What's Up Wednesday (The new Crown of Franconia)

It seems that the very staunchly democratic Franconians who vehemently refuse any sentiments of restoring a monarchy, still do not want to feel left out in all the Royal related ceremonials that have flared up in Europa of late. I mean, 200 odd years ago Franconia was the epitome of Royal splendour, so I suppose they also need their history to shine among their neighbours. To that end the government of Franconia had an exact replica made of the last Crown that was made for the coronation of a Franconian King.

To their credit, the Franconian government are not just vying for a share of the Royal limelight in some childish attention seeking manner but did table the idea of replica Crown Jewels for historic exhibition purposes long before the Crown of St. Christian led to the Royal frenzy currently sweeping through Britania and Scotney. The discovery of the Franconian Queen Consort's Crown in the Reichenthal Vault last year was what initiated the concept of a replica crown and eventual Frranconian Crown Jewel Exhibit. Now, many months later the crown is made and was unveiled at a gala event in the presence of Prince Louis D'Pont Du Lac, the pretender to the Franconian throne.

The new replica Crown of Franconia pictured here next to its original female counterpart which survived the Franconian Revolution, incorporates some of the original gemstones, most notably the four diamonds sewn directly to the blue chapeau de maintenance. These diamonds were documented during the Franconian Revolution and managed to survive to this day where many others were lost. The new crown is and exact copy made of solid gold and silver and set with genuine gemstones inclusive of the original diamonds.

King Louis XV's Royal hunting lodge, Chateau Lafitte in Lyon has been chosen to act as the official Museum of Royal Franconian History and to house the permanent display of Crown Jewels. That display is set to open in a few weeks from now.

What is officially considered the Royal Family of what would be the Kingdom of Franconia, were gathered in force for the media unveiling last night of the new Crown of Franconia. 

His Highness Prince Louis D'Pont Du Lac was officially and publically recognized by the Franconian Government as the lead claimant to the Throne of Franconia and the Royal Dynasty. As such he has been declared; Prince Royal of Franconia with the accompanying Royal Highness style of adress.

His Royal Highness, the Prince Royal of Franconia posed especially for this "State Portrait-like" photo with the new crown.

Other members of the Franconian Royal Family present included (with full title and style), Prince Valmont, now His Royal Highness, Prince Valmont of Franconia, Prince D'Pont Du Lac and Duke of Vaganava.

Princess Antoinette of Franconia and Princess D'Pont Du Lac.

Her Royal Highness Princess Anne-Marie of Franconia, Dowager Baroness D'Rothchild.

Her Royal Highness, Princess Victoria of Franconia, Duchess of Roswind and Duchess of Vaganava.

Some of the private jewellery owned by the D'Pont Du Lac and the D'Rothchild families that has Royal Franconian provenance may also be periodically displayed as part of Chateau's attractions. These include the D'Pont Du Lac Emeralds and the Franconian Royal Ruby Parure and another historic Sapphire Tiara that is kept in  Franconian State History Museum in Pariseum.

We look forward to the new display opening its doors.

Vive le Franconia!

Tiaras and Trinkets on Tuesday (Pink Gemstones)

A few weeks ago an antique pink gemstone necklace was purchased by the Crown Prince Imperial at auction. It was correctly suspected that it would be paired with the existing Imperial Topaz Tiara and a press photo was especially released for this blog confirming the fact. Today we will discuss that necklace and all the other pink gemstone jewellery in Royal Collections across Europa.

Queen Elizabeth of Britania's Imperial Topaz Tiara pictured above with its matching brooch and the above mentioned 19th Century Franconian necklace bought at auction to match the set. Imperial Topaz is the designation given to what is considered the rarest of Topaz varieties. The colour is a light almost champagne-like pink. 

In 2011 the Crown Princess Imperial wore the tiara once, of up until now, only twice times. It is apparently a cumbersome piece and difficult to wear.

This overwhelmingly massive parure of Pink Topaz is part of Queen Maria of Hispania's personal historic jewellery collection. The deep colour is very beautiful but far more readily available than Imperial Topaz and as such far less costly. Regardless of that, the vivid colour is very popular and when coupled with diamonds make for very beautiful and regal jewellery.

Another Imperial Topaz set belongs to the Duchess Di Giorgio, pretender to the throne of the former Kingdom of Romagna. It was made for the wedding of the Duchess' grandmother, Queen Elena the last Queen of Romagna. The set does not include a tiara.

The Duke of Marlboro Collection includes this tiara called the Renalda Pink Topaz Tiara. It was made for the 9th Duchess as a wedding anniversary present in 1936.

The Marlboro family own a necklace and earrings dating from the mid 1900's that is often worn with the Renalda Tiara but are strictly speaking not a matched set. 

Most of the Lady Arcwhite's jewellery collection is new and her own private property. However most of it is also made in keeping with the style of Royalty and as such exceptionally grand. Imperial Topaz of the highest quality is the feature of this set of earrings and necklace made for the Lady somewhere in 2011.

The Marquis D'Bacquemme has this necklace and tiara in his collection. This set has Pink Tourmaline as its featured gemstone. Pink Tourmaline is an entirely different chemical compound to Topaz and slightly more expensive than the normal Pink Topaz but cheaper than Imperial Topaz.

The D'Baquemme Demi Parure dates from the early 1920's Flapper era and is often worn by the ladies in the Marquisital Family. We have yet to see the Marquis' wife, Princess Oktavia, sport the pink set at a Royal event. 

The Franconian Royal Family in pretense have a Topaz parure dating from the late 1900's. The set was a part of a dowry brought into the D'Pont Du Lac Family by Miss Lilly Hancock, an Americanian department store heiress who married into the family, The whole set is designed around a 18th Century brooch that is said to have belonged to Queen Marie Antoinette of Franconia.

Here Princess Antoinette D'Pont Du Lac is pictured wearing the set in 2012.

The Queen Josepha Tourmaline Set is of a rich pink colour and has been in the Reichenthal Royal Collection for almost a century. It consists of only a tiara and necklace and has been worn several times by Grand Duchess Azantha.

Breaking News (King of the Scots and King of the Britons)

It is official in Scotney and Britania, the monarchy is to be restored! The results of yesterday's digital referendum have been clear and overwhelmingly decisive as a landslide 89% of the voters were in favour of  constitutional monarchies in Scotney and Britania. 

His Majesty the King of the Scots, in Scotney and King of the Britons in Britania is how the Crown Prince Imperial will be referred to from now on. These titles will be his designation whilst in one of the particular countries and in reference to His Majesty in relation to them. Internationally he will remain His Imperial Highness the Crown Prince Imperial. The exact nature of the constitutional monarchies for the two independent countries will delineate that the monarch is thus, of the people and a ceremonial face of the nation but has no political or governmental powers. His role affords him custodianship of all property and assets traditionally accorded to the monarch and a budgeted salary to maintain these in trust for the nation. It also stipulates that under no circumstances will Scotney and Britania lose their sovereign independence or be amalgamated into one nation. The monarch will be thus the King/Queen of each country independently and separately. The monarch will be required to serve his country by representing them locally and internationally, speaking on behalf of the governments or attending events on behalf of them. He will also ceremonially represent them on days of national and cultural value. The monarch will retain the power to elect and invest members of the Order of the Diamond Star. Finally, the monarch and those in direct line of succession must gain the consent of parliament to marry and the line of succession will employ unprejudiced primogeniture.

The new King and Queen were elated at the news and received the adulation of the gathering crowds from the balcony of the Aldarian Palace in the late afternoon.

The King and Queen were joined by the Britanian Chancellor on the palace balcony.

Chancellor Johnston later made a speech  announcing the result, delineating the exact nature of the restoration and expressed his personal joy at the outcome. "...Britania has spoken and it wishes for a more colourful future..." he was quoted to say.

Queen Odeliah looked appropriately corporate for the day's events. She added Crown Diamonds to her formal suit and hat.

Immediately after the events in Britania, the King of the Scots traveled to Scotney to be received by  the Scotney citizens and government for their half of the celebrations. It stands to reason now that a coronation will be on the cards. It promises to be the most spectacular event in decades as Royal pageantry is never as lavish and officially grand as for a coronation. Certainly times are becoming more exciting than they have been since the 80's.

Long live the King and Queen!!!

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 on Tuesday (Yellow Gemstones)

We have done a previous feature on coloured diamonds in which yellow diamonds were mentioned but today we will discuss other yellow coloured gems like Topaz and Citrine. It seems that yellow diamonds are far more popular than other yellow gemstone varieties. This probably due to yellow diamonds being far more affordable than other diamonds and that yellow coloured semi-precious stones tend to be so common that they are often overlooked for the fine quality jewellery worn by Royals and other A-listers. Regardless of these generalizations top quality yellow coloured gems have found their way into some of the most prestigious Royal Jewellery Collections.

The Imperial Collection includes a set of Citrine Jewellery. The King George V Citrine Demi Parure consists of a very large tiara of Art Deco inspiration off-set by a matching necklace. It was made in 1909 for Queen Alexandra as a birthday gift from her husband. Queen Alexandra left it in a safety deposit box on her last tour of Europa where it was forgotten after her death due to some paperwork mix-up. The tiara came to light in 2009 when the Crown Prince Imperial, as heir to the jewels was approached by the Switzer Bank who wished to return the forgotten jewels to its rightful owner.

The Yellow Quartz, known as Citrine is of exceptional quality and size and the square cut stones compliment the geometric design of the jewellery set.

The Sun Parure in the Swann Royal Collection is set with a large Yellow Topaz in the center front of the tiara and complimented by Yellow and white diamonds. It was a gift from the Kingdom of Scotney to the first independent Duke of Swann in 1888. 

The Citrine was repolished in 2010 allowing the stone a greater sparkle than the old oval cut. 

The Youssopoff Yellow Topaz  Tiara and matching Necklace was bought from the estate of Prince Felix Youssopoff in 2009 by the Duchess of Aragon. It is of a very similar design to the Swann Sun Parure mentioned above. This may be that they both date from the same era.

The Youssopoff Demi Parure is seen here worn by Donna Hernanda, daughter of the Duchess of Aragon.

As we mentioned these type of stones are a rarity and might deserve more honour than popular opinion affords them. We hope those that did make it to the top have been properly appreciated in today's post.

Wonderful Weekends (2001 Portraits of Queen Maria of Hispania)

Time for a blast from the past. It came as a shocking realization to our editorial team that we have never posted these particular state portraits as they are of such importance and of one of our favourite Royals. Queen Maria of Hispania succeeded her grandmother to the throne in 1996 after the Bloody Revolution. The revolution caused the deaths of her grandmother and father leaving the young 24 year old mother, Queen of Hispania.

The shock and strain must have been enormous and it took a while for the young Maria to emotionally accept her tragic loss and daunting new responsibilities. Hispania also does not enact a coronation or lavish investiture ceremony but rather just features a swearing of oath ceremony. Thus the Queen was spared all unnecessary public appearances and the strains that they might have brought on her fragile state. Her mother and husband decided to keep the entire Royal Family as much out of the public eye as possible. Thus the first official portraits of the Queen were only released many years later in 2001 to celebrate her 5th year on the throne.

The State Portraits are awesome yet seem a little contrived which may be forgiven due to the tense times they date from. It shows the Queen, slightly waxy with the throne, robe and crown in the background. If nothing else the photo is very "official" yet not personal or intimate at all. 

The robe and crown make for a brave assertion of monarchy at a time when Hispania was one of only 5 remaining monarchies after the revolution. 

A feint glimmer of confidence was caught in this photo as Queen Maria smiles and seems to glance at a potentially prosperous future over the cameraman's shoulder. Little did she know it was just on the horizon.