So, does the Queen really punish royal ladies by refusing their jewelry requests?

I did not expect yesterdays royal story to blow up the way it did. I mean, the story pissed me off, but it was yet another dog-whistle-racist/microaggression-filled nasty hit job on the Duchess of Sussex. The Sun claimed that the Queen was not impressed with some of Meghans demands, and as a way of punishing

Fiftieth anniversary of the Investiture of the Prince of Wales

I did not expect yesterday’s royal story to blow up the way it did. I mean, the story pissed me off, but it was yet another dog-whistle-racist/microaggression-filled nasty hit job on the Duchess of Sussex. The Sun claimed that the Queen was “not impressed with some of Meghan’s demands,” and as a way of punishing Meghan, the Queen reportedly assured Prince William that HIS wife would be the only one who get to borrow pieces from the Royal Collection at this time, until further notice. This was partially framed as “Kate is the future queen, so only she should get to wear the jewelry previously worn by Diana.” Which skips Camilla, I guess, the current Princess of Wales (though Camilla doesn’t use that title, she is in fact the PoW).

As I mentioned in yesterday’s post, there was a lot of conflation between Royal Collection jewelry and pieces of jewelry which were part of Diana’s private collection, which William and Harry already inherited and divided up. All of “Diana’s jewelry” worn by Meghan thus far has been from Diana’s private collection, not the Royal Collection. The only piece from the Royal Collection which Meghan has ever gotten to wear was the tiara on her wedding day. And the papers are still turning that whole thing into a year-long melodrama about Meghan “demanding” a different tiara.

Anyway, following the Sun’s exclusive, various outlets have tried to “clapback” on the story… to weird results. People Magazine’s take boiled down to “sure, Meghan hasn’t worn anything from the Royal Collection since her wedding, but she probably will at some point, maybe.” Their argument was that Meghan hasn’t attended any state banquets yet. But she was on a state visit to Fiji and she asked if she should wear a tiara, and Charles told her no. So… I don’t get the point of People’s story. Then Vanity Fair took up the mantle of correcting the record about the Royal Collection jewelry and… I’m not sure they made it any better:

The Duchess of Sussex will continue wearing jewels from the Royal Collection, despite a report that the Queen has banned her granddaughter-in-law from wearing some of her most prized gems. The Sun claimed Wednesday that the Queen has banned Meghan Markle from wearing some items from the Royal Collection, particularly the pieces that belonged to the late Princess of Wales. However senior royal sources have told Vanity Fair that she will be allowed to wear jewels from the collection.

“The Duchess has worn pieces from the Royal Collection before so why would that stop now?” said one source, adding that Meghan wore the Queen Mary diamond bandeau from the collection on her wedding day.

The Duchess has also worn several pieces of Princess Diana’s jewelry, including a pair of butterfly earrings and a gold bracelet. Two diamonds once owned by the late princess also form part of Meghan’s engagement ring.

The Sun report also claims that Princess Diana’s heirlooms have caused tensions between Prince Harry and Prince William, so the Queen has intervened to keep Meghan away from the jewels because, as the future Princess of Wales, Kate Middleton is more senior than the Meghan in the royal hierarchy. According to members of the Queen’s entourage, there is a pecking order when it comes to the royal jewels which are under the charge of the Queen’s dresser Angela Kelly. “Angela hands the jewels out, but ultimately they are in the gift of the Queen,” a courtier explained.

But family friend has dismissed the suggestion that the Queen has banned Meghan. “I find it very unlikely,” the source said. “It’s not the kind of thing the Queen would do. She is very generous when it comes to lending jewels to her family.” As reported in January, the Queen has already opened up the Royal Collection to Meghan and Harry allowing them to choose several pieces of artwork for their new home.

[From Vanity Fair]

“The Duchess has also worn several pieces of Princess Diana’s jewelry, including a pair of butterfly earrings and a gold bracelet.” Those were pieces from Diana’s private jewelry collection, not the Royal Collection. “It’s not the kind of thing the Queen would do. She is very generous when it comes to lending jewels to her family.” Except not really? Meghan hasn’t been able to borrow anything since her wedding. Even Kate – The Future Queen, don’t you know – only gets to borrow sh-t from the Royal Collection about twice a year on average. The Queen has the grandest jewelry collection in the world but she’s very stingy about lending it out historically. And yes, despite the vague protests from VF’s sources, I totally believe the Queen (and/or her courtiers) would “punish” a duchess by refusing to lend out jewelry. Especially when it’s a special request from Prince William.

Britain's Queen Elizabeth and Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex, visit the Storyhouse in Chester

HER MAJESTY THE QUEEN AND THE DUCHESS OF CAMBRIDGE WILL VISIT KING'S COLLEGE LONDON

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red and WENN.

ncG1vNJzZmivp6x7pLHLnpmirJOdxm%2BvzqZmb2lmaH1xe9Kolp2nlaistbTEmKiunZWjrLOxwKWjspegqruqv8eYqaixkaGsra3Dopysl5KurLOxxa6qoqaXlMGpscirlqOdp5q5s8W%2Bq5yqrZWowbR7

 Share!