Prince William and Catherine

[Guest AAgurl789]

i love kate, but seeing her photos with kids ALL the time during 99% of events gets a bit repetitive and "ehhh" lately.

[Guest Fabiola]

The Prince of Wales pays for Duchess of Cambridge to pose for surprise present

The Prince of Wales commissions Nicky Philipps, the artist, to paint a portrait of the Duchess of Cambridge as a gift for Prince William.

By Richard Eden

7:28AM GMT 11 Mar 2012

When the Duchess of Cambridge accompanies the Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall on a visit to Dulwich Picture Gallery on Thursday, they will be sharing a secret.

Mandrake hears that Prince Charles has commissioned the artist Nicky Philipps to paint the former Kate Middleton. It is thought that the Prince may be planning to give what will be the first portrait of the Duchess to the Duke of Cambridge as a present for his 30th birthday in June.

While Prince William is carrying out his tour of duty as a helicopter pilot in the Falkland Islands, Kate has been sitting for Philipps at her studio in South Kensington.

TRH's Princes William and Harry ©The National Portrait Gallery, London

Philipps, who painted the only joint portrait of Princes William and Harry, said last year: “If they asked me, I wouldn’t turn it down in a million years, but beautiful people are always more difficult. With symmetrical faces, there’s nothing to hang the portrait on. It’s very unlikely that you’ll ever do them enough justice.”

A Clarence House spokesman says: “We have private commissions happening from time to time, but we do not comment on them.”

Artist Nicky Philipps with her painting of Princes William and Harry

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/theroyalfamily/9135995/The-Prince-of-Wales-pays-for-Duchess-of-Cambridge-to-pose-for-surprise-present.html

[Guest Fabiola]

Dulwich Picture Gallery in south London

Kate wore a dark grey Orla Kiely dress with black pattern detail on the top, and a pleated skirt.

Olympic Park in Stratford, east London

[Guest Fabiola]

Kate and William's family home ready after £12 million make-over

16 MARCH 2012

On Thursday, the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh proudly re-opened Kensington Palace after a glamorous £12 million makeover to rediscover its "sleeping beauty".

The dazzling renovation inluded a facelift for the resident statue of Queen Victoria, re-landscaping of ground's plush gardens, and a new lift to whizz visitors to all floors of the 17th century palace.

The new era also means that the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge will be a step closer to moving into their dream family home.

William and Kate currently live in a smaller residence on the estate, but are due to move into Apartment 1A, formerly Princess Margaret's abode, in 2013.

The six-bedroom flat will become their permanent London residence, and their staff will follow them from their current base, St James's Palace.

Kensington Palace is steeped in history and has been home to many other distinguished royals including Princess Diana, and before her, Queen Victoria.

It was there, as an 18-year-old, that she found out she had become Queen from her governess, who had come equipped with smelling salts.

This rich pedigree, coupled with the glamour of the young royals, will have visitors flocking to the site.

But the public won't be able to stumble upon Kate in her living room.

Attractions will comprise a brand new education centre, the Victoria Revealed exhibition where they can watch footage of Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee celebrations and view outfits worn by the monarch, including her wedding dress.

Princess Diana's regalia will also be on display.

http://www.hellomagazine.com/royalty/201203167463/kensington-palace-reopens-william-kate/

[Guest Fabiola]

St Patrick's Day

Kate wore an elegant green dress coat with a chocolate brown hat and an Irish Guards gold brooch

that belonged to the Queen Mother.

[Guest itrayya]

actually for me... i NEVER, EVER get tired of seeing her!!!!

her fashion, her beauty.... always refreshing to me.

i never thought i would care about British royalty but this chicka has got my vote!

and THANKS for the updates!!!

[Guest Fabiola]

The Opening of the Treehouse Hospice in Ipswich

[Guest Char27]

damn it i've been looking high and low for a decent black shoe for work and i cant find it .. seeing as the "in" thing is peep toes ..

[Guest Fabiola]

Duchess of Cambridge wears smartie-inspired charity bracelet designed by Ed Sheeran's mother

By Sadie Whitelocks

PUBLISHED: 11:32 GMT, 23 March 2012 | UPDATED: 14:00 GMT, 23 March 2012

She usually keeps her jewellery to a minimum, wearing discreet stud earrings and plain silver chains.

But as she gave her first public address on Monday the Duchess of Cambridge opted for something bolder.

As she planted a commemorative tree in the grounds of the Treehouse Hospice in Ipswich onlookers were surprised to see a bright smartie-inspired bracelet dangling from her left wrist.

Hidden under the cuff of her long-sleeved cobalt blue Reiss dress - worn two years earlier by her mother at Ascot - the bright purple and orange string of beads emerged as she started her digging efforts.

The funky creation has been designed by 52-year-old Imogen Sheeran, the mother of the Brit Award-winning musician Ed Sheeran.

The mother-of-two first began making jewellery to sell at her son's shows a couple of years ago and to date her designs have proved popular with the likes of Jameela Jamil, Rupert Grint and Jessie J.

Following the Duchess' public appearance Ed took to Twitter writing: ‘Big up Kate Middleton, who is wearing some of my mums home made jewellery!’

Kate's £10 bracelet, which featured four round metallic stones that read EACH, has been specially commissioned for the East Anglia Children's Hospice (EACH).

Many of Mrs Sheeran's designs are inspired by her son's favourite sweet treats from liquorice allsorts to summer fruits.

She previously said: 'I started making jewellery after the funding was cut for a youth arts programme I was working for'

'It needs a good eye and a bit of dexterity and I started to work on some of my own designs.

'I made some liquorice allsort bracelets for Ed to start with and they went down very well.'

Proceeds raised form the sale of the beads will go to East Anglia’s Children’s Hospices (EACH) which support children and young people with life-threatening conditions across Suffolk, Essex, Cambridgeshire and Norfolk, of which the Duchess is a royal patron.

In a foreword to a brochure produced by the charity for the occasion, Kate, 30, wrote:'it is a tremendous privilege to be Royal Patron of East Anglia's Children's Hospices, and I feel truly honoured to be involved with this organisation.

'EACH is a world leader in the way it cares for children with life-threatening conditions and their families, and is at the very forefront of children's palliative care.

'I have been deeply moved by the work of EACH's dedicated staff - and by the environment of support for families. For me, EACH provides services which demand an unerring and passionate level of understanding, knowledge and sensitivity.

'I am extraordinarily grateful for the opportunity to be Royal Patron and I strongly encourage you to continue to support EACH's invaluable work.'

The Duchess became Royal Patron of East Anglia’s Children’s Hospices in January 2012.

Chief executive Graham Butland said:'The Duchess's visit will showcase the magnificent facilities we can now offer to life-threatened children and their families.'

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-2119209/Kate-Middleton-wears-smartie-inspired-charity-bracelet-designed-Ed-Sheerans-mother.html

[Guest Fabiola]

Whizzing down the ski slopes in the French Alps

[Guest Fabiola]

William and Kate spend anniversary with friends who 'matter most'

30 APRIL 2012

It must have felt like a re-run of their own nuptials – albeit without the global audience.

Attending a romantic country wedding on the day of their first anniversary, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge were surrounded by scores of close friends.

Hannah Gillingham and Robert Carter

Britain's golden couple were in the village of Wingfield in Suffolk to congratulate Kate's Marlborough College school friend, Hannah Gillingham.

Among the congregation was the Duchess' sister Pippa Middleton.

"The guests made it feel like a re-run of the royal wedding as they had so many of those people who matter the most to them there," royal photographer Mark Stewart told People.

Despite the driving rain, the brunette beauties were every inch the glamorous guests.

The Duchess recyled a blue lace Erdem dress she debuted on her tour of Canada.

Pippa went for a bolder look, sporting a dazzling butterfly hat and gold sequinned dress. She completed the ensemble with an elegant royal blue coat.

http://www.hellomagazine.com/royalty/201204307895/duke-duchess-anniversary-attend-wedding/

[Guest sprinkle_kitty]

Ugh i'm not going to lie, that picture of Pippa is not very flattering ><

[Guest AAgurl789]

Ugh i'm not going to lie, that picture of Pippa is not very flattering ><

Pippa doesn't take very flattering pictures a lot of times tbh.

[Guest Fabiola]

The Queen's bling-bling of a jubilee! Priceless tiaras, necklaces and brooches. The ultimate diamond collection is revealed for the first time

By Robert Hardman

PUBLISHED: 00:54 GMT, 5 May 2012 | UPDATED: 00:54 GMT, 5 May 2012

Some had to be smuggled past a revolutionary mob. Some had to be prised from the grasp of a royal mistress. The majority were presented as tokens of esteem, reverence and — for the most part — love.

Together, they comprise surely the finest collection of diamonds in the world. And now, in honour of her Diamond Jubilee, the Queen has authorised the first public study and display of these dazzling symbols of majesty.

These are the ‘other Crown Jewels’, the ones which do not reside in the Tower of London. They live at Buckingham Palace, or wherever the Queen happens to need them. These diamonds are not set in ceremonial regalia like orbs or sceptres, restricted to royal rituals.

They are ‘heirlooms of the Crown’, the Monarch’s personal jewels – handed down from Queen to Queen — and worn for everything from a royal awayday to a family wedding or a state banquet.

Some are instantly recognisable, like the Girls Of Great Britain And Ireland Tiara, a wedding present to Queen Mary in 1893 — and worn by the present Queen on her banknotes and coins.

Others are less well-known but equally well-loved. Queen Elizabeth’s Canadian Maple Leaf Brooch, for example, was a present from George VI to his wife ahead of their 1939 tour of Canada. On the cusp of war, this was no ordinary tour but a crucial diplomatic mission.

The Queen Mother treasured the brooch until her death in 2002, whereupon it passed to the Queen. She, in turn, lent it to the Canada-bound Duchess of Cambridge last summer for her first royal tour, a touching and telling gesture of support. Amid all the excitement of the first ‘William and Kate’ excursion overseas, some commentators were too busy focusing on the Duchess’s wardrobe to notice the diamond cluster on her lapel.

But it was the brooch which told the more poignant story. There is a fascinating history to every one of almost 100 pieces included in The Queen’s Diamonds, by Sir Hugh Roberts, former director and now Surveyor Emeritus of the Royal Collection.

The spectacular Greville Tiara, left to the Queen's mother by society hostess Mrs Ronnie Greville

The Girls Of Great Britain and Ireland Tiara, worn by the Queen on our coins and banknotes

Not only has he been allowed to handle these treasures with the Queen’s Curator of Jewellery, Angela Kelly, but he has had access to the archives and accounts of various royal jewellers, too.

So we learn the intriguing history of Queen Victoria’s Fringe Brooch, a stunning flower-cum-jellyfish which resulted from a visit by Sultan Abdul Mejid I of Turkey in 1856. Wanting to thank the Monarch for Britain’s role in the Crimean War, he gave her a set of diamonds — ‘very magnificent,’ she wrote.

Victoria then spent £450 at the royal jewellers, Garrard, who set the stones in a rather racy chaine de corsage which she liked to wear on top of a low-cut bodice, bringing added sparkle to the royal embonpoint.

All that changed with the death of Prince Albert in 1861. ‘The chaine de corsage may have been considered too flamboyant by the Queen for her widowed and withdrawn state,’ notes Sir Hugh. So, some of the diamonds were detached for use elsewhere while the rest of the chaine became a brooch, passed down through the generations.

The Queen Mother wore it at the Coronation in 1953. The Queen continues to wear it to this day. It enjoyed a prominent outing only last year for the state banquet in honour of the President of Turkey, a regal nod to the Sultan’s generosity more than 150 years earlier.

Queen Mary had two wedding gifts joined together to make the Stomacher, left, and right, Flame

Lily Brooch, a 21st birthday present from the children of Southern Rhodesia

The Lover's Knot Brooch, left, was worn by the Queen at Prince William's wedding, and right, The

Williamson Brooch showcases the finest pink diamond ever found

Throughout history, monarchs have asserted their power and status with gold, silver, rubies, sapphires, emeralds and so on. And until the 17th century, it was the men who wore the finest pieces. By the 18th century, diamonds acquired greater prominence as cutting methods improved.

And, with the exception of the compulsively extravagant George IV, it was the royal ladies who increasingly wore the baubles.

The first serious diamond-wearer was Queen Charlotte, wife of George III, who brought a substantial collection from her native Hanover to the British Court.

‘The King never let her appear in public without them,’ Sir Hugh explains. But when her fifth son, Ernest, became King of Hanover, he demanded the return of the lot.

After a prolonged legal battle (conducted in the British courts), the gems went back to Hanover in 1857. ‘Queen Victoria was horrified,’ Sir Hugh reflects.

But she also enjoyed the fruits of British imperial expansion across some of the richest diamond fields in the world. Substantial rocks were presented to the Royal Family as ‘tributes of Empire’, not least the Koh-i-Nur from Lahore.

Diamonds were the new royal gold. And, after Albert’s death, the Queen eschewed all forms of coloured jewellery, sticking to diamonds and pearls instead.

The Delhi Durbar Necklace, left, and right, the Nizam of Hyderbad Necklace was another wedding

present to the young Elizabeth

At the same time, the future Queen Alexandra — then Princess of Wales — was setting new trends in jewellery design. Thanks to her, the dog-collar necklace became the order of the day (it was actually her way of covering up a scar on her neck).

In 1905, South Africa produced the largest specimen ever found, the Cullinan Diamond. It was duly presented to Edward VII and cut into nine major stones, ranked in order of size.

Alexandra liked to wear the two largest as a colossal brooch, although subsequent monarchs have taken a less frivolous attitude.

Today ‘Cullinan I’, the Star of Africa, sits in the Queen’s Sceptre while ‘Cullinan II’ – the Second Star of Africa – is in her Imperial State Crown.

But the rest — often known in the family as ‘Granny’s Chips’ — were reset in various jaw-dropping brooches. Cullinan VII, meanwhile, is to be found with a string of emeralds (won by an earlier Duchess of Cambridge in a German state lottery, would you believe) dangling from a fabulous thing called Queen Mary’s Delhi Durbar Necklace.

If anyone could be described as the true Queen of diamonds, it was Queen Mary. Long before her husband became George V, she already had a substantial collection of her own. Indeed, at the time of her wedding in 1893, the public display of gifts included three tiaras, 26 bracelets, 44 brooches and 15 necklaces.

She also inherited some jewels from her mother, the Duchess of Teck. Others, however, had been left to Mary’s wayward brother, Prince Francis of Teck. He died young in 1910, having left his share of the family gems to his mistress, Lady Kilmorey (a former squeeze of Edward VII).

Mary was having none of this and insisted on paying whatever it took to retrieve her beloved mother’s rocks from the frisky Lady K.

One of these reclaimed treasures, The Duchess of Teck’s Emperor of Austria Brooch, would go on to be a firm favourite of our present Queen – whether for family photo shoots with Cecil Beaton or for last year’s State banquet in honour of President Obama.

Queen Mary was always dreaming up new uses for her diamonds. Nearly 30 years after her wedding, she merged two wedding presents – a £170 diamond brooch from the people of Swansea and another from the Maharaja of Kapurthla – into what is now known as Queen Mary’s Stomacher.

Many of the world’s finest diamonds belonged to the Romanovs. But as the Russian revolution unfolded, Grand Duchess Maria Pavlovna used an English aristocrat to smuggle out her prize specimens to relatives on the continent. In 1921, Queen Mary bought several pieces, including the Vladimir Tiara, still in regular use.

Often, though, she would just go shopping. Queen Mary’s Lover’s Knot Brooch, for example, was the result of a trip to Garrard — where she paid £345 for it in 1933. The present Queen often wears it for special family occasions, notably the weddings of Prince William and Princess Margaret.

Throughout the 20th century, the royal jewellery collection continued to receive welcome additions from wealthy admirers. Most generous of all was the society hostess, Mrs Ronnie Greville, the childless widowed daughter of a brewing magnate.

On her death in 1942, she left her jewellery box (it was actually a tin trunk) to Queen Elizabeth. The collection stretched to more than 60 superb pieces, many from Cartier where Mrs Greville would regularly spend tens of thousands of pounds.

The Queen lent her Maple Leaf Brooch to the Canada-bound Duchess of Cambridge on her first royal

tour last summer

Among the most spectacular bequests were the Greville Tiara and the Greville Festoon Necklace, both of which the Queen has now loaned to the Duchess of Cornwall.

Despite all the world-class sparklers that were at her disposal, the Queen Mother preferred a more understated style to that of her predecessors.

The present Queen is the same. Rather than piling necklace upon necklace and sprouting brooches like rosebuds, the Monarch has relatively modest tastes in what Sir Hugh calls ‘daywear’ – a nice pair of earrings, a pearl necklace and a brooch or two.

However, when a State occasion demands it, she is happy to bring out the biggest and the best.

She herself has made some important additions to the collection. Among her wedding presents was the Nizam of Hyderabad Necklace and Rose Brooches (despite his generosity, the Nizam never made it to the wedding).

As a Princess, she was also the recipient of the Williamson Diamond Brooch, a platinum flower sprouting the finest pink diamond ever found.

This 23.6-carat wonder was unearthed in Tanzania by Dr John Williamson, a Canadian geologist and ardent monarchist, who gave it to the Queen as a wedding present. She, in turn, wore it to the weddings of the Prince of Wales, Prince Edward and Lord Linley.

The Vladimir Tiara once belonged to Russian Grand Duchess Maria Pavlovna and was bought in 1921

by Queen Mary

Among Princess Elizabeth's wedding gifts was a Rose Brooch from the Nizam of Hyderbad

More recent gifts include the King Khalid Necklace, presented to the Queen during a visit to Saudi Arabia in 1979. It was one of many pieces which the Queen would lend to the Princess of Wales.

The book also tells the touching story of the Queen’s Flame Lily Brooch, a 21st birthday present from the children of Southern Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe). Every child in the former colony donated a ‘tickey’ — a three-pence coin — to raise the funds.

And it was this brooch which she chose to wear for her dramatic homecoming in February 1952, as she set foot on British soil for the first time as Queen.

As this superb book illustrates, these are not simply jewels. Each has played its own part, large or small, in British royal history. And in a couple of months, we can see them for ourselves when a selection of these pieces form the centrepiece of this summer’s Buckingham Palace exhibition.

After all, you can’t have a Diamond Jubilee without some diamonds.

Some collection: The Queen, pictured wearing an

evening dress of white satin embroidered in leaf

design with gold thread, diamonds, and pearls

The Emperor of Austria Brooch

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2139837/The-Queens-bling-bling-jubilee-Priceless-tiaras-necklaces-brooches-The-ultimate-diamond-collection-revealed-time.html

[Guest Fabiola]

London Olympic Gala Concert

at the Royal Albert Hall

The Duchess' teal gown is from Jenny Packham's spring/summer 2012 collection

[Guest ladyhotary]

this dress is mervellous, she's very elegant and pretty

[Guest ichigo_no_powder]

@ fabiola:

I was just about to post those pictures. She looked so absolutely beautiful, the dress is lovely beyond words. I have never seen the Princess looking this stunning

[Guest Fabiola]

Prince and the puppy: Prince Harry found time between polo matches to play with Lupo during the annual Audi Polo Challenge at Coworth Park, Ascot, Berkshire

The prince looked at ease making silly faces at an adorable baby. In doing so, he succeeded

in melting our hearts.

[Guest Fabiola]

Kate in a pink pleated dress by Emilia Wickstead

Queen Elizabeth continued to celebrate her Diamond Jubilee, this time with a lunch for sovereign monarchs

[Guest Fabiola]

Diamond Jubilee Garden Party: The Duchess of Cambridge chooses the same £1,200 Emilia Wickstead dress she wore for the Queen's Jubilee lunch two weeks ago

Kate paired the pink pleated dress with a Jane Corbett hat trimmed with lace and pearl earrings

Happy family: The Duchess of Cambridge, the Duchess of Cornwall and the Prince of Wales arrive at the garden party