military – Page 2

Royal Purple at the Royal British Legion for the Queen

11.07.2019 by The Court Jeweller // Leave a Comment

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Ahead of this weekend’s Remembrance Sunday observances, Queen Elizabeth II headed to Aylesford on Wednesday for an event linked to the Royal British Legion.

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The Queen visited the Royal British Legion Industries village in Aylesford. The village provides housing, care, and support to hundreds of British veterans, as well as serving as a local community center. The Royal British Legion is a charity that supports British veterans financially, socially, and emotionally.

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At the village, the Queen met with residents, staff, and volunteers.

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She even met one veteran, Violet Clarke, who (like the Queen) served in the Auxilary Territorial Service. The ATS was the women’s branch of the British army during World War II. The Queen trained as a driver and mechanic with the ATS in 1945.

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HM also used a special shovel to help bury a time capsule in honor of her visit. The capsule is intended to be open by village residents 100 years from now, in 2119.

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For the visit, the Queen wore a vibrant violet ensemble, including a matching coat, dress, and hat.

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She also reached for one of the most important purple jewels in her collection: a diamond and amethyst brooch from the Kent Amethyst Suite. The set of jewels originally belonged to Queen Victoria’s mother, the Duchess of Kent.

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We got an excellent close-up of the brooch during Wednesday’s visit. The color of the amethyst shone brightly in the sunshine. Note the tiny loops on the brooch where pendants can be attached.

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The visit was the first of a range of royal events that we’ll see this week to observe Remembrance Sunday. Today, the Duchesses of Cornwall and Sussex will visit Westminster Abbey, and this weekend, we’ll see nearly all the senior royals attend the Festival of Remembrance and Remembrance Sunday at the Cenotaph.

Bejeweled British Remembrance Poppies

11.06.2019 by The Court Jeweller // Leave a Comment

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Each November, the people of Britain wear poppies pinned to their clothes to remember military men and women who have died in service to the country. Many royals wear the traditional paper poppies sold by the Royal British Legion, but in more recent years, some royal ladies have opted for poppy brooches sold by the appeal.

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The poppy brooches worn by the Windsor women all appear to be pieces produced by the Royal British Legion’s Poppy Appeal, which means that the proceeds go to the same charitable organization as the sales of paper poppies. For several years, Buckley London sold the brooches, but now there’s an official RBL Poppy Shop website that offers brooches and other jewelry. The site offers brooches dedicated to various groups who have served, including service members from Commonwealth countries (perhaps a good choice for Meghan, who is vice president of the Queen’s Commonwealth Trust) and even codebreakers (perfect for Kate, whose grandmother worked at Bletchley Park).

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The Countess of Wessex has a growing collection of these poppy brooches. She wore this sparkling poppy on the balcony during the Remembrance Sunday observance at the Cenotaph in November 2015.

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On Remembrance Sunday in 2017, Sophie wore this smaller poppy brooch with the cap badge of The Rifles. (She’s the royal colonel of the 5th battalion.)

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In November 2018, she chose a sparkling crystal poppy brooch for the Festival of Remembrance at the Royal Albert Hall in London, pinning it beside the badge of Queen Alexandra’s Royal Army Nursing Corps. (She’s their colonel-in-chief.)

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The Duchess of Sussex also chose a small poppy brooch for the Festival of Remembrance in November 2018.

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The Duchess of Cambridge also has a selection of poppy brooches in her jewelry box. She wore this crystal poppy early on in her royal career, for a reception for the Scott-Amundsen Centenary Race in 2012.

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Kate selected the same crystal poppy for the Festival of Remembrance in November 2015.

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Kate sometimes chooses to wear this large floral brooch instead of a poppy for November events. I have this one filed as the ANZAC Anemone Brooch; it was presented to Kate in Australia on the night before ANZAC Day in 2014 by Emma, the wife of Victoria Cross recipient Corporal Ben Roberts-Smith. She wore it in Australia, and then again on Remembrance Sunday at the Cenotaph in November 2014.

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For last year’s Remembrance Sunday appearance at the Cenotaph, Kate secured a bunch of paper poppies with a small enamel and crystal poppy brooch. This appears to be a special edition poppy brooch commemorating the contributions of women during World War I.

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We’ll have several opportunities to spot poppy brooches in the next few days. The Queen is visiting the Royal British Legion Industries’ Village today, and the Duchesses of Cornwall and Sussex will make a joint visit to the Field of Remembrance at Westminster Abbey tomorrow. A large number of royals (the Queen, the Prince of Wales and Duchess of Cornwall, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, the Duke of York, the Earl and Countess of Wessex, the Princess Royal and Sir Tim Laurence, the Duke and Duchess of Gloucester, and the Duke of Kent) are also due to attend the Festival of Remembrance and Remembrance Sunday events this weekend.

The Dacre Brooch

08.04.2019 by The Court Jeweller // Leave a Comment

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Today’s royal brooch is something of a hybrid piece: a beautiful jewel that was also formerly given as an annual prize. Here’s a closer look at the Dacre Brooch.

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The brooch, which is set with diamonds and other gemstones, was traditionally presented each year to the best female cadet. That tradition began in 1982, the year that women were first admitted to the Air Cadets, and continued until 2015. It was decided that the best female cadet should, like her male counterpart, instead receive the Dacre Sword.

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The brooch is named in honor of the late Air Commodore G.B. Dacre and his wife, Elizabeth, who presented it to the Air Cadets in 1982. Newspapers interviewed the last female Air Cadet to wear the brooch. She noted, “It is quite an honour. I was the last cadet to wear it, and now she is wearing it. It is the best accessory.”

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The “she” referenced in that quotation is the Duchess of Cambridge. The brooch was presented to Kate by the Air Cadets after she was appointed as their newest patron, a role that was passed along to her by the Duke of Edinburgh. Papers reported that the brooch had been given to Kate, but I’m not sure whether it was offered to her as a personal gift or presented to her to wear during her tenure as the organization’s patron.

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The Duchess of Cambridge performed her first official engagement as the Honorary Air Commandant of the Air Cadets in February 2016, attending a service to mark the organization’s 75th anniversary. She wore the brooch pinned to a blue Alexander McQueen coat.

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In July 2018, Kate wore the brooch publicly again, this time for a service at Westminster Abbey to celebrate the centenary of the Royal Air Force.

Note: This is an updated and expanded version of an earlier post.