Royal Style: Charles and his wee boots, and please - plenty of (Preloved) bling!

[Maireas]

Hello! New thread....thanks for the title suggestions!
Fingers crossed for some good festive style!

Queen Mary gifted the tiara to Princess Alice - was it in the family or did QM commission it specifically for PA ?

Queen Mary had commissioned the tiara for herself (I think she re-used the diamonds from one of the tiaras given to her for her own wedding, and which clearly she wasn’t find of - she was an inveterate tinkerer with her jewels!), and wore it for a number of years before she gave it to Alice as a wedding gift.

Sjhe was extremely generous to her daughters in law, giving each of them a full parure as well as other tiaras and jewels as well (Princess Marina received a full sapphire and diamond parure, and Alice a turquoise and diamond one as well as this tiara).

Perhaps the Duchess was expecting to be cold the the silver material is insulating like a foil survival blanket. 😉

There's some lovely emeralds and pearls in her necklaces there too.

I really like that tiara.. more so than eugenies.

As I suspected, it’s much, much nicer with the central diamond honeysuckle piece.

I hope this link works

In that rendition I like it more than the Greville kokoshnik.

Rendition? Edition? You know what I mean...

The tiara Zara wore for her wedding is one of my favourites, but I suspect one were unlikely to see again. If it's Anne's, on her death it'll either be Zara's (who's unlikely to need it again) or revert back to the crown, in which case equally unlikely to be worn.

Maybe when Zara's daughter marry?

Oh yes the Meander tiara. I like that one a lot. I really like the bandeau style, and because it’s quite a plain design it always looks modern.

Did anyone else clock Charles's emerald dress shirt studs? They are gorgeous 😍

Maybe when Zara's daughter marry?

That would be lovely to see.

Ohh no I hadn’t! They are very nice indeed. Must make an effort to pay closer attention to the King’s attire.

It is definitely Anne's. It was inherited from Philip's family and passed to Anne as a 21st birthday gift if I remember correctly.

Zara wore it on her wedding day and Anne wears it from time to time. We could see it when either of them appear at a state occasion, or when any of Anne's 4 granddaughters marry.

Tiaras would traditionally pass to the heir to the family title as part of the estate, like Earl Spencer inherited the Spencer tiara rather than Diana or her sisters who wore it at their weddings. So that they are kept "in the family" but as Anne's children don't have titles and this isn't a tiara attached to a title or estate who knows what will happen.

It is a lovely and very wearable tiara though.

I agree that the Duchess of Gloucester's tiara looks nicer with the diamond honeysuckle centre. I thought the emerald clashed with her blue dress, though not everyone likes total matching with accessories I know.

For me it doesn’t have to actually match, but it does have to look good together/be suitably coordinated/clash in the right (colour blocking?) way. I do like it when the Swedish Queen/Princesses match theirs beautifully to what they’re wearing, or in Madeleine’s case, those eyes!

I really love this dress that the Lady Mayoress wore. Mostly for that beautiful deep red. But I’ve also got a soft spot for floral embroidery and sheer sleeves (although I don’t think the sleeves worked very well here - a bit messy looking and the black edges are clumsy against the white gloves).

The tiara is nice too - pretty, and not too much.

I love a cape but I couldn't pull one off, you need to be much more Max or Daisy in your attitude than Duchess of Gloucester. I'd just look bedraggled and lumpy.

I like the Lady Mayoress's dress too. And apparently she has a choice of tiaras from the Mayor's collection.

I do wonder what will happen to all of these tiaras as the next generation of royals comes through - aside from Kate, Charlotte (and maybe Beatrice/Eugenie?) there won't be many females attending the big state-tiara-wearing occasions.

(And in the head of shoulders pictures the silver cape looks like a hoody!)

Wish our queen had gifted pieces to Sophie. She does work hard for me royals

I suppose it’s difficult these days isn’t it - no guarantee there won’t be divorces in future in which case they potentially won’t stay in the family. Gifted for use during lifetime might be a better solution now, for the most part. I wonder if HMQ did bequeath that new (to Sophie) necklace, though.

*It is definitely Anne's. It was inherited from Philip's family and passed to Anne as a 21st birthday gift if I remember correctly.

Zara wore it on her wedding day and Anne wears it from time to time. We could see it when either of them appear at a state occasion, or when any of Anne's 4 granddaughters marry.

Tiaras would traditionally pass to the heir to the family title as part of the estate, like Earl Spencer inherited the Spencer tiara rather than Diana or her sisters who wore it at their weddings. So that they are kept "in the family" but as Anne's children don't have titles and this isn't a tiara attached to a title or estate who knows what will happen.*

Sadly I expect Peter and/or Zara will sell it after Anne passes on. What use will they have for it and all the bother of keeping it in a bank (or negotiating a corner if the Royal vault). Lord Linley sold Princess Margaret's gorgeous tiara that she famously wore posing in the bath. Why have all that money sitting in a safe deposit box somewhere when there's school fees to pay?

(Lifetime, or marriage, that should have said)

In which case it would be good if Anne bequeathed it to someone like Charlotte, who is perhaps most likely to wear it one day

In fact I can't think of anyone but Charlotte and the future wives of George and perhaps Louis who will one day wear any of the jewellery if Charles slims down things too much.

Charlotte may have to be Keeper of the Tiaras and loan as she sees fit

Yes. I think bequeathing customs will have to change with the working vs. non-working royals model. Possibly items gifted on will be smaller and more personal, given for sentimental reasons and owned by the individual, whereas the bigger, more ‘royal’ items not owned by the crown will go into a general collection to be available to royal women, working or not, at the discretion of the monarch.