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British Royals

The rarely seen royal rubies just chosen for a surprise showing at an important event

The Royal Family often choose red, white and blue for events around Commonwealth Day for pretty obvious reasons but one duchess just gave a masterclass in flag dressing with the help of some rarely seen jewels.

The Duchess of Gloucester joined King Charles, Queen Camilla and the Prince and Princess of Wales at Westminster Abbey for the Commonwealth Day service and turned to some sparkling gems almost a century old to make sure she ticked all the colours on the flag.

For this important event in the royal calendar, the Duchess wore a deep navy coat with matching hat which sorted out the blue but the most striking part of her outfit were the two sparkling gems pinned to each of the lapels of her collar.

Picture by Stephen Lock / i-Images

The jewels are made of diamonds and rubies, adding in the white and red needed for a full on flag tribute. But these are very elegant. The Duchess of Gloucester chose two stylish diamond and ruby clips for her Commonwealth Day outfit.

The clips feature rubies in their centres, surrounded by seas of small, sparkling diamonds. They once belonged to Princess Alice, Duchess of Gloucester, the late mother in law of the current duchess.

Birgitte, who now holds that title, makes good use of Alice’s rather fantastic jewellery collection although always in her own discreet way. The Duchess of Gloucester carries out a wide range of engagements for the Royal Family and is also a constant at big events like the Commonwealth Day service.

About author

Lydia Starbuck is Jubilee and Associate Editor at Royal Central and the main producer and presenter of the Royal Central Podcast and Royal Central Extra. Lydia is also a pen name of June Woolerton who is a journalist and writer with over twenty years experience in TV, radio, print and online. Her latest book, A History of British Royal Jubilees, is out now. Her new book, The Mysterious Death of Katherine Parr, will be published in March 2024. June is an award winning reporter, producer and editor. She's appeared on outlets including BBC 5 Live, BBC Radio Ulster and BBC Local Radio and has also helped set up a commercial radio station. June is also an accomplished writer with a wide range of material published online and in print. She is the author of two novels, published as e-books. She is also a marriage registrar and ceremony celebrant.