Royal Weddings

Engagement Rings / Royal Weddings — 5 Comments
29
Nov 12

The engagement rings adorning the fingers of the British royals

To serve as inspiration to those future brides and boyfriends who are lost and have no idea what engagement ring to go for, I have decided to take a look at the sparklers adorning the fingers of the British royals. From Kate Middleton’s sapphire engagement ring, which once belonged to Princess Diana, to Sophie Wessex’s two-carat oval diamond flanked by two heart-shaped gemstones. Take your pick!

Queen Elizabeth

Queen Elizabeth received a square-cut diamond engagement ring with diamond side stones set in platinum from Prince Philip. The diamonds all came from the groom’s mother’s tiara.

Princess Margaret

Queen Elizabeth’s sister Margaret received a ruby engagement ring that was designed by her future husband, photographer Antony Armstrong-Jones,  it was created to look like a rosebud (a ruby surrounded by diamonds) to honor the princess’ middle name, Rose.

Kate Middleton

Prince William gave Kate his mother’s distinctive 18-carat blue sapphire and diamond engagement ring. It cost £28,000 when it was bought by Prince Charles in February 1981, but now it is apparently worth £85,000. William popped the question in the spartan Rutundu Log Cabins during their Kenyan holiday. According to Kate, it was VERY romantic!

Princess Diana

When Prince Charles proposed to Diana, he still hadn’t bought a ring. Diana was given several rings to choose from Garrard Jewellers. She finally chose the sapphire engagement ring that now belongs to Kate. Her choice of jewellery caused a stir both in the royal family and the public because her ring wasn’t a unique piece and it was part of the jeweller’s catalogue, making it available to anyone.

The Countess of Wessex

Following in family tradition, Prince Edward also proposed with a ring from the British royal jeweller Garrard. He presented his girlfriend Sophie with a two carat oval diamond, flanked by two smaller heart-shaped gems. Set in 18 carat white gold, the jewel is worth an estimated £105,000.

Sarah Ferguson

Prince Andrew proposed to Sarah on March 19, 1986. The romantic prince proposed during a stay at Scotland’s Floors Castle, where apparently their first kiss took place – with a £25,000 Burmese ruby ring, chosen specifically to match Sarah’s red hair. The ring is very similar to Diana’s as it features a coloured gem and it’s also surrounded by diamonds.

Princess Anne

For her marriage to Captain Mark Phillips, Princess Anne chose a sapphire and diamond engagement ring, again by Garrard Jewelers.

  
Autumn Phillips  

Autumn Kelly debuted the beautiful ring given to her by Princess Anne’s son Peter Phillips at an equestrian event in August 2007. All eyes were on the three stone white gold ring, featuring an oval shaped diamond at its centre. The ring is reportedly worth £80,000.

Zara Phillips

Rather than choosing a family heirloom, as William did, Mike Tindall decided to design his own ring for his royal bride-to-be. The beautiful piece of jewellery features a single solitaire diamond in the centre. It sits on tens of pave set diamonds on a split shank or band made of platinum.

The Duchess of Cornwall

Britain’s future king presented the Duchess of Cornwall with a unique art deco style ring featuring a huge square cut diamond flanked by three diamond baguettes. A family heirloom, it was reportedly given to the Queen Mother in 1926 on the occasion of the birth of her daughter, Queen Elizabeth.

Which one is your favourite? Would you want any of these rings for yourself?

MBxx

Royal Weddings — 3 Comments
19
Nov 12

Royal Weddings: Queen Elizabeth II

It has been a very special and unforgettable year for Queen Elizabeth: the sovereign marked her Diamond Jubilee, hosted the 2012 Olympic Games and on the 20 of November she celebrates 65 years of marriage. Here we take a look back at her nuptials to Prince Phillip - then known as Lieutenant Philip Mountbatten – which took place in 1947 and was broadcast to 200 million radio listeners around the world.

The dress

In order to make her wedding dress, the young Princess famously saved up ration cards to purchase the material needed. The beautiful gown, designed by Normal Hartnell, was made of ivory duchess satin and decorated with around 10,000 white pearls imported from America, silver thread and tulle embroidery.

 

Her bridal ensemble also included a 15-foot patterned full court train attached at the shoulders, and a silk tulle veil held in place by a tiara lent to the princess by her mother. Normal Hartnell’s inspiration for the gown was Botticelli’s Primavera, which symbolizes the coming of Spring.

The Shoes

On her feet, the Queen wore ivory duchess satin high heels, embellished with silver and pearls.

The Bouquet

Elizabeth’s bridal bouquet was made up of white orchids and a sprig of myrtle – from the bush grown from the myrtle in Queen Victoria’s wedding bouquet. The following day it was laid on the grave of the unknown soldier in Westminster Abbey.

The Wedding Cake

After the wedding ceremony, a celebratory lunch was held at Buckingham Palace where guests were presented with posies of white heather and myrtle as favours. The wedding cake was a grand affair, standing at nine-foot high, weighing 500 pounds and featuring four tiers. Made from ingredients received from the Australian Girl Guides, the cake was cut using Philip’s sword. One layer was kept until the christening of Prince Charles and another was sent back to Australia by way of thanks.

The Fringe Tiara

This tiara, which can also be worn as a necklace was made for Queen Mary in 1919. It’s not, as has sometimes been claimed, made with diamonds that had belonged to George III but re-uses diamonds taken from a necklace/tiara purchased by Queen Victoria from Collingwood & Co as a wedding present for Queen Mary in 1893. In August 1936 Queen Mary gave the tiara to Queen Elizabeth, from whom it was borrowed by Princess Elizabeth for her wedding in 1947.


The Duchess of Teck’s earrings

These earrings, which originally belonged to Princess Mary, Duchess of Gloucester, were bequeathed to her niece Princess Mary Adelaide, Duchess of Teck and by her to her daughter, the future Queen Mary, in 1897. They were given by the Queen to her granddaughter Princess Elizabeth on 31 January 1947, and she wore them at her wedding later that year.

The Necklaces

The shorter of her two pearl necklaces was the ‘Queen Anne’ necklace, said to have belonged to Anne, the last Stuart Queen. The longer ‘Queen Caroline’ necklace was said to have belonged to the wife of King George II. Both were left to the Crown by Queen Victoria and were given to Elizabeth as a wedding present by her father, King George VI.

 

Royal Weddings — 2 Comments
6
Nov 12

Royal Weddings: Princess Grace of Monaco

This year marks the 30th anniversary of Princess Grace‘s death and 56 years since her unforgettable nuptials to Prince Rainier III of Monaco.

The wedding, watched by an estimated 30 million people on television and dubbed the “The Wedding of the Century”, was attended by 600 guests, including Hollywood stars such as Gloria Swanson, Ava Gardner, Cary Grant and David Niven.

Grace Kelly‘s wedding dress, designed by Helen Rose, is still considered one of the most beautiful ever and has inspired brides worldwide, including Kate Middleton, who chose a very similar design for her big day.

Here we take a closer look at all the details.

The wedding dress

Truly fit for a princess, Grace’s wedding gown was a gift from the MGM film studios and was designed by Helen Rose who worked on it for six weeks with three dozen seamstresses. The dress, featuring a high collar and long sleeves, had a fitted bodice and voluminous skirt.

The bodice was made of reassembled rose point lace over silk net which had been re-embroidered by two seamstresses who worked on it for a month. Thousands of seed pearls were added to accentuate the patterns in the lace.

Bridal headpiece

Grace decided against the customary tiara and instead opted for a Juliet cap decorated with orange blossoms and a veil that was reportedly 90 yards long. The circular veil was edged with lace motifs, but the majority was left sheer, so that the princess’s face would be visible through it.

Wedding Bouquet

Grace’s bridal bouquet was made from Lily of the Valley and the ribbons of her bouquet had small sprigs attached to them. She left the bouquet on the altar of the Chapel of St. Dévote after the wedding.

Meanwhile, Grace’s matron of honour, her sister Peggy, and six bridesmaids carried bouquets of tea roses, whilst the flower girls carried white daisies.

Wedding Shoes and Bible

The shoes paired with Grace’s wedding dress were from Evins, New York, and were designed by David Evins. At the bride’s request, a copper penny was built into the right shoe for good luck.

Grace carried Rev. J.M. Lelen’s Bride’s Manual: A Manual of Catholic Devotion with Mass for the Marriage Ceremony and the Nuptial Blessing during her wedding to Prince Rainier. The book was a gift from family friend and was decorated by MGM’s wardrobe department.

Engagement ring

Rainier originally proposed to Grace with a Cartier eternity band of rubies and diamonds. When he saw other leading ladies in Hollywood were flashing bigger rings, he quickly ordered a 10.47-carat emerald-cut diamond ring with two baguette diamonds mounted in platinum. Grace can be seen wearing it in the aptly named film High Society – her final screen performance before becoming a princess.

Wedding dress sketch

This sketch of the gown was drawn by Helen Rose herself. The design of the dress was carefully guarded in the two months leading up to the wedding. It never left the fitting room,  the workspace was enclosed in partitions so no-one could catch a glimpse, and the dress was locked away every night.

According to historian Stephen Englund, who had access to MGM’s archives, the dress cost £4,500 (£36,000 today) in materials and manufacture, not including Helen Rose’s salary.  MGM stated that 23 metres of heavy taffeta, 23 metres of silk taffeta, 91 metres of silk net and 274 metres of lace were used, but the finished dress used only about a quarter of these amounts.

Royal Weddings — No Comments
21
Oct 12

Royal weddings: Princess Stephanie of Luxembourg

After wearing a tweed cream Chanel suit for her civil ceremony, the new Princess of Luxembourg, Stephanie, left the world speechless, including me, with her stunning custom made Elie Saab wedding dress.

The glitzy affair included stylish princes and princesses from Europe, fireworks and a concert.

But all eyes were on the blushing bride and here we take a closer look at all the details.

The Dress

The bride walked down the aisle in an beautiful Elie Saab dress making her look exactly what she was about to become, a princess.
The A line ivory lace gown, designed personally by the Lebanese designer, took a total of 3,900 hours to make, 3,200 for embroidery and 700 of seamstress.
It featured a 13ft train embroidered with a silver leaf motif, three-quarter length sleeves and a silk tulle veil, decorated with silver thread, beads and pearls.

The Veil

The 15 metre silk tulle veil, attached to her chignon, complemented her tiara with its leaf motifs.

Hair and Makeup

The Princess’ stylish chignon was created by Tom Marcineau of the House of Carita in Paris. Makeup artist Bouzouk was responsible for Stephanie’s simple but feminine makeup.

Bouquet

Stephanie chose a lovely cascading bouquet made out of white orchids created by the prestigious Maison Lachaume in Paris.

Family Tiara

She followed her family’s tradition by wearing a Lannoy family tiara worn previously by her sisters on their wedding day.
Designed by the renowned Althenloh from Belgium, the tiara is made up of 270 diamonds inserted in platinum and crowned in the middle by a pear shaped diamond.

Rings

Honouring her late mother, the bride wore her mother’s engagement ring (below) on her left hand whilst wearing her own on her right hand. For their wedding rings the couple chose fair-trade gold, showing their humanitarian side.

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