Festive in Fuchsia: The Queen Leads Her Family on the Traditional Christmas Day Service at Sandringham

First of all, let me say a big Merry Christmas to all of you who are celebrating today!
We're back with our traditional Christmas Day post here at Books, Birkins & Beauty (you can read about last year's Christmas here), for a recap of what the Royals wore!

Sandringham.

The Queen is, of course, spending the holidays as usual at Sandringham with her family, while this year is the first Christmas the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge (and Prince George!) get to spend in the nearby, newly-redecorated Anmer Hall.

Anmer Hall.

 

After an early morning church outing for Holy Communion, the Royal Family were back at St Mary Magdalene Church on the Sandringham estate for the Christmas morning service at 11am.

 

The Queen, wrapped up warm in a fur coat against the early morning chill, arrives at St Mary Magdalene Church for Holy Communion.

 

The Royals arriving.

 

The Queen looked striking in a festive fuchsia ensamble with magenta accents by Angela Kelly, and completed her look with a three-strand pearl necklace, Queen Mary's diamond and pearl earrings and a diamond and coloured stones (and enamel?) brooch in the shape of the Tudor Rose:

 

 

 

 

Close up of the Tudor Rose brooch from when the Queen wore it to the

Cartier Polo Cup on 15 June 2014.

 

The Duchess of Cambridge was in a brown outfit, sporting a new and as yet unidentified calf-lenght coat, her "Betty Boop" hat by John Lock & Co. and double leaf gold earrings by Catherine Zoraida:

 

 

I really must say, if someone manages to get an ID for this scarf I'd be rushing out to get one, as I absolutely love it!!

Catherine with her father-in-law the Prince of Wales.

 



The Duchess of Cornwall was sadly unable to attend the service as she's suffering from a bad back. Also absent were Zara and Mike Tindall. Other royal ladies present included Princesses Beatrice in a Valentino striped coat:

 

 

And Eugenie:

 

 

The Countess of Wessex:

 

 

With her daughter Lady Louise:

 

The Princess Royal, looking very festive in red:

 

 

And her daughter-in-law Autumn Phillips:

 

Of course, today was also the day of the Queen's Christmas Broadcast. This year's theme was "Reconciliation", and the Queen had words of praise for medics fighting Ebola in West Africa, and remembered her and Prince Philip's visit to the Field of Remembrance at the Tower of London in October. You can view a video of the broadcast here.

The Queen wore a lilac dress by Angela Kelly, previously worn on 2 May 2012 on a visit to Somerset and Devon as part of her Diamond Jubilee tour of the UK and later that same year on Day 4 of the Ascot races.

 

 









Previously paired with her amethyst bouquet brooch, the Queen accessorised the dress for today's appearance with the striking Duchess of Cambridge pearl and diamond brooch (more on the brooch in my blog post here).

 

I'll leave you for now, wishing you all once again a very happy Christmas!

 

 

 









Royal Family Celebrate Christmas in Norfolk

This morning the British Royal Family attended the traditional Christmas Day service at St. Mary Magdalene Church on the Sandringham estate.

Via Google Maps

The perfect chance for us royal watchers to take a peek at the Royals' outfit choices - and of course this year the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge with baby Prince George joined the rest of the Royal Family in celebrating Christmas at Sandringham (more on last year's Christmas festivities can be found here).

So, without further ado, let's have a look at what Kate (and everyone else!) wore.

Early this morning, the Royal Family gathered to take communion. Below we see the Princess Royal, the Duchess of Cambridge and the Queen (in a rare public appearance wearing a fur coat).

The Duchess was wearing the same cream wool coat she debuted earlier this year at the wedding of Mark Tomlinson and Laura Bechtolsheimer in Arosa, Switzerland and a tartan shawl in festive shades of red and green.

The Duchess and the Queen can be seen greeting each other with a kiss while Prince Harry looks on. Awww!

Later in the day and after a change of clothes, the Royal Family was back at the church for the 11 a.m. service conducted by the rector of Sandringham, Jonathan Riviere.

The Queen was in a burnt orange wool coat by Stewart Parvin, black fur hat with matching black fur-trimmed gloves and one of Queen Victoria's bow brooches (made by Garrard & Co. in 1858 as a set of three) to add sparkle.

 

Zimbio

The Duchess of Cambridge wore a forest green felt hat by Gina Foster and repeated her Alexander McQueen Black Watch tartan coat dress, first seen on a visit to her old school, St. Andrew's Pangbourne, in November last year. She was also wearing her Kiki McDonough green amethyst earrings (believed to be a 2011 Christmas present from Prince William) and a pair of black gloves with bow.

 



 

 

Zimbio

 

Zimbio

 

Zimbio

 

Zara Phillips (seen above with Princess Eugenie) was also in attendance, baby bump warmly wrapped up in a red coat with matching feathered hat.

 

 

Zimbio

 

 

Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie of York.

 

 

Afterwards, at 3 p.m., it was time for the Christmas message from the Queen, a tradition that dates back from the times of her grandfather, King George V, who broadcast the first Christmas speech in 1932.

 

The Queen addressed the nation from the Blue Drawing Room at Buckingham Palace, wearing the same primrose yellow dress by Angela Kelly she wore at the wedding of William and Kate in 2011 and the flower basket brooch which was a present from her own parents on the birth of Prince Charles in 1948. I adore the fact that the Christmas tree behind her was decorated with baubles in matching shades of blue and gold!

 

 

On the table beside her, framed photos of her parents, the Queen Mother and King George VI, and the iconic picture showing four generations of the Royal Family taken after Prince George's christening on 22 October 2013.

 

Behind the scenes, never seen before footage filmed at the christening photo shoot was included in the Christmas message; two clips are shown below:

 

 

 

 

(All photos from the Daily Mail unless otherwise stated; a transcript of the Queen's Christmas speech can be found here; link to the video on YouTube's Royal Channel can be found here).

 

Bridal Tiaras in the British Royal Family, Part III

Today brings us to the last instalment in our recent post series about tiaras worn by British royal brides in the past century or so.

So, after finishing last Monday with a look at the Countess of Wessex's wedding tiara, let's pick up where we left, with a closer look at the next royal bride, Autumn Phillips née Kelly.

The blonde Canadian married the Queen's eldest grandchild, Peter Phillips, in St George's Chapel at Windsor Castle on 17 May 2008. The bride chose a relatively simple gown (at least by royal standards. The Royal Order of Sartorial Splendour tells us that the dress reportedly costed about £ 2,500) and borrowed the Festoon tiara from her mother-in-law, the Princess Royal.

It is quite a dainty and delicate piece, and I was somewhat surprised to learn it's relatively modern, having been a gift to Princess Anne from the World Wide Shipping Company when she christened one of their ships in 1973 (more on the tiara itself can be found here).

Alas, it is not a particular favourite of mine, too spiky for my taste!

 

Next, of course, are the big guns, the tiara (and indeed the wedding!) that absolutely everyone will remember: that of Catherine Middleton to Prince William, on (do I even need to remind you of the date?) 29 April 2011.

 



As is widely known by now, the Duchess wore Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother's Halo tiara.

The marvellous "The Queen's Diamonds" book by Hugh Roberts has some background information on it: it's a piece by Cartier, which was purchesed by the Duke of York on 18 November 1936 as a present for the Duchess of York, who was to become Queen just a few weeks later. In fact, she first wore it in public while still Duchess of York.

It is made up of 16 graduated scrolls with a large brilliant cut diamond at the centre.

The tiara was then given to Princess Elizabeth on her 18th birthday in 1944. The Queen has since loaned it to Princess Margaret and Princess Anne.

At the time of Catherine Middleton's wedding, it was reported in the press that the Queen had offered her a choice of tiaras to choose from; the Duchess' choice, reportedly the most simple among those on offer, is of course now widely recognized (and replicated!) the world over.



Later that same year, the tiara took centre stage at an exhibithion of the wedding dress and jewellery
at the Summer Opening of Buckingham Palace.


A few months later, on 30 July 2011, it was Zara Phillips' turn to wed Mike Tindall in Edinburgh, so another splendid opportunity for some tiara-watching!

Zara borrowed from her mother the Princess Royal a piece which had been in her great-grandmother possession, the Meander tiara.

It has a Greek key design, with diamonds in the shape of a laurel wreath as a centrepiece. I have to say I was not a fan of this style on Zara, maybe her hair should have been dressed differently, but as it was the tiara looked as though it were sitting on top of her head without particular purpose (it didn't even serve to keep her veil in place).

 

 

 

Much prettier when worn by Princess Anne, who has much bigger hair and so suits the tiara best, in my opinion!

So, now we've gone through all the most significant recent royal Weddings, if I were to rank my favourites, first would be Princess Diana's Spencer tiara, followed by Sarah Ferguson's tiara and Princess Margaret's Poltimore tiara! Special mention to the Strathmore tiara, which isn't tecnically a bridal tiara, as the Duchess of York didn't wear it on her wedding day, but made it on this list as it's a special favourite of mine!

Least favourites? The Meander tiara as worn by Zara Phillips, the Countess of Wessex's tiara and Autumn Phillips' Festoon tiara.

Have you got a special favourite yourself? Or a piece you utterly dislike and don't want to see out in public ever again? Be sure to leave a comment and let me know!