The Court Jeweller

Sparkling Royal Jewels From Around the World

The Wessexes Celebrate Twenty Years of Marriage

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Today, the Earl and Countess of Wessex celebrate their twentieth wedding anniversary, a milestone that they marked on Tuesday with a new set of official portraits.

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The images of Edward and Sophie were taken at Royal Ascot. Sophie wore pearl drop earrings, a diamond tennis bracelet, and a diamond rose brooch with her ensemble, while Edward donned a tie pin featuring the cap badge of the Rifles.

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Edward is the second of the Queen’s four children to celebrate a twentieth wedding anniversary. His sister, the Princess Royal, has been married to Sir Timothy Laurence for twenty-six years.

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Prince Edward, the youngest of the four children of the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh, married Sophie Rhys-Jones at St. George’s Chapel, Windsor Castle on June 19, 1999. Their wedding, which fell in the midst of the busy Order of the Garter/Royal Ascot season in Windsor, featured Garter-themed outfits for their young attendants. Sophie wore a diamond tiara given to her by her new mother-in-law, as well as a suite of black and white pearl jewelry designed by the groom.

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Recently, Sophie debuted a new setting of her wedding tiara, which many have deemed a major improvement to the piece.

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Sophie and Edward have two children, Louise and James. The entire family recently gathered with the Windsors on the balcony of Buckingham Palace for the Queen’s annual birthday celebrations.

Royal Ascot Jewels 2019: Day One

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The most wonderful royal time of the year is officially here, everybody! Here’s a look at the jewels worn for the first day of Royal Ascot!

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The Queen was joined by the Duke of York and two special guests in her carriage: King Willem-Alexander and Queen Maxima of the Netherlands, who stayed on after yesterday’s Garter Day ceremonies. (More on that event here!)

Charlie Crowhurst/Getty Images for Ascot Racecourse

For the first day of the races, the Queen wore light blue with one of her newer brooches, the Sapphire Jubilee Snowflake Brooch.

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As the name suggests, the brooch was a gift from the people of Canada to mark her Sapphire Jubilee in 2017. The brooch’s design is loosely inspired by a snowflake — you’ll note that it only has four sides, while snowflakes always have six. Interestingly, the ITV commentators from today’s appearance took a different approach to the piece, noting a resemblance to the North Star. (More on the brooch here!)

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Queen Maxima, delightfully, wore a fantastically bonkers hat and some major diamonds for the races today.

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Her earrings are made up of removable diamond clusters from the top of the Stuart Tiara, which she famously debuted in its full form in Britain last autumn. (Here’s a look at a previous appearance from the earrings!)

Charlie Crowhurst/Getty Images for Ascot Racecourse

She also wore the Dutch royal family’s gorgeous Diamond Trellis Bracelet, which was made during the reign of Queen Wilhelmina.

Bryn Lennon/Getty Images for Ascot Racecourse

The Duchess of Cornwall wore her daytime jewelry uniform: her favorite pearl drop earrings with her pearl choker necklace featuring a large diamond clasp.

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Beside her in the second carriage was the Duchess of Cambridge, who was gorgeous in light blue for the races. She accessorized her Elie Saab dress with blue topaz and diamond earrings from Kiki McDonough.

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Here’s a look at Kate’s entire outfit, which was my favorite of the day.

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The Princess Royal wore pearls with a classic piece from her jewelry box: her diamond and gold ribbon brooch. (More on the brooch here!)

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Zara Phillips wore sparkling earrings with disc-shaped drops for the first day of the meet.

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The York princesses, however, kept their jewelry predictably minimal, with the usual assortment of hoop earrings and bracelets. (What earrings would you have paired with Beatrice’s ensemble?)

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And the Countess of Wessex sparkled in pearl drop earrings, a diamond tennis bracelet, and her petite diamond rose brooch. That’s all for Day One of the event — tune in tomorrow for more Ascot jewels!