Royal Ascot Jewels 2019: Day One

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The most wonderful royal time of the year is officially here, everybody! Here’s a look at the jewels worn for the first day of Royal Ascot!

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The Queen was joined by the Duke of York and two special guests in her carriage: King Willem-Alexander and Queen Maxima of the Netherlands, who stayed on after yesterday’s Garter Day ceremonies. (More on that event here!)

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For the first day of the races, the Queen wore light blue with one of her newer brooches, the Sapphire Jubilee Snowflake Brooch.

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As the name suggests, the brooch was a gift from the people of Canada to mark her Sapphire Jubilee in 2017. The brooch’s design is loosely inspired by a snowflake — you’ll note that it only has four sides, while snowflakes always have six. Interestingly, the ITV commentators from today’s appearance took a different approach to the piece, noting a resemblance to the North Star. (More on the brooch here!)

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Queen Maxima, delightfully, wore a fantastically bonkers hat and some major diamonds for the races today.

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Her earrings are made up of removable diamond clusters from the top of the Stuart Tiara, which she famously debuted in its full form in Britain last autumn. (Here’s a look at a previous appearance from the earrings!)

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She also wore the Dutch royal family’s gorgeous Diamond Trellis Bracelet, which was made during the reign of Queen Wilhelmina.

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The Duchess of Cornwall wore her daytime jewelry uniform: her favorite pearl drop earrings with her pearl choker necklace featuring a large diamond clasp.

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Beside her in the second carriage was the Duchess of Cambridge, who was gorgeous in light blue for the races. She accessorized her Elie Saab dress with blue topaz and diamond earrings from Kiki McDonough.

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Here’s a look at Kate’s entire outfit, which was my favorite of the day.

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The Princess Royal wore pearls with a classic piece from her jewelry box: her diamond and gold ribbon brooch. (More on the brooch here!)

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Zara Phillips wore sparkling earrings with disc-shaped drops for the first day of the meet.

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The York princesses, however, kept their jewelry predictably minimal, with the usual assortment of hoop earrings and bracelets. (What earrings would you have paired with Beatrice’s ensemble?)

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And the Countess of Wessex sparkled in pearl drop earrings, a diamond tennis bracelet, and her petite diamond rose brooch. That’s all for Day One of the event — tune in tomorrow for more Ascot jewels!