JEWEL IN THE CROWN

Her vibrant designs are loved by the Princess of Wales and the Queen. Here, Kiki McDonough reveals how she became a favourite of the royal family

Kiki McDonough's jewellery has long been a favourite with royal women, from Princess Diana to the Queen and the Princess of Wales, who regularly wears her colourful pieces for royal garden parties, church services and overseas tours.

When HELLO! meets the jeweller at her shop in the heart of London's Chelsea, her own citrine drop earrings sparkle in the light and a bold gold cocktail ring, set with multi-coloured gemstones, decorates her left hand. "I wear jewellery every single day of the year, except for two weeks after Christmas and a week in the summer," she says. "It feels really odd, but it clears my mind and gives me a creative reset."

The glass cabinets in Kiki's spacious showroom are filled with a spectrum of gemstones – from diamonds, sapphires and emeralds to amethysts, pink tourmaline, ruby and garnets – while the wall just inside the front door is decked with memorabilia from her 40 years in business.

FAMOUS FACES

Kiki's premises just off Sloane Square, where she has been for 17 years, was once the butcher's shop that she and her mother used to visit when she was growing up nearby, with actors Peter Sellers and John Mills as neighbours.

"Chelsea was a bohemian village back then," she recalls. "Now I think, can you imagine, if someone had said to ten-year-old Kiki: 'One day, you're going to have a jewellery shop in there…'.

Many entrepreneurs have felt the benefits of royal patronage; for Kiki, it meant expanding from a tiny one-room shop to a global business employing 20 staff and manufacturing around the world, with many sales conducted online.

"The Princess of Wales has changed so many brands and taken them to the next level. Every brand would say how grateful they are to her, and I'm very grateful to her," she says.

"Like Diana, she understands how she can help British brands by wearing them, and it's massively helpful."