected foreign sovereigns), making it quite an exclusive club.

Garter Day at Windsor Castle starts with the Queen investing any new Companions with their insignia (appointments, if there are any, are announced on St. George's Day, April 23) followed by lunch. They then walk to St. George's Chapel in an impressive procession for a service, and return afterwards via car and carriage. They are outfitted in their full Garter gear for the occasion, including the Mantle, Bonnet, Collar and Great George - this is usually the only time in the year when we see the mantle and bonnet in use.

The Queen also wears formal evening jewelry for the event. Bracelets and evening watches are present, though they are hard to see thanks to the mantle (ditto for any necklaces, which if present are covered). But earrings are allowed to shine bright, and those are the focus of our jewel flashback.
Unsurprisingly, the Queen picks jewels that match one of the colors of the Garter ensemble: white (pearls and diamonds), red (rubies), or blue (sapphires). Past choices have included:
For the past few years, she's alternated the colorful options, using sapphires one year, rubies the next, and so on: George VI Sapphire Earrings (2007), Queen Mary's Ruby Cluster Earrings (2008), Dubai Looped Sapphire Demi-Parure Earrings (2009), Queen Victoria's Crown Ruby Earrings (2010, 2012), Sapphire Tassel Demi-Parure Earrings (2011). Since then, she has returned to white stones.

Garter Day In Depth
2014
2015 
2016
2017 - Service Cancelled
2018
2019 

Photos: PA/Getty Images/Corbis/Reuters
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Audience at Buckingham Palace

The Queen received the Prime Minister of Canada at Buckingham Palace
I'll say the Maple Leaf - obvious guess - but it's hard to see.

Brooch, TBD

Photo: PA
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11 June 2013

Audience at Buckingham Palace

The Queen received the Governor-General of Australia at Buckingham Palace.
This one hasn't made a public appearance since the blog started! Dee-lightful.


Photo: PA
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10 June 2013

Hospital Visit

The Queen visited the Duke of Edinburgh at the London Clinic, where he is currently hospitalized following an exploratory operation.
Click above for an article and video from the BBC.
It's Prince Philip's 92nd birthday today, and both the Queen and Prince Edward arrived bearing birthday cards, aww. The palace says he's doing well and that he'll be resting for two months following his two week hospital stay - news you have to imagine the active DoE wasn't delighted to hear!


Photos:BBC screencap/Getty Images
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09 June 2013

Flashback: Trooping the Colour

The Queen's official birthday celebration (held apart from her actual April birthday, for better weather) is marked with the sovereign's annual birthday parade, also known as Trooping the Colour. This is held annually on a Saturday in June, and the Queen has attended every year of her reign except 1955, when it was cancelled because of a national rail strike. For the first few decades, she rode sidesaddle in uniform.
In uniform through the decades, including with baby Prince Edward on the balcony
The Queen's uniforms most often included her Order of the Garter riband, star, and medals. She rode until 1986, which was the last year her horse Burmese (a gift from the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, and her trusty Trooping partner since 1969) was used. Burmese retired and so did the Queen; from 1987 on, she has typically ridden in a phaeton (open carriage) and has ceased wearing a military uniform.
1987 (left), 1988 (right)
In 1987 she wore the Guards' Badge, one brooch to represent all five Household Regiments; in 1988, she wore the Dorset Bow Brooch. By 1989, she returned to the Guards' Badge and she has continued that tradition in every following year.
1989-2012
There are a few years at the beginning when the Queen combined the Guards' Badge with an individual regimental badge, but she soon stopped that practice and allowed the one large badge to cover all appropriate representation. Trooping the Colour is the one occasion each year for which the Guards' Badge is used. She naturally combines this with her standard button earrings and triple strand of pearls.

Trooping the Colour on the Blog:
2014
2015
2016
2017
2018
2019
2020 (Welsh Guards Badge)

Photos: Associated Newspapers/PA/Getty Images/Corbis
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07 June 2013

BBC Broadcasting House Opening

The Queen officially opened BBC's rebuilt Broadcasting House in London.
Click above for an article and video from the BBC.
You can't help but wish the Duke (who is "progressing satisfactorily" at the hospital) could have accompanied her as planned for this somewhat awkward visit, planned news photobomb and all. Surely he would have dropped some choice words. But the Queen had a few of her own, including referring to the famous Glastonbury Festival as "the place you get covered in mud" (true) and greeting the gift of a  radio with "I don’t get an awful lot of chance to listen to the radio", which is what I would say before tossing it in the re-gift pile.


Photos:BBC screencap/PA
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06 June 2013

Buckingham Palace Garden Party and Investiture

The Queen invested the Duke of Edinburgh with the Order of New Zealand in the presence of the High Commissioner for New Zealand at Buckingham Palace. Later, she hosted a garden party, accompanied by other members of the royal family.
Click above for an article and video from the Telegraph.
Uh oh. Following today's business, the DoE was "admitted to the London Clinic for an exploratory operation following abdominal investigations." The palace says he could be there for two weeks, which means he would miss some of the biggest events of the year, including Trooping the Colour, the Order of the Garter ceremony, and Royal Ascot - not to mention his 92nd birthday. Get well soon, Phil. (Click here for another article on today's events.)
 On a happier note, the Queen wore the Flame Lily Brooch again (for the garden party, following the petite Greville Scroll - which practically disappeared into her floral dress - for the Order of New Zealand presentation). I always forget how much I adore that delicate piece of artwork until she sports it, and then I fall in love all over again.


Photos:Telegraph screencap/PA
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05 June 2013

Audiences at Buckingham Palace

The Queen received the Ambassador of Burkina Faso and the Ambassador of Belarus at Buckingham Palace.
This is a tricky one. I say Sapphire Chrysanthemum, do you concur?


Photo: PA
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04 June 2013

Coronation Anniversary Service

The Queen, accompanied by the Duke of Edinburgh and other members of the Royal Family, attended a service at Westminster Abbey commemorating the 60th anniversary of the Coronation.
Click for video from the BBC.
We don't see HM bust out the brooch from the Brazilian Aquamarine Parure that much all on its own, but on this occasion it makes perfect sense: the aquamarine parure began its life as a gift from Brazil to mark her coronation. The brooch wasn't actually given to her until 1958, but never mind that. Significance.


Photos:BBC Screencap/WireImage
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03 June 2013

Royal National Institute of Blind People Reception

The Queen attended a gala reception for the Royal National Institute of Blind People at St James' Palace.
Click here for an article and gallery.
You might recognize this dress from the pre-wedding dinner for William and Kate's wedding. I think it was better matched to the gold and diamond jewelry she wore that night than to this pearl option (a longer three strand necklace plus the Duchess of Teck earrings) but I won't give her a hard time: poor HM was without her beau for the night, as the DoE is under the weather. Supposedly he'll be all better for tomorrow's coronation anniversary service, so let's hope that holds true.


Photo: PA
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02 June 2013

Flashback: The Coronation

Queen Elizabeth II was crowned at Westminster Abbey on June 2, 1953.
The 60th anniversary of the Queen's coronation is being marked with several celebrations, including the rebroadcasting of the coronation film and a service coming up this week. Last year, for the Diamond Jubilee, we had a series of posts on the other blog commemorating the coronation, including the Queen's ornate Norman Hartnell gown and some of the crown jewels used, so this flashback will be brief.
We haven't touched much on the crown jewels here, but we have covered the Imperial State Crown (which she wore after the actual crowning, which was done with St. Edward's Crown), and the Sovereign's Ring. She arrived wearing the George IV State Diadem and carrying her coronation bouquet. She followed tradition and wore the Coronation Necklace and Earrings, as well as her engagement and wedding rings and a petite Jaeger-LeCoultre watch. Her mantle was draped with the Collar and Great George of the Order of the Garter.

Above: The Coronation on YouTube, Part 1 of 7 (click through for more)
If you're in the mood for more coronation fun today, in addition to the film embedded above, The Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II is a great documentary available on YouTube, as are many other gems.

Photos:Royal Collection/Hulton Archive/ITV/PA
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01 June 2013

Epsom Derby

The Queen, accompanied by other members of the Royal Family, attended Investec Derby Day at Epsom Downs Racecourse.
The Epsom Derby is another annual event for the Queen, this time of a fun nature, though we don't have a flashback this time around. Her brooch choice did not go unnoticed - on a weekend of anniversaries, she choose the brooch she wore when announcing her engagement in 1947.

Photos:Getty Images/Reuters
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