The Prince of Wales sported a sweet reminder of home yesterday as he began his four-day royal visit to South Africa. William was seen wearing a home-made friendship bracelet bearing the word ‘Papa’ – the name his children call him – in Cape Town. Taylor Swift poses with with the Prince of Wales and his children Prince George and Princess Charlotte ahead of one of her concerts at Wembley Stadium in London in June. The prince had his name spelt out in black and white with varying shades of blue. The prince was meeting with pupils who took part in Welsh language festival Urdd Eisteddfod at Swiss Valley Community Primary School. In September, William joked that Prince Louis could try to steal Charlotte’s friendship bracelets. His daughter, Princess Charlotte, nine, Facebook is understood to have made the item for him especially before the trip. Charlotte is known to be a keen fan of arts and crafts – and of singer Taylor Swift who encourages fans to swap home-made friendship bracelets with names or words on.

Among them was ten-year-old winner Ruby Davies, who sweetly gifted William some friendship bracelets in a pink envelope to give to his children. The bracelets swapped by Swifties tend to feature beads with lettering spelling our lyrics and song names, while Charlotte, George and Charles’s accessories were made from plain coloured thread. The Prince was delighted by the gift – and even gave an insight into daily life between Charlotte and her cheeky younger brother Louis, six. King Charles, 75, was also spotted wearing what appears to be a friendship bracelet during some engagements, including for his visit to Guernsey in July with Queen Camilla. King Charles, 75, has been spotted wearing what appears to be a ‘friendship bracelet’ during recent engagements, including in Guernsey in July (left). After meeting Swift at her London gig, the young royals were seen getting in on the summer trend, with George’s 11th birthday portrait, taken by Kate, showing the prince – a certified Swiftie – dressed in a smart suit, with a woven bracelet on his left wrist. Dressed in a navy polka dot frock, Charlotte wore two of the threaded bracelets, one featuring various shades of pink and another boasting green, blue and pink fabric. It was not the first time George has been seen wearing the bracelet, with the young royal again sporting it with a smart suit when he attended the Euro 2024 Final between Spain v England. Made up of yellow and red thread, the band seemed to be similar to versions sported by Charlotte when she attended the Wimbledon final with her mother in July. That’s so sweet,’ William said, after carefully unwrapping them. They’re going to love those, you’ll see them out and about. Thank you so much Ruby. However, the royal versions are not believed to be the same as those made by fans attending Swift’s concerts – despite George and Charlotte going to her show at Wembley. Did you build them at home? Did you put them together yourself? Friendship bracelets saw a resurgence in popularity over the summer due to the success of Swift’s Eras tour.

Sterling Silver Name Ring

As for William, he is currently in Cape Town for his annual Earthshot Prize Awards, devised by the royal and his team after the prince expressed his frustration at the level of ‘pessimism and despair’ around the environment and climate crisis. Entrants range from a company which has created sustainable refrigeration to one that take harmful CO2 out of the oceans. This is not noble, this is business and what you’re doing is creating solutions and a better life for all of us. The young people are participating in the inaugural Earthshot Prize Climate Leaders Youth Programme. Today William will undertake a busy day of engagements including visiting local landmarks to learn more about environmental projects in the region and meeting South African President Cyril Ramaphosa. But Africa is also the continent that, while contributing least to global warming and having the lowest global emissions, is more adversely affected by the impact of climate change than any other. He decided to highlight and expand positive and innovative solutions to the problem: Earthshot, ‘the most ambitious environmental prize in history’. This year’s event is said to ‘go above and beyond’ anything he has done before. Earthshot Prize, with the event featuring a young environmentalist, an Earthshot trustee and Mr Lammy, among others. And your solutions and your impact are so important and so needed right now. It’s your platform, use it as you need to, take it away, play with it, turn it into something different. This is the generation that are going to do that. Africa is a particularly emotive location for William, who found ‘healing’ on the continent following the death of his mother Diana, Princess of Wales. Because we believe in you and what you’re going to do is change the world, I really believe that. Five winners will each be awarded £1million at an awards ceremony tomorrow to help scale up their ideas to solve environmental issues. Later the prince will give a major speech on nature, the environment and his support for wildlife rangers at the start of a two-day summit for United for Wildlife, his umbrella organisation combating the illegal trafficking of animals. The prince and the president will sit down for talks later and be joined by Foreign Secretary David Lammy, in the country for a meeting with his South African counterpart Ronald Lamola. He also proposed to his wife in Kenya. He had been speaking with them about their ideas to tackle climate issues, which included a business making handbags out of old tyres. During an off-the-cuff speech at the event at the Rooftop on Bree, William, 42, told the 120 youngsters from across Africa and South East Asia: ‘The Earthshot Prize believes in you and the reason we set the prize up is for moments like this’. The future king began his four-day visit to Cape Town yesterday and during the coming days will take part in a series of events shining a light on young African climate activists and promoting his Earthshot Prize awards ceremony.

If you’re as magpie-like about jewellery as I am, you’ll always be on the lookout for new brands and original pieces to add to your collection. There are so many amazing affordable and mid-range jewellery brands out there today, with a plethora of choice no matter what your style. Their goal is to make pieces that ‘will be your go-to for years to come’. The brand’s founders, sisters Christie and Rosanna Wollenberg, believe you shouldn’t just save beautiful jewellery for best, so the sculptural rings and earrings are as practical as they are elegant. Tilly Sveaas founded her eponymous brand in 2016. Born in Hong Kong to British-Norwegian parents, London-based Tilly has been a jewellery designer for over 25 years, creating her first pieces during an extended trip to Bali, where she still produces to this day. If you love keeping things unique and prefer to shop independent, these jewellery brands are worth checking out and keeping in mind for your next purchase. But along with the prominent brands we all know and love, there are a load of under-the-radar gems (no pun intended) out there just waiting to be discovered. This British brand was launched in the autumn of 2024 by Tofi Caroline Adedoyin, a former investment banking director. All Grove & Vae jewellery is designed in London, and created using 14k gold vermeil and rhodium-plated sterling silver – backtoglamour.com – . Otiumberg positions itself as a demi-fine jewellery brand. Her signature T-bar necklaces have been worn by the likes of Taylor Swift.

With Love Darling believes in changing the world one piece of jewellery at a time.

The brand focuses on creating timeless, versatile pieces tailored to the modern woman’s everyday wardrobe. Catherine ‘Catch’ Rhys Jones started her label out of a frustration with the jewellery she was buying. I was tired of sacrificing style for quality, or my bank account for both’ says Neima Row founder Naomi Genes. So she decided to make her own. The brand uses solid metals – not plated or vermeil, and promises no green fingers or brass rash. It specialises in bright, colourful jewellery. After working in the jewellery industry for 10 years, Amelia Bainbridge saw a gap in the market for jewellery that was both beautiful and affordable – and Auree was born in 2014. All Auree pieces are made with the highest quality solid gold, sterling silver or gold vermeil and natural gemstones. Items are produced in developing countries, giving the artisans income to lift themselves and their families out of poverty. It always came with lengthy care instructions and still tarnished after only a few wears or turned my skin green’ she says. Made by small workshops all over the world, each piece holds a story. Crystals & Co. founders (and best friends) Emily Mackeogh and Leah O’Reilly aim to accessorise peoples lives with fun, high quality affordable jewellery. With Love Darling believes in changing the world one piece of jewellery at a time. Think timeless glamour meets modern minimalism, without the unattainable price tag. Prior to starting Bijoux De Mimi, Amelia attended Central Saint Martins. The pieces are gorgeous too – from delicate pendants to eye-catching hoops, available in either 18ct gold vermeil or sterling silver. Founded by Amelia Hitchcock-Merritt in the middle of lockdown at just eighteen, Bijoux De Mimi became one of the fastest growing jewellery brands in the UK.