Sunday, March 26, 2006

Majesty Magazine & other publications on royalty

From the Royal Jewels of the World Message Board:

Original poster U:

I am thinking about making a subscription to Majesty Magazine.
I think £35 is a fair prize for one year. But in fact I hardly
know it. Is it good, are there OK pics, good articles etc?

Response #1 Henri M.:

The focus is almost only on the Windsors and many of the pictures
you see, will be not unknown for you, if you are a regular visitor
to royalty boards. Maybe you can read Majesty in the local libraby?
For free.

Response #2 Nellie:

With no hint of the country you are in, it is not so easy to comment.
In Australia, I buy my copy of Majesty every month. I do not
subscribe because I found once that the flimsy plastic bag used to
send a requested back copy to me just did not last the distance!

The magazine arrived but was damaged. So you need to consider
that aspect. I suggest that you buy one copy and see what you
think for youself. For the price we pay in Australia, Majesty
is only just acceptable. I am an enthusiast of course and would
find it very hard to give up Majesty!

Royalty magazine is a different case. It is really trying my patience
by including so much on models and film celebrities. I think if they
want to change the focus of that magazine they should change its title!

Response #2a TMN Raugravine:

I prefer Royalty Monthly as Majesty is just too full of the British
Royals and I have seen all and read about the same things over and
over. But I enjoy both magazines. Sometimes each has a delightful
surprise.

Response #2b Gwynnan:

I agree with you about Royalty magazine and the models and film
celebrities. I would buy the National Inquirer if that is what
I wanted to read about.

It also seems that some of the articles in Royalty are in larger
print... like they don't have enough to say, so use larger print
to take up the space. But I do like their historical articles
and continue to purchase magazine.

I just subscribed to Majesty for $64/US because the bookstore
has missed receiving some issues. Since my major interest is
the British family, it meets my needs. I plan to subscribe to
Royalty due to the missed issues problem when I can afford it.

Response #3 Wymanda:

IMO Majesty is well worth the subscription. I've had mine for
5 years now and I wouldn't exchange it for any of the other
mags on the market. Royalty is a Diana gratification every
time it comes out and the quality isn't that great.

Response #3a John in Assen:

If you care for big page-filling photo's of Royalty wearing
tiaras and other jewelery there also exists a glossy magazine
(Belgian-based and aspeccialy for the Dutch/Belgiam market but
containing pictures of all Royal families also the non-Europeans)
that have realy become an item overhere:

Royals and Dynasty (http://www.royals.be/nl/index.html)

Both magazines are in full-colour, glossy with big pictures of
all things royal, hardly any advertising and 68 pages. They
recently had 2 wonderful pagefilling photo's of Queen Elisabeth
II wearing a tiara and have done that with Maxima and all Belgian
Royals also when a State-Visit has occured. They also write about
royal jewelery but it's foremost a photo-magazine. And since they
started out I think they have become better and better with every
issue.

Monday, March 06, 2006

The Queen's Jewels

Leslie Field
Harry N. Abrams, Inc. 1987
ISBN:0-8109-1525-1

This is one of my favorite books on royal jewels. It fueled my personal interest in the glitter that queens and princesses wore, but from a historical view. Who acquired or was given what and how did that particular piece made its way through time from owner to owner (provenance).

The Queen's Jewels - The personal collection of Queen Elizabeth II
is a marvelous book written by Leslie Field, a features writer,
fashion editor and broadcast commentator. Ms. Field spent four
years researching and writing the book, which not only covers
the personal jewels owned by the Queen, but also the female
family members such as the Duchesses of Kent and Gloucester.

The jewels are organized by stones from amethyst to turquoise.
In order to truly appreciate the work that went into this book
one has to read. You can find interesting information on
well-known pieces like the Vladimir Circle Tiara or the Cullinan
"chips" to obscure pieces like the recently sighted "Ladies of
North Wales" emerald leek brooch or the Iveagh Tiara.

There are three editions of this book, the best one to have
being the one with the red cover. Multiple copies abound,
so a beginning book collector can pick one up cheap off
E-Bay or other Internet booksellers.

Welcome to RJWB2

This site is dedicated to the discussions and reviews of publications
on royal jewelry. There are many out there that people who just
recently discover the subject might feel overwhelmed by what to
buy or borrow, especially on a tight budget. Some books are must
haves, while others are not worth the paper they are printed on.

Anyone who wishes to post their reviews or commenatries on books,
magazines or catalogues, please contact me via this blog.