Royal Wedding Wednesday - Procession Route -Royal Family Jewels

Only a few more days until the Royal Wedding of Prince William and Catherine Middleton. Haven't decided if I'll just stay up all night...the BBC America coverage starts at midnight Pacific time...or just see when I wake up, or set the alarm or....


I have found several wonderful bits of info from the specials and websites covering the upcoming wedding that I thought you may enjoy if you haven't encountered them already. 


The BBC News has some great features on their website that are well worth a visit. Some of the info includes the exact procession order and schedule, the route the procession will take with a video

a 360 degree tour of Westminster Abbey, other videos about the cavalry, seating plan and 3 different Royal Wedding quizzes. I aced one...Prince & Princess level...got a Duke & Duchess level on another and a Baron & Baroness level on the third...just above the stable boys! LOL!!!
BBC News Royal Wedding Website


I don't know how many of you have caught the special documentary on BBC America: Princess Diana: Her Life In Jewels which was mind boggling. My husband and I watched together. He was a registered English diamond setter for 38 years, having served a 6 year apprenticeship from age 15 in England...and was actually imported into America by a firm of jewelers in San Francisco.  So we were very interested in the jewelry. Every time we visit England we spend a week in London and ALWAYS go to the Jewel House at the Tower of London. 


The show was wonderful...did you know...the Crown jewel collection includes the 2 biggest diamonds in the world. The largest is 317 carats...the size of a duck egg...called the Cullinan or Star Of Africa which is in the scepter but can be removed and used as a brooch

The other story I found fascinating is about the Cambridge Emeralds  seen below

in 1811 when The Duke and Duchess Of Cambridge were visiting Germany, Augusta, the Duchess entered a raffle and won a box of...emeralds! The stones weren't set until the earl 1900s when her niece, Queen Mary inherited them. The queen is shown wearing some of them. Some of them were made into a choker and given to Princess Diana as a wedding gift from Queen Elizabeth II. It will be interested to see if Catherine ends up with those and some of the fabulous jewel suites Diana received as wedding gifts from gulf state arab princes.

Another Royal tradition...wedding bands of Welsh gold. Welsh gold is extremely rare, and the tradition began in the 1920s when the Royal family was gifted with a 2 pound (not carat, pound!!!) gold nugget from the Clogau mine. Prince Albert, later to be crowned King George VI had some of the Welsh gold used to make the wedding band Queen Elizabeth wore. The same nugget has fashioned a wedding band for each successive royal bride and the assumption is that Prince William will continue the tradition.


I found a great and comprehensive website with photos of all the major Royal jewels which is truly astounding! It's a Tudor Wicki called Jewellry of Today's British Royalty and is well worth a gawk...


We still have a few of the William and Kate Royal Wedding items below available at Time Was Antiques. For more info click on the photos.

Plus over 300 items of British Royal Memorabilia. We are flying our British 3 foot by 5 foot flag on Friday and having a bit of a tea party in honor of the Royal Wedding. Cheers and our best wished to the William and Catherine!

Royal Wedding Wednesday - Last Of Charles And Diana's Wedding Gifts

Joining with Royal Wedding Wednesday with Decor To Adore for my last post of 3 I think, on the wedding gifts received by Prince Charles and Princess Diana for the wedding in 1981 from thew booklet we got while viewing the wedding gifts at St. James Palace, London shortly after the wedding when we were there for our annual buying trip.  I no longer have the original as it was purchased by an NBC producer last November tight after the engagement of Prince William and Kate was announced. I had copies of half the pages which I then was asked for by a producer with ITV UK in conjunction with TLC channel...so you will be hearing more about the subject during the week before the wedding.

271  a Darlington crystal vase                                               Hampshire

272.  book "The Blessings Of Marriage"                                Canada

273.  an embroidered tablecloth                                              Sussex

275.  a four leaf clover and plaque Touch Wood               Kent

276.  2 silver mint julep cups                                                          USA

277.  a deer carved in stone                                                             Scotland

278.  a small wooden toy soldier                                                  Kent

280.  a framed drawing of King Edward VIII                        Hampshire

283.  doorchimes                                                                                 Kent

284.  2 candles shaped like doves                                                London

285.  a bag of coffee beans                                                              Malawi  

287.  copper box made by West Coast Canadian Indians  Canada

292. a lucky black cat toy made by the donor                      Warwickshire

294.  a bottle of port in a wood box                                             Australia

297.  6 wooden clothes pegs made by the donor                    Yorkshire

299.  swan headed salad spoons                                                   Hertfordshire

349. a knitted tea cozy in the shape of a cottage                  Cambridgeshire

354.  a purple velvet hat made by the donor                               Essex

355. a set of crocheted kitchen cozies by the donor                  Australia

362. 2 toweling bathrobes                                                                    Manchester

363. bone china rose ornament                                                          Surrey

  

365.  a decorated goose egg                                                                  Cheshire

373. a book "Birds Of Town & Village"                                            Warwickshire

376  a pair of hand knitted blue bed socks                                    Belgium

377.  a commemorative tea caddy                                                    London

431.  2 mice dolls in wedding outfits                                                 Lincolshire

432.  2 dustermitts                                                                                     Essex

433. set of large traditional Japanese fish kites                         Japan

434.  a wrought iron weathervane                                                    Peterborough

435. a glass pear ornament                                                                  Barrow-in-Furness

            

437.  2 Fairisle skiing jerseys                                                             Australia

438. a mousetrap cage made by the donor                                 Essex

454. a Caithness glass paperweight                                                Wales

384.  2 toothbrushes                                                                                 Middlesex

387.  an embroidered sampler                                                            USA

388.  a handmade pottery mouse                                                      Tyne-and-Wear

389.  book "Old Yorkshire Recipes"                                                  Yorkshire

396.  a carved relief of a horse head                                                Tyne-and-Wear

397.  a 7 record set of the Goon Show                                               Scotland

That is my favorite gift...the Goon show was one of the most famous

English comedy shows beginning in the 1940s.

The cast included Peter Sellers, Harry Secombe,

Spike Milligan and others became 

internationally know. They are hysterical!

402.  a heart shaped potato                                                                   Cheshire

408.  a decorative Good Luck Key                                                  London

409. a framed "Tribute To The Dog"                                            London

411.  an Icelandic wool shawl                                                          Iceland

415.  varieties of Rose Tea flavours                                              London

417.  a child's painting of a bride and groom                           Devon

419. a corn dolly                                                                                    London

                        

So...there you have it. A sampling of the wedding gifts received by Prince Charles and Princess Diana. It will be fun to see what this modern couple receive. 5 crock pots? 

Photos are from Google except for the commemorative tea caddy and Staffordshire posy ornament, both of which are available at Time Was Antiques. Click on those photos for more information.

BBC Downton Abbey spoof episodes - Uptown Downstairs Abbey - TOO Funny!

I just posted this on my other blog, Antiques And Teacups,  but wanted to post it here as well.


From a blog I follow, Jane Austen Today, I received notification that they had posted a BBC spoof of Downton Abbey called Uptown Downstairs abbey with such famous British actors as Joanna Lumley and Simon Callow. It is really funny with all sorts of innuendo and thrown away reference lines. The music and setting are from Downton Abbey and Highclere Castle. Too funny!


I especially liked the reference to the Teasmade...which I just posted on Royal Wedding Wednesday with a photo because Prince Charles & Princess Diana got one as a wedding present. 


Anyway, lots of laughs. We loved it!
Uptown Downstairs Abbey spoof at Jane Austen for Today

Royal Wedding Wednesday - Charles And Diana Wedding Gifts pt 2, Belleek Shamrock items

Welcome to Royal Wedding Wednesday with part 2 of the wedding gifts received by Prince Charles and Princess Diana at their wedding in 1981.


The comments I have received are mostly of amazement at the very ordinariness of the gifts. The same sort of things you or I might have received...although not 1,000+. And the biggies were probably not part of the exhibit at St. James Palace in London where I got this gift catalog I am sharing from So.... Some of the photos are from the stock past or present of my website Time Was Antiques and several are courtesy of Google.com.


80.    a pair of pillowcases                                       Northern Ireland
81.     a silver toothpaste tube key                         USA

                
82.   a photograph album                                              Australia
83.  Austrian lead crystal paperwieght                  London
84.  a "Good Luck" black cat                                        West Midlands
85.  a large Wedgwood mug                                        Surrey
88.  2 crochet mats                                                           Yorkshire
91. a Goblin radio Teasmade                                      USA

                                                
97.  a fleet of model ships in case                                              Hampshire
99.  a hand knitted donkey toy                                                  London
103.  an ashtray with photo of hot air balloon                  London
105. a Spode Derby plate                                                             Wiltshire
108. a leather case of needles                                                     Warwickshire
109. a breadboard and loaves in shapes                               Hampshire
112-128 various prints, paintings and sketches                  various
139.  a Herend cache pot                                                               Winchester

148. nine Lalique crystal ashtrays                                           Kenilworth
153.  a pair of glass sparrows                                                      Norfolk
154.  a fishing reel in a velvet case                                            Scotland
158. a rag doll made by donor                                                     Gloucestershire
160. Herend porcelain breakfast set                                         Monaco
171  a Spode breakfast set for two                                             Hampshire
172  a pair of brass wall lights                                                    London
173  tartan travelling rug                                                             Isle Of Man
175 a leather waste paper basket                                              London
177  a pair of bellows                                                                       London

                                 
179.  2 china mice                                                                            Hampshire
188.  a silver toast rack                                                                 London

194.  2 sets of Spode cups and saucers                                     City of Stoke-on-trent
198.  a Royal Copenhagen stag figurine                                  Kings Lynn

199.  small Wedgwood cameo of the Prince Regent                Sussex
200.  a leather traveling address book                                         France


Okay...that's enough for the moment. A very mixed bag!


To change gears, in honor of St. Patrick's Day I want to share several items of Irish Belleek eggshell porcelain with shamrock patterns from Time Was Antiques. I just love them and their luster finish is lovely.

Aren't they lovely? For more info on the Belleek, click on the photos.


I plan to cook my corned beef tomorrow after soaking it to get rid of some of the extra salt. Then I will do half the cooking time tomorrow in the crock pot and finish on Thursday with potatoes,cabbage, onions and carrots. A favorite St. Patrick's Day meal.  Hope you enjoy an Irish flare this week.

And on the news front of the fast approaching wedding of William and Kate, the music was announced today. You can read more about that at this link:
Royal Wedding music

Have a great day...and in the words of a vintage Irish tea towel we sold recently"

May You be in Heaven Half An Hour 

Before The Devil Knows Your Dead.

Royal Wedding Wednesday - Charles And Diana Wedding Gifts

I am joining Royal Wedding Wednesdays with Decor To Adore, but as I can't possibly keep up with her Bridesmaid Disasters of last week (LOL!!!) or this week's What To Wear, I thought I would post what I DO know in relationship to royal weddings.


As an antique dealer with a specialty in British Royal memorabilia on my website Time Was Antiques, I decided to share excerpts from the catalog of Royal Wedding gifts that Prince Charles and Princess Diana received at their wedding in 1981 and were subsequently on display at St. James Palace, London where I bought the catalog. I listed the gift catalog on Time Was Antiques last June. When Will and Kate announced their engagement in November, the gift catalog was purchased by an NBC producer for a show in the future. But I had notes I had made about the gifts which I will be sharing some of during the next few weeks.


There were 994 gifts recorded in the catalog and on display at St. James Palace from the sublime to the ridiculous. There was certainly a lot of humor, a lot of love and thought and for many, a lot of time and effort spent in the gifts. Here are some illustrated by photos of similar items, many from Google's photo lists. I have not identified gifts by name, just location and maybe the organization if that was who the giver was:


      Item                                                             Form Whom/where


#1  a long case clock                          The Order of the Bath

2    a Georgian design mahogany library ladder              Hertfordshire
3   a crystal vase                                                            London
5   antique silver-gilt inkwell with shell lid                   Middlesex                
6  Isle Of Wight glass vase                                            Isle Of Wight

8  Herend porcelain pheasant                                          Norfolk

9  a tray and tray stand                                                          Scotland
10  a blue and white tray                                                      London

11  a breakfast tray                                                               Hertfordshire
12 a picnic basket equipped for 6                                          Suffolk

14  an antique whatnot                                                       Gray's Inn
16  2 pillows and 2 fishing satchels                                     Norfolk
18  set of 8 crystal tumblers                                              Hampshire
19 a Megamix food processor                                             London
20  a videocassette recorder                                              Hampshire
21  Victorian gaming and work table                                  London
22  an inlaid screen and breakfast table                            London
23  pair of Chippendale hanging shelves                            Lancaster
24  2 Mason's blue poppy lamps with blue silk shades        Norfolk
25  a pair of boot scrapers                                                Suffolk
26  large wicker dog basket                                               Yorkshire
28  large dog basket                                                          Scotland
29 Aynsley Rosedale tea service                                         British Ceramics Assoc
30  a microwave oven                                                        Toshiba
33  an inscribed garden trug                                              East Sussex
38  a pair of miniature chairs made by the donor               Elf Miniature Furniture
39 a Steuben crystal frog                                                  Cheshire
47 pair of engraved pen and pencils                                  USA
49 white mohair jersey with hedgehog on front                 Cornwall
53 gilded mantlepiece clock                                              Duke & Duchess of Bedford
63 Royal Crown Derby dessert service                               People of Derby
65 Herend porcelain duck                                                 London

                
69  a horse brass                                                                Surrey
70  decorated egg containing a bride and groom                USA
71  2 hand knitted orange/yellow ski hats                           USA
74  2 books on Chile                                                           Anglo Chilean Society
75  a tea cozy knitted by the donor                                   Cheshire
78  a hand knitted tea cozy                                                Jersey
79  wooden hand carved fruit bowl                                     48th Leeds Brownies


So there is an installment of the gifts Charles and Diana received. I'll list some more next week. It's really fun to see what they got......


Have a great day and check the Royal Wedding Wednesday post to see what to wear!

Newspaper Queen Victoria's Son's Wedding - Royal Wedding Wednesdays

In response to today's post on Decor To Adore's Royal Wedding Wednesdays I can only say Huzzah! Someone else with a passion for British royal history! Thanks for the post....couldn't have done better myself!


The only thing I can add is, I have 2 newspapers of the day before the wedding of Queen Victoria's son Edward to Princess Alexandra of Denmark  on March 21, 1863 that I would like to share.

Meeting the Princess Alexandra at her train in London.

The bride and her bridal party. 

The procession through London to the wedding.


In the days before newspaper,TV and the internet, the Illustrated News was one of the only ways to get news of any occasion. After an issue appeared with new drawings of fashion, the seamstresses would be trying to be the first to appear on Bond Street with the new fashion or accessory.


For more information about this newspaper at Time Was Antiques, click  on the photo.


Next week on Royal Wedding Wednesday, I will start sharing from the catalog of gifts received by Prince Charles and Princess Diana for their wedding in 1981.
Have a great day!