The Court Jeweller

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Royal Jewel Rewind: Trooping the Colour 1999

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For a little fun before today’s Trooping the Colour festivities, we’ve got a trip in our bejeweled time machine. Here’s a look at the jewels of Trooping the Colour twenty years ago, in June 1999.

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By 1999, the Queen had given up riding in her annual birthday parade, and had begun taking part in the carriage procession.

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On her sunny yellow outfit, she pinned the brooch she has almost always worn for Trooping the Colour: the Guards’ Brooch. The diamond brooch features the badges of the five Household regiments (the Coldstream Guards, the Grenadier Guards, the Irish Guards, the Scots Guards, and the Welsh Guards) surmounted by a crown. The piece was likely made from a pendant given to the Queen’s aunt, Princess Mary, in 1922. (More about the brooch here!)

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The Queen Mother, pictured here with the Prince of Wales, was still a fixture on the royal scene in 1999. She was only a few weeks away from celebrating her 99th birthday!

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She wore Queen Victoria’s Diamond Jubilee Brooch for Trooping the Colour in 1999, pairing it with her diamond floral earrings and pearls. The diamond and pearl brooch was a present from the members of Queen Victoria’s household in honor of her Diamond Jubilee in 1897. It’s an Heirloom of the Crown, which means that it should have passed to the Queen in 1952, but the Queen Mother continued to wear it until her death in 2002. The Queen now wears it occasionally.

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The newest member of the royal family rode in the Queen Mother’s carriage in 1999: Sophie Rhys-Jones, the fiancee of Prince Edward. (He was also in the carriage, top hat in hand.) Sophie and Edward were married exactly one week after Trooping the Colour, in a Garter-themed ceremony at St. George’s Chapel, Windsor Castle. For her first Trooping ceremonies, Sophie kept things simple, wearing small stud earrings and a teeny pendant necklace.

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The Princess Royal was in full dress uniform to ride in the procession, as per usual. You’ll note that she wears the insignia of the Order of the Garter with her uniform; she received that honor in 1994.

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The gathering on the balcony looked pretty different in 1999 than it will later today! From left to right here, we’ve got the Duke of Kent, Sophie Rhys-Jones (now Countess of Wessex), Prince Edward (now Earl of Wessex), Sir Timothy Laurence, the Princess Royal, and the Queen.

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And here, the bride and groom are still front and center with another royal grouping. From left to right, we’ve got the Queen Mother, the 8th Duke of Wellington, Sir Angus Ogilvy, Sophie, the Earl of St. Andrews (obscured), Edward, little Lady Amelia Windsor, the Duchess of Kent, and (I believe) Sophie’s mother, Mary Rhys-Jones.

This Week in Royal Gala Jewels: May 31-June 6

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May 31-June 6, 2019
You know it’s a good week for royal jewels when you need a separate review just for the big bling! Don’t forget to vote for your favorites in the poll below!
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11. The Duchess of Cornwall wore her diamond demi-parure for dinner at Winfield House on Tuesday evening, as well as a stack of bracelets, including one with a fantastic green cabochon stone.


10. Charlotte Casiraghi wore her grandmother’s Diamond Festoon Necklace for a reception following her civil wedding to Dimitri Rassam on Saturday. (Much more here!)
Photo © Stefan from Royal Travel and Events. Do not reproduce
9. Alana Bunte wore a diamond and pearl tiara on Saturday to marry Casimir of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Sayn at the family’s castle in Germany. (More here!)
Victoria Jones- WPA Pool/Getty Images
8. For Monday’s American state banquet, Princess Michael of Kent wore the Kent Pearl Festoon Tiara with other diamond and pearl jewels. (More here!)
Victoria Jones- WPA Pool/Getty Images
7. The Duchess of Gloucester wore heirloom diamonds for the state banquet, including Queen Mary’s Honeysuckle Tiara. (More here!)
Victoria Jones- WPA Pool/Getty Images
6. The Duchess of Cambridge was luminous at the state banquet in Queen Mary’s Lover’s Knot Tiara and the Queen Mother’s Sapphire and Diamond Fringe Earrings, plus her new RVO sash and star. (More here!)
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5. The Duchess of Cornwall paired the Greville Tiara with diamond floral earrings and her pearl choker necklace with the grand pink topaz clasp for the state banquet. (More here!)
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4. For the state banquet, Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom sparkled in the Burmese Ruby Tiara and the Crown Rubies. (More here!)
Victoria Jones- WPA Pool/Getty Images
3. The Princess Royal brought out her aquamarines for the state banquet, including the fascinating Aquamarine Pineflower Tiara. (More here!)
Victoria Jones- WPA Pool/Getty Images
2. Princess Alexandra, the Hon. Lady Ogilvy was regal in diamonds and pearls at the state banquet, including the Ogilvy Tiara and a grand pearl and diamond brooch. (More here!)
Victoria Jones- WPA Pool/Getty Images
1. Without a doubt, my top vote of the week goes to the new arrangement of the Wessex Wedding Tiara, which the Countess of Wessex debuted at Monday’s state banquet. (More here!)