Suzy Menkes: Princess Kate doesn’t have ‘Camilla’s joy at wearing jewelry’

The current Princess of Wales has terrible style overall, but particularly when it comes to accessories and jewelry. She has a gift for putting the wrong earrings and necklaces with the wrong necklines, colors and styles. The rare times she is allowed to wear big pieces from the royal collection, she either f–ks up the styling completely or she just brings nothing modern to the table and wanders around, looking like an Edwardian ghost. Something else that I’ve noticed throughout Kate’s entire time as a royal woman: she has no idea how to wear big pieces and no one has ever bothered to teach her. All of which might be why Kate doesn’t get to wear the bigger Royal Collection pieces, even now that Queen Camilla is the keeper of the royal jewels. Well, one of Camilla’s fashion-industry allies, Suzy Menkes, also had some harsh words for Kate’s jewelry-style. This is so funny:

The Princess of Wales has been labelled a ‘disappointment’ in her approach to jewellery by a former Vogue editor. Suzy Menkes, 79, from Beaconsfield, Buckinghamshire, made the scathing comment on the latest episode of her podcast Creative Conversations. The prominent critic – who was awarded an OBE by the late Queen for her contribution to fashion journalism in 2014 – invited British Vogue’s jewellery editor Carol Woolton onto the show, where they discussed the Princess of Wales’ recent outfits.

The former Vogue International editor accused Kate, 41, of appearing indifferent to the collection of rare and precious jewels she is privileged to wear and said she doesn’t seem as passionate about jewels as her mother-in-law Camilla, 75.

She said: ‘The Princess of Wales is a bit of a disappointment about jewellery. She gives the impression that she only puts it on when she absolutely has to. I imagine her looking beautiful in one of those gowns behind the scenes and then pulling a face as if to say, “Do I have to wear this?” She doesn’t give any sense of adoring jewellery and being pleased to put it on.’

Furthermore, the fashion critic highlighted how Queen Camilla – who visited the Monica Vinader headquarters yesterday – seems much more interested in gems. Suzy added: ‘She doesn’t seem to have Camilla’s joy at wearing jewellery.’

However, the critic remains on the fence about whether Kate’s attitude towards jewellery will change as she edges closer to the throne. She continued: ‘We now have a new Queen, so presumably she has a first opportunity to look at the jewels. We can imagine that the next in line to the throne’s wife would be something that was very special, so will we see Catherine wearing jewellery that is more dramatic, that is more personal to her? I don’t know. I can’t help feeling with things of beauty, you either love it or you don’t.’

[From The Daily Mail]

I wouldn’t even say that Camilla finds joy in jewelry – I think Camilla’s joy is the victory itself, the fact that she won, that she’s queen (consort) and to the victor go the spoils. Now, Camilla has always worn big statement pieces, mostly because Charles gave her all of his grandmother’s jewelry, and now that she’s queen, she’s mixing and matching stuff from the Queen Mum’s collection and the Royal Collection. Meanwhile, Camilla is the one limiting Kate’s access to jewelry too – Kate didn’t even get to borrow any Royal Collection jewels for the coronation, for goodness sake. Anyway… I halfway agree that Kate’s jewelry-wearing is rather joyless. Her only real sartorial joy for years now has been copykeening Meghan.

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128 Responses to “Suzy Menkes: Princess Kate doesn’t have ‘Camilla’s joy at wearing jewelry’”

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  1. Shawna says:

    I agree that she has no jewelry sense at all, but imagine how much Camilla must be cackling right now about this! She’s clearly tiara-blocking Kate, and now Kate has to hear it’s her own fault.

    • seaflower says:

      Karma strikes Khate

      • Horsilla has struck and is saying no tack for you.

      • mellie says:

        OMG….lololol….hilarious Susan

      • Sugarhere says:

        @Susan, HORSILLA is genius coining. Our dictionary’s expanding (Bullyiam, Conanation…)

        On a side note, I’ve noticed her Lazyship Kate looks quite smug every time she wears Diana’s earrings for Harry’s christening -like she owns both mother and hot son by the same token.

      • Sass says:

        @susan I cackled. Tack! 🤣😭👏🏻

    • PrincessOfWaffles says:

      Camilla says kate is too babybrain clueless about jewelry’s value/privilege so shes not getting the best pieces. Looks like kate will be pairing a lot with H&M/Zara pieces and will be called thrifty to save face, because there’s a new gatekeeper in town and she’s not gonna share

    • Jais says:

      Camilla’s friends and acquaintances throwing shade at Kate is pretty funny. Joyless is just this lady’s way of saying Kate has no taste.

    • PrincessOfWaffles says:

      Also Camilla forgets that beautiful jewelry doesn’t make her beautiful. It just makes camilla mistress queen wear beautiful jewelry.

      • Shawna says:

        Good point. Camilla does look slathered with jewels when she goes all out. Like she’s sinking under them. That’s not a good look, either.

      • Giddy says:

        That picture of Camzilla wearing the crown shows her self-satisfaction! That was her goal and she lied and schemed to get there. And no amount of jewels will make her beautiful. Bitch Queen.

      • Wannabefarmer says:

        Agreed. One cannot see past the ugly to the beauty of the jewelry.

      • twoz says:

        Never has the saying: “you can’t polish a turd but you can roll it in glitter” been more apt.

    • Wannabefarmer says:

      This is cammy’s doing, isnt it? Who would find any joy in wearing plastic crowns anyway? Poor kate, its only going to get worse for her. But hopefully at some point she’ll understand what Meghan felt at the hands of her/her husband, father-in-law, etc .

    • Robin says:

      100% agree with article and your comments. Camy rules Chuck. It isn’t a lack of interest for Kate (and Carole) they can’t wait to get their hands on the Royal Jewels. Carole will find away to wear them. She managed to get William.

  2. Seraphina says:

    First, Kate is worn by everything she puts on – clothes and jewelry. She knows NOTHING of how to wear those jewels or even cheaper adornments. Kate has no taste when it comes to fashion.
    Two, the Lord has a funny sense of humor, because if it were me, I would be wear the hell out of every piece of jewelry I could get my hands on.
    Lastly, Kate better reading the writing on the wall – I think they are slowly trying to phase her out. this piece is basically saying laying the groundwork for other articles to come out about what a “disappointment” she is. And I have to agree.

    • Huckle says:

      She can’t be any more of a disappointment than her relatives by marriage. Good grief.

  3. SAS says:

    There’s no way she would have worn that embarrassing arts-and-craft felt tiara if she wasn’t obsessed with the jewels. She just doesn’t have the “in”, first with QEII now with Camilla to get access to the vault!

    • Chloe says:

      I could be wrong here but i do think she has worn jewels QEII has loaned to her. So she definitely had an in then.

      I know people see this as another sign of a formal separation pending, but personally i think her lack of royal jewels has to do with her Diana cosplay lately. As PoW she’s trying to emulate her mother in law, hence why she’s been going heavy with wearing Di’s jewelry or pieces that have a connection to her.

      • Feeshalori says:

        That’s true, but I’ve noticed she hasn’t worn any new pieces since the queen passed away. She’s basically rotating the same ones that she’s worn in the past, with the exception of the pearl and diamond earrings she wore the day the queen died, and one of her pearl necklaces. But nothing else significant and I think because Camilla shut down her access.

      • Seraphina says:

        If she had an in it was more than likely Angela Kelly – mean girls stick together. And I can see Kelly being nice to Kate to secure an “in” with the POW power.
        Kate likes jewelry due to the status it shows she has when wearing. She has no appreciation for their beauty because if she did, she would wear them and not have the jewelry wear her.

      • Nic919 says:

        Kate kissed ass to Angela Kelly and got a few loans. But with AK 47 gone, Camilla is running the show and so far it looks like she’s been shut out.

        That’s the whole point of this family. Hierarchy. And kate has done herself no favours by trying to push the queen in waiting stuff over Camilla.

    • Tessa says:

      If Kate gets to be queen consort i wonder if William would take charge of the collection and Kate would need permission from him

    • Lizzie says:

      Royal women should have worn tiaras to the coronation. Camilla didn’t want them to, C&C wanted all of the focus on them. I don’t see Kate getting access to any additional jewelry while Cam is queen.

    • Nick G says:

      That felt tiara is hands-down my favourite thing she has ever worn. It was savage! childish! petty! stupid! desperate! transparently malicious! It looked good topping her scowls and sulks. Just solid entertainment value for ever.

  4. The Old Chick says:

    Yeah, I think Kate would be all over the royal collection if she was allowed. She enjoys wearing what she’s got, even though she wears it badly, she just doesn’t have much. I mean diamond and pearl earrings on the school run! That’s keen. She’d wear a tiara on the school run if she could. She really doesn’t know how to dress and wear jewellery.

    • TigerMcQueen says:

      This! I mean, I laughed when I read she doesn’t find joy in the bling. Look at her outfit at Prince Phillip’s funeral. The woman LOVES her some flashy jewels. She’s just being cut off access to them since the queen died.

      • windyriver says:

        +1 on this. Also that huge brooch with the big pearls she wore during QEII’s funeral. And didn’t she wear a pile of pearls during the evening reception for dignitaries that H&M were specifically disinvited from? Not to mention, if she didn’t care, no reason to create the ornate fake tiara for the coronation.

        She adores the jewelry, but only cares about showing off, not about what looks good with what or wearing it well.

  5. Kcturn says:

    Kate actually wore the George the VI festoon necklace given to Queen Elizabeth in 1950 by her father to the coronation. It’s a huge 3 strand diamond necklace now part of the royal collection.

    • CL says:

      I was coming here to comment the same thing. It’s a spectacular necklace, but it was hidden by her clothes. You can see it on her in the official group portrait. It’s too bad we didn’t get to see more of it that day.

      “King George had it made for Elizabeth using 105 loose collets that were among the Crown heirlooms he inherited. (These, according to Hugh Roberts, had been used by Queen Mary to change the lengths of her multiple diamond collet necklaces, hence their loose status in the collection.) The end result is this take on a triple strand necklace: three strands of graduated collets suspended between two diamond triangles, with a single collet strand at the back.” — QueensJewelVauly.Blogspot.com

    • Ann says:

      She didn’t wear it to the coronation just for the pictures. You would have seen it.

      • Nic919 says:

        She wore a different gown for the group photo too. The collar is very different.

        Kate is as petty and materialistic as Camilla so her lack of new tiaras and jewels is not by choice, which make this petty article even funnier.

  6. Theresa says:

    Agreed that there are times when she should have worn jewelry and didn’t, but if her access to the “family jewels” is limited then that could be a reason. However…you would think that after over a decade in the firm she would have some jewelry in her own right.

    • Cathy says:

      Kate does have a collection of overpriced Kiki pieces. If I was her I’d have purchased a pair of decent size diamond studs. Diamond studs are versatile and can be worn most places. But no, she keeps going for Kiki earrings.

      • BlueNailsBetty says:

        I’ve said the same thing many times. Kate needs a good quality, basic jewelry wardrobe. Medium diamond studs, pearl studs, a couple of pearl necklaces, a medium set of plain gold hoops, and some gold rings (no stones, don’t want to compete with Big Blue).

        I’m always shocked that her jewelry game is so off. I like the jewelry she wears but she wears a lot of it poorly. And her lack of classic jewelry is surprising (or maybe she just doesn’t like the classics).

    • tolly says:

      Kate owns one expensive antique brooch that she bought herself for her birthday a couple of years ago, and I think that’s about it for serious jewels in her personal collection. Everything else belongs either to William (from Diana) or the family vaults. It’s one way to prevent a married-in woman from building wealth. Even their wedding gifts are technically gifts to the monarch that they have to borrow.

      • BQM says:

        Only the wedding gifts that are from foreign heads of state, I believe. If the queen gave Kate a very valuable bracelet as a wedding gift (like I think she did Meghan or maybe it was just the earrings) that’s her own property.

  7. Cathy says:

    Kate does have a special skill which is making what she wears look cheap. She wore Diana’s earrings in the wrong ears. She wore the Nizam necklace with her hair flopping all over it. The pearls in Diana’s former tiara must all be damaged now as Kate doesn’t wear that tiara so it sits properly and that means every time she moves the pearls are bashing against the frame. It doesn’t have to, if you have a skilled hairdresser. But apart from those obvious mistakes Kate generally makes valuable pieces of jewellery look like she’s bought them from the $2 shop. It’s a unique and special skill.

  8. L84Tea says:

    The lack of jewelry-gazing all around has been a letdown for a while now. QEII really knew how to wear her pieces, even as a bent and frail old woman, she still could rock the heck out of gigantic, over the top sized necklaces and tiaras and brooches. That part of royal watching feels like it’s slipping away now. I know Camilla enjoys her statement pieces, and she does look good in them, but it’s Camilla. She as the wearer lacks that more natural ease that certain RF members have. Diana was the opposite of that too. She could wear piece of jewelry and it simply looked apart of her. Both Camilla and Kate scream ‘I won the prize, now give me all the diamonds’. Their tackiness has tainted the whole collection.

    • Interested Gawker says:

      “That part of royal watching feels like it’s slipping away now.”

      I have come to resent this situation, I mean that’s what royal watching WAS, the clothes, the jewels, but there’s something to be unpicked about how the provenance of these royal jewels is problematic. The line about Kate not taking joy in wearing them was clearly meant as criticism but that stance (which, let’s face it, is untrue; Kate is rabid for bling) is actually progressive when you consider to looting and colonization that brought many of these pieces into the royal fold.

    • Shawna says:

      It’s all hoarding and no showing 🙁

  9. FancyPants says:

    I agree that she wears the big jewelry inappropriately or covers it in a pile of hair, but she is positively GLEEFUL any time she gets her hands on something of Diana’s, or that awful v@gina necklace from QEII. She is definitely not “joyless” when she flashes that cursed sapphire ring at everyone, making sure it’s in every photograph.

    • BothSidesNow says:

      No Keen wasn’t joyless at having access to the Royal jewels. I will never get over the fact that the afternoon that QEII died, she scurried her lazy useless ass over to BP and put as many jewels as possible from the Royal collection. An embarrassment of looking like the unhinged, hand grubbing manipulator that she is and couldn’t WAIT to show how she “won”.

      Keen wants to show that her becoming PoW was masterfully done but isn’t of the right stock of how to wear them, unlike Diana who was a master at it!! Keen couldn’t accessorize her looks IF her life depended on it!!

  10. lleepar says:

    [Kaiser:] “All of which might be why Kate doesn’t get to wear the bigger Royal Collection pieces, even now that Queen Camilla is the keeper of the royal jewels.”

    I think you’ve hit on something. Just as William once conspired with AK47 to make sure Meghan was limited in what jewels she could borrow from the royal collection, I suspect Camilla doesn’t let Kate borrow whatever she wants, either.

  11. That’sNotOkay says:

    Kate’s been cut off. And they know it and are rubbing it in. The clock is ticking….

    • L84Tea says:

      Yeah, something is definitely going on. Kate is getting hammered by the press right and left lately.

    • Thatsnotokay. I agree that the clock is ticking. These not positive stories are becoming more frequent.

      • BothSidesNow says:

        Yes, they are sending a message to Keen that her “image” as PoW is quite a disgrace!! Keens “limited” access is a blatant message that she is not the right fit after all!!

        I will be enjoying these little messages directed at Keen from Salty Island!! Keen isn’t actually keen at all…..☺️☺️

    • Dee says:

      This calls to mind the jewelry which is missing. At least it hasn’t been returned and the royal archives don’t know where it Is. I wonder if she’s hanging onto what she’s borrowed because she doesn’t have access now.

      • BothSidesNow says:

        Oh, I didn’t know that there are jewels missing!! Someone should have searched AK-47 as she left BP!!!

      • Feeshalori says:

        Yes, I think she still has the pieces that the late queen loaned her but nothing significantly new.

      • BQM says:

        The jewels aren’t missing, it’s just the royal collection doesn’t have them. It’s only been in the last decades that official gifts have been designated as belonging to the official royal collection as opposed to strictly personal. The ‘missing’ pieces were gifts to the queen from decades before the new policy. They may end up in the collection but, for now at least, they’re Charles’s personal property. I’m sure he, and Camilla, know just where they’re at.

  12. Tessa says:

    A new queen really
    Charles succeeded the queen as monarch. Camilla is queen consort. She did not replace queen Elizabeth

  13. Amy Bee says:

    Kate wore the Queen’s three strand diamond necklace for the coronation pictures. It didn’t look like she wore it for the actual event. I think two things are going on Kate doesn’t know how to wear jewellery and she’s not allowed to wear specific pieces.

  14. The Hench says:

    I think there’s also a certain amount of snobbery in this piece. The bit that isn’t being said out loud but is being implied to me, is that Kate doesn’t know how to wear the big jewels because she isn’t of the right stock.

    “I can’t help feeling with things of beauty, you either love it or you don’t.” – or, in other words “you either have the background and the breeding to appreciate things of beauty or you don’t”.

    Maybe it’s just my innate Englishness but that’s what I’m also hearing here…

    • UnstrungPearl says:

      Exactly this! I just wrote the same before seeing your comment. She will never be one of them, and they’ll never let her forget it.

      • The Hench says:

        @UnstrungPearl – haha – yes I saw that. Glad it’s not just me that was picking that up!

    • WiththeAmericann says:

      That’s exactly how I took it, too. Kate isn’t bred well enough to appreciate fine things. She isn’t worthy of the jewelry.

      This is also a fine excuse for why she isn’t given access. This piece is doing a lot.

      It reads like Camilla briefing – Kate the middle class peasant doesn’t appreciate jewelry and she doesn’t even like it, so that’s why you don’t see her wearing it. In reality, Kate would wear every piece together at the same time and preen around for her photoshopper because she seems to love jewelry as proof that she won. She just has no taste.

    • Abby says:

      That is my take on this story too.

    • Nic919 says:

      There is snobbery, but we have commented here for years that kate does dumb stuff like have her hair cover show piece necklaces, or hide earrings. She also pulled out that Pearl choker for funerals and it really seemed out of place and excessive for the event. She was showing off more jewelry at Philip’s funeral than his actual widow. There is a level of subtlety that Kate doesn’t get.

  15. UnstrungPearl says:

    A bit of shade from Suzy is unexpected, I also see the snobbery here. Its a reminder that Camilla is from the right class so knows how to wear jewels, while middle class Kate will never ‘get’ it. She might be right in that Camilla has a confidence in her superiority that Kate inherently lacks (and tries desperately to fake).
    Not a fan of Suzy in general, she always fawned over designers even if the shows were crap. An absolute commitment to the hierarchy and maintaining the status quo, which is why I’m surprised she’s said this about Kate!

    • Tessa says:

      Kate and her mother schemed to get in with that circle. Camilla was part of the gentry . Williams friends look looked down at kate and still do. Kaye is from new money but the failure of the family business did damage status wise for the.middletons.

    • Visa Diva says:

      I a!so think it’s a generational gap. My grandmother wore jewelry !like necklaces, brooches, etc, I wear very !little jewelry. The York Princesses are of the same generation as Kate and wear very little jewellery of their own or borrowed from the collection.

    • Nic919 says:

      Was Suzy instructed by Camilla to write this? Sure. But I can’t feel bad for someone who sacrificed her dignity for a decade to be a part of the family and then made sure to lord over anyone she could. This is her choice. She’s hoping to ride this out and still be married by the time William is king.

  16. Alexandria says:

    Puhlease her crown of flowers was huge, she would display all the jewels if and once she has access and regardless whatever these snobs think of her class. She can then be a bigger snob than she is now.

    • Tessa says:

      Sophie looked better with her floral headpiece. Kate has not learned or does not want to learn sometimes less is more

      • Nic919 says:

        I agree that Sophie didn’t go overboard with her head piece. She seemed to understand her purpose in that coronation whereas Kate is unable to wait her turn. So not surprised that she gets knocked down for this.

    • Stephanie says:

      I am certain Carol worked overtime with her party pieces making that headpiece.

  17. Eurydice says:

    I don’t know – people love to royal watch and are eager to see jewelry, but to me most of it looks outdated, ostentatious and stupid. Big honking tiaras and giant brooches are just reminders that the RF is a bunch of dinosaurs. I’d be embarrassed to wear that stuff, but I don’t want to be Queen, either.

    • Southern Fried says:

      Eurydice, same here. Halloweenish.

    • NotSoSocialB says:

      I’d feel so much shame wearing so much stolen/looted jewels. That they all feel so entitled to stealing other countries’ valued artifacts is really disgusting.

    • Shawna says:

      “Big honking tiaras and giant brooches are just reminders that the RF is a bunch of dinosaurs.” Exactly so. But for me, if there *is* a monarchy, then I want to see monarchy. And when you see monarchy, then you’re gonna be faced with the grim reality of looting, slavery, imperialism, etc. The RF can’t have it both ways, so they just hide as much as they can. But it’s stupid because we KNOW it’s there; they just aren’t giving the public the “show” it deserves. The show needs to go on—and then be shut down, hoisted by its own petard.

      For me, it’s like people mad at Hilary Mantel’s piece about Kate. Of course Kate is only there to have babies and smile. If she isn’t, it’s not a royal family. I honestly think she would be justified doing 0 work from now on…because the reality is, her work is done. It’s hiding from the truth of what monarchy is to expect her to cut ribbons.

    • BQM says:

      There are GORGEOUS pieces designed by Prince Albert for queen Victoria that passed out of the main line. The sapphire tiara is now in the V&A and the emerald on long term loan to the display at Kensington palace. Both are smaller and lighter and look very modern. Plus they have huge historical provenance.

      The sapphire would’ve been a good one, theoretically , for Kate given she has the ring, earrings, etc and it’s so much better than the one in the family (the one Camilla wore). I wish they’d bought it when it was up for auction from the Harewoods.

  18. Nic919 says:

    She pulled out all the new pieces she could for the funeral events when Angela might have still had some control. But since ak 47 has been locked out, Camilla is controlling the collection.

    And kate has been bad with properly showing pieces, covering necklaces with piles of hair, wearing earrings the wrong way, tiara has hairband etc.

    • Jais says:

      Oooh good point on her getting some jewels from Angela right after the queen died. We’ve discovered the real reason Kate didn’t go to balmoral. She was not doing the school run but doing the jewelry run while she still could😂. I mean I still think William didn’t want her there either but she had time to grab a pearl necklace, just saying.

      • Feeshalori says:

        And the late queen’s pearl and diamond earring studs as well. I remember her wearing them in that photo of her driving around Windsor the day the queen died.

      • BlueNailsBetty says:

        @Feeshalori. Those weren’t the queen’s earrings. The earrings Elizabeth wore every day were with her at Balmoral. Also, Elizabeth often gave copies of the earrings as gifts.

        But you are spot on about how happy/smug Kate looked that day.

    • Seraphina says:

      Nic919, I did not see your comment when I replied above to someone else, but I agree. Angela was Kate’s in – and there was a definite reason Kelly was being nice to Kate.

  19. Laura D says:

    The conanation shows how much Kate loves the bling. Maybe I’m making2+2 into 5 but, is it a coincidence that since a very expensive necklace was last seen around Kate’s neck and hasn’t been seen since, “they” don’t let her borrow very much from the collection nowadays?

  20. Julie says:

    If I was home worrying about the cost of living outpacing my income, reading this article would have me screaming Republic Now!

  21. Meh says:

    Camilla and this Suzy jeweler person are definitely trolling Kate with this: “[Kate] doesn’t give any sense of adoring jewellery and being pleased to put it on.”

    Kate *clearly* adores jewelry, particularly royal jewelry (reference the funeral events and the tinfoil craft project), as it gives her elevated status to lord over everyone around her.

    This statement seems to be Camilla’s sadistic game to goad Kate into performing gratitude. They all deserve each other.

  22. Cosmic Cow says:

    Read the room, Suzy. All those jewels are problematic.

  23. Kelsey says:

    Well last time they let Kate wear a royal collection piece it went “missing”, so there’s that. Lmao.

    But no, seriously, this is hilarious. I think Khate DOES enjoy jewelry, she just suits me as one of those women who believes she shouldn’t buy expensive pieces herself- someone else (i.e., her husband, holiday presents from family, etc.) should. And that’s why her collection is so “sparse” for a royal, even outside of the Royal collection stuff.

    I think (and I hate connecting her to everything about these people) seeing Meghan with jewelry galore that was either all purchased by herself or from her working days AND getting praise for her jewelry game is what made Kate TRY to start accessorizing more. Which, I think is hilarious, because you probably saw this woman wear yellow gold maybe TWICE the entire time of her being in the public eye before 2018, and suddenly she’s obsessed with it. But anyway.

    I think she thought she was going to be able to revamp as a jewelry Kween when QEII passed, but Queen Consort Horsey said “neighhhhh neighhh neighhhhhhh neigh”, which translates to, “Hold your horses lady”.

    • Nic919 says:

      Camilla was also gifted a lot of pieces by Charles when he was prince of Wales. William has never purchased anything for Kate. Even the engagement ring is inherited and cost him nothing.

    • Interested Gawker says:

      Kate in a beehive wiglet and corgi back up singers,

      🎶I tried so hard to bring the bling back
      And Cam said:
      “neigh neighhh neighhhhhhh”🎶

  24. Mrs. Smith says:

    Yep, another jab at K and her middle class background. Meh, it’s just like her lifeless portrait. She needs some warmth, personality and charisma to pull off such incredible jewelry. Or lacking that, have the curiosity to google what pieces go with which neckline or dress style. I mean, Sophiesta seems to manage just fine.

    • Kit says:

      Mrs Smith, Upper Blues never and never will accept the Middleton family, l mean even if they where this nice respectable crowd they still wouldn’t accept them but unfortunately this crowd of commoners are just too common. That thing on Kates head for the coronation was beyond tacky for this state occasion , who.advises her ? That big jewellery can look absolutely stunning but has to be worn correctly

      I noticed the DM headline read as ‘Disappointing’ ,,,,,whilst on GB news yesterday alone there was 3 clips about Kate the Great been great !!! Kaiser is on the money something is brewing .

      • Cosmic Cow says:

        It’s not the support of “Upper Blues” Catherine and the monarchy need. It’s the regulars.

    • Nic919 says:

      Carole and Kate have very tacky taste and it’s not really class related, it’s them. Sophie isn’t from the aristo class and we don’t see her look tacky with jewelry. (The tiara that was made for her wasn’t her fault, that was the Queen). And most common folk would have laughed at the cheap crafted headpiece.

      It is easy to ascribe things to class, but that family just has bad taste.

  25. one of the marys says:

    I think she doesn’t have access. I also think it’s not a good look to be flaunting wealth when so many are struggling. She could draw a line between herself and Camilla by wearing modest and/or simple classics as suggested already (diamond studs, simple pearls) and let Charles and Camilla look grotesque in their finery

    • UnstrungPearl says:

      That would actually be a good PR plan – rewear the simple/meaningful pieces from Diana and the Queen. Then the tabloids can talk about how sensitive she is to the cost of living compared to Camilla etc. Total nonsense but the fans would believe it.

  26. Mary Pester says:

    Look Kateykins has her own LITTLE JEWELRY BOX, and every time she opens it, the little light comes on in its mirror, the little ballerina goes around and it plays “I feel pretty”. And, the only reason that she has a little jewellery box is because camzilla has the great big one and won’t let kateykins get her sticky mits on it. Oh yes she will lend her some from time to time, and I bet she has to pay a deposit to make sure it’s returned 😂😂 let’s face it, Diana’s peices were classy and she always wore the right peices with the right outfits for the right occasions, could ANY of us imagine that Diana would have worn that laughable head gear that kateykins wore to the coronation!! Or swished around in her cape like a demented bat woman

  27. maisie says:

    I’m sure piling on that stolen jewelry has a transient appeal, the bright shiny objects certainly draw attention. But after that comes the taste of ashes when she realizes 1) people are only interested in the jewelry and 2) once she takes it off she’s still the same dull, unhappy, lonely woman she was before.

  28. aquarius64 says:

    I think the biggest snub Kate can’t stand was mentioned in Spare: Harry’s Spencer aunts wanted to loan Meghan the Spencer tiara for their wedding. William probably threw a fit for that.

    • ennie says:

      Can you imagine? He was tantruming about a freaking BEARD. Face hair, other man’s face hair, now THAT tiara????!

  29. Unblinkered says:

    Is it possible they’ve become concerned at Carol (Debtor) Middleton getting anywhere near Crown jenwellery?

    • Nic919 says:

      We still haven’t heard about that necklace last seen in public on Kate.

    • Harper says:

      This is what I think, too. Notice that William is not going to bat for Kate’s access to the important jewels, either. He doesn’t have that MY WIFE energy to make sure she is given equal status as the Princess of Wales. He used to have it when Meghan was around.

      The Guardian did that expose on the missing jewelry, last seen on Kate’s neck. The royal keepers of the shiny stuff had to know that those pieces weren’t secured before The Guardian decided to write about it. I think the Firm wasn’t going to make a fuss about them being missing just yet. Perhaps they were saving it for later as ammunition for taking Kate down in the press. Who knows? It did seem that the coronation necklace Kate wore was done under watchful eyes in the palace and only for the photo shoot.

      • BQM says:

        I wrote about the jewels under comment 11. They’re not really missing. The headlines have been very misleading.

  30. Lizzie says:

    My take-away, this is how a lot of people who have credibility actually talk about Kate, but the rr aren’t interested in writing the truth.

  31. Blujfly says:

    Kate is a compulsive shopper whose rush has always come from many many many things and new things. That desire is always at odds with her desire to be compared to the queen and Diana. That’s the conflict we see play out – do I get a headline about me me me me and my “style” or do I get a cheap comparison to these other women

  32. Tamra says:

    IMO many of the heavier pieces need to be reworked into more modern settings. They make anyone wearing them look out of date. It has been done before.

    • Ennie says:

      Thi is ao true. Those royals from the past and early XX Century were altering the jewels all the freaking time, dismounting rocks and modernizing pieces, I bet they still quietly do it,. But you know they cannot say mow much they spend on that now, and keen doesn’t carry the jewels too well anyway.
      I’m grateful that Meg is not mentioned here in the discussion, you know the trolls were attacking her and only her for “altering” a “historic” piece her very own freaking engagement ring. Wait till they hear what Mary of Teck was up to in her day.

      • ArtHistorian says:

        QEII did it as well. She had the Nizam of Hyderabad Tiara dismantled and remade into the monstrously ugly Burmese Ruby Tiara.

  33. GDubslady says:

    Its not just a background thing. If you don’t read fashion magazines or historical pics of women of means wearing jewelry you will not get it. Kate doesn’t study the archive which is weird bc I’m sure the jewelry collection also shows how past royals wore these pieces.

    • BeanieBean says:

      But but but–Kate has a degree in art history! Surely somewhere along the line in her studies she would have seen portraits of the high & mighty and the jewelry they wore.

      • Snoodle says:

        I’m pretty sure when Kate received her diploma she just completely deleted all memory of the hours she spent in classes. Just, jettisoned the lot.

  34. B says:

    Angela Kelly keeper of the jewels has been ousted and Kate & Willy have clearly been cut off from a lot of things. They retaliate by doing performative stunts to hog press attention. Its the petty one upmanship of small minded fishes in a small pond.

    It always amuses me when people act like Harry would miss this life. A suffocated life full of pettiness, little cruelties, humiliations AND leaking and press instigation? Thank God he’s free and happy now.

    • Angie says:

      Can you imagine being so unkind and cruel to the people you supposedly love. I think this is what surprised Meghan the most. People that say they love you particularly Harry and really only caring for themselves. Look at Harry living next door to Kate and William and they not giving him the time of day. Only trotting him out when they want to use him for PR. Harry is indeed lucky he escaped that viciousness.

  35. Ennie says:

    I don’t know, somehow this seems to be low key shading Camilla. As if miss keen is so down to earth and humble, I don’t know…

  36. BillyPilgrim says:

    Shirt and sweet: I’d be all over those jewels.

  37. amadabasura says:

    I’ve always had the feeling that Cami doesn’t care much about jewelry and only wears bridle ornaments and harness medallions b/c it’s important to Chuck.

    • BeanieBean says:

      The joy is Charles’ in buying these things for Camilla, not Camilla’s in wearing them.

  38. Jay says:

    Ouch, this probably stings for Kate. As noted by others here, she’s never been shy about putting on the sparklies; she just doesn’t wear them well. I always think of an 8 year old playing dress up – wear ALL the things, even if it competes with the clothes! And paint on some heavy blue eyeliner and blush while you’re at it. And then wear your heaviest wiglet of curls so that it covers everything anyway!

    But I agree that her access to the crown jewels has been severely limited by C and C. So the idea of her “pulling a face as if to say, “Do I have to wear this?” when we know that she is dying to get her hands on the good stuff is especially cruel. Well played, Suzie.

  39. QuiteContrary says:

    Kate’s coronation headpiece will never fail to make me laugh.

  40. Leslie says:

    Camzilla might have “joy” wearing jewels, but in my opinion, she has no better sense of how to wear magnificent heirloom pieces than Kate. She has a small frame and most of the time the pieces simply overwhelm her. She’s obviously keeping the treasure horde under lock and key to make sure no one else in the family has access…but I believe in Karma. Her greed, avarice, Machiavellian conniving and sheer unkindness will be her undoing.

    https://www.thecourtjeweller.com/2022/09/the-greville-bequest-the-diamond-festoon-necklace.html

    • Jenn says:

      I agree with everything you’ve said, although until now I’d always believed Camilla had the hulking frame to pull off massive jewels — in my mind’s eye she is massive and stoop-shouldered, a bit like Julia Child — but now I see, from these photos, that she is less robust than I’d remembered. Is it just age, or did she get skinny to become queen? Somehow she still carries herself like a linebacker.

  41. Cottage Cat says:

    Brought up a royalist, I am honestly now thinking this is where it ends. Carole’s compromising and capture of Diana’s elder son, almost blackmailing him with orders to make “an honest woman” of Kate by marriage after William tried to enr it, more than once. The Windsors never saw the Middletons coming.

  42. Sue says:

    I honestly think the best accessory she’s worn was her coronation laurel thing that matched her daughter’s. That’s my something nice for today.
    Camilla has always been and will always be a snake.

  43. Lizzie says:

    I remember Charles buying jewelry for Camilla, and of course he gave her his grandmothers jewelry too. I only remember William buying jewelry, earrings?, once for Kate. Has he bought her any other jewelry?

  44. Noor says:

    One word : Vicious.

  45. Angie says:

    They are all stupid when it comes to wearing the jewelry. Why not loan out pieces to all the young royal women when they are attending important events. How it would give some much needed glamor to the royal family. What a precedent it would set to foster friendship and loyalty to the family. Why not have Eugenie,Beatrice and some of the young cousins wear some of the color pieces. What a wonderful way to showcase the royal jewelry. How easy it would be to setup a system were the women could borrow pieces of the royal jewelry.