On Friday, members of the extended British royal family arrived at St. James’s Church, Piccadilly in London for a ceremony blessing the marriage of one of their own. Here’s a look at the jewels worn at the wedding of Flora Ogilvy and Timothy Vesterberg.
The bride at yesterday’s wedding is Flora Ogilvy, the daughter of James and Julia Ogilvy. She’s a granddaughter of Princess Alexandra, the Hon. Lady Ogilvy (who is a first cousin of the Queen) and the late Sir Angus Ogilvy. Flora has a master’s degree in art history from the Courtauld Institute of Art, and she works as a curator and lecturer.
The groom, Timothy Vesterberg, is an investment banker working in London. Originally from Sweden, he’s also a retired ice hockey player. Above, Timothy and Flora are pictured with their parents and bridesmaids. On the left are Maud and Isabella Windsor, the daughters of Lord and Lady Frederick Windsor, and on the right is Victoria Litchfield.
The bridal party also included another of Flora’s cousins, Lady Marina Charlotte Windsor. Marina is the elder daughter of the Earl and Countess of St. Andrews (and a granddaughter of the Duke and Duchess of Kent).
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The couple’s marriage was celebrated with a service on Friday, but they’ve actually already been married for a year. The two tied the knot on September 26, 2020, in a ceremony at the Chapel Royal at St. James’s Palace in London. For that small, private wedding, Flora wore a dress by Emilia Wickstead and diamond and pearl earrings borrowed from her grandmother, Princess Alexandra. A few days after the wedding, Flora shared a photo on Instagram, adding, “We are truly overjoyed and look forward to celebrating next year.”
For Friday’s celebration in London, Flora wore more jewels borrowed from her grandmother with a gown made by London-based bridal designer Phillipa Lepley.
Princess Alexandra again loaned Flora her pearl and diamond frame earrings, but this time she added an even more important jewel to the ensemble: the Ogilvy Tiara.
The tiara, believed to be the only one that Alexandra owns personally, was commissioned for the princess by her husband, Angus Ogilvy, as a wedding gift. He asked Collingwood to craft the jewel using a set of existing diamond and pearl floral ornaments. The tiara is a particularly versatile one: the pearl centers of the flowers can be swapped out for turquoises or sapphires.
Alexandra debuted the tiara at the ball held the night before her wedding in April 1963. In the photo above, taken in the 1970s, she wears the sapphire setting of the jewel. To the best of my knowledge, Flora is only the second person ever to wear the tiara in public. A special jewelry loan indeed!
Princess Alexandra was able to attend her granddaughter’s wedding. She wore more diamonds and pearls from her collection, including pearl and diamond cluster earrings, her pearl choker necklace with the geometric diamond clasp, and her diamond clematis brooch. (The brooch is very similar to one owned by her cousin, the Queen.)
Flora’s mother, Julia Ogilvy, wore a lovely pair of diamond drop earrings for the wedding. Julia and James have been married for 33 years.
Flora arrived at the church with her parents and her younger brother, 25-year-old Alexander Ogilvy.
The wedding featured numerous guests from the Windsor family. The Earl and Countess of Wessex were among the most familiar faces in attendance. (James and Edward are the same age, and they grew up in the same group of extended royal cousins.) Sophie wore pearl drop earrings for the wedding, plus a diamond brooch of interlocking hearts. The brooch was her first wedding anniversary present from Edward back in 2000.
The Duke of Kent was pictured alongside his sister, Princess Alexandra, after the ceremony.
The Duke’s daughter-in-law, Lady St. Andrews, was photographed outside the church with her younger daughter, Lady Amelia Windsor.
And the Duke’s daughter, Lady Helen Taylor, was there as well. The woman in yellow walking beside her is also a relative: Princess Sophie of Windisch-Graetz. Sophie is a granddaughter of Princess Elizabeth, Countess of Törring-Jettenbach, an elder sister of Princess Marina, Duchess of Kent.
From the third branch of the Kent family, Princess Michael of Kent attended with Lord and Lady Frederick Windsor (and their daughters, who were bridesmaids).
Lady Gabriella Kingston, Princess Michael’s daughter, was there with her husband, Thomas. (Her wedding was one of the last major Kent family events.)
A few more Windsors were there, too, though they don’t seem to have been spotted by the photographers. Lady Rose Gilman, daughter of the Duke and Duchess of Gloucester, was at the ceremony. And above, in the blue dress with her back to the camera, is Zenouska Mowatt. She’s the bride’s first cousin—the daughter of Marina Ogilvy, Princess Alexandra’s daughter.
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