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This Fortnight in Royal Jewels: November 17-30

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November 17-30, 2017
Time for a supersized, jam-packed royal jewel review, everybody! Enjoy loads of royal sparkle, and don’t forget to vote for your favorites in the poll below!
Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images

25. The Princess Royal wore golden jewels at St. Giles Cathedral for a commemoration service honoring Dr. Elsie Ingles, the pioneering doctor who is credited with saving thousands of lives after setting up seventeen Scottish Woman’s Hospitals across Europe during World War I.

ERIC LALMAND/AFP/Getty Images

24. In Mons, Queen Mathilde of the Belgians wore earrings with an appropriate design motif — apples — for a visit to the Ecole Superieure des Art.

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23. Queen Letizia of Spain wore her pave-set diamond teardrop earrings for a visit to the Royal Basilica-Sanctuary of the Most Holy and Vera Cruz de Caravaca to mark their jubilee year.

Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images

22. Princess Caroline wore pearl earrings and two patriotic pins for National Day in Monaco (you can see the second pin over here).

Mary Turner – WPA Pool/Getty Images

21. The Duchess of Cambridge wore a favorite pair of earrings, her sapphire cluster drops, for a visit to the Foundling Museum in London. (More over here!)

ISSEI KATO/AFP/Getty Images

20. During the state visit from Luxembourg, Crown Princess Masako of Japan wore lovely pearls for both a concert (pictured above) and the official welcome ceremonies (which you can see here).

KIMIMASA MAYAMA/AFP/Getty Images

19. Princess Alexandra of Luxembourg wore lovely pearls for the official welcome ceremonies during the state visit to Japan. (More views over here!)

KIMIMASA MAYAMA/AFP/Getty Images

18. As always, Empress Michiko of Japan was elegant in pearls for the welcome ceremony, including a lovely silver and pearl brooch. (See a close-up over here!)

VICTORIA JONES/AFP/Getty Images

17. For a luncheon with the German president, Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom wore her Saskatchewan Tourmaline Brooch with pearls. (More over here!)

SEBASTIEN NOGIER/AFP/Getty Images

16. Beatrice Borromeo Casiraghi wore a gorgeous pair of pearl and diamond earrings for the National Day festivities in Monaco. (More over here!)

SEBASTIEN NOGIER/AFP/Getty Images

15. A lovely diamond brooch was Tatiana Santo Domingo Casiraghi’s choice for Monaco’s National Day. (More over here!)

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14. In Germany, Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden wore her blue gem-set earrings with a diamond necklace for the Swedish Business Prize 2017 ceremony (More over here!)

PLS Pool/Getty Images

13. Princess Caroline made a statement with her earrings at the National Day gala in Monaco. (More here!)

BERTRAND LANGLOIS/AFP/Getty Images

12. Princess Charlene of Monaco wore diamond stud earrings multiple times over these two weeks: for the World Rugby Awards (pictured above) and for both the day and evening events during National Day (which you can see here).

ISSEI KATO/AFP/Getty Images

11. For the concert hosted by her father during the state visit to Japan, Princess Alexandra wore a lovely diamond horseshoe ornament in her hair.

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10. The Duchess of Cambridge wore the Queen’s diamond chandelier earrings for the annual Royal Variety Performance. (Much more over here!)

Richard Pohle – WPA Pool/Getty Images

9. Queen Elizabeth II chose a favorite brooch, the Jardine Star, for a visit to the headquarters of the Canine Partners charity in Midhurst. (More about the brooch over here!)

JEROEN JUMELET/AFP/Getty Images

8. Queen Maxima of the Netherlands had several bejeweled appearances of note, including an outing for the earrings from her blue gem and moonstone suite at the Prince Bernhard Culture Foundation Prize 2017 (pictured above) and an appearance in pieces from her citrine collection (see here).

7. During a state dinner in Ghana, Queen Margrethe II of Denmark wore her turquoise bandeau and pieces from her modern turquoise collection. (More on the tiara over here!)

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6. The Duchess of Cambridge attended the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh’s platinum anniversary party wearing the Queen’s Japanese Pearl Choker Necklace. (Much more over here!)

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5. Empress Michiko of Japan wore a spectacular embellished pearl necklace for the state banquet during the Luxembourg state visit. (See another view of the necklace over here!)

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4. Princess Alexandra wore the Chaumet Choker Tiara with diamonds and pearls for the state banquet. (More over here!)

3. A pair of Swedish tiaras popped up at a diplomatic reception: Queen Silvia in the family’s amethyst circlet, and Princess Sofia in a modified version of her wedding tiara. (More over here!)

2. Several more members of the Japanese imperial family sported tiaras at the state banquet, including Crown Princess Masako in the Pearl Sunburst Tiara, Princess Kiko in her wedding tiara, and Princess Mako in her diamond tiara. (More on the banquet here.)

DANIEL LEAL-OLIVAS/AFP/Getty Images

1. My top vote couldn’t go to anything other than the most talked-about piece of royal jewelry we saw this fortnight: the diamond engagement ring presented by Prince Harry to Meghan Markle. (Read all about the ring over here!)

State Visit Jewels: Luxembourg’s Visit to Japan

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TOSHIFUMI KITAMURA/AFP/Getty Images

Grand Duke Henri of Luxembourg arrived in Tokyo on Monday for a state visit, and we’ve got all of the royal and imperial jewels from day one for your viewing pleasure! (Please note: some of the GIFs in this post feature flash photography.)

The day’s events began with official ceremonies at the Imperial Palace, hosted by Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko.

KIMIMASA MAYAMA/AFP/Getty Images

Empress Michiko was her usual elegant self for the welcome ceremonies. She wore pear-shaped pearl earrings with a pearl necklace and a modern silver and pearl brooch.

KIMIMASA MAYAMA/AFP/Getty Images

Here’s a closer look at the brooch, which features a pair of pearls on a leafy silver setting.

KIMIMASA MAYAMA/AFP/Getty Images

Grand Duchess Maria Teresa, who has an intense fear of flying, stayed back in Luxembourg, and Princess Alexandra accompanied her father on the visit instead. She followed in her host nation’s footsteps by wearing pearls for the welcome ceremonies, including a pearl bracelet and necklace. Her earrings appeared to feature pale pink pearl drops.

Crown Prince Naruhito and Crown Princess Masako also attended the welcome ceremonies, as did representatives of Japan’s government, including the prime minister. Masako also followed her mother-in-law’s examples and wore elegant pearls for the event.

ISSEI KATO/AFP/Getty Images

On Monday evening, the Japanese imperial family hosted a state banquet for their royal guests.

ISSEI KATO/AFP/Getty Images

Empress Michiko wore rather elaborate earrings and an embellished, multi-stranded pearl necklace.

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Here’s another view of her jewels from the banquet.

ISSEI KATO/AFP/Getty Images

Again, Princess Alexandra accompanied her father to the banquet.

ISSEI KATO/AFP/Getty Images

Sadly, photos of Alexandra from the banquet are a bit blurred, but we can see here that she wore the family’s convertible tiara/necklace from Chaumet. (More on that one over here!)

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Here’s a slightly better view, especially of the necklace. Crown Princess Masako also attended the banquet; you can view a photo of her jewels here. (She wore the magnificent Pearl Sunburst Tiara, which you can learn about over here.) Princess Kiko was in attendance, too, wearing her wedding tiara.

Upcoming Royal Events

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SOREN ANDERSSON/AFP/Getty Images

Because of the holiday here in America, we’re delaying our weekly jewel roundup until next Friday, when we’ll have a supersized version. Instead, it’s time for an overview of some of the big events coming up on the royal calendar. Here are some of the royal occasions you can look forward to over the next few weeks…

Queen Margrethe speaks in Copenhagen, March 2017 (NIKOLAI LINARES/AFP/Getty Images)

Queen Margrethe II of Denmark is currently on a state visit to Ghana, which wraps up tomorrow. The busy schedule of events includes a state banquet in Accra and a visit to Osu Castle, which was known as Fort Christiansborg when it was the capital of the Danish Gold Coast.

Princess Alexandra and Grand Duke Henri attend Hereditary Grand Duke Guillaume’s civil wedding ceremony, October 2012 (Andreas Rentz/Getty Images)

From November 27-29, Grand Duke Henri of Luxembourg will make a state visit to Japan. Because of her serious fear of flying, Grand Duchess Maria Teresa will not make the trip. Instead, Henri and Maria Teresa’s daughter, Princess Alexandra, will accompany her father. The trip will be Alexandra’s highest-profile undertaking yet as a part of the grand ducal family.

Willem-Alexander and Maxima in Curacao, November 2013 (Getty Images)

King Willem-Alexander and Queen Maxima of the Netherlands will head for the Dutch Caribbean at the end of this month. They will visit Saba, Sint Eustatius, and Sint Maarten. The visit coincides with Saba Day, the island’s national day of celebration. Willem-Alexander and Maxima will also visit parts of Sint Maarten that were devastated by Hurricane Irma; it will be Willem-Alexander’s second visit to that island since the hurricane hit in September.

The christening of Gabriel’s big brother, Prince Alexander, September 2016 (JONAS EKSTROMER/AFP/Getty Images)

The Swedish royal family will gather on December 1 to celebrate the christening of Prince Gabriel of Sweden, the second son of Prince Carl Philip and Princess Sofia. Gabriel Carl Walter, who was born on August 31, will be christened at the Royal Chapel at Drottningholm Palace. The celebration will take place at noon local time (which is 6 AM eastern time in the States); it will be broadcast on television and online by SVT, which you can access here. Gabriel’s godparents should be announced shortly before the christening next week.

The Swedish royal family attends the Nobel Prize Ceremony, December 2016 (Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images)

The annual Nobel Prize festivities will take place in Norway and Sweden on December 10. The Peace Prize will be awarded in Oslo, and all other prizes will be handed out at the annual ceremony in Stockholm. So far, the royal court has confirmed that King Carl XVI Gustaf, Queen Silvia, Crown Princess Victoria, Prince Daniel, Prince Carl Philip, Princess Sofia, Princess Madeleine, and Chris O’Neill will all be in attendance for the ceremony and the banquet. All eight are also scheduled to attend the King’s Dinner the following evening.

Princess Anne and Tim Laurence spend Easter at Windsor Castle, 2014 (Paul Hackett – WPA Pool /Getty Images)

Although any celebrations will almost certainly be private, it’s worth noting that another big wedding anniversary will happen soon in Britain. The Princess Royal and Sir Timothy Laurence will celebrate their silver wedding anniversary on December 12. The pair married twenty-five years ago at Crathie Kirk, near Balmoral Castle in Scotland.