The Royal Family just got a brand new member

 

The Royal Family has just welcomed its newest member - and she's got a very unusual name.

The engagement ring of a duchess that outsparkles some queenly gems

 

You'd think queens would get the best engagement rings but sometimes their lowlier relatives trump them. Step forward the Duchess of Edinburgh who has a sparkler that can outdazzle many a regal gem.

Meet the huge tiara that's about to get a brand new royal owner

There's absolutely no way of missing this particular royal tiara. It's massive and studded with so many diamonds that, even in the dark, it has to sparkle. And just in case that didn't make it noticeable enough, it has a very mysterious past. However, it's future is guaranteed. For this is one of those tiaras that is meant to sit only on the head of a consort and the country it belongs to knows that it's getting a brand new one of those before this brand new year is done.

A beautiful pearl drop that sits in a brooch worn by three queens

It's a single pearl set among dozens of diamonds but despite that sparkling competition, it still shines. For this pearl is part of a brooch that was given to the Royal Family in times of war in the hope that it would always be used by queens. And the decision of Queen Camilla to make it a favourite in her jewellery box since her husband became King Charles III has fulfilled that wish once more.

How bra talk ended with the loss of a royal warrant

 

There's a word you don't get to write every day. Corsetiere. And so much more sophisticated than bra supplier even though they have both been used to describe a lady who fell foul of a Queen of England. To much fanfare, and headlines around the world, Rigby & Peller lost its royal warrant in 2018 because one of its leading ladies wrote a book about bras and Buckingham Palace.

Dressing for Denmark, queen style

 

Yes, this is a blog about Queens of England and Mary is most definitely Queen of Denmark but I'm going to mix it up when I feel like it and also there is a kind of moral here about defining a consort. Plus diamonds and emeralds. So, let's go.

The historic and dazzling diamond that's belonged to at least two queens

 

It is a diamond that made history and it has belonged to at least two queens. The stunning ring presented to Queen Camilla by King Charles when they got engaged has a special story all of its own and a link to the last British woman to be called an empress.

The daughters of the House of Windsor

 

On July 17th 1917, George V issued a royal proclamation changing the name of his royal house and family to Windsor. It was the beginning of dynasty that would set records and change the concept of modern monarchy. And it's a house built on and by women. Four women have been born to the monarchs of the House of Windsor, all of them hugely important. This is a piece I first wrote in 1917 for the centenary of the dynasty but I really like it so I am sharing it again. It also seems a good way to start a new year. Here are the daughters of those who have worn the Crown in the 108 years and counting of the House of Windsor.