The Penny Black
The suggested theme for this Postcard Friendship Friday is "time". Time for Tiara's, I thought, might be appropriate for this day of celebrating the wedding of Prince William and his bride, Kate Middleton. We'll go from something old to something new beginning with the Penny Black stamp.
The Penny Black was the first adhesive backed postage stamp issued in the United Kingdom in 1840. A young Queen Victoria is featured on this penny postage stamp. She is wearing the King George IV Diadem. This diamond crown was made for the coronation of George IV and has been handed down in time though a succession of Kings and Queens to Elizabeth II. The diadem is among the personal jewels of the Queen as opposed the The Crown Jewels which belong to the United Kingdom. The Queen has to resort to her personal collection when she travels, as the Crown Jewels cannot leave the country.
Queen Victoria is wearing another of her diamond tiaras. the George III Tiara, in this "Gifts of the Magi" styled painting.
It was Queen Victoria who initiated the bridal tradition of wearing white with her white satin and lace gown. In lieu of a tiara she wore orange blossoms in her hair. Prior to 1840, and certainly for many years after, women wore a dress in colors and materials that they could wear for other occasions. Wearing a white dress became - not a sign of purity as we were led to believe - but as a sign of wealth! It was the wealthy who followed Victoria's lead at first. Orange blossoms, according to my 1830 etiquette book was reserved for the bride. Bridesmaids and ladies in waiting must not wear them. The custom of orange blossoms began in ancient China. They are a sign of purity and fruitfulness. The custom spread through Europe during the crusades and became popular in England during the early 1800's.
Queen Elizabeth II wore the George III Tiara - also called the Diamond Fringe -on her wedding day as "something borrowed" from her mother. It was incorrectly speculated that this tiara would be the "something borrowed" for today's bride. Instead, Kate Middleton is wearing the "halo" tiara which was made by Cartier and given to Queen Elizabeth on her 18th birthday.
Princess Diana's "something borrowed" were the diamond and pearl earrings lent by her mother. Her beautiful tiara -which she said gave her a cracking headache - is from the Spencer family jewels.
Queen Elizabeth II is featured on this 1960 postage stamp. She is wearing, 120 years later, the same tiara worn by Queen Victory on the Penny Black.
The new bride, the Duchess of Cambridge is shown wearing "something borrowed" halo tiara. Her lace and satin gown is very reminiscent of Grace Kelly's wedding gown.
Queen Victoria's Handmade Wedding Shoes
.JPG)
13 comments:
Thank you for the wedding theme post. Just when you think you've heard everything there is to hear about the latest Royal Wedding, there's always something new to learn.
I think you know more about it than I do. :)
Thanks for the info. Now off to watch the reruns with my daugther, who was at school for part of the ceremony.
Great post. I love the line 'Tiara Time'. Got to remember that.
Thanks for this very interesting infor about the royalty.
Informative!
At least a regular family can travel anywhere with the Family Jewels...:)
The information about the tiaras is interesting. I never thought about what the queens were wearing on the stamp. I like the idea of wearing orange blossoms.
Am I the only one in the world who did not tune in to see the wedding?
Well thank goodness we are not royalty. I cannot imagine telling Tim that we could not travel outside the country with the family jewels. He'd refuse to go, and I do so want to see Australia.
Fun information, and lovely cards. A day is more special when I learn a new bit!
Lovely post. Wonderful tiaras.
Wonderful : you cover all the thematic bases - and more. And you give us information that is certainly new to me.
Yes, A Lot I Didn't Know Also.+It's Still The Case That The Queen's Head Is ALWAYS on the British Stamp.Great Post!
Post a Comment