In Royal Style

a collection of all things royal

[royalstyle]

Earlier today Their Majesties showed The President of The Federal Republic of Germany and Ms. Büdenbender the State Sleigh.

The sleigh belonged to Queen Victoria and was designed for her by Prince Albert. It is lined with crimson velvet and was originally decorated with plumes of ostrich feathers.

In an extract from Queen Victoria's Journal on 11 February 1845, Her Majesty recalled an outing in the Sleigh: " ...tried our pretty, smart sledge, which made him rather late for luncheon. & At 3 o'clock we went out in it together & I thought it quite charming."

[royalstyle]

French Imperial Pearl and Diamond Tiara (c. 1853)

Commissioned by Napoleon III, for the occasion of his marriage to Eugénie de Montijo, the last Empress of France. The crown jeweler Alexandre-Gabriel Lemonnier created a wardrobe of matching jewelry from a pedigree of gems that had once been worn by Empress Marie Louise (the second wife of Napoleon Bonaparte), and the Duchess of Angoulême (daughter of Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette).

The Imperial Pearl and Diamond Tiara is one of the few surviving crown jewels of France. Set in silver, the tiara contains 212 pearls and 1998 diamonds.

After the exile of Empress Eugenie and Emperor Napoleon III, the tiara was held in a vault by the French State Treasury, until it was displayed with the rest of the crown jewels during the 1878 World’s Fair in Paris.

Nearly a decade later, the tiara was put up for auction by the National Assembly in 1887 and purchased by Julius Jacob for the bargain price of 78,100 French Francs.

By the mid-1900’s the tiara had already switched ownership several times and was once again owned by royalty as it was passed along through the German House of Thurn and Taxis.

In 1992 the Louvre Museum reacquired the piece for 935,000 Deutsch Marks, after it was bought by the society “Amis de Louvre” (Friends of the Louvre). Princess Gloria of Thurn and Taxis was forced to sell the tiara along with other family heirlooms, in order to pay the inheritance taxes left by the death of her husband.

Photo credit: @insearchoflily

[royalstyle]

Oct. 19, 2025, 3:21 p.m. ET

In an audacious raid on Sunday, thieves stole eight items of jewelry of what officials described as “incalculable” value from the Louvre Museum in Paris.

The gang targeted the Louvre’s Apollo Gallery, which contains France’s historic collection of Crown Jewels including the tiara of Empress Eugénie.

[royalstyle]

Queen Elizabeth II Commemorative China

To celebrate Queen Elizabeth II's life the Royal Collection Trust has commissioned this exclusive, luxurious range of English royal fine bone china pieces.

At the center of the design is Queen Elizabeth’s personal cypher, elegantly surrounded by the National Emblems of the United Kingdom: roses, shamrocks, thistles, and daffodils. The decorative borders showcase roses, myrtle, rosemary, and oak leaves, inspired by the floral arrangement from Her Majesty’s funeral.

[royalstyle]

Queen Elizabeth II State Visit To France

A final act of reconciliation just days before Edward’s death. Queen Elizabeth II, Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh (far left) and Prince Charles (right) stand together with Wallis Simpson, Duchess of Windsor during a visit by the royal party to Villa Windsor in the Bois de Boulogne near Paris as part of a state visit by the British monarch to France in May 1972.

The 77-year-old former monarch passed away only ten days after the visit. The Duke of Windsor was laid to rest at the Royal Burial Ground at Frogmore, where Wallis Simpson was also buried after her death in 1986.

Photo by -/AFP via Getty Images

[royalstyle]

Wallis, Duchess of Windsor (c.1960)

Photo by Bachrach/Getty Images

[royalstyle]

Diana, Princess of Wales (c. 1990)

Photograph by Terence Donovan. The Princess of Wales is pictured in the Lover’s Knot Tiara. In 1981, the Queen reportedly loaned the Lover's Knot Tiara to Princess Diana as a wedding gift. Diana opted instead to wear the Spencer Tiara, a family heirloom, on her big day, but the Lover's Knot became one of her favorite pieces, despite being so heavy that it hurt her head.

When Diana and Charles divorced, the crown was returned to Queen Elizabeth II—Diana was allowed to keep her jewelry as part of the settlement, but as the tiara was on loan from the Queen, it was given back—and reportedly put into a safe at Buckingham Palace.

© National Portrait Gallery

[royalstyle]

Royal Wedding - July 29, 1981

Prince Charles marries Lady Diana Spencer at St Paul's Cathedral. A crowd of 600,000 spectators filled the streets to catch a glimpse of the Royal couple, and 750 million viewers watched the event on television. The iconic moment came when Charles and Diana appeased the crowds by breaking royal protocol and kissing on the balcony of Buckingham Palace.

© National Portrait Gallery, London

[royalstyle]

Salvador Domingo Felipe Jacinto Dalí i Domènech, Marquess of Dalí of Púbol, Knight Grand Cross of the Order of Isabella the Catholic

photographed by Studio Harcourt Paris (c. 1936)

[royalstyle]

Castillo de Chapultepec - Mexico City

Chapultepec Castle was built within the kingdom of New Spain as a summer house for the highest colonial administrator, the viceroy. It became the official residence of Emperor Maximilian I and his consort Empress Carlota during the Second Mexican Empire.

In 1882, President Manuel González declared it the official residence of the President. With few exceptions, all succeeding presidents lived there until 1939, when President Lázaro Cárdenas turned it into a museum.

[royalstyle]

A statement from Buckingham Palace regarding The Duke of York

13 January 2022

[royalstyle]

The Duke of York's military titles and royal patronages have been returned to the Queen, Buckingham Palace has announced. Prince Andrew will stop using the style His Royal Highness in an official capacity, a royal source said. The duke's roles will be given to other Royal Family members, the source added. It comes as he faces a civil case in the US over claims he sexually assaulted a woman when she was 17, which he has consistently denied.

BBC News

[royalstyle]

The Coat of Arms of HRH Catherine, the Duchess of Cambridge GCVO

A reflection to her position as Dame Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order. The Duchess bears the arms of her husband, Prince William, Duke of Cambridge, impaled with those of her family. The Middleton coat of arms is based on those of her father Michael Middleton, which was granted to him by the College of Arms.

Her Royal Highness' Coat of Arms has changed slightly in that she is entitled to the addition of the circlet of the Royal Victorian Order around the escutcheon and the order's insignia suspended underneath.

Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom created HRH Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge a Dame Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order in celebration of her 8th Wedding Anniversary on 29th April 2019.

The Order, like the Orders of the Garter and the Thistle, is in the personal gift of Her Majesty and does not require any approval from government. This bestowal brings the Duchess of Cambridge into the ranks of her step-mother-in-law and other members of the Royal Family, such as HRH The Countess of Wessex.

[royalstyle]

Queen Mary's Bedroom at Holyroodhouse, Edinburgh, Scotland, captured in 1894.

A History of the Canopy Bed

In the earliest days of the European castle, the lord and his family slept in the great hall, along with all their servants. The noble family's sleeping area was usually at one end of the hall and was separated from the rest by simple curtains. In time, castle builders constructed separate chambers for the nobility, but though lords and ladies had their bed(s) to themselves, attendants might share the room for convenience and security. For the sake of warmth as well as privacy, the lord's bed was curtained, and his attendants slept on simple pallets on the floor, on trundle beds, or on benches.

A knight or lady's bed was large and wood-framed, and its "springs" were interlaced ropes or leather strips upon which a feather mattress would rest. It had sheets, fur coverlets, quilts, and pillows, and it could be fairly easily dismantled and transported to other castles when the lord made a tour of his holdings.​ Originally, curtains were hung from the ceiling, but as the bed evolved, a frame was added to support a canopy, or "tester," from which the curtains hung.

Similar beds were welcome additions to townhomes, which weren't necessarily warmer than castles. And, as in matters of manners and dress, prosperous town-folk emulated the nobility in the style of furnishings used in their homes.

Photo credit: Vogue

[royalstyle]

The last official statement from the Duke of York

20 November 2019

[royalstyle]

The Coat of Arms of The Duchess of Sussex

A Coat of Arms has been created for The Duchess of Sussex. The design of the Arms was agreed and approved by Her Majesty The Queen and Mr. Thomas Woodcock (Garter King of Arms and Senior Herald in England), who is based at the College of Arms in London.

Her Royal Highness worked closely with the College of Arms throughout the design process to create a Coat of Arms that was both personal and representative.

The blue background of the shield represents the Pacific Ocean off the California coast, while the two golden rays across the shield are symbolic of the sunshine of The Duchess's home state. The three quills represent communication and the power of words.

Beneath the shield on the grass sits a collection of golden poppies, California's state flower, and wintersweet, which grows at Kensington Palace. It is customary for Supporters of the shield to be assigned to Members of the Royal Family, and for wives of Members of the Royal Family to have one of their husband’s Supporters and one relating to themselves. The Supporter relating to The Duchess of Sussex is a songbird with wings elevated as if flying and an open beak, which with the quill represents the power of communication.

A Coronet has also been assigned to The Duchess of Sussex. It is the Coronet laid down by a Royal Warrant of 1917 for the sons and daughters of the Heir Apparent. It is composed of two crosses patée, four fleurs-de-lys and two strawberry leaves.

The arms of a married woman are shown with those of her husband and the technical term is that they are impaled, meaning placed side by side in the same shield.

[royalstyle]

Will the Duchess of Sussex get her own Coat of Arms?

On 11 May 2018, prior to the Royal Wedding, Buckingham Palace shared an image of the Instrument of Consent, the hand-written document which records Her Majesty The Queen's consent to the Marriage of Prince Harry and Ms. Meghan Markle.

Visible on the Instrument of Consent is a clear design to the right of the ​text which includes a rose, as this is the national flower of the United States, and to either side of the rose are two golden poppies – this being the state flower of California, where Ms. Markle was born. Between the flowers is the Welsh leek, together with Prince Harry’s Label. Beneath the Label are olive branches, adopted from the Great Seal of the United States.

Notably, the design has a subtle and touching tribute as the three Escallops Gules (seashells) within Prince Harry’s Label allude to his mother Diana, Princess of Wales, whose Spencer coat of arms includes three Escallops Argent.

Could this possibly be a hint of the heraldry to come?

In advance of the wedding of William and Catherine, a Grant of Arms had been made to Mr. Michael Middleton and his descendants in accordance with the laws of Arms, so all of his three children, including Catherine, would be entitled to the Arms. The Middleton Family worked closely with the College of Arms throughout the design process to create a Coat of Arms that was personal to them and visually identified them as a family.

In the case of Ms. Markle, her family was not given such Arms. This has led many to speculate that perhaps she will receive a Grant of Arms in her own right.

[royalstyle]

HRH Prince Augustus Frederick, Duke of Sussex, Earl of Inverness, and Baron Arklow

Born 27 January 1773, Prince Augustus Frederick was the sixth son and ninth child of King George III and his consort Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz. He was the only surviving son of George III who did not pursue an army or navy career, as he suffered from asthma and was unable join his brothers in receiving military training.

In 1793, Prince Augustus Frederick married Lady Augusta Murray at St George's, Hanover Square, Westminster in secret without consent from his father. Ultimately his marriage was annulled by the Court of Arches.

He later went on to marry his second wife, Lady Cecilia Gore at Great Cumberland Place, London, on 2 May 1831. Both marriages were in contravention of the Royal Marriages Act 1772; thus the couple's children were illegitimate.

Lady Cecilia, not being the Prince's legitimate wife, could not be received at court. She was eventually given the title of Duchess of Inverness in her own right by Queen Victoria. The Duke of Sussex was the favourite uncle of Queen Victoria, as he had given her away at her wedding to Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha.

Since Augustus Frederick had no legitimate issue, his titles became extinct on his death in 1843. In his will he specified that he was not to have a state funeral and was accordingly buried at Kensal Green Cemetery on 4 May 1843. He is buried in front of the main chapel, immediately opposite the tomb of his sister, Princess Sophia.

In 1999, before the wedding of Prince Edward, the youngest son of Elizabeth II, some had suggested the Dukedom of Sussex or Cambridge as the most likely title to be granted to him. Instead, Prince Edward was created Earl of Wessex, and it was announced that he would eventually be created Duke of Edinburgh, a title currently held by his father, Prince Philip.

Portrait by and published by William Skelton, after Sir William Beechey

© National Portrait Gallery, London