The Queen Mother’s Cartier Bracelet Quintet and Bandeau

The Queen Mother’s Cartier Bracelet Quintet and Bandeau

This set of five Cartier Art Deco bracelets were given individually as presents from King George VI, then Duke of York, to his wife, Queen Elizabeth, then Duchess of York and later Queen Mother, for birthdays and Christmases in 1923-25. The diamond bracelets have different colored baguette centers: one ruby, one emerald, one sapphire, and two diamonds. There are two diamond bracelets and five total, although only four are pictured above and this set is often referred to as a quartet rather than the quintet that it is.

The Queen Mother, as Duchess of York, wearing the bandeau (left) and the bracelets (right)

Mounts to turn three of the bracelets into a bandeau to be worn in the hair were added from Cartier in 1925. The Queen Mother wore the bandeau through the early 1930s, and the bracelets haven’t been seen as a bandeau since. She also regularly stacked the bracelets on one wrist. (A frequent question: what necklace is she wearing in the bandeau picture above? It’s impossible to tell what stone that is, thanks to the black and white, but she did have a sapphire and diamond chain necklace made in 1929 and this could be it. It is unknown whether that necklace is still in existence.)

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The Queen wears one ruby and one diamond bracelet, 1977

The bracelets are now in the collection of The Queen. She was spotted wearing the diamond and ruby bracelets as early as the 1970s, so it’s not known for certain when exactly she received them from her mother. She also loaned the ruby bracelet to The Princess of Wales for a tour of Australia in 1983*.

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The Princess of Wales wears one ruby bracelet, 1983

The Queen still wears these bracelets. She may get more use out of them for private events, since she has certain sets of jewelry she likes to wear together and most of her tiaras have other preferred bracelets, but that’s my hunch and nothing more.

Read more about these bracelets and bandeau at Order of Splendor.

*With thanks to Franck.

Appearances: 
11 December 2019: Diplomatic Reception
21 April 2018: The Queen's Birthday Party
18 May 2017: Dinner at The Ivy

The Queen Mother’s Rock Crystal Brooch

The Duchess of Cornwall wears The Queen Mother's Rock Crystal Brooch, 2012
UK in Sweden via CC BY-ND 2.0

The Duchess of Cornwall is fond of this delicate oval brooch featuring a rock crystal disk with a diamond center and a diamond frame. Small details in black on the sides and center are likely onyx (or possibly enamel). The rock crystal has a frosted, translucent appearance and appears to be etched.

The Queen Mother, then The Duchess of York, wears the brooch on her hat, 1927
State Library of Queensland, via Wikimedia Commons

Although the brooch was largely unknown until The Duchess started wearing it, it has been in the royal family for at least 90 years. It was part of the collection of the late Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother, who fashionably perched it on her hats in the 1920s and 1930s. The then-Duchess of York and her husband were regular patrons of Cartier, who made multiple Art Deco brooches using the combination of crystal, diamond, and onyx; Cartier thus seems a likely candidate for creator of this brooch.

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Lucy the Kitten makes a play for the brooch, 2010

The Rock Crystal Brooch would have passed to The Queen in 2002, who included it among the many other pieces from The Queen Mother’s collection she has loaned to The Duchess of Cornwall. Camilla wears it regularly, and its appearance can vary from highly visible (on a dark outfit) to practically invisible (on a light outfit), thanks to the translucent crystal revealing the color of the fabric behind.

The Queen Mother's Lily Brooch

Queen Elizabeth kept some loose diamonds at Cartier, the jewelry firm where she and her husband, King George VI, were regular patrons. In 1939, jewelers were commissioned to create a floral brooch with a lily motif from some of those stones.

Queen Elizabeth wears her Lily Brooch, 1951
British Pathe, see video here

The result is one of the longer brooches in the royal collection. Popularly referred to as the "foot long" brooch (actual measurement: around 6.75 inches long), it contains just over 200 of Queen Elizabeth's own diamonds plus an additional 52 added by Cartier. The piece is shown in detail in The Queen's Diamonds by Hugh Roberts, where it is noted that joints in the thin stem originally allowed the brooch to be worn in different positions, but these have since been fixed in place.

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The Queen debuts the brooch, 2010

The Queen Mother's use of the brooch seems to have been most heavily concentrated in the 1950s. It passed to The Queen in 2002, and she first wore it for the South African state banquet in 2010. Unfortunately, with her fondness for white evening dresses, the real scale and design of the brooch blended into the background.

Royal Images via Ministry of Defence

Now, in 2017, we have a chance to really admire the brooch. An official portrait included in the program for the Iraq and Afghanistan Memorial unveiling shows the true scale and magnificent detail of Queen Elizabeth's Lily Brooch. It's much larger than the brooches The Queen wears for daily engagements, and is probably difficult to place, but it makes an impressive statement.

Thanks to David for the tip! 

Appearances: 
2010: State Visit from South Africa

The Cartier Diamond Rose Clip Brooch

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The Queen wearing the Cartier Diamond Rose Clip Brooch

For Day 2 of Royal Ascot 2016, The Queen debuted a new brooch! It was described by the palace as a "Cartier diamond flower clip." The jewel features a large round diamond at its center, surrounded by six slightly smaller round diamonds and set inside a group of curving petals. It is a match to this brooch:

Hancock's

Described as a pavé-set diamond rose clip brooch by Cartier London, circa 1935, the pictured brooch was previously offered for sale at Hancock's London.

I do not believe this has been seen on any previous royal woman, so we could be looking at a new addition to the collection as well as a public debut for The Queen; it is worth noting, though, that King George VI and Queen Elizabeth were collecting many pieces from Cartier in that timeframe. It's an absolutely lovely design, and certainly seems suited to The Queen's taste. She has many other floral brooches, of course, and also plenty of Cartier designs, such as the Nizam of Hyderabad Rose Brooches and the Williamson Diamond Brooch.

Appearances: 
15 June 2016: Royal Ascot, Day 2

The Cartier Halo Tiara

The Cartier Halo Tiara

Another tiara known by several names (mainly as the Scroll Tiara, prior to 2011; the Halo Tiara, Cartier Halo Tiara, or Queen Elizabeth's Halo Tiara since then; I have also written about it as the Halo Scroll Tiara), this was made by Cartier in 1936 from diamonds and platinum. It was given by The Duke of York to The Duchess of York shortly before they became King George VI and Queen Elizabeth. It doesn't seem to have been worn very often by her; she favored larger pieces as queen.

As shown in the Cartier archives

The Cartier tiara was given to Princess Elizabeth as an 18th birthday gift in 1944, another wartime birthday "re-gift". I suspect this may have been The Queen's first tiara, but (to my knowledge) she has never been pictured wearing it. By the time she started wearing tiaras in public, she was married and had more options at her disposal. She loaned it to Princess Margaret and Princess Anne, who both used it as young women. They both stopped borrowing the tiara as their own collections grew.

Video: The tiara sparkles at The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge's wedding

After a few decades in the vault, The Queen loaned the Halo Tiara to Catherine Middleton for her wedding to Prince William in 2011. As of this writing, we have not seen The Duchess of Cambridge wear the tiara again. It was on loan to a Cartier exhibit in France when it came time for her first post-wedding tiara appearance, so she moved on to the Lotus Flower Tiara and then on to the Cambridge Lover's Knot Tiara.  The Duchess' wedding earrings, diamond gifts from her parents that match this tiara, have also not been seen publicly since the wedding.

Read more about the tiara here, in my original post at Order of Splendor.

Photos: Royal Collection/Queen Elizabeth II, Cartier Archives

The Queen Mother's Multi-Color Leaf Brooch

The Queen Mother's Multi-Color Leaf Brooch

This Art Deco brooch with a staggered frame of diamond baguettes and a vein of pavé-set diamonds features cabochon sapphires in a range of shapes in the middle and is dotted with small amethysts, emeralds, and a ruby.

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The Duchess of York, 1934

It was made by Cartier in London as a gift from The Duke of York (later King George VI) to The Duchess of York (later Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother) in 1928. This was one of The Queen's wartime birthday gifts from her parents, one of a few jewels she received in this fashion. Re-gifting things, so to speak, was not at all unusual in a family where jewels regularly pass down the generations, and was a smart choice during the austerity of the war.

The Queen, 1954

The Queen Mother used the Leaf Brooch as a jaunty hat ornament in addition to a lapel brooch in her day, while The Queen tends to use it in regular brooch fashion. When she does wear it, that is - this is another piece of jewelry that would be rare to spot today. An appearance in 1997 may have been its last public outing. If it's a Cartier leaf brooch she's wearing today, odds are it will be the Queen Mother's Palm Leaf Brooch instead.

Photos: Royal Collection/Queen Elizabeth II, via Getty Images, Tom Meigan/National Library of Australia

The Sapphire and Diamond 18th Birthday Bracelet

The Sapphire and Diamond 18th Birthday Bracelet

King George VI's apparent fondness for sapphires was notably documented through gifts to his wife and his eldest daughter, with examples like the Queen Mother's Sapphire Flower Brooch and the George VI Sapphire Suite still in use today. That preference for blue stones and the preference he and his wife had for Cartier jewels came together in this bracelet, which he gave to Princess Elizabeth in 1944 as an 18th birthday present.

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The bracelet features square sapphire stones separated by diamond links and accented with diamond loop details, a delicate gem that could be used for special day events (such as the christening of Princess Anne in 1950, shown above) or for evening events.

Today, though, it seems to fall between categories when it comes to public appearances: dressier than what The Queen wears during the day now, but not as big as the sapphire bracelet she acquired to wear with her George VI and Modern Sapphire Parure. Plus, some of the sapphire sets she's been given over the years (the Dubai Looped Sapphire Demi-Parure, the Sapphire Tassel Demi-Parure) have their own matching bracelets. We don't see much of this birthday bracelet, and I think it's ripe for a resurgence.

Photos: Royal Collection/Queen Elizabeth II, via Getty Images

The Greville Festoon Necklace

The Greville Festoon Necklace
(In the center, one of The Queen Mother's Ruby and Diamond Floral Clips)

The Greville Festoon Necklace is one of the most impressive pieces from the Greville bequest, the collection of jewelry left to Queen Elizabeth (the future Queen Mother) in 1942 by the Hon. Mrs. Ronald Greville. The Cartier design has five rows of diamonds set in platinum, each row containing plaques of diamonds centered by large brilliants and separated by groups of two brilliants.

Queen Elizabeth in 1950, wearing all five strands for a Dutch state visit  
(she also wears the Greville Tiara in its previous design)

The necklace is really two pieces that can be worn separately or as one. The longer necklace has two strands and was made first; the shorter necklace has three strands and came later. Hugh Roberts notes in The Queen's Diamonds that the first version of the necklace with two strands had a slightly different design and was made for Mrs. Greville in 1929 using her own stones. Cartier later altered their initial creation to its current design and added the shorter necklace of three strands to sit inside, again using stones already in the Greville collection.

View image | gettyimages.com

The Queen Mother wearing the three strand necklace on her 100th birthday

All five strands worn together make a staggeringly opulent impression. Whether acknowledging that over the top effect or simply bowing to personal preference and the practical difficulties of using such a large piece, Queen Elizabeth did not often wear all five strands, usually saving it for special occasions. She did wear the three strand version alone, especially in her later years. She used the necklace until she passed away in 2002, at which time it passed to The Queen.

View image | gettyimages.com

The Duchess of Cornwall wearing the necklace for the first time, 2007

Along with a large portion of her late mother's collection, The Queen has loaned the Greville Festoon Necklace to The Duchess of Cornwall. She debuted it with all five strands blazing at The Queen's banquet for the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in 2007. She has worn it only three times in public, on all occasions wearing all five strands. On two of those occasions, she paired it with the Greville Tiara. The Greville Tiara (from the same bequest, clearly) is a perfect match for this necklace, and I am hoping that we will see The Duchess begin to use the three strand version of the Festoon Necklace with it in the future.

Appearances (before 2002, on The Queen Mother; after 2007, on The Duchess of Cornwall):
25 October 2018: The Prince of Wales' 70th Birthday Concert
18 June 2015: The Duke of Wellington's Waterloo Banquet
2007: CHOGM Dinner
1960: State Visit from France   

Photos: Menkes/Royal Household, British Pathé video, via Getty Images

The Greville Ivy Leaf Brooches

The Greville Ivy Leaf Brooches

Princess Elizabeth celebrated her 21st birthday in the midst of her 1947 tour of Africa with her parents and sister. It was a prosperous birthday for her jewel collection, with presents including the Flame Lily Brooch from Rhodesia and her "best diamonds" from South Africa (and a prosperous year for the collection overall, as she would add her many wedding presents to the vault later on!). Her parents, King George VI and Queen Elizabeth, contributed to the birthday jewel haul with this set of diamond clips in the form of leaves of ivy. Each leaf includes a central brilliant diamond and pavé-set leaves in platinum.

View image | gettyimages.com

Like several of the gifts she received from her parents in her early years, these brooches came from Queen Elizabeth's existing jewel collection. The Queen's Diamonds by Hugh Roberts revealed that they were part of the large Greville bequest, the collection of jewels belonging to the Hon. Mrs. Ronald Greville which were bequeathed to the future Queen Mother in 1942. The ivy leaf brooches were made by Cartier, the first before 1930 and the second in 1937.

View image | gettyimages.com

The Queen could occasionally be seen in those early years having a bit of fun with these brooches, perching one on her hat (as seen above, with President Truman) or placing them on opposite sides of her neckline. Today, you'd be most likely to see them both on one side in traditional brooch position, though sadly they have become a rather rare sight. They are quite elegant little jewels, and I would love to see them enter the regular brooch rotation again!

Appearances:
11 October 2016: Royal Academy of Arts Reception 

Photos: Royal Collection/Queen Elizabeth II/Field, and via Getty Images

The Queen Mother's Ruby and Diamond Floral Clips

One of The Queen Mother's Ruby and Diamond Floral Clips

There are not one but two of these ruby and diamond floral clips in existence, and the pair are mirror images of each other. They each include two ruby and diamond flowers (one with a ruby center, one with a diamond center stone) with two diamond leaves and diamond stems, and were made by Cartier.

Queen Elizabeth (left) wearing both clips; The Queen (right) wears one

These are usually said to have been part of the bequest left to Queen Elizabeth by the Hon. Mrs. Ronald Greville in 1942, but an investigation into the Cartier jewels of the British royal family by Christophe Vachaudez in Royals magazine in 2015* showed them to have been a commission using some of the loose stones Queen Elizabeth kept at Cartier. She began wearing the brooches in the 1940s and wore them as a set and as individual brooches. Incorporated into The Queen's collection since her mother's death in 2002, they are now used sparingly.

*With thanks to Franck!

Appearances:
2009: Christmas Service

Photos: Suzy Menkes/Corbis

The Sapphire and Ruby Flower Spray Brooch and Earrings

The Sapphire and Ruby Flower Spray Brooch

This brooch was a birthday gift to then-Princess Elizabeth from her parents, King George VI and Queen Elizabeth, in 1945. Made by Cartier, it's a rather adorable spray of two flowers: one pink, made of pink sapphires with a row of rubies surrounding the diamond in the center, and one blue, made of blue sapphires and a diamond center. The stems and leaves are gold, with one leaf of pavé-set diamonds.

Princess Elizabeth and baby Prince Charles

According to Leslie Field's The Queen's Jewels, the gift also included a matching pair of earrings "in the shape of miniature flowers on tiny stems", which are likely the ones seen above. The earrings, to my knowledge, haven't been seen in many years. The brooch, however, is still in use, though its outings are rather rare.

In current news...on Sunday, the Queen was pictured with the Duke of Edinburgh (for the first time in quite a while!) heading to church at Balmoral. She was wearing the Frosted Sunflower Brooch. For church the previous weekend, she opted for the Round Cambridge Emerald Brooch without the pendant (thanks Jelena for the heads up).

Appearances:
2011: Visit to Australia
1990: Christmas Broadcast 

Photos: Leslie Field/Royal Collection/Queen Elizabeth II/Baron

The Greville Peardrop Earrings

The Greville Peardrop Earrings

These diamond earrings date from 1938 and include large pear-shaped diamonds (20.66 and 20.26 carats), each suspended from one emerald cut and one pentagonal diamond. Set in platinum, they came from Cartier and were part of the large jewelry collection of Mrs. Greville, the society hostess that bequeathed her gems to Queen Elizabeth on her death in 1942.

Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother

They were among the pieces in the bequest that were destined to become favorites of Queen Elizabeth's, both during her husband's reign and during her tenure as the Queen Mother. She wore them in the evening, often pairing them with the Greville Tiara, and she even wore them during certain special day events. On her death in 2002, they passed to the Queen.

The Queen

They haven't been worn often in public since 2002, but they aren't the only such diamond earrings in the Queen's collection. The Queen still seems to prefer the Coronation Earrings when an earring like this is called for.

Appearances (all prior to 2002 on Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother):
2011: State Visit from Turkey, State Banquet
1986: Wedding of The Duke and Duchess of York
1963: Wedding of Princess Alexandra and Angus Ogilvy 
1960: Wedding of Princess Margaret and The Earl of Snowdon
1960: State Visit from France  

Photos: Royal Collection/Daily Mail/PA

The Nizam of Hyderabad Rose Brooches and Necklace

For his wedding gift to Princess Elizabeth in 1947, the Nizam of Hyderabad opted for jewels from Cartier - gifts that were to be chosen by the bride herself. She selected two pieces from Cartier's existing stock, a diamond necklace and a tiara.

The Nizam of Hyderabad Tiara (with the large brooch in the center and the two smaller brooches on either side) and Princess Elizabeth wearing both the necklace and tiara

The floral tiara was composed of diamonds set in platinum. It featured three detachable rose brooches with en tremblant centers and a leafy background. The Queen wore the tiara in the years following her marriage, but she later opted to break it up. Most of the diamonds were used to create the Burmese Ruby Tiara, and the three rose brooches remain. (Click here to read more on the Nizam of Hyderabad Tiara, and here for more on the Burmese Ruby.)

The largest Nizam of Hyderabad Rose Brooch

There is one large brooch and two identical smaller brooches. The Queen almost always wears the smaller two as a pair and the larger one by itself; the larger brooch is more frequently worn, though it is not among her most used pieces.

Wearing the two smaller brooches as a set, and the larger brooch alone

The Nizam of Hyderabad necklace still remains. As it was a stock piece from the jeweler, it had existed for some years and had been sold and repurchased previously. At one point in time the central pendant was longer (containing three parts) and there were two additional pendants (each including two parts) on either side. The necklace had been simplified to its current form by the time it became one of the royal wedding gifts.

The Nizam of Hyderabad Necklace

As with many of her necklaces, the Queen did eventually shorten the chain to suit her tastes, and she still wears it from time to time today. It has been loaned to the Duchess of Cambridge, who wore the necklace for the first time in February 2014.

Appearances (all of the larger brooch, unless otherwise noted):
11 December 2019: Diplomatic Reception (the necklace, on The Duchess of Cambridge)
21 October 2019: Cruse Bereavement Care Reception
4 July 2019: Holyrood Week: Gorgie City Farm Visit (smaller brooches)
3 March 2019: Church at Windsor
25 June 2017: Royal Windsor Cup
13 June 2017: Anniversary Train Ride
8 December 2016: Audience at Buckingham Palace
19 June 2016: Royal Windsor Cup
21 January 2016: Sandringham Women's Institute Meeting
14 June 2015: Cartier Queen's Cup Polo
27 November 2014: Audience at Buckingham Palace
24 October 2014: Science Museum Gallery Opening
8 October 2014: Audiences at Buckingham Palace
11 February 2014: National Portrait Gallery Gala (the necklace, worn by the Duchess of Cambridge)
11 July 2013: Coronation Festival Preview
25 June 2013: Queen Elizabeth Prize for Engineering
10 February 2013: Church at Sandringham
2007: CHOGM Dinner (necklace)
1998, 1999: Royal Maundy Service 
1971, 2001: Chelsea Flower Show
1967: State Visit from Saudi Arabia
Various Years: CHOGM Dinners (necklace)

Photos: Cartier/Getty Images/Corbis/Royal Collection/AFP

The Williamson Diamond Brooch

The Williamson Diamond Brooch

This brooch takes its name from the fine pink diamond in the center, a wedding gift to Princess Elizabeth in 1947 from Dr. John Williamson. Dr. Williamson, a Canadian, owned the mine in Tanzania where the diamond was found. It was cut to its current 23.6 carat size and, in 1953, placed at the center of a brooch designed for it by Cartier in the shape of a jonquil. This is a personal favorite of mine, and I adore any time the Queen brings it out.

Read more at Order of Splendor.

Appearances:
5 June 2014: State Visit to France, Welcome Ceremony
9 November 2013: Festival of Remembrance
27 November 2012: State Visit from Kuwait, Welcoming Ceremony
2011: Royal Ascot
2010: Visit to Canada  
2009: G-20 Summit Reception
1998: Christmas Broadcast  
1961: Commonwealth Visit to India and Pakistan
1958: State Visit to the Netherlands 
1956: Royal Maundy Service

Photo: Royal Collection

The Greville Chandelier Earrings

The Greville Chandelier Earrings

Mrs. Ronald Greville left her extensive jewel collection to Queen Elizabeth (the Queen Mother) in 1942. Some have said King George VI was a bit uneasy about his wife collecting such a stash in such a way, but apparently he got over it, because the Greville collection provided jewels which still sparkle on the ladies of the royal family today.

Two items from the Greville jewels were gifted to Princess Elizabeth for her wedding in 1947: these chandelier earrings, and a large floral ruby and diamond necklace. The Greville Chandelier Earrings are made of platinum-set diamonds in a great variety of cuts (emerald, pear, square, half moon, trapeze, baguette, and more). Made by Cartier, they started out in a simpler form and evolved to what we see today by 1929.

The Queen used these often in her early years; after the wedding, they were her main showstopper earrings for formal events. They are not worn as often these days, but it's always a pleasant surprise when they are – they’re really quite pleasant and cohesive for a concept that seems a bit gimmicky at first (combining all the cuts of diamonds could have gone wrong in so many ways!). And the swing of the long earrings adds a tremendous amount of sparkle power.

Appearances:
2010: Visit to Canada 
1992: State Visit to Germany 
1986: State Visit from Spain
1983: State Visit to Sweden  
1978: State Visit to Germany
1967: Visit to Malta  
1958: State Visit from Germany
1958: State Visit to the Netherlands 

Photos: Leslie Field/Royal Collection/Getty Images

The Greville Scroll Brooch

The Greville Scroll Brooch

This petite trinket is a scroll of diamonds centered around three pearls and set in platinum. One of the interesting things learned from Hugh Roberts' book The Queen's Diamonds was just how extensive the Greville bequest was (these are the jewels of Mrs. Ronald Greville, left to the Queen Mother in 1942) - and this brooch was a part of it. Mrs. Greville had it made by Cartier using some of her own stones in 1929.

Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother

The third pearl is actually a drop pearl, but it seems to be worn with the drop on top mostly. The brooch passed to the Queen after the Queen Mother's death in 2002, and the Queen has worn it a few times since.

Personally, I think the Queen Mum had it right when she tried this out on her hat - it's a little small, compared to some of the other brooches in use, and so it makes for a nice secondary brooch, perhaps something to use to fasten the back of a sash in the evening.

Appearances:
24 July 2017: Church at Balmoral
17 March 2016: London Zoo Lion Exhibit Opening
26 June 2014: Audiences at Buckingham Palace
6 June 2013: Duke of Edinburgh's Order of New Zealand Investiture
21 March 2013: Audiences at Buckingham Palace
14 November 2012: Audiences at Buckingham Palace
2011: Visit to Australia 

Photos: Getty Images/Corbis

The Multi-Color Floral Spray Brooch

The Multi-Color Floral Spray Brooch

Though it's not a new brooch, this one's provenance is still something of a mystery. It appears to be a small bouquet of different colored stones (sapphires and more, perhaps?) with stems tied together. And it's a tricky little trinket too, because the multiple colors give it a different appearance from every angle.

One possible provenance could be this brooch described by Leslie Field in The Queen's Jewels but not definitively tied to any single brooch since: "a Cartier floral spray set with sapphires, rubies, diamonds and an aquamarine, which her parents gave her in 1943." There is at least one other brooch which may be a better match for that description, however. Lacking any confirmation, I will dub it the Multi-Color Floral Spray Brooch for the time being.

Appearances:
18 October 2014: British Champions Day at Royal Ascot
6 June 2012: Commonwealth Luncheon

Photos: WPA Pool/Getty Images

The Coral Rose Brooch

The Coral Rose Brooch

Made by Cartier, this brooch includes two roses of coral. There's a diamond at the center of each rose, and two diamond petals off to the side. This is a French gift to the Queen, from the Order of the Liberation.

The gift was given in 1990 to mark the 50th anniversary of June 18, 1940 - the date on which Charles de Gaulle broadcast his famous Appeal of 18 June speech from London. On that same day, Winston Churchill also gave his "Finest Hour" speech. Appropriately, most of the few events this brooch has been worn for have had French connections, but it is not worn frequently.

Appearances:
13 May 2012: Windsor Horse Show Diamond Jubilee Pageant

Photos: Getty Images/Corbis