There are many things that I find annoying when it comes to indicating your procreation ability. There’s constantly cradling your baby bump, or sticking a pink notice on the rear window of your car that shouts ‘Baby on Board’.
I also cringe at the craze, particularly seen among footballers’ wives, for having black-and-white photos of your toddlers blown up to billboard size on every wall, or hosting an elaborate birthday bash for your one-year-old, even though it has no clue it has lived for a whole year.
Now I’m sad to report there is another compulsion among mums: wearing your children’s initials on your jewellery.
You ask me why they feel that need. Do they fear they might forget their darlings’ names without a sparkly prompt winking on their wrist? Or perhaps it is just born of the desire to remind the world of their little prince or princess’s existence.
This week, Princess Beatrice (pictured) appeared wearing a chain with the initials ‘W’, ‘E’ and ‘S’ — for stepson Wolfie, husband Edoardo and daughter Sienna
Liz Jones claims the trend for using bejewelled lettering to signal you have tied the knot or procreated is the upmarket equivalent of getting a tattoo. Pictured is Princess Beatrice’s necklace
Sometimes the child involved is a prince, or princess. The Royal Family is one of the most notorious offenders in the initials-bearing group.
This week, Princess Beatrice appeared wearing a chain with the initials ‘W’, ‘E’ and ‘S’ — for stepson Wolfie, husband Edoardo and daughter Sienna — dangling from her neck like some sort of really short story. She is taking after her mother, Fergie, who has a Eugenie and Beatrice bangle, worn most recently to Eugenie’s wedding.
Sophie Wessex has also worn her children and husband’s initials around her neck, and even the Duchess of Cambridge is not immune: she has a necklace with a gold disc bearing the letters G, C and L, and three little stars. Awww.
Meghan began her precious game of children Scrabble with a discreet little ‘A’ but has since expanded her collection from initials to birth signs, with necklaces featuring diamond patterns of her children’s constellations.
Oh, and she has lots of H&M jewellery, too. And by that I don’t mean she bought it from the High Street store. She got her H&M charms in the early stages of Harry and Meghan’s relationship.
I think the trend of using bejewelled letters to signify that you are engaged or have procreated, is as high-end as a tattoo.
My mother had seven children so it was easy for her to forget our names. Although we always took home our school photo contact sheets, none were ever purchased. They were just too pricey!
For the first five years of my life, I was just ‘the little girl’. Yet my most vivid memory of my mum is that she always served herself last at dinner, saying she wasn’t that hungry. There was always enough food. That is a mother’s love: being totally selfless. Silly symbols are unnecessary.
Liz said Beatrice is taking after her mother, Fergie (pictured left), who has a Eugenie and Beatrice bangle (pictured right), worn most recently to Eugenie’s wedding
The Queen is the ideal example for royal mother’s on how to express meaning through jewelry.
It was Her Majesty’s first sapphire-chrysanthemum necklace, which she wore for the Christmas message. This brooch symbolized her deep love for her husband and made it seem more meaningful than just initials.
Hers was an intimate way to remember someone. It feels more private and personal to me.
SPELLING BEA
While the delicate gold chain Beatrice wore this week bearing the initials of her family may be bespoke, a similar one-letter gold vermeil necklace by Completed Works is sold by Net-a-Porter for £125.
KATE’S CUTIES
Two necklaces designed by Daniella Draper in Britain are Kate’s tribute to Prince George, Prince Charlotte, and Prince Louis.
Her gold Midnight Moon disc, shown off in January 2020 and costing £1,050, has the children’s initials engraved on it. She has also displayed the brand’s £495 ‘Fixed Alphabet’ necklace, again with the kids’ initials on it.
Meghan (pictured), who began her precious game of children Scrabble with a discreet little ‘A’ has since expanded her collection from initials to birth signs
In February 2014, we saw Kate’s first personalised necklace, a disc by Merci Maman which bore her firstborn child’s full name — George Alexander Louis — and a heart inscribed with the letter W for her husband. It is believed the £89 necklace was bought as a gift following George’s birth by her sister Pippa.
In September 2020, Kate wore another gold necklace, from Irish brand All The Falling Stars, with the letters ‘G, L, C’. The necklace was so well-received that it was a hit with customers and still has a lot of appeal today.
MARKLE SPARKLE
For her 40th birthday in 2021, the Duchess of Sussex wore two gold necklaces from LA-based jeweller Logan Hollowell, featuring diamond patterns of her children’s birth sign constellations: Gemini for Lilibet and Taurus for Archie. Each cost around £1,200.
Pictured is Meghan’s delicate ‘A” necklace
Two Suetables necklaces were hers in June 2020. One featured the symbol for Taurus, her son Archie’s May birth sign; another had Virgo emblazoned on it to mark Harry’s September birthday. They cost less than £100.
In July 2019, she wore a gold bangle featuring Archie and Lili’s names on it from Jessica Meyer, costing £773.20. She also wore a necklace with a delicate letter ‘A’ to Wimbledon. The ‘Love Letters’ necklace was by Verse Fine Jewellery and cost £384.
Meghan’s first piece of monogramming was in December 2016, when she was seen with a necklace bearing the initials H and M. Further ‘H&M’ jewellery was shown off in September 2019 — a £430 double Mini Mini Jewels dog tag necklace adorned with her and Harry’s initials.
CUFF FOR FERGIE
At her daughter Eugenie’s wedding in October 2018, Sarah Ferguson wore a bespoke cuff bracelet with both her daughters’ names spelled out in white stones, and bordered in gold. It was first seen on the Duchess Of York in 2004.
WESSEX THE WAY
In January last year, the Countess of Wessex wore an initial necklace that had an ‘E’ for her husband, an ‘L’ for her daughter Lady Louise Windsor and a ‘J’ for her son James, Viscount Severn. The diamond letter charms, from Felt, cost £88 each.