Wonderful Weekends (1983 State Portraits of Queen Elizabeth of Britania)

With two weeks till the 4th of July Imperial Coronation, this blog and indeed the whole of Europa have been busy and extremely preoccupied. We haven't posted much except the bare essentials and expect it to remain so until the wave of coronation posts hit. We have decided due to the scale of the coronation to post three posts on coronation day. Back to today's Wonderful Weekends.

We have had many old photos reappear since the restoration of the Scotney and Britanian monarchies. Most of these have been of the iconic Empress Crystobel as the last and most influential ruler of the former Empire and Kingdom of Scotney. However, this week, restoration work at the Aldarian Palace's interior have revealed extremely rare photos of the last Queen Consort of Britania. All photographic records of the new Emperor's grandmother was thought to have been lost to history due to the 1996 Revolution's destruction. However some old boxes revealed these negatives of photos taken of the Queen. We present with great joy the old State Portrait photos of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth, Queen Consort of Britania. 

The set of photos show Her Late Majesty wearing the Nizam Ruby Demi Parure with a tiara that looks exactly like one found last year in the Reichenthal Vault. The Reichenthal Vault tiara had no records and was thought to be a historical anomaly until now. Further investigation is now underway with the possibility of the tiara then returning to the Imperial Crown Collection.

These beautiful photos are a truly historical find that has just added impetus to the build up to the coronation in July.


One other photo was also discovered, that of Empress Crystobel's husband, Emperor Christian of the United Empire of Scot-Britania. It is one of only a few photos in existence of the first Emperor. The new Emperor Christian-Victor was very happy to receive the news of the discovery of his father's photo.

His Majesty Emperor Christian of the United Empire of Scot Britania.

What's Up Wednesday (Duke of Swann State Visit to Ophiri)

Today is the much awaited referendum on the issue of monarchy in Scotney and Britania. Will there be a restoration in one or both of these countries or not at all? We will hear the results tomorrow. But as these exciting developments surge in Europa some other important Royal news is happening in exotic Africania.

We have moved into the second quarter of the year and the end of the State Visit season but the Duke of Swann managed to squeeze in his last minute trip to Ophiri just before the Easter Weekend last week. This 3 day trip was the first for a Europan monarch since before the 1996 Revolution.

The old Kingdom of Ophiri traditionally shared close ties with the Principality of Swann all through the 20th Century. Recently the Democratic Republic of Greater Ophiri declared the old Royal Family of Ophiri the official representatives of the new democracy and in effect created a pseudo constitutional monarchy. Since then no State Visit has yet occurred to Ophiri until now. The Duke of Swann made an official trip to visit his close friend and now official diplomatic ally, Queen Ukulunghile. The trip received extensive media coverage on both the continents of Africania and Europa essentially boosting Ophiri's image worldwide. 

The Queen receives her official guests in full state dress code in the throne room of the Golden Lion Palace. She took the opportunity, yet again, to show off her immaculate sense of style. It must be said, that few can pull off an animal print like Queen Ukulunghile, and that in the context of an official event. 

The Queen chose to wear Yellow Diamonds, all indigenous mined, as a showcase of her country's natural wealth and jewellery craftsmanship skills. Not that the indigenous wood throne with sold gold lion statuettes did not already accomplish that. Ophiri is one of the world's largest exporters of Yellow Diamonds and Africanian top quality wood.

This spectacular photo shows the Queen's dress with train.

Her Majesty was joined by her brother Prince Shaka and his wife. The Prince is the Queen heir as she remains unmarried.

His Royal Highness the Duke of Swann arrived in state and bowed in respect towards his Royal hostess upon arrival in the throne room. This is a courtesy from one monarch to another as bowing between equals is not a protocol prerequisite.

A press photo-opp with all the assembled dignitaries.

The Queen then focused the Duke and the press' attention on a newly carved traditional bust of the Queen's Father, King Kozi. The artwork has been rendered from dolomite, another export of Ophiri.

Then Her Majesty showed the Duke a terracotta tile mural depicting most of the Ophiri wildlife. The mural is made from tiles cut out like puzzle pieces using the latest laser cutting technology. Ophiri aims to be the most technologically advanced nation on the Africanian continent by the year 2020.

The Duke of Swann's visit intended to negotiate better trade deals with some of Ophiri's major export companies and to also help focus international attention on its fast developing economy.

After the official welcome ceremony held in the throne room a State Banquet was arranged for the evening. Queen Ukulunghile wore a parure of rubies given to her as a gift from the Principality of Swann.

Her Majesty complimented the Duke's gift of rubies with a stunning red dress that was obviously held in store for an event of this importance.

Years ago a gift of large high quality diamonds was gifted to the Royal Family of Swann from Ophiri. Now, a generation later the kindness is reciprocated in this beautiful parure of rubies.

The Duke of Swann wore a uniform and chivalric orders.

We will have to wait till the end of this year to see another State Visit.

Tiaras and Trinkets Tuesdays (Jewellery available to the "Punk Princess")

Princess Oktavia Von Hohen und Silberstein as always has had a talent for attention grabbing. This has found great impetus in her having access to one of Europa's more impressive historic jewellery collections. Let us take a look at some of those jewels and also the Princess'unique way of wearing them in combination with very modern and sometimes controversial fashion. 

One of the iconic appearances of the Punk Princess as Oktavia has become colloquially become known can be seen in this photo. She is wearing the Von Hohen und Silberstein Princely Ruby Parure in tandem with a feathered glam rock ensemble by Madame Frumsetta. 

The rubies date from the early 19th century and consist of a tiara, bracelet, "De Resile" necklace and opera length "Sautoire" necklace. The set is lavishly set with extremely large and high quality square cut rubies embellished with diamonds and a king's ransom in pearls. It is rumoured that the tiara so impressed the Queen of Scotney that she immediately ordered a copy of her own after a visit to the Princely palace. 

Princess Oktavia has a very bold personality and does not shy away from period pieces that may seem impractical to wear in the new millennium. In this photo we see her wear a gigantic diamond choker made in the early 20th century when chokers were fashionable and seemingly all pain was endured for it. She does gain a lot of press for being so bold and we get to see jewels that otherwise would languish in dark vaults. We commend her for this "sacrifice". In the photo above she pairs the titanic choker with a contrasting small and delicate tiara as if to say on purpose; "look at the necklace". 

Deliberate in all she does, for a formal photo with her new husband, the Princess chose a far more elegant and regal dress coupled with cool sapphires. The edginess of the dress still alluded to her "street cred" but did foreshadow the calmer vibes of future family life. In this photo she pairs the Von Hohen und Silberstein Sapphires with earrings from her husband's D'Bacqueme Family Jewels. 

The Sapphire and Diamond Tiara and Necklace is of a more modern design and was made at the height of the Germanic Empire just before the Great War. The Von Hohen und Silbesteins are one of very few Noble Families to have survived the war and its aftermath due to their extensive business interests and industrial clout. 

Another set available to the Princess is this loose mix of Yellow Diamond and Topaz jewellery. All pieces were made separately at various times but with obvious intent on being worn in combination with each other or even jewels from entirely other sets. 

There are apparently more jewels in the Von Hohen und Silberstein Vaults and we cannot wait to see them on the red carpet along with all the D'Bacquemme jewellery availble to our Punk Princess. 

Tiaras and Trinkets on Tuesday (Private Jewellery of Princess Odeliah)

Her Imperial Highness the Crown Princess Imperial or Princess Odeliah as she is known colloquially has access, by virtue of her marriage to the Crown Prince Imperial, to the Crown Jewels of Scot-Britania and the vast private collection of jewellery owned by the Prince in his own right. The question we aim to answer in today's post is; which, if any of the jewels we have seen the Princess wear over the years might be her own property, to do with as she please? It stands to reason to wonder as the Princess did not own any significant jewellery before her marriage to the Crown Prince Imperial. Our investigation however revealed that Her Imperial Highness does own some pieces in her own right through being gifted them or even inheritance from her mother in law. 

When a man proposes marriage to a lady an engagement ring, or in the case of a Princess an engagement set of jewellery is presented to the prospective fiance'. These jewels are considered a token of trust that becomes the no-strings-attached property of the fiance upon her acceptance of the proposal. When Odeliah Sorgenfrei accepted the Crown Prince Imperial's proposal he gave her, along with the traditional ring, a brand new tiara, designed especially for the occasion. It is pictured in the photo above. The tiara also came with a matching diamond bracelet which we will show in a photo below.

This close-up photo shows the Odeliah Betrothal Tiara which belongs the Crown Princess in her own right as given to her in trust by her then fiance and now husband. 

A necklace was needed to compliment the Betrothal Tiara. The Crown Prince being an antique jewellery enthusiast waited for the right opportunity and bought this art deco inspired period necklace. Its design hints at that of the tiara but obviously does not copy it exactly as the two were made completely separately from each other. This allows for them to be worn in combination with each other and with other jewellery. The necklace is so spectacular that wearing it by itself is statement enough as well. 

In this photo we see the above mentioned betrothal bracelet said to be the Princess' favourite piece of jewellery.

Empress Crystobel owned a set of rubies known as the Dowry Rubies. After her death the set, consisting of 1 tiara, 1 bracelet, 1 brooch, 2 sets of earrings and three necklaces, was broken up. Part of the set with the tiara ended up being bought by the Crown Prince Imperial's cousin, Grand Duke George of Hanoveria. One necklace remained as the property of the Crown Prince Imperial himself. The final necklace and earrings, pictured above, was left to Princess Odeliah by Empress Crystobel in her will. This shows the Empress' affection for her new daughter in law and also puts the Empress' final stamp of approval on her son's choice of wife. We have yet to see the Princess wear these rubies in public.

In 2014 at the wedding of Princess Marie-Elizabeth to the Arch Duke of Fulco D' Este, Princess Odeliah was seen wearing a necklace and earrings not associated with any of the historic or Crown Jewel collections. It was soon confirmed to have been a birthday gift to her from her husband.

The set made from gold, pearls and diamonds is brand new and owned by the Princess in her own right.

Many might question the amount of jewellery owned by the Crown Princess Imperial. They might expect her to own far more given her rank and wealth of her husband. Others may argue that given her access to historic jewels, she should not own any of her own as it is a frivolous waste of money. The fact remains, that private ownership, is private. Often these jewels are sentimental and personal gifts as can be seen in this particular collection. One thing is sure, Princess Odeliah herself does not seem to care much for glamour and sees it more as a duty to her role to wear amazing jewellery and we can be sure that she received these jewels in the spirit that they came to her.

Tiaras and Trinkets on Tuesday (Jewellery worn by the Shahbahnou of Perlistan)

We have seen more and more of the pretender Shahbahnou of Perlistan and a few weekends ago we saw her wearing one of the spectacular parts of the Crown Kewels of Perlistan for an official photo representing her country and people's historic heritage. For this reason we wanted to feature the jewellery worn by Her Imperial Highness Shahnaz Farah Diba the Shahbahnou of Perlistan.

Here we can see one of the photos from the aforementioned photoshoot where the Shahbahnou wore the Empress Crown from the Imperial Perlistani Crown Jewel Collection.

Set in solid gold with large top quality sapphires and emeralds the Empress Crown dates back a mere half a century. The reason being that in Perlistani traditional culture women had no public authority and where kept (culturally not physically) within domestic confines. As such the monarchy and Shah had no role for a consort seen in public. However, the old traditions made way for women to be allowed more public freedoms and thus the wife of the Shah gained a title, Shahbahnou and a crown in her role as consort.

The Crown Emerald Parure of Perlistan is a matching set of platinum, gold, yellow diamond and emerald jewellery made for the wife of the last Shah to wear at their coronation in the late 70's. It is part of the Crown Jewels and has been worn very rarely by the current head of the Imperial claim to the Peacock Throne. 

This detail photo was taken for the Imperial Archive of Perlistan and shows the Crown Emeralds up close. 

Amethysts are very common in the Middle East and thus the Perlistani Imperial Jewels include among its ranks some of the largest and best quality specimens. This can be seen in the set of diamonds and amethyst made brand new for the first Shahbahnou, our current pretender's grandmother.

The Amethyst Parure has no earrings but does include two very large stones of extremely high quality. 

The current Shahbahnou's mother was a fortunate woman. She was the second ever to have a public role and for this reason received as a sequence of many jewellery gifts. This spectaculary valuable parure is made up from pink and yellow diamonds of very high quality and as such ranks it as one of the most valuable sets on earth. 

Here we can see the coloured diamonds in detail. Their quality belie the wealth of the Pahlavi Dynasty who had access to the Perlistani mines. 

In this photo, taken at the 2012 Christmas Ball in Arcwhite, Farah Diba made her first major public appearance as Shahbahnou in pretense. For the historical event she chose a spectacular tiara set with one of the world's largest diamonds and ruby earrings and necklace to compliment her dress.

The Perlistan Rubies and most of the Pahlavi Jewellery Collection survived the fall of the Imperial House of Perlistan. Some jewels remained in Perlistan as part of the National Treasure exhibited in the country's capital. Others like this set left with the Imperial family in exile. The rubies like the greatest part of the collection, was made for the current Shahbahnou's mother.

An ancient legend tells of how the great warrior Emperor Shah Ahurah killed a dragon in the year 989 and discovered a huge diamond in its belly. As the red hot stone cooled it was said to break into 4 parts that ended up being known to history as the Perlistan Diamonds. Today, three of those stones the Perlistan II, III and IV, weighing 65cts, 34cts and 31cts are set in the Pahlavi Tiara made for the last Shah's wife.

This set of antique jewellery is reputed to come from a hoard of jewels taken as spoil from a Hindi Maharaja in the early 1800's. They have languished in Perlistani government vaults until our current pretender chose to wear them in this modern era. It creates a very strong sense of historic continuity and reiterates the Shahbahnou's new official role as custodian of Perlistani Royal history.

The Imperial Red Peacock Parure is an official set of Rubies that remain as part of the Crown Jewels of Perlistan. They are on permanent display, and as from 2013, are available for the Shahbanou in pretense to wear with permission from the democratic government of Perlistan at official events representing her country. 

The Crown Collection of Perlistan includes, almost as if required, a demi parure of sapphires. It has been worn for the first time this year for the official visit of the Shahbahnou to Hanoveria. 

The necklace design of the Sapphire Demi Parure is very traditionally Perlistani in design, where the tiara tips its hat to its Middle Eastern heritage while also hinting strongly at a Europan look. When not worn, this set may be viewed as part of the Crown Jewel Display in Perlistan. 

Farah Diba inherited many business interests and some jewellery in her own right directly from her parents. Among this was a collection of unset diamonds which set has had made up in 2013 as a very distinctly Perlistani style necklace of spectacular proportions. We saw the necklace for the first time this year when the Shahbahnou visited the Queen of Hispania on an official tour.

The last part of the jewels we have seen Farah wear is this fringe necklace. It is reputed to have been a gift from a "friend" and as such would be her personal property. If more information comes to light we will be sure to share it here on the blog. 

Fascinating Fridays (Jewellery Terminology; the Brooch)

Today is a continuance from a couple of posts from very long ago. We featured the technical terminology used to describe various items of jewellery covering the categories of jewellery for the neck and jewellery for the head. Today we will dicuss the category most commonly referred to as the "brooch". There isn't a vast array to discuss but some interest may arrise from one very rare term used. 

Let us begin today's lecture with the most well known term, the Brooch.

In the photo above we see the Duchess of Roswind wearing what may be considered as three separate pins on her dress. However only one is strictly speaking a brooch. A brooch is a decorative piece of jewellery designed for its beauty and in adherence to fashions of the day or the client's unique style requirements. It may have sentimental symbolism included but does not carry any official significance as such. The Duchess of Roswind wears the ruby brooch from her own personal jewellery collection.

Here we see the Grand Duchess Xenia Alexandrovna wearing a ruby brooch on her right shoulder. It is purely decorative and compliments her earrings perfectly.

Sometimes a brooch may be worn on the shoulder or the center of the bodice or on a lapel but it may also be worn on a hat. One does however get pins that are designed exclusively for the use on hats and they tend to have a far longer pin. these are referred to as hatpins. In the photo above, Empress Crystobel wears the Imperial Crown Brooch on her hat.

Next we will discuss the term Stomacher.

The term "stomacher"is a rare term used for a rarely seen type of pin/brooch. These are normally of abnormally large size or may consist of more than one element. Two hundred years they were an integral part of Royal Fashion but over the years the style waned and is now rarely seen. Another aspect of the stomacher can be derived from its name, they were specifically designed to be worn  across the front of the bodice continuing down to the waist. In the photo above showing the wedding of Empress Crystobel, we see a large ruby stomacher element pinned to the bride's dress. It was altered into a necklace soon after its use at the wedding.

Sometimes a large brooch, not strictly designed as a stomacher, may be worn as one like the emerald brooch worn as such by Princess Odeliah in the photo above.

A normal brooch may also be worn as a stomacher like this one featured in the first photo on this post now worn in this photo in just that way.

Finally let us discus the Badge

Badges is a broad category of pins that also includes anything from medals to name tags. However, in the world of Royalty there is a particular badge of significant meaning, that used as a designation of Knighthood. In the photo above we see the Badge of the Order of the Diamond Star blazing upon the red sash of the same Order of Chivalry.

Badges in this realm are more than just a tag, they are imbued with history and honour and are backed by centuries of tradition. These badges are also made from precious metal and stones. In this photo we can see the three sided badge of the Hispanian Order of the Triad.

That concludes our quick lesson on jewellery terminology. Hope it broadened your vocabulary.