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Sparkling Royal Jewels From Around the World

Trooping the Colour Jewels 2016

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The Windsors appear on the Buckingham Palace balcony during Trooping the Colour 2016 (Photo: Ben A. Pruchnie/Getty Images)

Time to celebrate the Queen’s very merry unbirthday yet again! This year’s Trooping the Colour is a part of the extended official celebrations of Elizabeth II’s 90th birthday, and the family was gathered in force.

Photo: Ben A. Pruchnie/Getty Images

The Queen wore the same brooch she has worn at Trooping the Colour for decades: the Guards Brooch. Here’s more on the brooch and photos from throughout the years.

Photo: Ben A. Pruchnie/Getty Images

No surprises from Camilla today, either. The Duchess of Cornwall repeated her recent Jewelry Uniform: pearl and diamond earrings, pearl necklace with diamond clasp, and the gray pearl and diamond Prince of Wales feather brooch.

Photo: Ben A. Pruchnie/Getty Images

But we got yet another new piece of jewelry from the Duchess of Cambridge! Kate wore her Mappin and Webb Empress pendant necklace with a new pair of very large pearl-esque earrings. No confirmed ID on these yet!

Photo: Stuart C. Wilson/Getty Images

No major jewelry yet again from the York sisters, although I spy a bracelet on Beatrice’s wrist.

Photo: JUSTIN TALLIS/AFP/Getty Images

But Eugenie did do us a major favor on the balcony: she stood next to Lady Helen Taylor (daughter of the Duke and Duchess of Kent), so we could get a glimpse of Helen’s gorgeous pendant necklace. This piece looks like it could be an heirloom jewel. (P.S.: that’s one of Helen’s deeply unimpressed daughters standing in front of them.)

Photo: Ben A. Pruchnie/Getty Images

The Countess of Wessex wore her back-to-front pearl earrings by Heavenly Necklaces.

Photo: Ben A. Pruchnie/Getty Images

And Lady Louise repeated the same lovely golden heart necklace from yesterday’s service at St. Paul’s.

Photo: JUSTIN TALLIS/AFP/Getty Images

Princess Anne rode in the procession, so her glitter today was of the military variety. Both her daughter, Zara, and her daughter-in-law, Autumn, wore earrings with medium-sized drops. (P.S.: you can see Sarah Chatto’s husband and son obscured in the back here; I haven’t seen any images of Sarah yet. Also, I believe the little boy in front of Autumn is Xan Windsor, Lord Culloden, son of the Earl and Countess of Ulster and grandson of the Duke and Duchess of Gloucester.)

Photo: JUSTIN TALLIS/AFP/Getty Images

Here’s another look at some of the Gloucesters on the balcony. (Left to right, we’ve got the Duke, the Earl of Ulster, the Countess of Ulster, the Duchess speaking to Lord Culloden, Lady Rose Gilman, and George Gilman.) It’s tough to see, but Birgitte appears to be wearing pearls and diamond clips on her collar.

Photo: JUSTIN TALLIS/AFP/Getty Images

We also got to see lots of Kents! (Left to right: Lady Nicholas Windsor, the Duke of Kent, Lord Nicholas Windsor, Princess Alexandra, and two of Alexandra’s granddaughters, Flora Ogilvy and Zenouska Mowatt.) Alexandra’s wearing earrings and a brooch, but again, it’s tough to see details.

Photo: JUSTIN TALLIS/AFP/Getty Images

Even more Kents: Julia Ogilvy (Princess Alexandra’s daughter-in-law), Lord Frederick Windsor, Lady Frederick Windsor, and Prince and Princess Michael of Kent. Looks like pearls were popular with both Julia and Marie-Christine.

Photo: Ben A. Pruchnie/Getty Images

And for our finale, one more Kent: Lady Gabriella Windsor, who wore lovely pearl drop earrings.

The Swedish Four Button Tiara

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The Swedish Four Button Tiara (Photo: Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images)

The Bernadottes of Sweden have two significant tiaras made of round diamond “button” elements placed on rather simple tiara frames. One of the tiaras has six buttons, and the other has four. Today, we’re taking a closer look at the Four Button Tiara.

Left: the Four Button Tiara; Right: the Six Button Tiara (Photos: Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images)

The buttons on the tiaras look extremely similar, especially from a distance, but each tiara features a different kind of floral button. The six button elements are rosettes, featuring ten small round diamonds hugging a larger floral cluster of seven additional diamonds. The four button elements are more complex (and, I think, more beautiful); they feature seven round diamonds encircling a central diamond in a sunburst design. The edges of the buttons include tiny diamond “leaves” between the “petals,” making the buttons look a little bit like Tudor roses.

Crown Princess Victoria wears the Six Button Tiara (Photo: Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images)

While the Swedish royals have an array of heirloom jewels with impressive provenances, these buttons are possibly some of the most significant ornaments in their collection. We know where the diamond rosettes from the Six Button Tiara originated: the Swedish royal court has confirmed that the buttons from the Six Button Tiara are the same “diamond rosettes” that were attached to the crown worn by King Carl XIV Johan, who was born Jean Baptiste Bernadotte, at his coronation in 1818.

Crown Princess Victoria wears the Four Button Tiara (Photo: Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images)

The Four Button Tiara’s ornaments, however, have a less clear provenance. One theory suggests that the buttons also first belonged to King Carl XIV Johan. He was a Maréchal d’Empire under Napoleon I in France, and some have speculated that these buttons may have adorned his gala uniform. The other theory on the origin of these buttons suggests that they originated not in France but with an even older generation of Swedish royals. Queen Louisa Ulrika, who was the consort of King Adolf Fredrik, had a set of diamond buttons that she wore in her hair; she also had a stomacher that included elements similar to the tiara’s buttons.

Queen Louisa Ulrika of Sweden (Image: Wikimedia Commons)

Here’s a portrait that shows her wearing some of these pieces. If these are the same ornaments worn by Louisa Ulrika, that would mean they were created at some point in the middle of the eighteenth century, and it would also mean that they’re rare examples of jewels in the current Swedish royal collection that pre-date the Bernadotte dynasty.

Princess Margaretha wears the Four Button Tiara (Photo: Express Newspapers/Getty Images)

While the buttons themselves are antique, both tiaras are apparently twentieth-century creations. The current king’s sisters began wearing the Four Button Tiara in the 1950s. Above, you see Princess Margaretha wearing the tiara at the Nobel Prize ceremony in 1959.

Princess Christina wears the Four Button Tiara (Photo: Central Press/Getty Images)

And here’s Princess Christina, the youngest of the Haga princesses, wearing the Four Button with the family’s magnificent pink topaz suite at the Nobels in 1970.

Princess Lilian wears the Four Button Tiara (Photo: Keystone/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

The Six Button was apparently assembled later on for the use of the late Princess Lilian, but she also wore the Four Button. Above, she dons the tiara during the Spanish state visit to Sweden in 1979. The Six Button is a more elaborate piece overall; the Four Button has a much simpler frame, and it sits lower on the wearer’s head. Occasionally the base is supplemented by an extra row of diamonds.

Princess Madeleine wears the Four Button Tiara (Photo: Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images)

Both of the button diadems tend to be some of the more controversial sparklers in the Swedish jewel foundation among royal jewel lovers; I’ll admit that I’ve been guilty of calling the Four Button the “Jeep” tiara more than once in the past! The Four Button in particular is generally used by the more junior members of the family. (To my knowledge, Queen Silvia has never been photographed in the Four Button.) Today, Victoria and Madeleine are the usual wearers of the Four Button Tiara, but I think this is also a good candidate for Princess Sofia when she finally starts delving into the Bernadotte tiara stash. (Which will hopefully be soon!)

Jewels of Elizabeth II’s 90th Birthday Service of Thanksgiving

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The Duke of Edinburgh and Queen Elizabeth II attend a service of thanksgiving at St. Paul’s (Photo: JUSTIN TALLIS/AFP/Getty Images)

The Windsors descended on St. Paul’s Cathedral in London this morning to give thanks for the 90th birthday of Queen Elizabeth II. (Today also happens to be Prince Philip’s actual 95th birthday, so he got a couple of mentions here and there as well.) Let’s look at the jewels they wore, shall we?

Photo: Stuart C. Wilson/Getty Images

The Queen selected one of the grandest brooches from her collection: the pearl and diamond Richmond Brooch, a legacy from Queen Mary. She wore it without its pearl pendant drop. You can read more about the brooch’s history over here!

Photo: Ben Stansall – WPA Pool/Getty Images

The Duchess of Cornwall wore her daytime jewelry uniform: pearl and diamond earrings, multi-stranded pearl necklace with diamond clasp, and brooch. The pair of brooches she selected were her diamond and sapphire dragonfly brooches, part of her collection of jewels by Van Cleef and Arpels.

Photo: BEN STANSALL/AFP/Getty Images

The Duchess of Cambridge wore one familiar piece of jewelry, her diamond and aquamarine drop earrings…

Photo: Jeff Spicer/Getty Images

…and one new piece, a silver-toned necklace with a cluster pendant. The pale blue stone looks like it may also be an aquamarine. Kate has shown that she likes sets of jewelry, but the necklace and earrings don’t look to be designed deliberately as companion pieces.

Photo: Stuart C. Wilson/Getty Images

As per usual, Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie of York went very light on the jewelry…

Photo: Jeff Spicer/Getty Images

…but Eugenie did wear some delicate bracelets, and we also got a good look at two of her rings.

Photo: Jeff Spicer/Getty Images

Sophie wore a lovely pair of earrings with a pale/clear stone. These aren’t familiar to me.

Photo: Jeff Spicer/Getty Images

And we even had some jewelry from Lady Louise! She wore a lovely, very age-appropriate necklace with a golden heart pendant.

Photo: BEN STANSALL/AFP/Getty Images

Princess Anne repeated the lovely diamond and pearl wild rose brooch that she wore at Thursday’s Founder’s Day Parade, pairing it with pearls and pearl and gold earrings.

Photo: Stefan Rousseau – WPA Pool/Getty Images

Zara Phillips Tindall wore a pair of earrings with a blue stone surrounded by a narrow border of smaller stones, possibly diamonds.

Photo: Stefan Rousseau – WPA Pool/Getty Images

Autumn Phillips looked absolutely fantastic — I don’t even hate the hairsplosion hat! — but very little jewelry; only her engagement and wedding rings were visible.

Photo: BEN STANSALL/AFP/Getty Images

The Duchess of Gloucester was elegant as usual, wearing pearls, glittering earrings, and a pair of her diamond clips. The clips belonged to her mother-in-law, Princess Alice; they can be worn as a part of a diamond bandeau tiara.

Photo: BEN STANSALL/AFP/Getty Images

The Duchess of Kent did not attend the service, so the senior Kent lady present was the Countess of St. Andrews, the Duke’s daughter-in-law (who also happens to be an accomplished academic, specializing in political theory). She wore classic pearls.

Photo: Stuart C. Wilson/Getty Images

Lord and Lady St. Andrews’s daughters came to the service as well. On the left, Lady Marina Windsor wears earrings with a small insect motif, as well as a bracelet and two silver-toned rings. (I’m not sure if the daisy on her jacket is a brooch or a part of the outfit.) Her younger sister, Lady Amelia, wore delicate gold hoop earrings.

Photo: Stuart C. Wilson/Getty Images

Princess Michael of Kent brought a show-stopping heirloom brooch to the service. The brooch/pendant originally belonged to Princess Louise, Duchess of Argyll (a daughter of Queen Victoria). Louise left the brooch to Princess Marina, Duchess of Kent, who in turn bequeathed it to Prince Michael. Louise’s brooch had a smaller emerald in the center; Prince and Princess Michael later replaced it with a larger gemstone of uncertain provenance.

Photo: Stefan Rousseau – WPA Pool/Getty Images

Lady Gabriella Windsor, who is looking more like her grandmother and aunt with each passing day, wore large round pearl stud earrings.

Photo: Stuart C. Wilson/Getty Images

And Lord Frederick Windsor’s wife, the actress Sophie Winkleman, sadly went without any visible jewelry at all. 🙁

And here’s two more Windsor women: Lady Sarah Chatto and Viscountess Linley. Unfortunately, this was the best angle I’ve found on their jewels — and it’s tough to make out which pieces they’re wearing. There are also several other members of the family, including Princess Alexandra and the Gloucester daughters/daughter-in-law, for whom I have no photos to include here.

Which jewels from today’s service were your favorites?