Queen Elizabeth

Tatler May 2016

Queen Elizabeth and I share the same birth date. I am happy that this year, her 90th, she is celebrating early and very often ... June is her official birthday celebrations in England. Nearly two months of often. That's my girl!

The crown that she is wearing for this sitting is exquisite. I have seen the Crown Jewels in London on three different occasions. The last, just a couple of years ago, didn't have as many of the jewels as I had remembered from earlier visits. The tiaras, in particular, were the most beguiling. The stones are so large that they don't even seem real. This one is much more delicate than some of the others. I imagine that there is a name for it ... I see that whenever Princess Catherine wears one of the royal tiaras, it is named and aged. 

A tiara just pretties a girl up! I was invited to a disco party before Christmas and I wore a faux diamond necklace as a headband. Not quite a tiara, but it was sparkly! I was surprised that it was the host's 85 year old father who said, 'your headband is really great!' This brings to mind a Military Ball that I attended. The guest of the night's speaker was an older gentleman. I was sat next to him to chat him up. I had, for the evening, chose a small, pearl evening bag that had belonged to my grandmother. It doesn't fit more than a lipstick and a credit card, but what more does one need? After talking for a few minutes, he touched the bag which I set on the table and he said, 'oh, this is just like my wife's evening purse looked like. It's so nice to see it.' We were fast friends from that point on. It's interesting that two older men noticed very specific details of my attire. I suppose it's because they were each sort of throw backs to another time. I can remember after my grandmother died when I was in high school, I took a lot of the old bags, jewelry, and dressing gowns. I made a point of making it a part of my wardrobe. Of course, I didn't have many things. I always found my grandmother to be quite glamorous. By wearing her things, I felt that too. As I've been able to acquire my own wardrobe, my own jewels ... I suppose that I've gotten away from some of that creative styling. I should make a point of pulling more of it out and sprinkling it in. Hey, it gets the boys' attention.

Happy Birthday, Ma'am. Can I borrow your tiara for my next soiree?