queenofengland

Queen of England Far Behind UAE on Richest Royals List

Filed under: Wealth

More bad news for the Queen of England - she has fallen to 12th place on Forbes' list of the world's richest royals. Earlier this month we reported that the value of her London residence, Buckingham Palace, had fallen by a whopping $100 million thanks to declining property values.

Now Elizabeth II is suffering the added indignity of languishing on the rich list, as her measly $650 million fortune puts her well behind the UAE's oil-rich rulers. In the No. 1 spot for the first time is King Bhumibol Adulyadej of Thailand, with a net worth of $35 billion, who apparently shot up the list as a result of admitting he was richer than previously thought.

At No. 2 is Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, president of the UAE and hereditary ruler of Abu Dhabi, with a net worth of $23 billion. No. 3 is King Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz of Saudi Arabia, worth $21 billion. And Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, ruler of Dubai, clocks in at No. 5 with $18 billion. See the complete list here.

Tags: abu dhabi, AbuDhabi, buckingham palace, BuckinghamPalace, Dubai, King Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz, King Bhumibol Adulyadej, KingAbdullahBinAbdulAziz, KingBhumibolAdulyadej, Queen Elizabeth II, Queen of England, QueenElizabethIi, QueenOfEngland, Royalty, Saudi Arabia, SaudiArabia, Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, SheikhKhalifaBinZayedAlNahyan, SheikhMohammedBinRashid, Thailand, UAE, united arab emirates, UnitedArabEmirates

Value of Buckingham Palace Plummets by $100 Million

by Jared Paul Stern (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Estates, Wealth

It seems even the Queen of England is feeling the credit crunch. The value of her official London residence, Buckingham Palace, has fallen by about $100 million over the past 12 months, the London Telegraph reports. The 52-bedroom mansion, which dates to 1703 and sits on 40 prime acres, is now valued at $1.7 billion, down from $1.8 billion in August of last year. The dollar figure was assessed by UK property values database Zoopla, which has also calculated that the Queen's weekend retreat, Windsor Castle, has dropped about $15 million in value over the same period to $320 million. "The figures highlight that even the Royal Family aren't immune to the recent property market slump and that larger properties have been effected too," Zoopla CEO Alex Chesterman tells the paper, noting that further decreases could well be in the offing.

Gallery: Poor Buckingham Palace

Tags: British royalty, BritishRoyalty, Buckingham Palace, BuckinghamPalace, London, luxury real estate, LuxuryRealEstate, Property values, PropertyValues, Queen of England, QueenOfEngland, Real Estate, RealEstate, Windsor Castle, WindsorCastle, Zoopla

Harrods to Expand Private Label Offerings

by Jared Paul Stern (RSS feed) —

Famed deluxe London department store Harrods, owned by the late Dodi Fayed's financier father Mohamed Al-Fayed, just announced plans to expand its private label product lines to put them on a par with the famous name merchandise it has long carried. Harrods branded products will soon include everything from golf and ski accessories to baby wear and plus-size collections, Vogue UK reports. The million square foot store, located in Knightsbridge, is the largest and one of the most luxurious in the world. It holds several royal warrants from the likes of the Queen, the Queen Mother and the Prince of Wales.

Tags: Department Stores, DepartmentStores, Harrods, London, Mohamed Al-Fayed, MohamedAl-fayed, Prince Charles, PrinceCharles, Queen of England, QueenOfEngland, Royal warrant, RoyalWarrant

Ultimate History of the World's Most Famous Ship

by Jared Paul Stern (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Luxury Travel & Hotels, Yachts & Sailing, Books

In November, the Cunard line's famed QE2 will make its final voyage to a new home at the Palm Jumeirah in Dubai World, which paid $100 million to acquire the ship for a floating hotel, retail and entertainment annex. Carol Thatcher has compiled a beautiful book about the legendary oceanliner's colorful history, QE2: Forty Years Famous.

The QE2 was launched by (and named for) Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II in September 1967, and since then she has undertaken 25 world cruises, crossed the Atlantic more than 800 times and carried more than 2.5 million passengers, establishing a reputation as the world's greatest and most luxurious liner - a grande dame pre-dating and outclassing the modern cruise ship era. See the gallery for more.

Gallery: History of the QE2

Queen Elizabeth II launching the liner in 1967

Tags: Cunard, Luxury travel, LuxuryTravel, Oceanliners, QE2, Queen of England, QueenOfEngland, Ships

Sexy Stars of Burberry's Cool New Ad Campaign

by Jared Paul Stern (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Apparel

Burberry creative director Christopher Bailey is basing the British fashion house's new Fall/Winter 2008-09 ad campaign on one of our favorite movies from last year, rock photographer Anton Corbijn's Control.

Bailey hired Mario Testino to mimic the moody flick about Joy Division frontman Ian Curtis in the ads, which are shot in black-and-white like the movie.

Sam Riley, the talented actor who played Curtis in Control, stars alongside sexy British model Rosie Huntington-Whiteley, right, who's said to be a distant cousin of the Queen of England. If so she must be one of the somewhat overbred Windsor family's more attractive relations.

See the gallery for an image from the new campaign and more.

[via Kempt]

Gallery: Burberry for Fall

A classic Burberry ad starring Kate Moss.

Tags: Ad campaigns, AdCampaigns, Anton Corbijn, AntonCorbijn, British fashion, British royalty, BritishFashion, BritishRoyalty, Burberry, Christopher Bailey, ChristopherBailey, Control, Joy Division, JoyDivision, Mario Testino, MarioTestino, Models, Queen of England, QueenOfEngland, Rosie Huntington-Whiteley, RosieHuntington-whiteley, Sam Riley, SamRiley

New Dress Code, Same Classic Style at Royal Ascot Races

by Jared Paul Stern (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Apparel, Events, Sports, Men's Style

Since it was founded by Queen Anne in 1711, the annual Royal Ascot races have become the highlight of the English social season. Ostensibly a five-day sporting event, it's also evolved into something of an immense fashion show, marked by the arrival of the Royal Family in ceremonial horse-drawn carriages every day. It has become the style for ladies to sport increasingly outrageous hats, and lately the traditional rules about "formal day dress" in the coveted Royal Enclosure have been rather loosely interpreted, much to the Queen's dismay.

This year officials have cracked down, declaring that "Off the shoulder, halter neck, spaghetti straps and dresses with a strap of less than one inch and/or miniskirts are considered unsuitable," while "Midriffs must be covered and trouser suits must be full length and of matching material and color." Those not in compliance will be asked to leave the Royal Enclosure. Gentlemen have always been required to wear full morning dress with top hats. Lest all the pageantry detract from the business at hand, it's worth noting that prize money at this year's event, which runs through Saturday, has reached an unprecedented $7.8 million.

Gallery: Royal Ascot Races

The Queen arrives in her ceremonial carriage.

Tags: Aristocrats, Ascot, British fashion, British royalty, British style, BritishFashion, BritishRoyalty, BritishStyle, England, Equestrian, Horse racing, Horseracing, Queen of England, QueenOfEngland, Royal Ascot, Royal family, RoyalAscot, RoyalFamily, Society

The Classicist: Land Rover Celebrates 60 Years at the Top

by Jared Paul Stern (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Luxury Cars & Autos, The Classicist

2008 is the 60th anniversary of storied British SUV manufacturer Land Rover, and to mark the occasion the company has embarked on a "Choice of Experts" tour showcasing its capabilities. The other day we caught up with them at the historic Astor Courts in Rhinebeck, N.Y, designed by Stanford White as a country retreat for John Jacob Astor IV in 1902. It was the perfect setting for a brand that has come to signify rugged elegance and luxurious rusticity, and while there we got the opportunity to drive a new Range Rover Sport on a hazardous off-road course that showed style and comfort needn't sacrifice anything in the way of practical ability.

We've owned both Land Rovers and Range Rovers over the years, and though these days we don't particularly miss pulling up to the gas pump we certainly pine for them whenever the weather turns particularly nasty or we're called upon to do even the slightest bit of off-roading, so it was something of a treat. Land Rover and especially the Range Rover is the automotive embodiment of a distinctly English aesthetic - regular readers of The Classicist will recognize this as a recurring motif - as portrayed in books like Bernhard Roetzel's British Tradition. The luxe Range Rover was first introduced in 1970, expanding upon the utilitarian Land Rover first designed by the Wilks Brothers in 1948.

The Queen of England drives a Range Rover in the country, and Prince Charles is a longtime enthusiast. His 1978 Range Rover was auctioned off on eBay in 2005. While out for sport in inclement weather he is said to have simply opened a special "huntsman" sunroof, stood on the back seat and poked his Asprey shotgun out to shoot from the comfort of the cabin. We can't say we've ever tried that maneuver and we daresay it isn't the sort of thing encouraged by the company these days. In any case there was unfortunately no shooting to be had at Astor Courts, only demonstrations about cooking and decorating and so forth, but such are the depredations of the modern era.

Gallery: Land Rover's 60th Anniversary

Tags: Asprey, Astor Courts, Astor family, AstorCourts, AstorFamily, G4 Challenge, G4Challenge, Land Rover, LandRover, Prince Charles, PrinceCharles, Queen of England, QueenOfEngland, Range Rover, RangeRover, Rhinebeck, Stanford White, StanfordWhite, The Equinox, TheEquinox

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Sir Hardy Amies' Signature Style

by Jared Paul Stern (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Apparel, Handbags, Men's Style

British couturier Hardy Amies, whose Savile Row shop opened back in 1946, is launching its first line of women's handbags this month. The new line comprises four key styles "inspired by traditional English luggage and the secret lives of female spies in the second world war," British Vogue reports. The theme is fitting since the dashing Sir Hardy himself, who died in 2003, was something of a real-life James Bond, serving as an officer in the British secret service during World War II. The bags, which start at about $1,600, each come with their own code name (and, we suspect, several hidden compartments).

Amies had an illustrious career as a couturier, designing clothes for everyone from Stanley Kubrick to the Queen of England. A self-described snob, he was a world authority on men's fashion, and his house carries on in high style. Among his many stylish epigrams, he once declared that "Luxury lies not in riches, but in the absence of vulgarity." Though he didn't live to see them, we think he probably would have approved of these bags bearing his name.

Gallery: Sir Hardy Amies

Tags: Hardy Amies, HardyAmies, London, Queen of England, QueenOfEngland, Savile Row, SavileRow, Sir Hardy Amies, SirHardyAmies

Slumping Economy Prompts Queen To Cancel Party

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Events, Celebrity Shopping

You know the economy is not doing too well when the Queen of England cancels a party, and not just any party, her diamond wedding anniversary party (60 years of wedded bliss with Prince Philip). The Daily Mail reports that Queen Elizabeth decided not to hold the party, which was to be at The Ritz this weekend, because she felt it would be "inappropriate" to hold a the extravagant soiree while so many people are hurting financially. The was to have include the usual Queenly appurtenances including plenty of Champagne and a diamond theme that would have included many glittering decorations with Swarovski crystals. Certainly such lavishness with a country on the brink of recession wound not be unprecedented but it would perhaps be a bit unseemly. The party was originally scheduled for last November but was rearranged because the Queen was in Uganda at the time and so she felt that a big celebration on a day that wasn't even near her anniversary was unwarranted.

Source

Tags: diamond anniversary, england, expire-images:2009-3-30, queen elizabeth, queen of england, QueenOfEngland, the ritz