Royal Objets de Fantaisie

I know this isn't really royals or jewelry, but it's something in between.

As most of you may know, I make and sell tiaras in my Etsy shop, Moondust Jewels, but lots of other people make fantastic royal things on Etsy.

These are some fantastic hand-embroidered pillows I found on there, and I want to share them, because I am just beyond amazed at their detail. They are from the Etsy shop Objets de Fantaisie, by a guy named Dennis. I have no patience for sewing, so I am always amazed when I see people make this kind of thing.

Princess Diana Jeweled Frame Pillow

Diana Tiara Pillow

Royal Wedding Monogram Pillow

So if you're on the market for some super fancy royal pillows, this Etsy shop is the place for you! You will have to fork out quite a lot of money for them, though, but far less money than if you bought the actual jewels!

The full story behind Diana: Her True Story

I got interested in royalty after the death of Diana, Princess of Wales. I was 11 years old, and all of a sudden she was on the cover of every magazine for months upon months. I read everything I could about her, and that started my obsession for royals.

One of those books I read was Diana: Her True Story, by Andrew Morton. At time I read it, I remember thinking she was this sad, tragic figure that needed everyone to pity her. I realize now that when she cooperated to make the book with Morton, she was in a very depressing period in her life, and the book doesn't paint the full picture of who Diana really was.

What's more, the publication of Diana: Her True Story changed the way the Palace responded to negative press about them. At one point, the Palace had so much power in Britain, that if you wrote something negative about any of its members, you would lose your job at whatever newspaper or publisher you worked for.

This video explains how Morton's book changed things in Britain:

For a more accurate picture on who the real Diana, Princess of Wales, really was, I suggest reading any of Paul Burrell's books. Burrell was Diana's butler, and he wrote two books about his service to her: A Royal Duty and The Way We Were: Remembering Diana. Burrell has been criticised for profiting off of the Princess, which he indeed has. I personally feel like her death left him without a job, and without a friend, and it gained him quite a lot of infamy, especially when he was in court for having so many of the late Princess' possessions, so what else was he supposed to do?

I know most of you probably feel differently on this matter, but I will say it is extremely sad that the Princess was so famous that after her death, pretty much everyone who had ever known or worked for her wrote exposés on her. Even her brother, The Earl Spencer, used her image on the cover of his book about the Spencers (because who would have read his book without the Diana connection?).

Some British Royals...

Queen Alexandra of Great Britain's three daughters, Princesses Maud, Louise and Victoria. Maud later became the first Queen of independent Norway, and Louise married the Duke of Fife.

Diana Princess of Wales wearing the Cambridge Lover's Knot tiara. I think it is significant that the Queen gave her such a magnificent tiara to wear, even though we all know that the vaults underneath Buckingham Palace house an amazing treasury of gems the family hasn't worn for decades.

Diana wearing the diamond Spencer Family Tiara. Her brother, being the dick that he is, took it back from her when he married his first or second wife, and in photos, you will notice that after 1994 or around there, Diana stopped wearing the Spencer tiara and only wore the Cambridge Lover's Knot. She also turned an emerald and diamond choker, that was an heirloom of Queen Mary's, into a tiara, but she must have died before she ever wore it, since there are no photos of her in it.

Princess Anne of Great Britain. I never have Anne on here! She's a great lady, she does so much charitable work for the kingdom. She is pictured in her grandmother Princess Andrew of Greece's diamond Greek meander tiara, with it's Greek key pattern designs.

Princess Anne on her marriage to Captain Mark Philips. She is wearing the diamond fringe tiara that the Queen wore on her own wedding day.

A portrait painting of Princess Anne, wearing the diamond scroll tiara that Princess William, Duchess of Cambridge, wore on her wedding day.

16 years ago...

  Sixteen years ago, the world lost one its most beloved princesses, Diana. It is hard to believe it's been so long since she was here. I always thought she was most beautiful the year she died, as it seemed that finally she had found herself, and felt comfortable in her own skin.

Diana Spencer as a young girl, holding a pet guinea pig.

Princess Diana early on in her marriage. She is wearing the Spencer family tiara, and the yellow-ribboned order of Queen Elizabeth II.

Diana wearing the "Cambridge Lover's Knot" tiara, which was commissioned by Queen Mary, and based off of a tiara belonging to the then Duchess of Cambridge.

This and the following photos are from a series by Mario Testino. In them, Diana looks relaxed and happy. They were taken a few short months before her death in Paris.

Diana wearing one of the various dressed she auctioned off in 1997.

 

Diana, the Princess of Wales

A set of Postage stamps from the Togo Republic commemorating the death of the Princess of Wales. These were a gift from my grandma, and have always been my favorite stamps of Diana, as they are incredibly detailed oil paintings.

A sheet featuring all the different images of Diana from the Togo Republic.

A beautiful souvenir sheet from Mongolia featuring a young Diana on her wedding day.

Another sheet from Mongolia, featuring pictures of Diana from all decades of her life.

The British issue of stamps commemorating the death of the Princess of Wales. These stamps were issued only a few days after she died.