Together with Prince Albert II and Princess Charlene of Monaco, Montblanc celebrated the Princess Grace Awards at the gala premiere of the Montblanc Collection Princesse Grace de Monaco.

The Awards ceremony, held in New York City on November 1st, included the presentation of 21 awards to emerging artists in theater, dance and film, as well as the Prince Rainier III Award, presented to Julie Andrews.

Some of the stunning tributes to Princess Grace by Montblanc, the creator of fine writing instruments, are seen below [click to enlarge]:

Prince Albert and Princess Charlene were joined by a cadre of celebrities. Attendees included:

Anne Hathaway and Carlo Giordanetti

Julie Andrews

Martha Wainwright and Rufus Wainwright

Petra Nemcova

Selita Ebanks and CEO of Montblanc North America Jan-Patrick Schmitz

October 23rd, a Sunday, saw the Queen attending church services in Brisbane. Her Majesty, along with Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh, attended morning Worship at St. John’s Church.

That afternoon, a reception and lunch was hosted by the Governor-General for the royal couple.

October 24th was an “away day” in Brisbane. The Queen and the Duke hopped aboard a river boat and traveled up the Brisbane River to Southbank. Once ashore, they visited the Queensland Performing Arts Center.

That afternoon, the royals met with emergency response personnel and members of the communities affected by the floods. The Queen and Prince Philip attended a re-dedication Ceremony of Rainforest and the opening of Rain Bank.

The Queen and Prince Philip were back in Canberra on Tuesday, October 25th. They visited the Australian War Memorial and viewed the Afghanistan Memorial, where the Queen placed a wreath. Later, the royal couple met with Australian Defense Force Personnel at Orientation Hall.

October 26th: Prince Philip and The Queen participated in another Away Day, this time in Melbourne, where they opened the Royal Children’s Hospital. That afternoon they toured Melbourne, starting with a visit to the Ian Potter Centre, National Gallery of Victoria; a walk through Federation Square and a ride on a Melbourne Tram; attended a reception hosted by the Governor of Victoria at Government House. The Queen was resplendent in pink throughout.

After the Away Day activities, The Queen and The Duke departed Melbourne for Perth.

On Thursday, October 27th, the royals paid a visit to Clontarf Aboriginal College. The Duke of Edinburgh was especially keen to see the sporting facilities. Afterwards, they attended a Garden Party at Government House, where the Queen turned out in her second stunning turquoise and white ensemble for the day.

Approximately one hundred students from across Western Australia lined a path to the lower gardens, when the Duke stopped to chat. Philip asked why the students were in pairs, and when told it was because they were the head boys and girls, he said in his typical blunt fashion: “It’s obvious they didn’t choose the attractive ones then”. (!)

Premier Colin Barnett was pleased to have the royal visitors come to the country, and he thanked the Queen and Prince Philip for visiting WA and presented the royals with a gift – a book of drawings of wild flowers from the Eastern Goldfields by Phillipa Nikulinsky.

October 28th: Her Majesty arrived at the Opening Ceremony of the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting. The opening featured a vast array of leaders from around the world: 25 Prime Ministers, 10 Presidents, five Vice-Presidents, two Deputy Prime Ministers, one High Commissioner, a lord and the Sultan of Brunei.

“I have had the good fortune, together with Prince Philip, to attend many CHOGMs over many years. Their importance has always been in precise relationship to their relevance: always being attuned to the issues of the day, and always looking to the future with a sense of vision and practical action to match. In your deliberations over the days ahead, you have the encouragement of the whole Commonwealth to maintain this vital tradition.” – The Queen’s speech at the CHOGM

That evening, the royal couple attended a banquet at the Pan Pacific Hotel. For this occasion, the Queen busted out her best parure for the occasion – the brilliant aquamarine set in honor of the brilliantly blue ocean that surrounds Australia.

These gems are gifts from Brazil. The earrings and matching necklace were a Coronation gift to The Queen from the President and People of Brazil in 1953.

The stones sit inside a diamond and platinum setting. A few years later, in 1958, a bracelet and matching brooch were presented to The Queen by the Brazilian Government as a matching set to the original Coronation presents. Elizabeth then requested that royal jeweler Garrard complete the parure with a stunning tiara.

On Saturday, October 29th, the Queen and the Duke were feted by the Australian community during “The Big Aussie BBQ”. In the spirit of outdoor eating, the Queen topped off her elegant maroon and white outfit with a hat eerily reminiscent of a marshmallow. S’mores, anyone?

And so…

Elizabeth and Philip set off from Australia back to the U.K. after the barbeque. It was a highly successful visit and one that the Australian people will not soon forget. Her Majesty charmed everyone she met, and though there were one or two gaffes (Gillard’s curtsey controversy and Philip’s quips!) the royal couple made a happy and favorable impression on their Commonwealth neighbors. It also gave the United Kingdom a chance to present its history-making change to the succession law.

Vivat Regina! (And God Bless The Duke!)

Duchess C’s makeup looks different. Her eyebrows are a better shape, too. Stunning! (maybe she took my advice from this post)

Read all about it here.

Image by Getty Images via @daylife

Who: The Lady Helen Marina Lucy Taylor, the second child of The Duke and Duchess of Kent. Her brothers are George Windsor, Earl of St. Andrews and Lord Nicholas Windsor.

Her Story: Lady Helen (née Windsor) was born into the Kent branch of the British Royal Family. Her father is Prince Edward, the Duke of Kent, a grandson of King George V and a cousin of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II.

Helen was born and raised at Coppins, the Kents’ former country house in Iver, Buckinghamshire. The cozy home had once belonged to the beloved sister of King George V, Princess Victoria. She bequeathed the house to the king’s younger son, Prince George, the Duke of Kent, for his married life. Coppins became home for two generations of the family.

Helen attended St. Mary’s School, Wantage, on the outskirts of Ascot. After St. Mary’s came Gordonstoun, a school attended by three generations of British royalty including Prince Philip, Prince Charles and his two brothers, and Zara and Peter Phillips.

The impeccably stylish Lady Helen was not always as demure as she is now. In her younger days she dabbled in illegal substances and was dubbed the “wild child” of the Windsor family for her association with an upper crust circle of friends who liked to party a little too heartily.

Helen realized that she was going down a destructive path when one of her close friends died. Olivia Channon, granddaughter of Sir Henry “Chips” Channon, the politician and diarist, passed away after collapsing from a drug and alcohol overdose. It shocked Helen into turning away from the darker side of the circles in which she moved.

Happily, Helen found a ray of sunshine when she met art dealer Tim Taylor, whom she married on July 18, 1992. She looked every inch the princess bride as she emerged from St. George’s Chapel on the arm of her new husband. Her beautiful wedding gown – designed by Diana’s favorite, Catherine Walker – was topped off with the Kent Fringe Tiara.

Helen was always viewed by the media as the House of Windsor’s best-dressed lady. Coupled with Tim’s successful art career, Helen became an ambassador for the fashion house of Giorgio Armani and a consultant to top American designer Calvin Klein in 1999. Helen held a brief post as a representative for the luxury jeweler, Bulgari.

Helen gave birth to the couple’s first child, Columbus, in 1994. Two years later their second son, Cassius, made his debut. All was well for the Taylors, until Tim was diagnosed with with Hodgkin’s disease, a cancer that affects the lymph nodes, in 1999. Helen and Tim put on stiff upper lips, but behind closed doors, the couple’s nerves were wracked.

Happily, the cancer went into remission after several rounds of treatment. The Taylors were overjoyed at Tim’s new lease on life, and tried for a third child. Little Eloise was born in 2003, and she was followed a year later by Estella.

Tim has been in remission since 2000. Soon after her husband’s recovery, Helen became involved with Clic Sargent, the largest children’s cancer charity in the UK. She remains committed to the organization today.

The Details

Date of Birth: April 28th, 1964
Education: St Mary’s School, Wantage and Gordonstoun
Residence: Belgravia, London, UK
Children: 4; two boys and two girls – Columbus, Cassius, Eloise, and Estella.

Want a closer look? Click the photos to enlarge.

I love the buttons on HRH Princess Marie’s jacket (seen here during her visit to Florence, Italy) so I was inspired to find a similar look.

Then I saw Marie in a double-breasted grey jacket matched with a black turtleneck and black pants. I really loved this look, but I really liked the buttons on the jacket above, so I went with this gem, an Apt. 9® Peplum Wool Jacket with large dome-shaped buttons:

Grey jacket, awesome buttons, black turtleneck: check, check, and check! Now for the pants.

In the photo above, Marie is wearing black boots. I wear it with black boots, as well. I also have a grey pair if I feel so inclined (from Payless).

VIP guests from around the world came together in Monaco on September 8th to celebrate the global launch of the Montblanc “Collection Princesse Grace de Monaco”.

Montblanc pays tribute to Her Serene Highness Princess Grace of Monaco and her artistic legacy with their new collection, which consists of four one-of-a-kind fine jewellery sets, timepieces and writing instruments. Montblanc is proud to unveil items that are “true to Princess Grace’s iconic timeless style and sophistication”.

The setting (click to enlarge photos):

HSH Prince Albert arrives with his wife, Princess Charlene (c) and his sister, Princess Caroline (l).

Caroline, Albert, and Charlene viewed the collection with great pleasure.

Several celebrities attended the gala:

Jerry Hall

Eva Herzigova

Sarah Marshall, in a very unique outfit!

All photos by Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images for Montblanc. Many thanks to Montblanc for the use of their media.

It’s engagement season, and what better way to pop the big question than with a Gemvara vintage-inspired engagement ring?

For the Mandy’s British Royalty network, Gemvara is a reliable company for royalty-inspired jewels. Find a vintage-style engagement ring or surprise your soul mate with an identical royal engagement ring that could only be presented to a princess!

Try the style of Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands.

Maybe you’d like to try some color in the stones – the former Princess Alexandra of Denmark received a diamond and ruby engagement ring from Prince Joachim.

Her second marriage was sealed with a diamond engagement ring with two bands of diamonds holding a large center stone.

Perhaps a traditional solitaire diamond, as presented to Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden.