Royal Style: Elizabeth may be gone, but her diamonds are forever

[Maireas]

Evening Royal style and beauty fans.
Into the Carolean era, with more bling we hope! Also more state banquets?

I took my mum to London for her 80th birthday and we did the Crown Jewels. That's a lovely bit of bling.

In true MN style that was intended to be light hearted

Yes it’s a glorious crown.

The PoW coronet that the Duke of Windsor so controversially took away with him into exile after his abdication, was returned after his death in 1972. It now forms part of the Crown Jewels in The Tower.

The coronet was originally made for George V when he was PoW, and he wore it to the coronation of his father Edward VII in 1902. The Duke of Windsor, when PoW wore it the coronation of George V in 1911.

The coronet made for the investiture of Charles as PoW used new techniques and materials during its construction, such as electroplating and fibreglass, so it's an interesting piece! 👑 👑 👑

Yes I find it rather striking and very interesting as a piece of art. But on balance I prefer a more traditional aesthetic.

(Charles’ coronet, that is)

meanderingthroughtime.weebly.com/history-blog/coronets-of-the-princes-of-wales

There's three for William to choose from

I've been distracted all day by work and life in general - I've missed lots!
So sorry to hear some sad stories on here ☹

HMQ's engagement ring is absolutely gorgeous. A really timeless piece that looks modern by today's standards, so it will be interesting to see who if anyone, it goes to. Camilla already has a whopper of a ring and of course Kate has an iconic one.
Maybe just maybe Lady Louise? Perhaps on the basis that she was I believe very close with Philip (carriage driving etc) and I assume he gave it to HMQ on their engagement? The other granddaughters have beautiful rings (I love Eugenie's one.)

@Eaumyword that is a really lovely idea.

Oh, I see! 😁

Thanks for that update, Ada, I'm glad it was returned!

Thank you everyone for the info.

I hope William uses the George V coronet and Catherine has the one worn by Queen Mary.

I'm wondering if William will have an Investiture as PoW, or it's just integrated into the Coronation.
Possibly thinking of the cost of another big event.
Officially name him then and he pays homage to Pa.

Has anyone else noticed that Edward is starting to look a lot like Charles? I was struck by how similar their faces are now that Edward has a bit of an older man’s face.

I think the queen's ring won't be worn again for a long time. Charles will put it away.

Ah well it is a good job the Delhi Durbar is already in my stash if it was made from the Boucheron Loop tiara

Thanks for the information!

Yes!

Not many people know about The curse of the Koh-i-Noor diamond, which is why only women can handle it.

“Perhaps most interesting, however, is that the gem was believed by many to hold a curse. The curse has its origins in an old Hindu text; “He who owns this diamond will own the world, but will also know all of its misfortunes. Only God, or a woman, can wear it with impunity.”

On the contrary I think many many people know about the Koh-i-Noor, and it will be controversial for Queen Camilla to wear it because of the provenance. I think she will, but I expect to see and hear many debates about it in the next year or so.

I agree with you, @travellingfamily - it's a very controversial gem indeed.

It's true that many people know about the history of the Koh-i-Noor. I've heard my Asian dad ranting about its theft all my life, but I never knew about its curse. That's the reason why only women wear it & handle it during cleaning.

A lot of royal pieces aren't seen these days. I wonder if it is because it would cause a political ruckus

The problem for the Koh-i-Noir is that at least 5 countries claim ownership of it!

I was disappointed to learn that when it came into British ownership it was recut to Western tastes and as a result lost 40% of its size/weight.

Oh @JesusMaryAndJosephAndTheWeeDon that’s a fine tiara! Are you going to let Camilla bottle it if she wants to wear it again?

I wonder if those little gold circlets that Margaret and Elizabeth wore for their father's coronation are still around. One of those would be also be a possibility for Charlotte.

They are still around in the Royal Collection - see the link below. My knowledge of the arcane rules of heraldry is not great, but I think that coronets for the children of the sovereign (as Elizabeth and Margaret were) are identical to coronets for children of the direct heir to the sovereign, so they wouldn’t be breaking any rules about who wears what what. (Archie and Lilibet, were they to hypothetically attend and wear coronets would need different ones in accordance with the rules!)

www.rct.uk/collection/themes/exhibitions/fashioning-a-reign/buckingham-palace/rcin-75056