It’s a great Kate jewelry debate.
Former Vogue editor Suzy Menkes is in hot water with Kate Middleton fans following her controversial comments about the Princess of Wales’ jewelry on a recent podcast.
While Menkes appeared on a May coronation-themed episode of “If Jewels Could Talk,” hosted by British Vogue’s jewelry contributing editor, Carol Woolton, her remarks widely came to light this week after the Daily Mail ran an article on the subject.
“Well, the Princess of Wales is a bit of a disappointment about jewelry, isn’t she?” Menkes, 79, said after Woolton wondered if the royal might wear a special tiara for King Charles III’s May 6 coronation.
“She gives the impression that she only puts it on when she absolutely has to,” the former Vogue International editor — who was awarded an Order of the British Empire (OBE) by Queen Elizabeth for her work in fashion journalism — continued as she went on to create a behind-the-scenes scenario.
“I imagine her looking beautiful in one of those dresses or gowns, beautiful figure, and walking around and then her sort of pulling a face as if to say, ‘Do I have to wear this?'” Menkes said, admitting the scene she invented was “probably ridiculous”
However, the journalist added that maybe the royal’s three young children had to do with her approach to jewelry.
Related Video
“She doesn’t give any sense of adoring jewelry and being pleased to put it on. Maybe she is, maybe she’s a mother and really doesn’t want to spend her time putting these things around her neck.”
“I think she likes contemporary designers,” Woolton diplomatically added, noting Middleton’s love of Kiki McDonough’s gemstone designs. “I think she likes small, contemporary pieces, it seems to me.”
Menkes admitted it would be “just plain ridiculous” for the princess to wear gems on the school run, adding a lot of the royal family’s jewelry “does seem inappropriate in today’s world.”
The former fashion editor for the International Herald Tribune — who also authored a book called “The Royal Jewels” — went on to praise Queen Camilla for her sparkly sense of style.
“Camilla actually loves jewelry,” Menkes said, adding her penchant for “dramatic” jewels was “quite different from other members of the family.”
She declared, “[Kate] doesn’t seem to have Camilla’s joy at wearing jewelry.”
Woolton wondered if there was “a pecking order” as to whom could wear certain tiaras when Menkes mused if Middleton might wear “more dramatic” and “more personal” pieces now that she’s the Princess of Wales.
Ultimately, Menkes said, “I can’t help feeling with things of beauty that you either love it or you don’t.”
The Princess of Wales is certainly known for her relatable sense of style when it comes to jewelry, often pulling out pieces that cost less than $50 and even wearing a pair of $28 Zara earrings to this year’s BAFTAs.
She also frequently champions British brands, wearing mid-range pieces like bangles from Halcyon Days ($215) and classic gold styles from small Welsh jeweler Spells of Love.
However, as Woolton noted, Middleton also has a penchant for pricey Kiki McDonough gemstone pieces, owing at least 21 of the designer’s earrings and necklaces, which routinely cost upward of $1,000.
Middleton’s army of loyal fans jumped to her defense on social media, with some going as far as cruelly criticizing Menkes’ appearance, calling the fashion pro “the last person I’d ask for style advice.”
“Suzy Menkes may be ‘highly regarded’ in the fashion world, but I am willing to bet she is persona non grata in the world of royalty after that mean girl comment about Catherine, The Princess of Wales,” one Twitter user posted.
“Every jewellery she wore sold out. That’s all we need to know. HRH Princess of Wales #KateEffect,” another fan wrote.
In response, a third royal watcher commented, “The idea that Princess of Wales might be trying to support smaller brands esp in times like these when business sm and large are hurting … it just doesn’t occur to the fashion journalists like Suzy Menkes.”
Others backed the fashion pro, like one royal fan who shared a photo of “The Royal Jewels.”
“I am 100% SURE The Wailers/STANS are ‘attacking’ Suzy Menkes under that tweet at the moment, ignoring the fact she’s an OBE, with DECADES of experience and expertise in Royal jewelries, who authored THIS book,” the Twitter user wrote.
“Show some respect for a well respect [sic] fashion authority who has retired,” another Twitter user wrote in response to a tweet calling out the former Vogue editor. “Apalling [sic] response to one who is highly regarded in the fashion world. she is entitled to her opinion whether [sic] or not we agree with her.”
With fewer formal events on the royal calendar these days, royal fans aren’t often treated to massive diamond statement pieces, instead seeing Middleton and family wearing more everyday items.
Whether that means a lack of “joy” for jewelry, as Menkes said, remains to be seen, but we have a feeling this debate will continue to rage on.
