Royal Style: silk, stomachers, sapphires and plenty of sass

[Maireas]

New thread!

I think fair enough for non working royals to accept gifted clothing (as long as they send the stuff they don’t take, back). I don’t want gifted clothes being worn when representing the Foreign Office or whatever. Those clothes should be paid for properly, even with a discount - which I think they do get - but designers do deserve to be paid for their clothes no matter the publicity. I like that the royal staff do send back items sent for potential wearing, back with a note saying thank you for sending it but not for us.

I wonder what Meghan would have done if she had stayed a working royal. She was under pressure to look good but sounds like Harry didn't have enough cash to cover her clothes. Maybe HMTK would have upped his allowance.

The borrowed stuff - if it is borrowed - fits Bea and Eug better than it does Meghan.

I think, @hopeishere that Meghan would have been fully and properly subsidised.

Well Meghan spent around £407,000/$510,000 on clothes in her first year in the Royal Family so I presume she could re-wear some of these or get them altered as Kate does. Once she had built her wardrobe the costs should have reduced as she would only have had had to add pieces.

Harry received an allowance of £2-2.5 million from his father, part of which was to cover clothing costs for their official duties

That finishing school is not far from me, I really thought they were a thing of the past. it's a beautiful picturesque spot. Wonder if I could convince the hubby and kids to sign up for the home management one 😀

I know it’s not wholly in the spirit of the thread but I think as a celebrity Meghan would be loaned and gifted clothes and Jewellery. So it might have been a bit of a culture shock that as member of the RF she had to refuse them/send them back and pay for clothes etc. albeit with a discount.

Beatrice has blossomed since she got married and just seems to be getting it right.

Yes but @Sisterpita according to the BBC 'In the financial year 2018-2019 (the first year of their marriage), Charles's Duchy of Cornwall estate provided more than £5m to cover the public duties - and some private expenses - of the Sussexes, and of Prince William and Catherine, Princess of Wales, then the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge.'

So no freebies but likely around £2m a year from FIL (and likely to increase when he became king) and a house in Windsor renovated at the expense of the taxpayer. So she wasn't being asked to fund her own clothes buying.

Prince Harry and Meghan: Where do they get their money? www.bbc.co.uk/news/explainers-51047186

@Choux I think you misunderstood my point which was about the cultural difference between being a celebrity and being a member of the RF. The former can accept loans and gifts of clothes etc. the later cannot and quite rightly pays for their clothes.

I have no issue with KC (when he was PoW) funding Meghan and Catherine’s clothes.

Yes - not being able to do the the Hollywood thing of "gift or loan and return" of clothing and accessories, and the need to register and return certain gifts she received, seemed to be something she struggled to understand when she was in the RF. I don't think she ever truly "got" the risks involved of undermining British government policy by accepting gifts from foreign powers or dodgy characters in opposition to royal protocols.

I remember the issues when Meghan kept the diamond earrings that were gifted to her by Saudi Arabia at the same time the government was attempting to take a diplomatic hard line after the murder of the journalist. Did she ever return them? Or did she take them with her when she left the Royal family?

The good thing is the RF has an absolute treasure trove of jewellery so don’t need to buy more. 😂

OH but what about those brooches Camilla gets and her Alhambra. I bet those gifts mean more to her than any RF gems

I am sure they do.

I noticed her sister wearing a green Alhambra necklace in the Coronation behind the scenes programme.

https://www.newmyroyals.com/2024/01/king-felipe-queen-letizia-and-leonor.html
New Years Military parade in Spain. Leti looking warm and smart, Princess Leonor looking very good indeed in uniform.

Oh they do look stylish. I like Leti's outfit very much.

There's a photo of Camilla wearing a green Alhambra necklace here. I didn't see the programme which featured Annabel but if it's the same design perhaps Camilla lent it to her.
www.thecourtjeweller.com/2022/10/queen-camillas-van-cleef-arpels-jewelry-collection.html

I have always loved Cam's animal brooches, but the Ballerina one in that article is gorgeous. Can I have a brooch on the SSoS @Maireas ?

Camilla looks lovely in all those pics. I also love her hats. They are always amazing.

Indeedy!

Yes, they are lovely pictures of Camilla and her jewellery. I like the colourful bird brooch.

Thank you

Zara at an awards event in Australia. I quite like the dress apart from the sleeves.

That's a lovely dress, a good fit. Mike looks good too in the light jacket..

That's a lovely dress on Zara

Don't like the sleeves and it's just a little too long, IMHO! It's nice tho at the same time.

I like that dress, it’s a bit different but in a good way!