Q: Marilyn Braun - Toronto, Ontario Canada
Can you give me some more information on Camilla Parker Bowles's engagement ring? Also, will new wedding rings be made for their marriage?
The ring given to Mrs Camilla Parker Bowles as an engagement ring is made from platinum and has a square-cut central diamond, with 3 diamond baguettes on either side. It is a Royal Family heirloom.
In keeping with Royal tradition, the gold for the wedding rings of The Prince of Wales and Mrs Parker Bowles has come from the Clogau St David's mine in Bontddu, North Wales. It was mined by Cambrian Goldfields Ltd. Previous Royal wedding rings were made from 22ct gold from the same mine.
The rings are being made to a traditional design by Wartski, a privately owned jewellery company based in London. Established in 1865, Wartski has held the Royal Warrant to HRH The Prince of Wales since 1979.
Q: Adarsh - Chicago
Could you tell me a bit more about how the imperial crown is handed over to the comptroller and transported to Parliament where The Queen puts it on in the robing chamber?
The Comptroller from the Lord Chamberlain's Office transports the Crown, the Cap of Maintenance and the Sword of State from Buckingham Palace to the Palace of Westminster in a carriage Procession which is known as the Crown Procession. The Crown rests on a specially lit stand so that the public can see it properly as it travels to its destination. The Crown Procession is escorted by the Household Cavalry.
On arrival at Parliament, The Crown is carried up the Sovereign's Staircase which is lined by a dismounted detachment of the Household Cavalry. The Crown is taken under escort to the Royal Gallery. It is then carried by the Lord Great Chamberlain into the Robing Room where The Queen puts on the Crown and the Robe of State.
After The Queen has given her speech, Her Majesty returns to the Robing Room where she takes off the Crown which is then carried under escort to the Sovereign's entrance. The Crown is then transported back to Buckingham Palace by the Comptroller in the Crown Procession.
Q: Paola - Milan, Italy
I've read that the Queen has held a private reception at St. James's Palace to commemorate Holocaust Memorial Day. Is it the only occasion on which the Queen uses St. James's Palace? I'd like to know if the palace could be visited in the future. Thank you.
St. James's Palace is the senior Palace of the Sovereign, with a long history as a Royal residence. The Palace is the home of several members of the Royal Family and their household offices.
St. James's Palace remains a busy working palace. The State Apartments are sometimes used for entertaining during in-coming State Visits, as well as for other ceremonial and formal occasions. They are frequently used for receptions for charities with which members of the Royal Family are involved. The Palace is therefore not open to the public.
The offices of the Royal Collection Department, the Marshal of the Diplomatic Corps, the Central Chancery of the Orders of Knighthood, the Chapel Royal, the Gentlemen at Arms, the Yeomen of the Guard and the Queen's Watermen are all located at St. James's Palace.
St. James's Palace also retains an important ceremonial function. The Accession Council meets in St. James's Palace following the death of a monarch, and later the accession of a new Sovereign is proclaimed by Garter King of Arms from the Proclamation Gallery overlooking Friary Court.
St. James's Palace contains the London residences of The Princess Royal and Princess Alexandra as well as The Queen's Chapel and Chapel Royal which are regularly used for worship.
Q: Thomas Norbury - Glasgow
In 2003 I was fortunate to be invited to The Queen's garden party at Holyrood Palace where I saw the Royal Company of Archers on parade. Can you tell me more about this company?
Since its appointment as the Sovereign's Body Guard in Scotland in 1822 for the visit to Edinburgh of George IV, the Royal Company of Archers has served as bodyguard to each successive Sovereign. In this role today it is available for duty anywhere in Scotland at the request of The Queen on any State and ceremonial occasion which may be taking place.
The Royal Company of Archers' most regular duty is to be in attendance at Her Majesty's annual garden party in the grounds of the Palace of Holyroodhouse. About 120 members of the Royal Company form avenues down which The Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh proceed while guests are presented to them by the Company's Captain-General and President of the Council. The other major function at which the Royal Company is always in attendance as bodyguard is outside St Giles Cathedral, Edinburgh, at the service of installation of Knights of the Thistle. On these occasions the Royal Company of Archers marches down the Royal Mile from the Castle Esplanade with colours flying - a unique piece of Scottish pageantry.
In smaller groups they are in attendance at Investitures at the Palace of Holyroodhouse and at the presentation of new colours for Scottish regiments. The Company was also on duty at the service of Thanksgiving in Glasgow Cathedral in The Queen's Silver Jubilee year. To mark The Queen's Golden Jubilee, the Royal Company of Archers took part in a historic first - the first time that all the Royal Bodyguards had paraded together in the same place - in the gardens at Buckingham Palace.
During The Queen's reign the Royal Company of Archers has been called to do duty on more occasions than for all Her Majesty's predecessors put together.
Q: Jane - Surrey
Where do Beefeaters get their name from?
Various suggestions have been made as to the origin of the word 'Beefeater', the name popularly given to Yeoman Warders and Yeomen of the Guard. The most likely is that both consumed a large amount of beef. References throughout history to the Yeomen as great eaters of beef support this theory, as does the fact that, even in 1813, the daily ration for thirty men on duty at St James's Palace was 24 pounds of beef, 18 pounds of mutton and 16 pounds of veal.
Although 'Beefeater' is a popular nickname, it has to be said that they prefer their historic titles - not least because the titles distinguish their different functions: the Yeoman Warders guard the Tower of London, whilst the Yeomen of the Guard have the historic function of bodyguards to the Sovereign on ceremonial occasions.
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