History

A royal mystery: where did the Amber Room go?

While there are many missing tiaras, necklaces, and rings, there is one missing piece of royal history that literally looms larger. The Amber Room from Catherine Palace went missing during the Second World War, and it has not been located to this day. The Amber Room was a large room in the Catherine Palace near St. Petersburg that was hung with amber panels (complete with gold leaf and…
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Features

Sarah, Duchess of York to join 'Coronation Street?' Maybe one day

Sarah, Duchess of York has hinted at a possible new career move – and it requires walking on cobbles in heels. The duchess headed to the set of Coronation Street and suggested she could make a return to the Rovers. She visited ITV Studios in Media City, Salford Quays, after appearing with actress Sally Dynevor at the Prevent Breast Cancer charity headquarters, The Nightingale Centre in…
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Features

The sparkling royal jewel inspired by flowering gum

There are very few opal tiaras in royal collections. In the twentieth century, opals fell out of favour and many royals replaced the opals in their tiaras for other stones. There are some remaining opal pieces though, such as the Australian Opal Spray Brooch. The then-Princess Elizabeth received this brooch as a gift for her 1947 wedding to Lieutenant Philip Mountbatten, from the Returned…
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Features

The late Queen's stunning tourmaline brooch

October has two birthstones, pink tourmaline and opal. Although neither are common stones in royal jewellery vaults, Queen Elizabeth II received a stunning pink tourmaline brooch with a strong Canadian collection. In 2013, the Lieutenant Governor of Saskatchewan, Vaughn Solomon Schofield, presented Queen Elizabeth with a pink tourmaline brooch when she was at Buckingham Palace in…
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