This year marks the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee (as well as the Olympics, so if you are headed to London this summer yay for you!). I found out that the exhibit this year at Buckingham Palace is, apropos enough, some of the Queen’s best diamonds. I thought I would share a few pics of some of my personal favorite royal jewels, because, well, it’s Tuesday, I’m buried in revisions, and I love to look at some sparkly. I tried to keep it to the Queen’s own jewels, not crown stuff or complicated things like the Cullinan diamonds or the crowns. They deserve their own post later.
And if you’re still not done with style and sparkle, be sure and check out the crazy that was the Met Ball last night. Gwyneth…why???
Jewel One: The Girls of Great Britain and Ireland Tiara (my personal favorite of all the royal tiaras!). As you might have guessed, this was a wedding gift to Queen Mary from (yep) some girls of Great Britain and Ireland. In her thank-you note, Mary wrote “I need scarcely assure you that the tiara will ever be one of my most valued wedding gifts,” and it has been ever since
Jewel Two: Queen Alexandra’s Kokoshnik Tiara. Because I am a sucker for anything “Russian”, and this was a silver wedding anniversary gift to Queen Alexandra (the empress of “never enough bling”), based on tiaras belonging to her sister Empress Marie of Russia…
Jewel Three: The queen’s 18th birthday bracelet…
Jewel Four: Some brooches (because I couldn’t choose just one from a lady who loves her a sparkly brooch!). But my own fave is the sapphire Prince Albert brooch, a wedding gift from Albert to Victoria and willed to the Crown after her death…
Jewel Five: The queen’s 3-carat engagement ring…
And Jewel Six: (yes, yes, it wasn’t the queen’s at all, but Princess Margaret’s, and was sadly sold after her death, but I am in deep, deep love with the Poltimore Tiara)
And there you have it! Just a few examples from the vast royal treasure cave. I like this because they have something personal about them and the queen seems to like them too. What are some of your favorites??
I am a royalty fan, and have many books (some on order) about the crown/personal jewels. The Queen seems to have her own personal favs, including the diamond/pearl studs that belonged to Queen Mary. Its lovely to see the photographs.
Very interesting and enjoyable post.
I noticed that Queen Elizabeth has several pearl necklaces of various lengths and number of strands.
I love the Girls of Great Britain and Ireland tiara. So delicately beautiful. To me, this is what a tiara should look like.
I’ll have to watch Fashion Police to see if they dis Gwneth!!
Thanks, Amanda! I love just about anything sparkly. I am with Diane. That Girls of Great Britain and Ireland tiara is lovely. I don’t like the heavier crowns that look like they would hurt one’s neck to wear.
It’s my favorite too! It’s delicate and pretty, while also having enough diamonds and sparkle to say “I am the queen!”…just what everyone pictures a tiara to be…
Thank you for sharing these wonderful pictures. Once again I’m learning new and very interesting things in my pursuit of romance!
Jewel 1, the tiara, is lovely as is the sapphire broach. What attracted me in many of the pictures were her pearls. They always look nice and most people can afford them.
All the sparkle is lovely, but a girl needs a place to wear them. Realistically, one would have to be very wealth to have the right place to wear them, not to mention afford them. Not too many people wear tiaras to do laundry, clean house, or weed the garden.
Thanks for an enjoyable post.
Jewel 1, the tiara, is lovely as is the sapphire broach. What attracted me in many of the pictures were her pearls. They always look nice and most people can afford them.
All the sparkle is lovely, but a girl needs a place to wear them. Realistically, one would have to be very wealth to have the right place to wear them, not to mention afford them. Not too many people wear tiaras to do laundry, clean house, or weed the garden.
Thanks for an enjoyable post.