March 14, 2026

Carolyn Bessette urged JFK Jr. to call William and Harry after Diana’s death

Carolyn Bessette urged JFK Jr. to call William and Harry after Diana’s death
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A new biography reveals that Carolyn Bessette once encouraged John F. Kennedy Junior to reach out to Prince William and Prince Harry after the death of their mother, Diana, Princess of Wales, in 1997.
According to the book Once Upon a Time: The Captivating Life of Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy by Elizabeth Beller, Bessette believed Kennedy might offer support to the young princes as they faced overwhelming media attention and public grief.

The author writes that Diana had reportedly admired Kennedy’s ability to handle intense press scrutiny with dignity, which prompted Bessette to suggest he offer condolences. Kennedy, however, reportedly hesitated because he did not personally know the princes and felt unsure how to approach such a deeply personal tragedy.

The story highlights an unusual moment of connection between two of the most famous families of the late 1990s, both dealing with relentless media attention at the time.

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Callarogus Shark Media. Hello, Welcome to Pallas Intrigue. I am

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your host, Mark Francis. A new biography has revealed that

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Carolyn Bassett once encouraged John F. Kennedy Junior to reach

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out to Prince William and Prince Harry following the death

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of their mother, Diana, Princess of Wales. According to the

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book Once Upon a Time The Captivating Life of Carolyn

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Bessett Kennedy by author Elizabeth Beller, Bissett believed Kennedy should

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contact the two princes to offer condolences after Diana's death

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in nineteen ninety seven. The suggestion came after reports that

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Diana had admired Kennedy Junior's ability to handle intense media

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attention with dignity. Bella wrote that Bassett hoped he might

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offer words of support to Diana's sons, who were suddenly

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facing enormous public scrutiny and grief. Carolyn tried to get

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John to call Princess William and Harry to give his

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condolences when it came out that Diana had hoped for

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her to emulate John's modesty in the face of media obsession,

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The author wrote However, Kennedy reportedly felt uncomfortable making the call.

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According to Bella, he hesitated because he did not personally

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know the young princes and believed their circumstances were very

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different from his own. He had met Diana once or twice,

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Bella wrote, explaining that Kennedy was deeply affected by the

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way she died while being pursued by paparazzi. At the time,

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Kennedy and Bessett were also dealing with intense media attention

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in their own lives, which had become increasingly overwhelming. The

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author suggested that Kennedy may have found the situation emotionally

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difficult and unsure how to approach such a deeply personal loss.

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He was, by all accounts, a lovely, gracious person, Bella wrote,

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adding that maybe that moment was too difficult for him

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to be able to reach out and say something to

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someone who's just lost their parent in a very public

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and dramatic way. Kate has been regularly wearing a sapphire

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and diamond eternity band since late twenty twenty four, adding

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to her ring stack alongside her Welsh gold wedding band

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and other pieces. The ring has attracted attention because it

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allows Catherine to subtly reference Princess Diana's famous sapphire engagement

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ring while choosing something more practical for everyday appearances. Diana's

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twelve caret sapphire engagement ring, now worn by Catherine, is

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often reserved for more formal occasions. Jury experts believe Catherine's

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eternity ban may be the Cartier Entin cell de Cartier

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wedding band. The platinum ring features alternating sapphires and diamonds,

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set with nineteen brilliant cut diamonds and nineteen brilliant cut sapphires.

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The piece retails for about fifty five hundred dollars, with

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a larger version of the design priced at around nine

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thy five hundred. The ring first appeared publicly in September

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twenty twenty four in a video announcing that Kate had

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completed chemotherapy treatment. Because of the timing, royal watchers have

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speculated that the band may have been a personal gift

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from Prince William, marking that milestone. Since then, the Princess

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of Wales has worn the ring at several public events,

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including Wimbledon and Remembrance Sunday. In twenty twenty five, and

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most recently during engagements in twenty twenty six. The design

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also bears a striking resemblance to the engagement ring once

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worn by Carolyn Bessett Kennedy, who received a sapphire and

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diamond eternity band from John F. Kennedy Junior instead of

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a traditional solitaire diamond. The style suited Beset Kennedy's minimalist

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esthetic and reportedly referenced jewelry worn by his mother, Jacqueline

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Kennedy a Nassas. Eternity bands have long carried symbolic meaning.

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Because the gemstones form an unbroken circle, the design is

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traditionally associated with enduring love and lifelong commitment. Tattler Wonders

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is the Duchess of Gloucester the royal family's greatest jewelry maverick.

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They explain, Brigitte, whose dedication to her role as a

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working member of the firm often goes uncelebrated, has access

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to the Gloucester Vaults, a vast array of jewelry that

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dwarfs the collection of entire dynasties. But it is not

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only the variety of her accessories that has those in

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the no singing her praises, but the artfulness with which

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she combines them. Take for example her recent out into

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the Dutch Church in London, where the Duchess seventy nine

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was the guest of honor at an event highlighting British basketmakers.

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Joining the Worshipful Company of Basketmakers, Brigitte watched honors the

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group demonstrated the best of basketry with talented growers and

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makers from across the country. When it came to her wardrobe,

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the Duchess of gloucesters duck to the trend that has

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swept royal families across Europe. Dressed in a burgundy coat

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of matching jumper, Brigitte followed in the footsteps of the

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Duchess of Edinburgh, the Princess of Wales, Queen Rainia of Jordan,

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and Infanta Sophia of Spain, who have all shown their

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appreciation for the shade in recent months. But it was

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the Dutch. But it was the Duchess's choice of jewelry

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that truly stood out. Attached to her lapel, she wore

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a gold basket shaped pin. No prizes for guessing the

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providence of that particular piece. The pin is inspired by

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the Worshipful Company of basket maker's coat of arms. The

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Livery Company of the City of London dates back to

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fifteen sixty nine, and the Duchess of Gloucester has served

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as their honorary livery man since nineteen ninety one. The

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engagement rings worn by Queen Elizabeth, Kate and Megan each

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carry strong historical and personal symbolism, but they also very

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significantly in estimated value. Queen Elizabeth's engagement ring was created

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from diamonds taken from a tiara owned by Prince Philip's mother,

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Princess Alice of Battenberg. The tiara had originally been a

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gift from Sir Nicholas Second and Serena Alexandra of Russia.

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Philip had the diamonds reset into a platinum ring featuring

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a three carrot center stone with five smaller diamonds on

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either side. Experts estimated that ring will be worth about

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two hundred and fifty thousand dollars today. Kate's engagement ring

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is the most valuable of the three. The ring originally

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belonged to Princess Diana and features a twelve carrot oval

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salon sapphire surrounded by fourteen diamonds in white gold Diana

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chose it herself from the Garad catalog when Prince Charles

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proposed in nineteen eighty one. Prince William later used the

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same ring when proposing to Catherine in twenty ten, explaining

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that it helped keep his mother close to it all.

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While the ring originally cost about thirty seven thousand dollars

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in nineteen eighty one, its current estimated value is around

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five hundred twenty thousand. Meghan's engagement ring, designed by Prince

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Harry with the jeweler Cleave and Company, is valued at

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roughly three hundred to three hundred and fifty thousand. The

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ring features a cushion cut centered diamond source from Botswana

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and two smaller diamonds from Princess Diana's personal jewelry collection.

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Meghan later modified the ring by replacing the original yellow

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gold band with a thinner micro pavey band and adding

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a hidden halo around the center stone. Based purely on

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estimated market value, Catherine's sapphire ring is the most expensive

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of the three, followed by Meghan's diamond ring and then

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Queen Elizabeth's engagement ring. Despite the price differences, all three

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rings carry deep historical meaning Elizabeth's ring connects to European

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royal history through the Romanov family, Catherine's ring links her

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directly to Diana's legacy, and Meghan's incorporates diamonds from Diana's

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collection along with a stone from Botswana, a place important

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to her relationship with Harry More Palaceing just a moment,

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Elizabeth's one hundred and eighty five year old christening gown

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will go on public display for the first time as

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part of a major new exhibition at Buckingham Palace. The

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silk and lace robe, worn by sixty two royal babies

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across multiple generations, will feature in Queen Elizabeth the Second

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Her Life and Style at the King's Gallery from April tenth.

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The exhibition marks the centenary year of the late Monarch's

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birth and will be the largest display of her clothing

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ever staged, featuring around two hundred items from her fashion archive.

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The gown was first worn in eighteen forty one by

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Princess Victoria, the oldest daughter of Queen Victoria, and was

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subsequently used for generations of royal christenings, including that of

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Princess Elizabeth in May nineteen twenty six, when she was

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just a month old. A handwritten note by Elizabeth, the

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second listing members of her family known to have worn

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the robe, will be displayed alongside it. The box containing

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the garment also carried an instruction that it be watched

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in natural spring water after use. Caroline der Guiteaux, curator

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of the exhibition, said the christening robe was the most

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significant garment worn by Princess Elizabeth in her infancy and

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is an exceptional example of British craftsmanship, something Queen Elizabeth

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went on to champion throughout her life. As the earliest

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piece of clothing worn by the Queen and by so

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many royal babies before and after her, it holds a

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special place in her wardrobe. We are delighted to be

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able to share it with as many people as possible

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in the centenary year. The robe was created by Janet Sutherland,

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Queen Victoria's Scottish dressmaker and embroiderer. It is made from

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cream spital Filled's silk from East London and overlaid with

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Honiton lace from Devon, the same materials used in Queen

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Victoria's wedding dress. Over time, the delicate silk became increasingly fragile.

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Parts of the garment, including the central panel, wore thin

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after decades of use, although it was repaired in the

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nineteen sixties. By two thousand and four, Elizabeth Second decided

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it was too delicate to continue using. She commissioned her

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dresser Angela Kelly to create an exact replica using Honiton lace.

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The original robe has now undergone one hundred hours of

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conservation treatment by Cecilia Oliver, textile conservator for the Royal

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Collection Trust. The work includes delicate repairs, subtle reinforcements to

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weakened fabric, and careful hand washing. Section by section, Oliver said,

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the robe has been lovingly cared for over the generations.

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We even found a note on its box instructing that

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it be washed in natural spring water after use, which

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helps explain its remarkable condition despite such frequent use. However,

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after one hundred and eighty five years and sixty two christenings,

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it was in need of conservation. It has been an

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honor and a privilege to work on such a special

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historic garment. The display is considered particularly poignant as the

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King's Gallery stands on the site of the private chapel

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where Princess Elizabeth was christened. A chapel destroyed during the Blitz.

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The exhibition will also include the bonnet, silk, satin shawl, sash,

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bows and ribbons traditionally worn at royal christenings, underscoring the

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robe's role as both a family heirloom and a symbol

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of continuity within the monarchy. And there you have it.

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If you like to email us of addresses the Palace Entry,

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gat and Gmail and dot com. Please follow us on Spotify, Apple,

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or the apple of your choice and believe it was

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a nice review. If you're enjoying the show and Mark

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Francis my thanks to John McDermott. This is Palace intrigue

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in good terms.