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Sparkling Royal Jewels From Around the World

This Week in Royal Jewels: October 10-16

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October 10-16, 2014
A state visit, a meeting between two monarchs, and a national celebration bring us plenty of sparkle this week. Enjoy!

10. With her work schedule back in full swing, Queen Elizabeth II and the Duke of Edinburgh visited one of her palaces, the Tower of London, to tour the crypt and the Tower Poppies exhibit on Thursday. She wore a piece of heirloom jewelry for the day: a cabochon emerald and diamond brooch that was once part of a stomacher that belonged to the Duchess of Teck. Queen Mary had the brooch created in 1897; it’s usually worn with a cabochon emerald drop, also taken from the Teck stomacher.

9.  Queen Mathilde of the Belgians is really pushing the envelope where “large earrings” are concerned. This is the floral pair that she wore to a concert at the palace in Brussels on Wednesday!

8.  For a visit to the Barbara Sinatra Children’s Center on Saturday, Princess Charlene went with slightly smaller earrings: a pair of diamond stud earrings by Cartier.

7.  On Sunday, the Spanish royals attended a military parade to mark the country’s national day. Queen Letizia wore a pair of colorful drop earrings — possibly with cabochon gemstones? — that coordinated with her outfit.

6. Turquoise was the Duchess of Cornwall’s gemstone of choice for a day of engagements in Kent on Wednesday. With her usual diamond and pearl earrings, she wore a pair of turquoise, diamond, and gold bird brooches and a turquoise bracelet.

5. On Tuesday, Queen Elizabeth II wore one of her grandest brooches — the Cullinan V — to award the insignia of a Dame Grand Cross of the Order of St. Michael and St. George to the new Governor General of the Bahamas, Dame Marguerite Pindling. (More on the various mountings of the Cullinan stones here.)

4. On Wednesday, King Felipe and Queen Letizia of Spain paid an official visit to the Netherlands. Letizia’s theme of the day was red: red suit, red lips, and a lovely pair of ruby and diamond earrings.

3. Queen Maxima went with an even more dramatic look for the Spanish visit. Her diamond earrings are the studs from Queen Wilhelmina’s diamond pendant earrings, created in 1889. Her necklace is a supplemental royal security measure.

2. The Norwegian royals welcomed the President of India for a state visit on Monday. Crown Princess Mette-Marit’s jewelry at the welcome ceremony was limited to a large pair of diamond earrings, but at the state banquet that evening, she donned her diamond daisy bandeau, a pair of earrings with green stones (possibly small emeralds?), a small ruby brooch, King Harald’s family order, and the insignia of the Order of St. Olav. (Also props to Princess Astrid, who wore her diamond and ruby aigrette to the banquet! I just love her.)

1. Queen Sonja of Norway gets my top spot of the week — not only for her pearl-and-gold jewelry at the welcome ceremony on Monday but also for her jewels at the banquet that evening: the Norwegian emerald parure, plus a pearl bracelet with a diamond and emerald clasp, a gold bangle, King Harald’s family order, and the insignia of the Order of St. Olav.

This Week in Royal Jewels: October 3-9

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October 3-9, 2014
This week brings us another set of royals heading to parliament, a concert trip, and a royal return. Enjoy!

10. She’s back! Queen Elizabeth II returned from Balmoral this week, and she brought a wonderful jewel out of the box to meet with diplomats at Buckingham Palace: one of the Hyderabad Rose Brooches. The brooches, made by Cartier, were originally a part of the tiara given to HM as a wedding present by the Nizam of Hyderabad; although she had the tiara remodeled, she kept the brooches in their original form.

9. The Danish royals gathered for the opening of parliament in Copenhagen this week, and Princess Benedikte (on the far right) wore a chunky necklace and gold earrings for the occasion.

8. Princess Marie’s jewelry at parliament was a bit simpler but very elegant: a small silver-toned brooch, which looks sort of like a smaller version of Queen Ingrid’s famous diamond daisy brooch.

7. The star of Crown Princess Mary’s parliament ensemble was definitely the striking purple pillbox, but she also added a pair of small earrings.

6. One more Dane attended the opening of parliament, and it’s the greatest Dane of them all: Queen Margrethe II, who wore large round earrings with her pale-blue hat and outfit.

5. In Spain, Queen Letizia wore a pair of delicate drop earrings while meeting with members of the public — including her father-in-law, King Juan Carlos — during a day of fundraising for the Red Cross.

4. Wearing bracelets with her purple dress, Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden joined King Carl XVI Gustaf on Friday to meet with members of the nation’s new government.

3. For a visit to a social employment agency on Tuesday, Queen Maxima of the Netherlands added fun jewelry to her leopard-print outfit, including bold earrings, rings, and her usual set of bracelets.

2.Queen Silvia of Sweden chose pearls — pearl drop earrings and the double-stranded pearl necklace that once belonged to Princess Sibylla — for the presentation of the Birgit Nilsson Prize to the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra.

1. As media outlets and the palace press office confirmed that she’s expecting twins, Princess Charlene of Monaco attended the 2014 Princess Grace Awards Gala in Beverly Hills on Wednesday. I was so glad to see her add a little more bling to her usual minimalist style with these sparkly earrings. Here’s a closer look:

Love the sparkle here, Charlene! Anyone else hoping that both of these babies are girls, so that there’s a future Sovereign Princess of Monaco to wear the family’s tiaras?