Baftas 2019: Duchess of Cambridge's borrowed Bafta jewels


Farah Andrews
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A perk of marrying into the British royal family would have to be the almost unlimited access to a very enviable jewellery collection. And the Duchess of Cambridge took full advantage of that at the 72nd annual EE British Academy Film Awards last night.

Click though the gallery above to see all of the Duchess of Cambridge's past Bafta looks. 

The Duchess wore a one-shouldered white silk chiffon Alexander McQueen gown for the awards ceremony, held at London’s Royal Albert Hall. The royal accessorised her look with jewellery borrowed from none other than Queen Elizabeth II and Prince William’s mother, Princess Diana.

A close up look at the Duchess of Cambridge's earrings, borrowed from the late Princess Diana. Reuters
A close up look at the Duchess of Cambridge's earrings, borrowed from the late Princess Diana. Reuters

The diamond and pearl earrings were worn by Princess Diana a number of times; most notably, however, at a gala dinner for the American Red Cross in June 1997, just two months before her death in August 1997. She also wore the earrings during her tour of Korea in 1992.

Diana, The Princess Of Wales at an American Red Cross Gala in Washington, USA, in June, 1997. Getty Images
Diana, The Princess Of Wales at an American Red Cross Gala in Washington, USA, in June, 1997. Getty Images

According to Britain's The Telegraph, "The earrings feature a double curve of various cuts of diamonds, with a cluster of marquise-cut stones in the centre, from which hangs a single pearl."

Making use of the Queen's jewellery collection 

The earrings were not the only piece the mother-of-three borrowed for the occasion. The royal was also loaned a diamond quatrefoil bracelet from her husband Prince William's grandmother, Queen Elizabeth II.

The Duchess of Cambridge wearing Queen Elizabeth II's diamond quatrefoil bracelet. AP
The Duchess of Cambridge wearing Queen Elizabeth II's diamond quatrefoil bracelet. AP

The "priceless" piece of jewellery has previously been worn by both the Queen and her mother, Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother. The Queen is thought to have most recently worn it for the 2015 State Opening of Parliament in London.

Britain's Queen Elizabeth II speaks at the 2015 State Opening of Parliament. Getty Images
Britain's Queen Elizabeth II speaks at the 2015 State Opening of Parliament. Getty Images

The 2019 Baftas aren't the first time the Duchess has borrowed the bracelet, also wearing it at the Anna Freud Centre gala dinner in November 2017.

LONDON, ENGLAND - NOVEMBER 7: Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge speaks to various guests at the 2017 Gala Dinner for The Anna Freud National Centre for Children and Families (AFNCCF) at Kensington Palace on November 7, 2017 in London, England. (Photo by Frank Augstein - WPA Pool/Getty Images)
LONDON, ENGLAND - NOVEMBER 7: Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge speaks to various guests at the 2017 Gala Dinner for The Anna Freud National Centre for Children and Families (AFNCCF) at Kensington Palace on November 7, 2017 in London, England. (Photo by Frank Augstein - WPA Pool/Getty Images)

Royal jewellery blog Her Majesty's Jewel Vault says of the piece,  "The wide diamond bracelet features multiple diamond quatrefoil motifs, the four-lobed design popular in architecture, art, heraldry, and elsewhere. Each quatrefoil outline is filled with five individual diamonds."

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South Africa World Cup squad

South Africa: Faf du Plessis (c), Hashim Amla, Quinton de Kock (w), JP Duminy, Imran Tahir, Aiden Markram, David Miller, Lungi Ngidi, Anrich Nortje, Andile Phehlukwayo, Dwaine Pretorius, Kagiso Rabada, Tabraiz Shamsi, Dale Steyn, Rassie van der Dussen.

UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
History's medical milestones

1799 - First small pox vaccine administered

1846 - First public demonstration of anaesthesia in surgery

1861 - Louis Pasteur published his germ theory which proved that bacteria caused diseases

1895 - Discovery of x-rays

1923 - Heart valve surgery performed successfully for first time

1928 - Alexander Fleming discovers penicillin

1953 - Structure of DNA discovered

1952 - First organ transplant - a kidney - takes place 

1954 - Clinical trials of birth control pill

1979 - MRI, or magnetic resonance imaging, scanned used to diagnose illness and injury.

1998 - The first adult live-donor liver transplant is carried out

The Lowdown

Us

Director: Jordan Peele

Starring: Lupita Nyong'o, Winston Duke, Shahadi Wright Joseqph, Evan Alex and Elisabeth Moss

Rating: 4/5

Conflict, drought, famine

Estimates of the number of deaths caused by the famine range from 400,000 to 1 million, according to a document prepared for the UK House of Lords in 2024.
It has been claimed that the policies of the Ethiopian government, which took control after deposing Emperor Haile Selassie in a military-led revolution in 1974, contributed to the scale of the famine.
Dr Miriam Bradley, senior lecturer in humanitarian studies at the University of Manchester, has argued that, by the early 1980s, “several government policies combined to cause, rather than prevent, a famine which lasted from 1983 to 1985. Mengistu’s government imposed Stalinist-model agricultural policies involving forced collectivisation and villagisation [relocation of communities into planned villages].
The West became aware of the catastrophe through a series of BBC News reports by journalist Michael Buerk in October 1984 describing a “biblical famine” and containing graphic images of thousands of people, including children, facing starvation.

Band Aid

Bob Geldof, singer with the Irish rock group The Boomtown Rats, formed Band Aid in response to the horrific images shown in the news broadcasts.
With Midge Ure of the band Ultravox, he wrote the hit charity single Do They Know it’s Christmas in December 1984, featuring a string of high-profile musicians.
Following the single’s success, the idea to stage a rock concert evolved.
Live Aid was a series of simultaneous concerts that took place at Wembley Stadium in London, John F Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia, the US, and at various other venues across the world.
The combined event was broadcast to an estimated worldwide audience of 1.5 billion.

Our family matters legal consultant

Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais

Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.

The advice provided in our columns does not constitute legal advice and is provided for information only. Readers are encouraged to seek independent legal advice. 

Global state-owned investor ranking by size

1.

United States

2.

China

3.

UAE

4.

Japan

5

Norway

6.

Canada

7.

Singapore

8.

Australia

9.

Saudi Arabia

10.

South Korea

UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The National's picks

4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young

The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre flat-six
Power: 510hp at 9,000rpm
Torque: 450Nm at 6,100rpm
Transmission: 7-speed PDK auto or 6-speed manual
Fuel economy, combined: 13.8L/100km
On sale: Available to order now
Price: From Dh801,800
Pharaoh's curse

British aristocrat Lord Carnarvon, who funded the expedition to find the Tutankhamun tomb, died in a Cairo hotel four months after the crypt was opened.
He had been in poor health for many years after a car crash, and a mosquito bite made worse by a shaving cut led to blood poisoning and pneumonia.
Reports at the time said Lord Carnarvon suffered from “pain as the inflammation affected the nasal passages and eyes”.
Decades later, scientists contended he had died of aspergillosis after inhaling spores of the fungus aspergillus in the tomb, which can lie dormant for months. The fact several others who entered were also found dead withiin a short time led to the myth of the curse.

How Filipinos in the UAE invest

A recent survey of 10,000 Filipino expatriates in the UAE found that 82 per cent have plans to invest, primarily in property. This is significantly higher than the 2014 poll showing only two out of 10 Filipinos planned to invest.

Fifty-five percent said they plan to invest in property, according to the poll conducted by the New Perspective Media Group, organiser of the Philippine Property and Investment Exhibition. Acquiring a franchised business or starting up a small business was preferred by 25 per cent and 15 per cent said they will invest in mutual funds. The rest said they are keen to invest in insurance (3 per cent) and gold (2 per cent).

Of the 5,500 respondents who preferred property as their primary investment, 54 per cent said they plan to make the purchase within the next year. Manila was the top location, preferred by 53 per cent.

UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
What can victims do?

Always use only regulated platforms

Stop all transactions and communication on suspicion

Save all evidence (screenshots, chat logs, transaction IDs)

Report to local authorities

Warn others to prevent further harm

Courtesy: Crystal Intelligence

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