The family of the late Queen Elizabeth II gathered in London today to mark the centenary of her birth, and several pieces of her pearl jewelry were brought along for the occasion.
King Charles III and Queen Camilla were joined by all of the working members of the royal family for the reception, which was held at Buckingham Palace on Tuesday. The gathered royals posed for a rare group portrait during the celebration. From left to right, standing, are the Duke and Duchess of Gloucester, the Prince and Princess of Wales, the King and Queen, the Princess Royal, and the Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh. Seated in front of them are the Duke of Kent and Princess Alexandra, who has largely retired from public life.
The picture is a special souvenir of the event, but it also highlights one of the looming problems faced by the family. As Patricia Treble noted today in her royal newsletter, William and Catherine are now the only working members of the family under the age of 60. The rest of the family is continuing to represent the monarchy long after most people have retired. With several years to go before the Wales children are adults, divvying up the work of royal representation will surely become an issue before long.
Today, though, everyone was focused on a different matter of age: 100th birthdays. The King and Queen invited several centenarians who were also celebrating their 100th birthdays on Tuesday, as well as representatives from a number of Queen Elizabeth II’s former patronages.
Here’s Charles and Camilla chatting with one of the guests over birthday cake. Camilla wore a navy ensemble with white accents from her wardrobe archive for the occasion, paired with her four-row pearl choker necklace, which has a classic round diamond clasp.
Pearls, appropriately, were the accessory of choice for several of the royal ladies at the reception. Princess Catherine wore a light purple Emilia Wickstead dress with pearl and diamond jewels that belonged to the late Queen. Kate accessorized with the Bahrain Pearl Drop Earrings, which are set with round pearls given to the Queen as a wedding present in 1947, and a three-row pearl necklace, also from the late monarch’s collection.
Princess Anne also wore a three-row pearl necklace. It’s the one that many of us believe she has inherited from her mother. (The necklace that Elizabeth II commissioned using family pearls in 1952, to be exact.) She paired it with pearl earrings and a floral brooch set with multicolored gems.
The Duchess of Edinburgh wore a Gabriela Hearst dress for the reception, paired with golden earrings from her collection of jewelry by the Italian jewelry designer Giulia Barela and a necklace with a circle charm.
The Duchess of Gloucester was elegant in a red skirt suit, paired with classic pearl, diamond, and ruby pieces from her jewelry box. She wore her diamond and ruby drop earrings, a single strand of silvery-black pearls, and two ruby rings stacked together on her left hand.
And what a joy it was to see Princess Alexandra at the reception. She honored her late cousin in a bright turquoise blue ensemble, and her accessories included her elegant pearl and diamond cluster earrings and a torsade-style necklace of seed pearls.
This post will take the place of our normal Wednesday morning article. But never fear: there’s more coming tomorrow! The free Wednesday newsletter at Hidden Gems is back from its brief hiatus. It will hit subscriber inboxes tomorrow morning. We’ll be discussing a whole range of topics, from another royal birthday in Belgium to the announcement regarding the forthcoming official biography of Queen Elizabeth II. See you there!
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.