Amazing Royal Jewellery

Helen O'Keeffe of Bespoke Diamonds has sent me a link to a beautiful infographic of the regalia of various Royal Families. It is filled with interesting details about royal jewels past and present and contains beautiful images of the crowns of different nations. Do please visit it!

Amazing Royal Jewellery of the World

Queen Liliuokalani of Hawaii's describes Grand Duchess Elizabeth

The future Queen Liliuokalani of Hawaii attended Queen Victoria's Golden Jubilee celebrations and in her book Hawaii's Story by Hawaii's Queen, included a lovely account of what happened. I have always believed that the tall young lady she mentions in her account of the reception on 20th June 1887 is Ella, Grand Duchess Elizabeth...Apart from her 'presence' the star in her hair gives it away. Interesting that Ella probably had more jewels than any of the other guests, yet did not show off with them on her grandmother's day!

There were duchesses with shining tiaras, marchionesses with coronets of flashing stones, noble ladies with costly necklaces or emerald ear-drops, little women who seemed almost bowed down under lofty circlets of diamonds over their brows, tall women bearing proudly off their adornment of stones of priceless value. I have never seen such a grand display of valuable gems in my life. There was such a profusion of brilliant and handsome jewels before my eyes, that to compute its worth would be to lose one's self in a maze of confusing calculation. Yet there was amidst the shining throng one young lady, tall and of commanding presence, whose sole ornament was a single glittering star fixed in her hair. It shone forth more brightly, attracted my gaze more quickly, and its elegant simplicity excited my admiration above all others. She was a lady of high rank, and it is a matter of regret to me that I did not learn her name.

Poppies -Remembering August 4th 1914

Young man with a smile on an old photograph
In a uniform smart as your father before,
Pack up your troubles and daring to laugh
As you tramp through the town on your way to the war...

Will you die at a price? Will you die for a shilling?
Is it worth all the pain and the things we don't know?
Is it worth all the horror and bloodshed and killing?
Are you willing to die so a poppy can grow?

Young man with a tear as you walk away crying,
Put down your gun now and lift up your head,
War time is over and breezes are sighing
Through fields of small flowers that blood has stained red.

Did you die at a price? Did you die for a shilling?
Is it worth all the pain and the things we don't know?
Is it worth all the horror and bloodshed and killing?
Were you willing to die so a poppy could grow?

Young man, you who look at the old photograph,
In a uniform smart as your grandfather wore,
Looking so brave now and daring to laugh
As you follow his footsteps and march to the war,

Has the offer been raised? Is it still just a shilling?
Lives are bought cheaply. It's always been so.
When so mine fine people need bloodshed and killing,
We shall slaughter our sons so that poppies can grow...

(Lyrics by Christina Croft, Music by Tony Croft)