Royal style and gossip: tiaras galore and more!

[QueenOfTheAndals]

Thread 1
Thread 2
Thread 3
Thread 4
Thread 5
Thread 6
Special edition: Eugenie wedding thread
Thread 7

And we're now at thread 8! Here are some useful royal style blogs
HRH Duchess Kate
Mad About Meghan
New My Royals - good for European royal watching

Coming up this month:

• The Cambridges are at the Tusk Conservation Awards on Thursday the 8th
• The Cambridges and Sussexes are at two Remembrance events this weekend the 10th/11th
• The Sussexes have the Royal Variety Performance on the 19th

Plus Prince Charles turns 70 on the 14th but we may not get photos of the event as he's having a private party.

Curly I know this is off topic from gowns and tiaras but Fergie was another in that generation whose mum ran off with her lover. Another very insecure young woman taking on a huge role with really no meaningful guidance and support.

Both Kate and Meghan have very supportive, strong mothers that clearly are very available to their daughters. Then both women went to university and had years as adults before coming into the RF. They both seem to be a lot more mature and emotionally stable. After the disastrous experience of Di and Fergie having to survive unaided, the RF have learnt to give new brides meaningful training and support.

I believe having a strong, loving mum behind the scenes is the real secret sauce though!

. Just going to Leave this here while I go back and catch up few days at work an of I nearly loose you all!

Fergie's mum died so tragically, I think she was only in her early 60s. I didn't hear much about what her stepmother was like but I don't think she was a Raine.

I was reading a review of 'Ma'am darling' the other day, and it said that Princess Margaret was born into an age of deference but died in an age of egalitarianism. I think that shift was so huge, it took the Royals by surprise and their support systems just weren't in place for Diana and Fergie's generation. I recall also recently listening to the radio and hearing about how the Queen described the publication of paparazzi photos of a pregnant, bikini-clad Diana as something like journalism's blackest day - how times had changed.

I think they've caught up now, more or less, as shown by the way that both Kate and Megan have been taken under the wing. Charles is not too savvy, I suspect. But the next generation seem fairly on it.

Fergie is very close to her step mother & step siblings; who were at Eugenie’s wedding.
Both Diana & Fergie’s mothers married young then ran off with their 2nd husbands and moved far away. Both were raised by their fathers.

William is well documented as being attracted to Kate’s stable family unit. Harry has obviously been dazzled by Meghan’s beauty and as we all saw at their wedding, Doria is a charming person.

There is a lot to be said for being an older bride marrying into the RF.
In fact Edward & Sophie had a very long engagement of about 8-10 years. Sophie was allowed to live with Edward at BP before they married. There may not be sparks flying; but it appears to be a stable marriage.

Excellent Vanity Fair article, thank you - but somewhat generous with the truth 

Yes both Will and Harry seem to have really wanted to make sure their wives are shielded as much as possible from the worst of the media excesses and also getting a lot of practical training and support for their role.

Spudlet things changed so quickly in terms of royal spouses, Philip was of course a royal prince and previously European royal families were the hunting ground for a royal spouse. We had Margaret’s husband Anthony Armstrong-Jones who was a commoner and Anne’s husband Mark. However I don’t know if anyone was prepared for or expected the enormous interest in Diana and how in the ‘80s what we all wanted from her. So really her and Fergie’s roles changed with the increase in mass media and it all caught the palace on the hop. They just did not seem willing and able to change and give them the professional support they needed (in terms of managing the media).

Hopefully the new young duchesses are benefiting from all the very hard lessons learned. To be fair historically things changed very rapidly and RF were so removed they could not appreciate how much.

I think Charles is another player where the goal posts changed while he was growing up. He never seemed of his generation but always a “young fogey” because of it.

You would need a solid support system to get through the experience - and a bit of life experience too. I wouldn't want it now but at 19, or however old (young!) Diana was? I would have been obliterated.

Thinking about the generational shift again - my grandparents received a card from the Queen for (I think) heir 50th and 60th wedding anniversaries. Both are framed and in pride of place on the sideboard. But I can't imagine my mum doing the same, somehow? There's been such a change in how the RF is viewed.

Loving looking at all the jewellry- thanks for the earlier link ahoydelboy

who will inherit it when HM dies? Do you think she will bequeath it individually, or does it all belong to whoever is the monarch? I can see why the queen loans it all out, but must be strange to loan out her own more recent jewellry to Kate ie her wedding present from Philip? Equally I've always wondered how Kate feels wearing Diana's engagement ring, as it was clearly a very unhappy marriage. That said, i wouldn't complain about wearing any of those rocks!

I’m glad you’ve all enjoyed the link . The owner of that Instagram page obviously puts a lot of time and effort into her (his?) posts. Someone asked earlier about a book to select jewels from. They’d be catalogued no doubt.

All the jewellry belongs to the Monarch, so it will go to Charles; then William.

I think Kate would see the ring as a symbol of William’s love for his mother and for her.

Interesting in the VF article; that the Queen only invites those who are in favour to accompany her on engagements. So Meghan being invited so early on in her marriage was quite an honour.

Ah you're all over here! I'll C&P this from old thread:
No.6 on AhoyDelBoy's link: Lotus Flower Tiara. ''The Queen Mother had received this in the form of a necklace in 1923 which she had made into a tiara''.

How low on the head the QM is wearing the tiara! Obviously 1920s style and so I guess wearing it this way would have been seen as being quite fashion forward and a parting with tradition. I'm reminded of when Diana wore a necklace, was it, as a head band? Some loved it, some hated it. I'll try and find a link.

www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-4773224/Diana-s-rainbow-rare-stones-favourites-fakes.html

It's shown in this link if you scroll through. Interesting about Diana wearing a lot of fake stones, enjoying passing them off as ££££.

I was reading a review of 'Ma'am darling' the other day, and it said that Princess Margaret was born into an age of deference but died in an age of egalitarianism.

I read Ma'am Darling and would really recommend it. It makes the point that for minor royals like PM, it's all downhill - born a prince/ss, then gradually becoming less relevant and newsworthy as the distance widens between them and the throne. PM was furious over the Morton Diana book and turned against Diana because of it, but she'd been happy to talk to a biographer herself a few years earlier. I had to wonder if she was annoyed because there was much less fuss over her book due to her not being young and hot anymore!

And yes, the goalposts have moved to the other end of the pitch during the Queen's reign, with the turning point being the 1960s.

However I don’t know if anyone was prepared for or expected the enormous interest in Diana and how in the ‘80s what we all wanted from her.

According to DM, everyone confidently expected the press interest in Diana to tail off after the wedding, when she'd be just another royal...

https://www.instagram.com/p/Bp1xkKqFzxL/?utmsource=igshare_sheet&igshid=1wzi93rr6a8pv

Oh I really hope this link works. Check out Camilla's dancing! Got a bit of a crush now.

Great article on Diana’s jewellry @Laiste

I particularly liked the aquamarines she wore in the last few years of her life. Apparently her best friend; Lucia di Flécha Lima; wife of the Brazilian ambassador bought her the Aquamarine ring ( now worn by Meghan) to replace her engagement ring after the divorce.

Unbelievable to think, that when she died; Diana was a year or so younger than Kate & Meghan are now. Diana looks more sophisticated and i hâte to say it, but Kate does look older.

CurlyWurlyTwirly yes those Aquamarines caught my eye. I now want an aquamarine cocktail ring! That photo had the caption about the matching bracelet having a diamond flower behind it i believe. Reversible jewelry!

@CurlyWurlyTwirly That's my all-time favourite Diana dress! She always looked more mature than Kate and Meghan, even when she was in her 20s. I blame the frumpy 80s fashions!

OMG. Just found some Meghan Gold. 3 years ago; just before she met Harry.
She name checks soho house Toronto, the Harbord Room, where her boyfriend Cory Vitello was chef.
Interesting in how she greets a fan. Friendly but slightly more clipped than her current walk about style.

Another interview in

I think her trajectory at the time was to transform the Tig into the next Goop.

That's interesting, Curly - she appears to be modelling. Posing with the clothes, shoes and accessories. Also it seems like an infomercial - definitely advertising Soho House... Which turned out well!

I am not going to lie ladies, had a minor panic when I couldn't find you all!! Haha

Ahoy thank you for the jewellery link. Some beautiful pieces.

In the Atlanta interview, Meghan sounds really different, doesn't she? It's as recent as 2016! I can't quite pinpoint what's changed. The quality of her voice?

There seems to be a more singsong quality to it and an upwards inflection at the end of her sentences. But she's certainly passionate when talking about period poverty and wrote an article for Time after her trip to India. It'll be interesting to see if she champions similar causes as a royal.

Her voice is softer now, a little more gentle. In both pieces she comes across as very confident and self assured.

Just popping in to bookmark for the morning