# Queen Elizabeth send subtle commentary via brooches **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [July 21, 2018, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/queen-elizabeth-send-subtle-commentary-via-brooches/818338 "2018-07-21T20:10:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2018, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/queen-elizabeth-send-subtle-commentary-via-brooches/818338/1 "2018-07-21T20:10:30Z")
I’m not making this up. Apparently, wearing themed brooches is something she does. > [@](#): > > …Twitter user @SamuraiKnitter has pointed out that on the first day of the Trump visit, the Queen wore a simple green brooch that was given to her by the Obamas to signify their friendship. On the second day, she wore a brooch given to her by Canada, a country with which Trump is less than pleased at the moment (also, it was in the shape of a snowflake, a classic Trump term for people who disagree with him.) And, for the last day, she chose a brooch the Queen Mother wore to the funeral of King George VI, so not one associated with happiness and joy. Queen’s brooches: 3. Trump: 0. > > Is this all reading too much into it? Well, it is known the Queen does choose her brooches according to the theme of the day, such as the love knot brooch she wore to William and Kate’s wedding. And, let us never forget the exciting time last year when, to open parliament, she wore a hat bearing a striking resemblance to the EU flag. > > Has the Queen been trying to talk to us all this time and we just didn’t notice? Because we know she’s not allowed to make political statements, but what if she’s been sending them to us through her wardrobe? My God! I hereby declare that, like the British government, we all take an early holiday and spend the next couple of weeks combing through photos of the Queen, reading the runes of her twinsets. It’s OK, guys, the Queen is totally going to fix Brexit! Cherchez the brooches! > … > [Source](https://www.theguardian.com/fashion/2018/jul/18/was-the-queen-sending-coded-messages-to-donald-trump-via-her-brooches-absolutely) ---
**Author:** ![Doug\_K](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b5ac83/32.png) [@Doug\_K](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doug_K)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2018, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/queen-elizabeth-send-subtle-commentary-via-brooches/818338/2 "2018-07-21T20:14:03Z")
Maybe you aren’t making this up, but someone is, and it’s been debunked. > **[Did Queen Elizabeth Wear a Brooch Gifted by President Obama While Meeting...](https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/queen-elizabeth-trump-brooch/)** > > Theories about the symbolism behind the monarch's fashion choices are founded on assumptions that collapse when tested. ---
**Author:** ![Aquadementia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aquadementia/32/555_2.png) [@Aquadementia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aquadementia)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2018, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/queen-elizabeth-send-subtle-commentary-via-brooches/818338/3 "2018-07-21T20:48:39Z")
Far too subtle a way to broach her subjects. ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2018, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/queen-elizabeth-send-subtle-commentary-via-brooches/818338/4 "2018-07-21T21:35:42Z")
She’ll have this next time she meets Trump: > **[middle finger pin - Bing](https://www.bing.com/images/search?view=detailV2&ccid=t%2bQ91rfr&id=78631BB90ED7AD4773F45F84FD8BDBE33993E1AF&thid=OIP.t-Q91rfrXayNBDKIpHB57wHaHL&mediaurl=https%3a%2f%2fimg0.etsystatic.com%2f165%2f0%2f14108638%2fil_570xN.1099105408_36pd.jpg&exph=552&expw=570&q=middle%2Bfinger%2Bpin&simid=608050995146985065&selectedIndex=10&ajaxhist=0)** > > Intelligent search from Bing makes it easier to quickly find what you’re looking for and rewards you. ---
**Author:** ![D\_Anconia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@D\_Anconia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/D_Anconia)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2018, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/queen-elizabeth-send-subtle-commentary-via-brooches/818338/5 "2018-07-21T21:39:38Z")
> [@Doug\_K](#): > > Maybe you aren’t making this up, but someone is, and it’s been debunked. > > [Did Queen Elizabeth Wear a Brooch Gifted by President Obama While Meeting President Trump? | Snopes.com](https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/queen-elizabeth-trump-brooch/) So why did Thelma post this thread??? ---
**Author:** ![Aspenglow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aspenglow/32/76_2.png) [@Aspenglow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aspenglow)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2018, 10:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/queen-elizabeth-send-subtle-commentary-via-brooches/818338/6 "2018-07-21T22:30:32Z")
The Queen may not troll Trump with her brooches, but former Watergate prosecutor, Jill Wine-Banks, does. She wore [this one](https://www.jillwinebanks.com/jills-pins-content/2018/7/17/trump) last Thursday while sitting as a commentator on Lawrence O’Donnell’s show. Loved it. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2018, 11:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/queen-elizabeth-send-subtle-commentary-via-brooches/818338/7 "2018-07-21T23:29:01Z")
> [@Aquadementia](#): > > Far too subtle a way to broach her subjects. Next time, she’ll just wear the “Biden 2020” button. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2018, 12:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/queen-elizabeth-send-subtle-commentary-via-brooches/818338/8 "2018-07-22T00:09:34Z")
> [@D\_Anconia](#): > > So why did Thelma post this thread??? _Now_ you believe Snopes? ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2018, 2:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/queen-elizabeth-send-subtle-commentary-via-brooches/818338/9 "2018-07-22T02:18:40Z")
> [@D\_Anconia](#): > > So why did Thelma post this thread??? I liked it. ---
**Author:** ![j666](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/9de0a6/32.png) [@j666](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/j666)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2018, 2:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/queen-elizabeth-send-subtle-commentary-via-brooches/818338/10 "2018-07-22T02:32:19Z")
I think it’s a stretch for Snopes to call it False. She did wear those three brooches. the history of each one is accurate, and if no-one other than Her Majesty (?) knows why she selected them, neither does Snopes. And EVERYONE knows how much Trumps loathes anything to do with Obama, so it silly to suggest > [@](#): > > It is at least equally plausible … she simply chose to mark the occasion of the U.S. president’s arrival in the U.K. with a piece of jewelry given to her by the last person to occupy that office ---
**Author:** ![Tastes\_of\_Chocolate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tastes_of_chocolate/32/3232_2.png) [@Tastes\_of\_Chocolate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tastes_of_Chocolate)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2018, 3:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/queen-elizabeth-send-subtle-commentary-via-brooches/818338/11 "2018-07-22T03:16:16Z")
Madeleine Albright did this. There is a [Smithsonian article](https://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/madeleine-albright-on-her-life-in-pins-149191/) about it. > [@](#): > > What other messages did you deliver? > I had an arrow pin that looked like a missile, and when we were negotiating the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty with the Russians, the Russian foreign minister asked, “Is that one of your missile interceptors you’re wearing?” And I responded, “Yes. We make them very small. Let’s negotiate.” Or, after we found that the Russians had planted a listening device—a “bug”—into a conference room near my office in the State Department, the next time I saw the Russians, I wore this huge bug. They got the message. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2018, 3:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/queen-elizabeth-send-subtle-commentary-via-brooches/818338/12 "2018-07-22T03:35:44Z")
> [@j666](#): > > I think it’s a stretch for Snopes to call it False. She did wear those three brooches. the history of each one is accurate, and if no-one other than Her Majesty (?) knows why she selected them, neither does Snopes. > > And EVERYONE knows how much Trumps loathes anything to do with Obama, so it silly to suggest Me, too, and it’s soured me on the site. The site is a fact checking site. So why the hell are checking something that isn’t factual and saying “False” to it? The factual aspect is simply whether she wore the brooches and whether they are as described. That portion is true. Instead, the writer chooses to squeeze a “false” out of “we can’t know for sure what the Queen was thinking.” First off, this is obvious. Second, if something is unknown, then it is “Undetermined,” not “False.” I expected the normal quality article, with a “What’s True” section mentioning the brooches and their history, and then a “Undetermined” section about what the queen is thinking. Instead, they give the one answer that doesn’t fit, “False.” Are we sure the site didn’t get taken over? Because I find it hard to believe that snopes himself would allow such a poorly written fact check article on hit site. He’s not the type to go out of his way to defend Trump. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2018, 3:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/queen-elizabeth-send-subtle-commentary-via-brooches/818338/13 "2018-07-22T03:37:50Z")
> [@Doug\_K](#): > > Maybe you aren’t making this up, but someone is, and it’s been debunked. > > [Did Queen Elizabeth Wear a Brooch Gifted by President Obama While Meeting President Trump? | Snopes.com](https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/queen-elizabeth-trump-brooch/) No, it hasn’t. Read the article. It claims false when everything about what is said is shown to be true. The brooches were worn, the history is accurate, and the article provides no evidence that the queen has given any other reason for wearing them. Hence there is no factual debunking any of it. In fact, I am going to write them about this. This is extremely substandard work for the site. ---
**Author:** ![drewder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/57b2e6/32.png) [@drewder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drewder)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2018, 4:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/queen-elizabeth-send-subtle-commentary-via-brooches/818338/14 "2018-07-22T04:21:11Z")
Well the most compelling “evidence” is the Obama Broach which the article entirely disproved since it’s been in the royal family since before Obama. The other two are such thin connections with absoultly no evidence that I think a statment of false is justified. If someone claimed that president trump was an alien without any evidence we wouldn’t give them the bennefit of the doubt An rating of unverified means that there might be some reason to believe the claim which there isn’t. ---
**Author:** ![D\_Anconia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@D\_Anconia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/D_Anconia)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2018, 4:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/queen-elizabeth-send-subtle-commentary-via-brooches/818338/15 "2018-07-22T04:26:54Z")
> [@ThelmaLou](#): > > I liked it. Even though it wasn’t true? 😕 ---
**Author:** ![DavidwithanR](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/3bc359/32.png) [@DavidwithanR](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DavidwithanR)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2018, 6:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/queen-elizabeth-send-subtle-commentary-via-brooches/818338/16 "2018-07-22T06:38:06Z")
> [@drewder](#): > > An rating of unverified means that there might be some reason to believe the claim which there isn’t. It’s a mistake though, to claim that something unknown is false. False means “we checked and it’s not true”. They couldn’t have checked without calling the Queen; they didn’t call her. ---
**Author:** ![Grrr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grrr/32/146_2.png) [@Grrr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grrr)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2018, 7:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/queen-elizabeth-send-subtle-commentary-via-brooches/818338/17 "2018-07-22T07:48:49Z")
Snopes labeled it “False”, because they were using the same “logic” laid out to them by the conspiracy folks. They just used that logic, combed over all the minutiae and came to the conclusion it was false. ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2018, 8:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/queen-elizabeth-send-subtle-commentary-via-brooches/818338/18 "2018-07-22T08:44:31Z")
> [@D\_Anconia](#): > > Even though it wasn’t true? 😕 Oh please! Get the steps in chronological order. I heard the story on NPR Saturday morning and thought it was interesting. I came here and posted with a link that described the story I heard. That is the end of MY story. All other comments came afterward, okay? :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![j666](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/9de0a6/32.png) [@j666](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/j666)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2018, 9:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/queen-elizabeth-send-subtle-commentary-via-brooches/818338/19 "2018-07-22T21:18:14Z")
> [@D\_Anconia](#): > > Even though it wasn’t true? 😕 We’re debating that. The factual elements are true; the motives behind the brooch choices cannot be verified. > [@drewder](#): > > Well the most compelling “evidence” is the Obama Broach which the article entirely disproved since it’s been in the royal family since before Obama. The other two are such thin connections with absoultly no evidence that I think a statment of false is justified. If someone claimed that president trump was an alien without any evidence we wouldn’t give them the bennefit of the doubt An rating of unverified means that there might be some reason to believe the claim which there isn’t. Which brooch? > [@](#): > > From Snopes: > > According to “From Her Majesty’s Jewel Vault,” on [the day the Trumps arrived] **Queen Elizabeth wore a brooch given to her by the Obamas** during their visit to the U.K. in May 2011. The Obamas purchased the item from the Tiny Jewel Box in Washington D.C., whose website describes it as “a vintage American-made brooch from 1950 — with 14-karat yellow gold, diamonds and moss agate.” ---
**Author:** ![D\_Anconia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@D\_Anconia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/D_Anconia)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2018, 10:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/queen-elizabeth-send-subtle-commentary-via-brooches/818338/20 "2018-07-22T22:27:10Z")
> [@ThelmaLou](#): > > Oh please! Get the steps in chronological order. I heard the story on NPR Saturday morning and thought it was interesting. I came here and posted with a link that described the story I heard. That is the end of MY story. All other comments came afterward, okay? :rolleyes: Oh please, yourself. Why were you interested in fake stories on NPR, and why did you post it here? [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/queen-elizabeth-send-subtle-commentary-via-brooches/818338.md?page=2)