Kate visits the National Portrain Gallery for Olympic Exhibit

19-Jul-2012: The Duchess of Cambridge visited the 'Road to 2012: Aiming High' exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery in London. Kate is a patron of the Gallery, and during her visit she listened to speakers, former paralympians as well as photographers, who have captured images from the games. Even the Duchess has a photograph captured of herself and on display.

What she wore:
Dress: Stella McCartney ($885)
Shoes: Prada ($650)
Necklace: Cartier ($80,000)  


Pictures via Daylife

Victoriadagen

Happy 35th Birthday!

The Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden celebrated her birthday alongside her husband, Prince Daniel, her daughter, Princess Estelle, as well as her parents, King Carl XVI Gustaf and Queen Silvia at the family's summer residence Solliden, on the island of Oeland.

 Her brother and sister, and their significant others are to be attending a quiet celebration later on in the day.

What a great looking family. It's hard to believe Victoria gave birth less than 5 months ago.

Pictures: Daylife

Kate and Pippa attend men's singles final match at Wimbledon

08-Jul-2012:  Duchess of Cambridge and sister Pippa Middleton attended the men's singles final match of the 2012 Wimbledon Championships tennis tournament in London.

Pictures: Daylife
 
Outfit details: The Duchess of recycle re-wore her pale pink Joseph dress ($375/£245) and crisp white Joseph jacket ($765/£495). She accessorized for the day with her trusty LK Bennett "sledge" pumps ($285/£185), Kiki McDonough gold and citrine earrings ($765/£495) and Diane von Furstenberg Leopard clutch ($395/£255) for a bit spice (all repeats). Cost of the look (minus the two necklaces and sunnies): $2,585/£1,675.  Good thing it's recycled. ☺

Princesses at Paris Haute-Couture Fashion Week

Charlene at Christian Dior:

Charlene at Louis Vuitton boutique opening:

Tatiana at Armani Prive:

Pictures: Daylife

A bad serve, Kate?

Kate was so filled with expression in the royal box at Wimbledon, I couldn't help myself in creating this collage. Must have been a bad serve! Something managed to make Kate lose her almost always present million dollar smile.

Pictures: Daylife

Duke and Duchess of Cambridge at Wimbledon

04-Jul-2012:  Prince William and Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge attended Day 9 of the Wimbledon in London.
Kate wore the same £1,100 ($1,700) Alexander McQueen cable knit dress she wore on July 4, 2011 during her and Williams trip to Canada. 

Pictures: Daylife

William and Catherine attend wedding in Bishops Lydeard

 

 

 

 

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge surprised locals when they showed up for a wedding at St. Mary's Church in Bishops Lydeard, Taunton, Somerset on a rainy Sunday afternoon. Kate wore a pink and white printed silk chiffon Beulah London dress (on sale now for $771 from $795).

Pictures via Daily Mail, twitter.com/OfficialFreyja/

Oh my bling!

The Girls of Great Britain and Ireland tiara

Queen Elizabeth II wearing The Girls of Great Britain and Ireland tiara

These are just some of the 10,000 diamonds present at the Diamonds: A Jubilee Celebration exhibition at Buckingham Palace. Many jewels on display will be from the Queen's personal collection, as well as several pieces of historical importance from the Royal Collection. The exhibition will run from June 30 to July 8, and then again from July 31 to October 7.

Queen Victoria's Diamond Necklace and Drop Earrings

Queen Elizabeth II wearing Queen Victoria's diamond necklace and earrings

Cullinan III and IV brooch

Queen Elizabeth II wearing the Cullinan III and IV brooch

Some of the history behind the jewels in this post:

The Girls of Great Britain and Ireland tiara was gifted to the future Queen Mary as a wedding present by a committee of ladies headed by Lady Eve Greville in 1893.  The ladies purchased the tiara from Garrard and gave the remainder of the money raised to charity.  Originally the tiara had pearls on the nine spokes, but Queen Mary remodeled the tiara and replaced the pearls with diamonds. The tiara also has a removable diamond bandeau as a base. This is one of my favorite tiaras, it's delicate and yet extremely regale. It is also one of her Majesty's favorites, many have suggested it is because of its light weight.

Queen Victoria's diamond necklace and drop earrings were commissioned by Queen Victoria from the same jeweler as above, Garrard, in 1858.  These pieces were re-made and re-made again after the Queen lost Queen Charlotte's diamonds and had to give back the original stones.  The settings and diamonds were replaces from various other pieces in Queen Victoria's collection.  None the less, the final setting is spectacular.

Cullinan diamond collection:  The Cullinan diamond was the largest rough diamond ever found at 3,106.75 carats.  The diamond was then cut into many magnificent polished stones, the largest being Cullinan I (530.4 carats) currently mounted in the Sceptre with the Cross.  The stones were gifted to King Edward VII on his birthday.  In 1911, Queen Mary mounted the Cullinan III (94.4 carat) and IV (63.6 carat) into a tiara; however the tiara was remodeled with other stones and these diamond could be used as pendants or hooked together and worn as a brooch (its most often seen incarnation).  How could you not love a diamond the size of your fist?  Honestly.