February 21-27, 2014
As we wrap up February, here are the top jewel stories of the week!
10. The simple jewels that Queen Maxima wore to welcome home the Dutch Olympic team on Tuesday was overshadowed just a bit by all the hardware that the athletes brought back from Sochi. (Seriously, does everyone in the Netherlands skate that fast???)
9. During a visit to the Spanish National Ballet on Monday, Queen Sofia let her spangled jacket take center stage, pairing it with simple gold jewelry.
8. Royal photographers got a close-up view of Queen Mathilde’s bracelet and watch during a seminar on cyber-bullying on Thursday — wonderful to get to see even simple royal jewels so clearly!
7. Courtesy the Luxarazzi blog, here’s a rare look at a piece of jewelry that once belonged to the princely family of Liechtenstein: the ruby and diamond tiara of Archduchess Elisabeth of Austria.
6. The Bourbon-Parma branch of the Dutch royal family grew a bit this week, with the birth of Princess Zita, the first child of Prince Jaime and Princess Viktoria. As she is a descendant of Queen Juliana, I think we can expect to see this little princess (who was named after her father’s great-aunt, the last empress of Austria) wearing pieces from the family’s jewel foundation one day.
5. For a rather windy visit to Portsmouth on Wednesday, the Duchess of Cornwall wore her Nelson diamond brooch, which she generally dons at events related to the Royal Navy.
4. To welcome German Chancellor Angela Merkel to Buckingham Palace on Thursday, Queen Elizabeth II chose a diamond and pearl brooch from the collection of one of her own German ancestors: Princess Augusta of Hesse-Kassel, the wife of Prince Adolphus, Duke of Cambridge (and grandmother of Queen Mary). The Queen inherited the Duchess of Cambridge’s brooch from Queen Mary in 1953.
3. Also on Thursday, the Queen wore her Cartier aquamarine clips for the presentation of the Queen’s Anniversary Prizes for Higher and Further Education. The clips were given to her by her parents in 1944 as an eighteenth birthday gift.
2. A poster at the Royal Jewels of the World Message Board has posted a complete inventory of the jewels that belonged to the late Princess Lilian of Sweden, including their assessed value. As you may expect, two pieces from the collection of Crown Princess Margareta — the diamond laurel wreath tiara and the scarab necklace — were among the most valuable.
1. And finally, this week the Swedish royal family welcomed a new member: Princess Leonore, the newborn daughter of Princess Madeleine. Some were surprised that the baby was given a title, but I, for one, am thrilled — Queen Estelle is going to need a buddy to help show off the Bernadotte jewel collection in a few years!
NOTES, PHOTO CREDITS, AND LINKS
1. Banner image: detail of The Marriage of George, Duke of York to Princess Mary of Teck (1894) by Laurits Tuxen. Image in the public domain; source here.
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