Former Vogue editor Suzy Menkes has been slammed by royal fans after saying the Princess of Wales was a ‘disappointment’ in her approach to jewellery.
The 79-year-old, from Beaconsfield, Buckinghamshire, made the scathing comment on the latest episode of her podcast Creative Conversations.
But fans have quickly come to the royal’s defence, praising her for wearing a mix of high-end and affordable pieces.
‘The Princess of Wales has an excellent eye for accessories, and her earrings collection is stunning – particularly because she often promotes small businesses by wearing their jewellery. She has just the right mix of affordable and high-end jewellery in her wardrobe,’ wrote one.
‘I think people forget that Catherine is a young modern princess. And likewise she has her own personal style that quickly becomes a designer’s success,’ added another.
Pictured: Kate Middleton, 41, wore a pair of diamond and emerald earrings at a state dinner during her tour of Jamaica last March
Suzy Menkes (pictured), 79, from Beaconsfield, Buckinghamshire, made the scathing comment on the latest episode of her podcast Creative Conversations
The prominent critic – who was awarded an OBE by the late Queen for her contribution to fashion journalism in 2014 – invited British Vogue’s jewellery editor Carol Woolton onto the show, where they discussed the Princess of Wales’ recent outfits.
She accused Kate, 41, of appearing indifferent to the collection of rare and precious jewels she is privileged to wear and said she doesn’t seem as passionate about jewels as her mother-in-law Camilla, 75.
Suzy said: ‘The Princess of Wales is a bit of a disappointment about jewellery. She gives the impression that she only puts it on when she absolutely has to.
‘I imagine her looking beautiful in one of those gowns behind the scenes and then pulling a face as if to say, ‘Do I have to wear this?’
‘She doesn’t give any sense of adoring jewellery and being pleased to put it on.’
The fashion critic highlighted how Queen Camilla – who visited the Monica Vinader headquarters on Monday- seems much more interested in gems.
But fans have quickly come to the royal’s defence, praising her for wearing a mix of high-end and affordable pieces
Suzy added: ‘She doesn’t seem to have Camilla’s joy at wearing jewellery.’
However, the critic remains on the fence about whether Kate’s attitude towards jewellery will change as she edges closer to the throne.
She continued: ‘We now have a new Queen, so presumably she has a first opportunity to look at the jewels.
‘We can imagine that the next in line to the throne’s wife would be something that was very special, so will we see Catherine wearing jewellery that is more dramatic, that is more personal to her?
‘I don’t know. I can’t help feeling with things of beauty, you either love it or you don’t.’
Left: Kate wearing Princess Diana’s pearl earrings to attend her first state banquet at Buckingham Palace with her new title last November. Right: The mother-of-three wore a pair of £17.99 ZARA rose gold dangly earrings with pretty ornate leaves to the annual BAFTAs in London
Since marrying into the Royal Family, the Princess of Wales has worn a mixture of jewels from the Royal Collection and other items snapped up from the high street.
In November 2022, Kate wore a pair of Princess Diana’s diamond and pearl drop earrings to attend her first state banquet at Buckingham Palace with her new title.
In March, the mother-of-three wore a pair of £17.99 ZARA rose gold dangly earrings with pretty ornate leaves to the annual BAFTAs in London.
Last December, it was reported that Prince William had bought Kate a pair of £100 earrings from high street brand Sezane – which she wore to attend the church service at Sandringham.
Suzy’s verdict may come as a shock to royals, as she was awarded an OBE by Queen Elizabeth in 2014.
Menkes, who served as an editor at Vogue International until October 2020, has defined her career by being frank and fearless.
Vogue has had close ties to the Royal Family for years – as the Princess of Wales famously appeared on the front cover of British Vogue in 2016 to mark the 100 year anniversary.
In July 2019, the Duchess of Sussex also guest-edited the September issue of Vogue – and put ‘trailblazers’ on her front cover, including Greta Thunberg and Jane Fonda.
The Princess of Wales, 40, pictured outside St Mary Magdalene church on Christmas Day wearing the £100 earrings her husband had bought her
The Queen (right) admitted her grand-daughters were ‘incredibly jealous’ of her as she toured the headquarters of British design success Monica Vinader (left) yesterday
Suzy adds more salt to the wound of the royals’ approach to their bejewelled pieces by further criticising the family for not being candid about how some of the jewels in the royal collection were acquired.
She added: ‘It’s one of these strange secrets. It’s not discussed, and I can see why because some of the pieces are dubious. They came from India.
‘I won’t say they were stolen but they were perhaps given and taken by the British Royal Family, they weren’t stealing it but they were taking over a country at that time and thought and taking jewels they thought were an attractive thing to take back to England with them.’
Queen Camilla admitted her grand-daughters were ‘incredibly jealous’ of her as she toured the headquarters of British design success Monica Vinader yesterday.
Catherine, then Duchess of Cambridge, attends a State Banquet at Buckingham Palace for a visit from the Dutch royals in 2018. She is wearing the Lover’s Knot tiara and the wedding necklace of Queen Alexandra, wife of Edward VII
Camilla, 76, visited the headquarters of the eponymous firm in Norfolk – where she had also earlier stopped by a horse sanctuary – which was started by Ms Vinader and her sister in a converted forge next to her home just 15 years ago but is now worth nearly £100 million.
The company prides itself on its green credentials and was last year awarded the prestigious Queen’s Award for Enterprise in Sustainable Development – the last in the late Queen Elizabeth’s name.
Gushing about the brand, Camilla told the designer: ‘My grandchildren – well my granddaughters – are incredibly jealous of me being here today.’
She added, laughing: ‘They follow you [on social media]. When they found out that I was coming here they started dropping quite a lot of hints about things they would like for their birthdays.’
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