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Manhattan from the east

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Royal Family Order!

The second biggest question for the State Banquet next week is whether Kate, Duchess of Cambridge will be wearing the Royal Family Order of Queen Elizabeth II.  For a Kate stan like myself, this is a burning question.

But what the hell is a Family Order? You ask, because you have lives and interests and aren’t a royally obsessed weirdo like me.  Behold: THIS is the Royal Family Order of QEII, in all its sparkly fabulousness:

The Queen isn’t the first British monarch to have a Royal Family Order, and the WIndsors aren’t the only Royals that have them.  There are variations in Sweden, Denmark, Norway, and Tongo.  A Royal Family Order is usually given by the monarch to women in his or her family, and it’s worn the way the gents wear their military medals, on the left chesticle area. 

The first British monarch to create an RFO was George IV.  Then there weren’t any until Queen Victoria got married, and she created the RFO of Victoria and Albert (of course.)  She was the first and only monarch to include her spouse as part of her order, and she was also unique in that there were four classes to her order. 

Edward VII, George V, George VI and Elizabeth II have all had their own orders, with none for Edward VIII for obvious reasons (he sucked.)  Since George V, they’ve all looked like the one above, except the color of the ribbon is different and obviously the enamel portrait is of the monarch.

If you’re super cool or important or really old, you might have more than one family order.  And you can wear more than one at a time- the Queen herself wears two- one from her father George Vi and one from her grandfather, George V. 

The all time record for MOST RFOs in the British Royal Family is a TIE between Queen Mary and Princess Alice, Countess of Athlone, who each had FIVE. (V&A, EVII, GV, GVI, and EII)  Princess Alice was born in 1883 and died in 1981 and is SUPER DUPER FASCINATING, but that may be a post for another time.  Here she is wearing a chunk of her orders, but this is before 1952 so there’s no QEII.  You can make out the cameo V&A order towards the bottom.

Because the RFO is a personal gift from the Queen, there’s NO INFORMATION given out about who gets them, and when, and why.  The only way you know your royal fave has it is when she heads to an evening tiara event where orders are worn.  (Compare this to Sweden, where they wear theirs ALL THE TIME.  Practically on grocery runs.)  And since we have no idea what rationale the Queen uses when deciding to give one, there’s no way to reasonably expect your royal fave has it. 

Here’s the current line-up of members (as far as we know:)  The Queen’s cousin, Princess Alexandra has one (she actually has the George VI as well.)  The Queen’s cousins-in-law, the Duchesses of Kent and Gloucester, also have them.  The Queen’s daughter Princess Anne has one, as do her two daughters-in-law the Duchess of Cornwall and the Countess of Essex.  Camilla (Cornwall) got hers after being married about two years, but Sophie (Wessex) had to wait FIVE years. 

BUT THAT’S IT!  Only six people!  Other confirmed members have passed away, (Diana, the Queen Mum, Princess Margaret & more) and while it’s possible Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie have them, neither of them has ever been to a tiara event so we have no way of knowing.  And there are members of the Royal Family who’ve NEVER gotten, it, like Princess Michael of Kent and Sarah, Duchess of York.  

So you can see why Kate getting it is such a big fucking deal and why some of us are so excited.  My take: I think it will be super weird at this point if she DOESN’T have it, so I’m leaning towards YES. 

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TIARAS!

Specifically, tiaras that Kate, Duchess of Cambridge may wear to the State Banquet next week.  Because the Daily Fail had an article this morning that actually suggested that Kate might wear the Girls of Great Britain and Ireland Tiara and after I laughed so hard I think I stopped breathing for a while, I needed to set the record straight, because I love tiaras.  It’s its own fandom.

First, I should stop and say that I owe TONS of assistance with this to the Royal Order of Sartorial Splendor website.  They are an amazing resource and they cover all the major royal events (christenings, weddings, coronations, inaugurations, you name it.  There’s a page on every major tiara worn (and not worn) by the ladies of almost all the current royal families.  I cannot recommend this website highly enough.    

SO.  Kate has attended two events that have required her wearing a tiara- the first was her wedding in 2011, and the second was a diplomatic reception in 2013.  Both tiaras, the Halo/Scroll tiara and the Lotus Flower/Papyrus tiara (a lot of tiaras have multiple names) have a strong association with Princess Margaret, Queen Elizabeth’s sister.  She passed away in 2002, and while some of her jewelry passed to her children, and some was sold at auction, it also appears that some of it returned to the Queen’s collection.  This isn’t unusual- distant and lower ranking members of the family don’t really attend the type of events that require tiaras. 

The Fail suggests that Kate might wear the Halo, but also suggests some alternatives- almost all of them are ridiculous.  Alexandra’s Kokoshnik and The Girls of Great Britain and Ireland tiara are both pieces that have only been worn by the Queen herself.  It’s highly unlikely that the Queen would lend either of those to Kate.  The Windsors don’t pass around and share tiaras the way the women in the Swedish royal family do, for example- each Windsor woman who needs a tiara has use of one or two that are exclusive to her, whether they are her property or belong to the Queen.  And the Kokoshnik is a WALL OF DIAMONDS that doesn’t really gel with Kate’s somewhat understated style.

On top of all of that, the Girls (and isn’t that a fantastic name for a tiara?  The Girls!  It was given as a wedding gift to Queen Mary back in 1892 by- that’s right- the girls of Great Britain and Ireland.  A committee took up a subscription.)  ANYWAY the Girls may be the tiara that is MOST associated with Queen Elizabeth II.   Queen Mary gave it to her for HER wedding, and it’s supposedly the Queen’s favorite because it’s light and easy to wear.  It’s this one:

I mean, it’s on stamps, for crying out loud.  She ain’t lending it to Kate.

The other suggestions are the Cambridge Lover’s Knot tiara, which is a gorgeous pearl drop tiara that was worn by Diana, Princess of Wales (which more than anything else makes it unlikely) and the Strathmore Rose tiara.

EVERYONE loves the Strathmore.  It’s probably the most famous of the “lost” tiaras.  The tiara belonged to the Queen Mother- her parents gave it to her as a wedding present in 1923.  (Her father was the Earl of Strathmore, hence the name.)

The Queen Mother wore this tiara mostly as a younger woman, and as far as anyone can tell, no one else has worn it since.  It’s been in the vaults for probably 80 years.  It’s been exhibited as late as 2002, so we know it still belongs to the Queen and is still in good condition.

The Strathmore was a HUGE contender for Kate’s wedding tiara, and a lot of folks were disappointed it wasn’t chosen- but I think it would have looked wonky with a veil. 

My pick for the state banquet?  I think we’ll definitely see the Halo or the Papyrus again- I’m going to put my money on the Halo with the matching earrings from the wedding. 

Bigger question!  And one for my next post- will Kate have the Family Order of Queen Elizabeth? 

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Paul helping other bakers

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Making British people every where cry their eyes out

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the prettiest and best person on tv basically

Great British Bake Off semi-finalist Nadiya admits concerns viewers would dismiss her as ‘a Muslim in a headscarf’

The Great British Bake Off contestant Nadiya Jamir Hussain worried she would be dismissed by viewers as a “Muslim in a headscarf” before the current series was broadcast, but now says the response to the hit BBC1 cookery programme has shown how tolerant and accepting British society is.

One of four semi-finalists who will compete on Wednesday’s show for a place in the final, she said she had been anxious about going on the show.

“Originally, I was a bit nervous that perhaps people would look at me, a Muslim in a headscarf, and wonder if I could bake,” she told the new issue of Radio Times. “But I hope that, week by week, people have realised that I can bake – and just because I’m not a stereotypical British person, it doesn’t mean that I am not into bunting, cake and tea.

“I’m just as British as anyone else, and I hope I have proved that. I think the show is a fantastic representation of British society today. The feedback I have had reveals how accepting people are of different cultures and religions. Now people know who I am, I can see how tolerant and accepting British society is.”

The 30-year-old mother of three, who is studying for an Open University degree in childhood and youth studies, added: “My family is from Bangladesh, and we don’t really have desserts in our culture. If there are sweet things to eat, they are eaten as a snack beforehand. But once I started to make desserts, crumbles and pies at home, it caught on. Now my family always expect one.”

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squad goals

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THIS IS SO GOOD

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The aftermath is secondary.

a Mad Max fanvid. download and info here.

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Thanks Pete!  APMAs 2014: Peterick moment…

Pete promoting the peterick since inmemorial times

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