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Sparkling Royal Jewels From Around the World

Royal Ascot 2015: Day 4

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Day Four of Royal Ascot is generally when the royal attendance begins to seriously slow — but boy, do we have an especially exciting cast of characters to examine today!

The Queen wore an interesting brooch on her yellow coat: the Botswana Sorghum Brooch, which she wore in public for the first time last year during her state visit to France.

Zara Phillips wore small circular earrings with her outfit. But that was it for the Windsors in the carriage parade. Even though the York princesses attended, they didn’t ride with their grandmother. But it turns out that was for a very good reason…

SURPRISE! It’s FERGIE!

The Yorks made a family day of it at Ascot on Friday. Prince Andrew attended with Sarah, their two daughters, and each daughter’s respective boyfriend. Sarah’s attendance at the Royal Enclosure felt like a Very Big Deal to me, so I double checked — and here’s when I’m pretty sure she last attended:

Yes, that’s 1991: a full twenty-four years ago! (I love Princess Margaret’s hat SO MUCH).

Anyway, at Friday’s race meeting, Sarah wore a necklace with a circular pendant, small hoop earrings, and a glittering bracelet on her right wrist.

Sarah’s daughters, however, continued their trend of not wearing jewelry. Princess Eugenie wore a smattering of small bracelets and rings.

The same was true for Princess Beatrice.

I do have to wonder, though: given Sarah’s surprise Ascot appearance, and the inclusion of both York boyfriends in the family outing, would anyone be surprised if we see a new piece of jewelry (perhaps of the diamond variety?) on Beatrice’s finger in the very near future? I hope so. Royal jewels and hats are so much more fun with the Fergie factor!

Stop in later this afternoon for a post on a couple of sparkling tiaras!

Battle of Waterloo Anniversary Commemorations

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This week, royals from Europe have been remembering the 200th anniversary of the Battle of Waterloo, in which a coalition of soldiers from Britain, the Netherlands, and Germany defeated Napoleon Bonaparte’s French army. The battle took place in present-day Belgium, although at the time the land was Dutch territory.

On Wednesday, royals attended a re-opening ceremony at Hougoumont Farm, a key location in the battle. As she often does when attending military events, the Duchess of Cornwall wore the badge of the Lancers, the regiment that her father, Major Bruce Shand, fought with during World War II. Camilla paired the badge with her usual diamond and pearl earrings and a three-stranded pearl necklace.

The Belgian king was represented at Hougoumont by his sister, Princess Astrid. She wore a pair of coral-colored earrings with her pink tweed jacket.

Astrid’s cousin, the Hereditary Grand Duke of Luxembourg, attended the ceremony with his wife, Stéphanie. Given the photographs from the event, though, I’m not completely sure that the photographers knew who they were. Courtesy Luxarazzi, we have a link to clearer photos of the pair, where you can see Stéphanie wearing a pendant necklace.

Guillaume and Stéphanie also visited Laeken Palace in Belgium on Wednesday, where they met with Prince Napoleon, a descendant of the family that lost the battle.

Prince Pieter-Christiaan, a cousin of the Dutch king, was also on hand to represent the Netherlands.

Here’s the entire group at Laeken with King Philippe and Queen Mathilde. Those pictured also include the Marquess and Marchioness of Douro and Lord Frederick Wellesley, descendants of the 1st Duke of Wellington, and descendants of Gerhard von Blücher.

On Thursday, the Brits attended a service at St. Paul’s commemorating the battle. Camilla wore her diamond and pearl earrings, her pearl choker with the round diamond clasp, and the cap badge of the Rifles.

One of the major heroes of Waterloo was the Duke of Wellington, and his descendant, the 9th Duke, was also on hand for the St. Paul’s service. His wife, the Duchess of Wellington, wore pearl earrings and a lovely, geometric diamond brooch.

The Duchess of Gloucester also attended the St. Paul’s service, but I’ve yet to find a clear image of her jewelry.

Back in Belgium, King Philippe and Queen Mathilde led the royal parade at the official government ceremony recognizing the anniversary.

Mathilde wore a pair of earrings that she’s had in her collection for sometime: a modern pair set with both white and yellow diamonds.

Queen Máxima of the Netherlands was elegant in gray, wearing a glittering pair of earrings with the long gray pearl brooch from the Dutch royal collection.

Grand Duchess Maria Teresa of Luxembourg also wore gray, accessorizing with pearl earrings and a long necklace studded with gray and white pearls.

Stay tuned tomorrow afternoon for more Waterloo commemoration events — including tiaras!

Royal Ascot Jewels 2015: Day 3

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Was the Royal Ascot bling on Ladies’ Day so bright that you’ll have to wear shades? Let’s find out…

The Queen was all smiles for day three in a minty green outfit, with her Diamond Shamrock Brooch pinned to her lapel. The piece features a cluster of three diamond shamrocks gathered by an emerald ribbon.

Princess Anne wore a really lovely embroidered coat for Ladies’ Day, pairing it with pearl jewelry.

Ladies’ Day means one thing in particular: Yorkies! Princess Beatrice, of course, wore no jewelry at all — but I think she looked really chic and elegant.

Princess Eugenie also went largely jewel-free, but we did get a glimpse of a bracelet. Her hat also seems to have some sort of jeweled embellishment attached at the top.

The Countess of Wessex wore the same set of cluster earrings/brooch that she’s been wearing often lately. I quite like her hat, though.

…and, disappointingly, that’s just about it on the royal front. To make up for the relative lack of hats and bling, here are some royal gentlemen wearing their very dapper top hats! Prince Philip wore a snazzy tie with his top hat and carnation.

And Prince Andrew went with a pink tie and a classic black hat. Stay tuned for more Royal Ascot coverage here this week, plus a post later today on the events commemorating the Battle of Waterloo!