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Sparkling Royal Jewels From Around the World

Royal Jewels to Commemorate the 70th Anniversary of D-Day in France

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Queen Elizabeth II is pictured at the British War Cemetery in Bayeux during the 70th anniversary commemorations of D-Day on June 6, 2014 (Chris Jackson/Getty Images)
Queen Elizabeth II is pictured at the British War Cemetery in Bayeux during the 70th anniversary commemorations of D-Day on June 6, 2014 (Chris Jackson/Getty Images)

At the end of this week, fresh off the State Opening of Parliament, Queen Elizabeth II, Prince Philip, and several other members of the royal family headed to France for a state visit. The visit was planned to coincide with the commemorations of the 70th anniversary of D-Day on Friday, and much of the program was related to events related to the anniversary and to honoring veterans of World War II. Today, I’ve got a look at some of the royal jewels we saw in Normandy during the D-Day commemorations.

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This Week in Royal Jewels: May 23-29

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May 23-29, 2014
Lots of sparkle this week, with Kate, Max, Stephanie, and Sonja showing off a bit of glitter. When you’re done enjoying the royal jewels worn this week, head over to The Royal Roundup for a rundown of the many major royal events taking place in June!


10. The Duchess of Cambridge — or, for the day, the Countess of Strathearn — spent the day with her husband in Scotland on Thursday. She debuted a new brooch for the occasion.

Royal reporters shared that the brooch, which features a Celtic knot design, was one of Kate’s wedding gifts, though the identity of the giver has been kept private.

9. The Dutch royal couple is on a visit to Germany, and on Tuesday, Queen Maxima once again demonstrated her innovative approach to the family’s jewel collection. All of the pink stones she wears are kunzites, but her brooch is a combination of two pieces of jewelry: the top is part of a set of diamond brooches, while the diamond and kunzite pendant can be worn suspended from either a brooch or a necklace. The upper portion of Max’s earrings were often worn by Queen Juliana. (As always, more on the Dutch royal jewels, especially these earrings, is available here.)

8. The kunzites weren’t Maxima’s only jewelry outing in Germany; she also wore diamonds and pearls to visit a research facility on Monday. The brooch she wears is an heirloom from the era of Queen Emma. The piece features a natural pearl surrounded by two circular rows of diamonds.

7. In Belgium, Queen Mathilde went for a color-coordinated look while attending a lunch for the judges of the Queen Elisabeth Voice Competition, pairing green pendant earrings with a bright green dress.

6. At the annual Grand Prix gala in Monaco, Princess Charlene debuted some new pieces of jewelry by Repossi (the same jewelers who made her engagement ring): a ruby ring and a rather enormous gold cuff bracelet. (More photos and information on the bracelet here.)

5. The closing mass of the Octave of Our Lady of Luxembourg was held on Sunday, and Hereditary Grand Duchess Stephanie brought out some lovely gold jewelry for the event. (Also, I agree with Sydney re: the hair!)

4. One more jewelry outing for Max this week — she really is one of our most bejeweled royal ladies these days, isn’t she? These golden pendant earrings, worn for an award ceremony on Saturday in Middelburg, are very typical of her style.

3. The garden parties at Buckingham Palace are in full swing, and on Wednesday, the Queen welcomed members of the Household Cavalry (including her grandson, Prince Harry) and their families to the palace. To honor them, she replaced her usual brooch with the badges of the Life Guards and the Blues and Royals.

2. The Scandinavian royals have continued commemorating the bicentenary of the Norwegian Constitution. At the end of last week, the celebrations moved to Denmark, where a gala was held at the opera house in Copenhagen. For the occasion, Queen Sonja sported a brooch that dates back more than a century: it was one of Queen Maud’s wedding presents.

1. A bit of a surprise for our top jewelry story of the week, but let’s face it, who wore more bling than Prince Henrik of Denmark did in the official portrait to commemorate his 80th birthday? Among other things, he’s wearing the collar of the Order of the Elephant, the highest order of Danish chivalry. (There are also two other people in the painting, but they’re both Henrik, too. He’s being stalked a bit by his younger selves, apparently.)

This Week in Royal Jewels: May 2-8

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May 2-8, 2014
It’s Friday yet again, magpies — time for another round of the week’s best bejeweled news!

10. A new portrait of Queen Elizabeth II by photographer David Bailey was released on Thursday. The photo, which was taken as a part of the GREAT Britain campaign, features the Queen wearing the George VI sapphires, a nineteenth-century suite of diamond and sapphire jewelry given to her as a wedding present by her father.

9. Queen Sofia of Spain was on hand for the presentation of her nation’s paralympic sailing team on Thursday in Valencia, and her sailboat brooches were quite appropriate for the occasion.

8. At a concert in Amsterdam on Thursday, Queen Maxima surprised royal watchers by recycling a dress first worn decades earlier by her mother-in-law. She accessorized the already-bejeweled dress with bracelets and a pair of dangling earrings.

7. We all know that connections to royal wearers significantly increase the values of pieces of jewelry, but even so, this is kind of staggering: apparently the sapphire and diamond engagement ring worn by both Diana, Princess of Wales and the Duchess of Cambridge is now worth an estimated £300,000 — approximately ten times its original price.

6. To celebrate Princess Benedikte’s seventieth birthday, Queen Margrethe II of Denmark bestowed the Order of the Dannebrog on her sister. The order honors those who have made major contributions to the nation, and as Benedikte continues to carry out engagements (and even serve as regent) in Denmark, I’d say she certainly meets the qualifications. The order has eight grand commanders: Queen Margrethe, Prince Henrik, Crown Prince Frederik, Prince Joachim, (the former) King Constantine II of Greece, King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden, King Harald V of Norway, and now Princess Benedikte.

5. Although she normally prefers very low-key jewelry, the Princess of Asturias added an unexpected ornament to her hair for an audience at Zarzuela Palace on Thursday: a thin gilded headband.

4. The Countess of Wessex found a cuddly friend on a visit to Newbury this week. If you peek past Rosie the guinea pig, you’ll catch a glimpse of her Heavenly Necklaces snowflake pendant.

3. Queen Elizabeth II debuted an apparently new brooch this week in Essex. The piece appears to feature daffodils, which may suggest a connection to Wales; indeed, the only time it’s been spotted before was in a portrait of the Queen commissioned by the Welsh Rugby Union to mark the 60th anniversary of her coronation.

2. On Tuesday, Queen Maxima wore a questionable hat a beautiful pair of pearl pendant earrings during a regional tour of The Achterhoek.

1. Leave it to the Luxembourgish royals to give us our tiara of the week! Grand Duchess Maria Teresa brought out the family’s aquamarine set during a state visit to Poland.