Features

August's birthstone and one of the most famous royal jewels in the world

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1st August 2023
It’s just been seen up close by millions around the world at the Coronation of King Charles III. And despite its name, the Black Prince’s Ruby, this gem is actually a sparkling example of the birthstone for August, Let’s say hello to the most famous spinel in the world. Located on the front of the Imperial State Crown, the stone is an irregular and large cabochon red spinel…
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History

Anne Neville: Richard III's lost queen and Westminster Abbey

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1st August 2023
Amidst the chronicle of lost tombs at Westminster Abbey is that of Queen Anne Neville, wife of King Richard III. Queen Anne’s invisibility in these terms underlines the purported neglect on behalf of Richard III; this lack of a memorial was rectified however when a bronze plaque was placed to Queen Anne’s memory at Westminster Abbey, in an attempt to redress this act of historical forgetting.
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Features

Five royal brides who didn't wear tiaras

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1st August 2023
Royal weddings bring all kinds of expectations and among them is one filled with sparkle and glitter. For we all assume a royal bride will arrive for her marriage wearing a tiara. When the wedding will result in them becoming a consort or consort in waiting, the expectation…
Features

The queen who refused to play by royal rules and founded history's most famous royal family

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1st August 2023
For a woman who founded one of the most famous royal dynasties in British history, she is surprisingly enigmatic. Katherine of Valois was the first Kate to be Queen of England and yet much of the modern imagining of her comes from her fleeting appearance in the works of Shakespeare. But what little we do know seems to indicate that the ‘fair Kate’ of Henry V was every bit as ambitious…
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Features

The historic tiara that's become a favourite of a queen in waiting

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30th July 2023
For centuries, tiaras have been a symbol of royalty and some gems hold more significance than others when used in these sparkling signs of power. The ruby is the birthstone for July. It’s been used in royal jewellery collections for centuries and it now features in some of the most striking pieces in European vaults. The Dutch royal gem collection has some famous examples of the stone…
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