if you’re a canary, a fan of precious stones, can tell an ill-cut diamond from the light it fails to refract, a stoner-fan of eye candy or otherwise distracted by shiny objects do not look directly at this post if you are taking seizure medication. Yeah, it’s that pretty…Queen Alexandra’s Kokoshnik (God help me if I’m not spelling it right by now)
Equal parts inspired-by-invisible-horizon and painfully elated: Queen Elizabeth II; Queen Elizabeth née Duchess of York aka the Queen Mum; Empress Maria Feodorovna of Russia (Alexandra’s sister), Queen Alexandra and Queen Mary.”
Once upon a time, the Prince and Princess of Wales were celebrating their Silver Wedding Anniversary. As royalty is prone, gifts poured in, wishing well from nobles to businesses to the Commission of Peeresses in England. All of the ladies of noble title chipped in and commissioned this Maria Feodorovna-inspired tiara from Garrards London. On behalf of the 365 Peeresses of the Realm, Lady Salisbury presented the diamond kokoshnik to the future Queen Alexandra in 1888.
Alexandra chose the design herself and it was undoubtedly inspired by her sister Minnie’s –ahem, Dagmar, future Empress Maria Feodorovna of Russia’s– tiaras in her legendary jewel collection. (Bottom left.)
Pop Quiz: what parure did Elizabeth II mix and match with the Queen Alexandra Kokoshnik in the top-left photo? (Check the earring and the necklace.) I’m giving a $20 gift card to the first person to answer correctly. Seriously. This offer does not expire until the correct answer is posted.
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history buff, jewelry whore, chatterbox, mets fan
tiaras and trianon 
Congratulations! You’ve been nominated for the Super Sweet Blogging Award! For details check out: http://thelifeandtimesofaforeverwitch.wordpress.com/2012/09/05/super-sweet-blogging-award/
Brightest Blessings
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thank you so much…so much bliss to you! I am so honored! I’ll post my nominees later on today so you can check them out!
brilliant bliss to you!
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I think the answer is the Brazilian Aquamarine? At first I thought they were Emeralds but they are the wrong shape for any in her collection. . .
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Well well well! Has somebody FINALLY hazarded to guess my trivia question from so long ago that I forgot?
GOOD FOR YOU!!!! You are the first person to even guess! It’s half-two here, do indulge me with a night’s snooze and I shall fact check it when I’m fresh as a daisy.
Wow, you made my late-night! Double-cheers!
Talk tomorrow!
n*
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Congratulations Donald! You are CORRECT! It only took…(when did I post this?) 1 month, 4 weeks and 1 day for somebody to even submit an answer!
Yes, that’s right, not only are you our grand-prize winner, you are the first person who answered! If you click above under “Your Blog Hostess & How to Contact” you can email me your mailing address and I’ll send you a gift card from Starbucks or Coffee Bean. (Your choice! Sorry, They don’t have Dunkin’ out here. I know, it breaks my heart too.)
I really want to thank you (and the handful of others out there, you know who you are!) for proving to me that people are reading what I write, not just right-clicking the pictures! As you’ve warmed my heart, hopefully the coffee will do the same to your mornings!
Congratulations again to Donald! Huzzah!
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Hi, don’t mean to be rude, but the tiara that the Queen Mum is wearing is not the Kokoshnik; it is the Queen Mary Tiara. She never wore the Kokoshnik. It was passed from Queen Mary to Elizabeth II.
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Oh my! Thanks for the catch! (Not rude at all!) I actually wrote about Queen
“Princess” Mary’s Fringe some months later…I must have been in a rush to finish the collage and didn’t notice the blatant difference. I should learn not to take those mislabelled Google searches at their word!
Thanks again!
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