05 July 2021

Holyrood Week 2021 and Return to Windsor Castle

June 28: The Queen, accompanied by The Duke of Cambridge, started her annual week of engagements in Scotland, known as Holyrood Week.
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Big update today! The Queen returned to Scotland for her usual week of engagements, enlisting some family members to accompany her on some of her visits.

 
 
June 28: The Queen arrived at the Palace of Holyroodhouse and participated in the traditional Ceremony of the Keys.
UK Ministry of Defence 2021

A quick change of brooch was in order on Day 1, as the palace arrival includes a welcome from members of the Royal Regiment of Scotland and the appropriate badge is worn.


 
June 29: The Queen held audiences at the Palace of Holyroodhouse.
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The large Nizam brooch is just big enough to stand out on this dress, which we appreciate.

 
 
June 29: The The Queen, in her role as Colonel-in-Chief of The Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders and The Royal Regiment of Scotland, opened the redeveloped Argyll’s’ Museum in Stirling Castle.
UK Ministry of Defence 2021
 
An outfit and brooch change for the afternoon's engagement, again the appropriate badge.

 
 
June 30: The Queen, accompanied by The Princess Royal, visited Glasgow.
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The Albert Sapphire on blue is a can't miss combo.

Prince Albert's Sapphire Brooch

 
July 1: The Queen, accompanied by The Princess Royal, visited the Edinburgh Climate Change Institute at the University of Edinburgh.
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An unusual color combo here for a ruby brooch, but the red really fades away here. Almost looks like shading.

 
 
July 2: Back at Windsor Castle, The Queen received the German Chancellor.
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Back to Windsor and a little bit more work before some fun, breaking out an emerald for Angela Merkel.

 

July 4: The Queen presented a prize at the Royal Windsor Horse Show.
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And the fun: The Queen's been spotted regularly during this year's Royal Windsor Horse Show. A few prize presentations usually bring out a brooch or two, here a nice turquoise.

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27 June 2021

Audience at Buckingham Palace and Canadian Armed Forces Call

June 23: The Queen received the Prime Minister at Buckingham Palace for an audience.
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This was the first time The Queen and the PM have met in person for their weekly audience since the pandemic began, and a return to Buckingham Palace for The Queen after a lot of virtual work from Windsor Castle.



 
June 25: The Queen, as Colonel-in-Chief, presented the Legal Branch of the Canadian Armed Forces with a Royal Banner to mark their centenary.
Royal Family
 
A Canadian brooch was naturally in order here and it's nice to see one of the newer additions to the collection get another outing!

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21 June 2021

Royal Ascot 2021

June 19: The Queen attended Day 5 of Royal Ascot.
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The Queen back at Ascot might feel more like a sign of things going back to normal than the rest of the recent engagements have - but with Covid restrictions still in place, she kept her attendance to one day only. She used the occasion to bring back the Palm Leaf Brooch, always a popular choice but with the reduced appearances over the past year and half, one we haven't seen since 2019.

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16 June 2021

American and Australian Visits at Windsor Castle

June 13: The Queen received The President and First Lady of the United States at Windsor Castle.
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Summery floral dresses aren't the best of canvases for brooches, but the Jardine Star is trying its best.

 
 
 
June 15: The Queen received the Australian Prime Minister at Windsor Castle.
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The best known of the brooches with Australian connections makes an appearance here, but even the Wattle has trouble on those prints.

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12 June 2021

Trooping the Colour, G7 Summit, and Other Recent Events

June 12: A pared down version of Trooping the Colour was held to celebrate The Queen's Official Birthday at Windsor Castle.
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Larger than last year's but still not at the level of the London version of Trooping the Colour, The Queen repeated a recent favorite outfit and took the unusual step of not wearing a regimental badge for her birthday parade this year. (Last year, she opted for the Welsh Guards Badge; for Trooping the Colour, she usually favors the Guards Badge.)


 
June 11: The Queen and other members of the Royal Family attended events for the G7 Summit with world leaders. The Queen also attended an event for The Big Lunch.
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Bit of a surprise selection here, just the fifth time we've seen the Botswana Flower Brooch worn - a much more sizeable brooch in use than it seems in pictures alone.


 
June 9: The Queen received a Duke of Edinburgh Rose at Windsor Castle, ahead of what would have been Prince Philip's 100th birthday.
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A casual queen for a more personal engagement.

 
 
June 8: The Queen held virtual audiences from Windsor Castle.
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Another lovely surprise here; this is only the third time we've seen this butterfly brooch since the site has been operating. 


 
Finally, I have received some emails and comments so let me add a note on the blog's content at the moment: Not all recent engagements have been covered here. Covering everything and doing so on the day it happens isn't feasible right now. I appreciate your understanding.
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26 May 2021

HMS Queen Elizabeth Visit, Virtual Audiences, and a New Loan

May 22: The Queen visited HMS Queen Elizabeth at HM Naval Base in Portsmouth ahead of the ship's maiden deployment.

Royal Navy/Ministry of Defence 2021
 
The Queen donned a cashmere coat and wool crepe dress by Stewart Parvin with a Rachel Trevor Morgan hat for one of her rare (for these days) engagements outside the palace. The brooch was a gift from The Duke of Edinburgh, long referred to here (and elsewhere) as the Grima Ruby Brooch and referred to by the palace as a Scarab Brooch.

 
 

May 25: The Queen held virtual audiences from Windsor Castle.

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Another sorta look at a brooch, this one very triangular up top, which leads me to guess Queen Mary's Russian Brooch.
 
 

May 26: The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge hosted a drive-in cinema event for NHS staff at the Palace of Holyroodhouse in Edinburgh, Scotland. The Duchess of Cambridge's earrings are on loan from The Queen.

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And finally, a new loan for The Duchess of Cambridge! These earrings are part of the Dubai Looped Sapphire Demi-Parure, a gift to The Queen from Sheikh Rashid of Dubai in 1979. I can't say I've ever loved these revamped earrings, but the color does look stunning here.
 
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19 May 2021

Virtual Audiences

May 14 and 19: The Queen held virtual audiences from Windsor Castle.
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Guessing game season continues, with possibly a Cambridge Pearl Pendant and possibly a Six Petal Diamond Flower, or something along those lines.

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Otherwise, a photo of The Queen and The Prince of Wales was released to kick off The Queen's Green Canopy, an initiative to plant trees for Her Maj's Platinum (!) Jubilee in 2022. It was taken in March, at the same time the photos released around Easter were taken.
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12 May 2021

State Opening of Parliament, and Virtual Audiences

May 11: The Queen, accompanied by The Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall, traveled to the Palace of Westminster to open the Session of Parliament.
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Another "dressed down" State Opening called for an outfit we saw at Ascot in 2019 (the dress was worn for Prince Philip's 99th birthday picture last year) and a reappearance of the Aquamarine Clip Brooches. It feels like forever since we've seen them but in reality, just a year.
 
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The Prince of Wales and Duchess of Cornwall were also in attendance, The Duchess wearing The Queen Mother's Rock Crystal Brooch. 
 
 
May 10 and 12: The Queen held virtual audiences from Windsor Castle.
Royal Family screencap
 
In other recent news, its a mix of casual and pure brooch guessing for two virtual engagements.
 
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05 May 2021

Virtual Audiences

April 27: The Queen held audiences at Buckingham Palace via video link from Windsor Castle. 

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The Queen has resumed public duties with a group of virtual audiences. Her first public engagement after Prince Philip's funeral was this one, with the large Nizam of Hyderabad brooch.

 
 
April 29 and May 5: The Queen held more audiences at Buckingham Palace via video link from Windsor Castle.
 
And for the most recent two, it seems we get to resume the traditional audience brooch guessing.

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17 April 2021

Funeral of HRH The Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh

The Duke of Edinburgh was laid to rest at St. George's Chapel, Windsor Castle.
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Royal Family screencap
 

I don't have many words for this sad occasion or sad picture. We'll do what we do: the Richmond Brooch from Queen Mary is a familiar selection, in recent years worn for happier occasions such as The Duke and Duchess of Sussex's wedding and The Queen's 90th birthday service, but also no stranger to remembrance occasions, having been in regular use at the annual Festival of Remembrance.

 
 
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 The Duchess of Cornwall's brooch was a nod to The Duke of Edinburgh. She took over as Colonel-in-Chief of The Rifles from Prince Philip and this badge was commissioned for her by the Regiment.

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Finally, The Duchess of Cambridge wore two pieces on loan from The Queen, both of which she has worn previously: the Bahrain Pearl Drop Earrings and the Four Row Japanese Pearl Choker. She first wore the choker to attend the dinner held in honor of The Queen and The Duke of Edinburgh's platinum wedding anniversary in 2017.
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09 April 2021

The Duke of Edinburgh, 1921-2021

It is with deep sorrow that Her Majesty The Queen has announced the death of her beloved husband, His Royal Highness The Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. 

His Royal Highness passed away peacefully this morning at Windsor Castle.

The Duke of Edinburgh was 99 years old. May he Rest in Peace.

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Royal Voluntary Service Video Call, Royal Australian Air Force Memorial Visit, and Easter Photos

March 19: The Queen and The Duchess of Cornwall joined a video call thanking volunteers from the Royal Voluntary Service.
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Catching up on a few prior engagements before the day's sad news: the Cambridge Pearl Pendant had its first appearance of the year...

 
 
March 31: The Queen visited The Royal Australian Air Force Memorial.
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...the Australian Wattle Brooch made its first appearance since 2019 as a country-appropriate choice for The Queen's first engagement outside for the year...
 
 
 
April 2: Photographs of The Queen and The Prince of Wales, taken March 23 at Frogmore House, were released.
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...and finally, without any public Easter service, Easter weekend was marked by some new photos of monarch and heir.
 
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13 March 2021

British Science Week Video Call

March 12: The Queen participated in a video call celebrating British Science Week.
Royal Family
 
The Pearl Trefoil's making up for lost time after missing out on 2020, I guess.

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07 March 2021

Commonwealth Day Message and Recent Video Calls

March 7: The Queen's Commonwealth Day Message was released.
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Last year's Commonwealth Day service was one of the last appearances we had from The Queen outside of the palace before lockdown began, and this year's had to be cancelled. A message was released instead.

 
 
February 25: The Queen participated in a video call with health leaders about the Covid-19 vaccine.
Royal Family

The Queen was all quiet for the beginning of the year until the end of February, when we had a small flurry of business-as-usual stuff released (following news of Prince Philip's hospitalization and ahead of the Harry and Meghan interview). That included this appearance of the Six Petal Flower Brooch, worn while The Queen talked about her own experience getting vaccinated...

 
 
February 24: The Queen met virtually with government representatives in South Australia.
Royal Family

...and the Pearl Trefoil, worn while virtually unveiling a new statue of herself. We do not appear to have seen this old standby at all during the weirdness that was 2020.

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31 January 2021

2020: The Year in The Queen's Jewels

Later than usual and much shorter than usual but not forgotten, it's time for our annual look back at the year in The Queen's jewels. (You'll find all previous years linked here, on the In-Depth Features & Lists page.)

We usually look back at new jewels revealed, big bejeweled moments, and new loans in this yearly feature, but, well...a pandemic year didn't yield any of that. And our usual tally of the various brooches worn and which ones were worn most frequently has a different spin this year too: with only about 30 brooches seen and a reduced public schedule for The Queen, the ranking of the most frequently worn brooches for the year becomes simply the list of brooches we saw more than once. That's all it took and that's all we have for this year's abbreviated edition.

Kent Amethyst Brooch

Amethyst Bouquet Brooch

Ruby and Gold Flower Brooch

Gold Trellis Brooch

Jardine Star Brooch

Singapore Peranakan Diamond Jubilee Brooch

Prince Albert's Sapphire Brooch

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