The Racing Post 90th Birthday Brooch

I suspect a few brooches will be among the 90th birthday presents collected by The Queen this year, but this one has a special personal touch.

The Racing Post 90th Birthday Brooch

The Racing Post has commissioned a special birthday brooch for Her Majesty, who is one of their regular readers. Per the RP:

The one-of-a-kind brooch is an 18ct white gold and diamond-mounted galloping racehorse, ridden by an 18ct yellow gold enamelled jockey in Her Majesty's racing colours.

Hand-made by prestigious Birmingham-based jewellery manufacturers Alabaster & Wilson Ltd, the 19th century-inspired design is taken from a 1975 portrait of Fred Archer, jockey to Prince Edward of Wales (later King Edward VII).

Equestrian jewelry is one specialty of Alabaster & Wilson Ltd., who note on their website that "many pieces have been commissioned for presentation to members of Royal Families around the world." Their expertise certainly shows in the fine detail of this piece, which includes 35 diamonds, 0.52 carats in weight.

Animal figures are not a category of brooch that The Queen wears very often. She does have other equestrian-related brooches, such as the as-yet-unworn Newhaven Horse Brooch and the FEI Lifetime Achievement Award Brooch. It's always surprised me, though, that she doesn't have a specific horse brooch that she wears to the races (The Princess Royal does, a gold horse brooch regularly seen). Perhaps a jockey in her very own racing colors is just what she needs.

Photos: Racing Post

The Diplomatic Corps Diamond Floral Earrings

On this blog, we've already covered several jewels given to The Queen as birthday gifts over the years (from her youth, really, since we're not often privy to what she receives today). As we mark Her Majesty's 90th birthday, we'll be looking at a few more presents from birthdays past, starting right here... 

The Diplomatic Corps Diamond Floral Earrings

The Queen's jewel vault rapidly expanded in 1947, as gifts large and small poured in for her 21st birthday in April and for her wedding in November. These floral earrings, delicate designs with curved diamond petals around a central diamond stone, were a 21st birthday gift from the Diplomatic Corps. They featured prominently in a set of 1951 portraits by Yousef Karsh which have appeared on everything from Canadian money to biographies and beyond over the years.

In her younger years, the Diamond Floral Earrings were a solid choice for even her most formal tiara-clad occasions. They were an exceptionally lovely match for the jewels given to her as wedding presents by the Nizam of Hyderabad (with the necklace as seen above, or with the dismantled tiara as seen in this post), picking up on the floral motifs present in those Cartier designs.

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Wearing the earrings in 2008

Today, obviously, she has a great many more earring options at her disposal, and the Diplomatic Corps Diamond Floral Earrings have been mainly a black tie event selection in recent years. They are every bit as lovely on The Queen today as they were when they were received, and I only wish we could see them more often.

Photos: Yousef Karsh/Random House/Taschen/Amazon/Getty Images

The Duchess of Cornwall's Sapphire and Diamond Dragonfly Clips

View image | gettyimages.com

The Duchess of Cornwall with her Sapphire and Diamond Dragonfly Clips

The dragonfly is one of Van Cleef & Arpels' classic inspirations, paying "tribute to the lightness and femininity of nature." The Duchess of Cornwall has a pair of the jeweler's dragonfly "Libellule" clip brooches, one with all diamonds in 18 carat white gold, and the other with a diamond body and blue sapphire wings, again in white gold. A similar all-diamond clip for sale was listed with 2.55 total carats in pave-set diamonds. The brooches are also available with different colors of sapphires.

Diamond dragonfly clip (example)

The clips first appeared on The Duchess of Cornwall in public (to my knowledge) in July 2010, and they're often said to have been a gift from her husband. That's speculation, however, given the amount of Van Cleef & Arpels modern pieces in her collection, it does seem that Charles or Camilla or both are big fans of the famed maison.

View image | gettyimages.com

The pair worn by The Duchess of Cornwall

We certainly know Camilla to be a fan of insect brooches on the whole. Her collection contains multiple adornments depicting butterflies, dragonflies, other insects, and other animals as well. This is one area where her taste departs from The Queen's, as Her Majesty largely leaves these categories out of her brooch selections.

View image | gettyimages.com

The design is a light one, making them appear as though they are in flight. And as such, they have made a nice pair for formal events as well as some of The Duchess' more casual outfits. She wears them together, usually staggered on one side but occasionally split as lapel ornaments, and (as you might expect) often on a blue background.

Appearances:
22 February 2017: The Great Get Together Launch
18 July 2016: Visit to Cornwall
22 June 2016: Visit to Scotland
10 June 2016: The Queen's 90th Birthday Service
17 March 2016: Visit to Serbia
26 November 2015: Visit to Malta, Day 1
14 October 2015: Visits to Nelsons Manufacturing and Rape and Sexual Abuse Support Centers

Photos: Tradesy / via Getty Images as indicated

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 Duchess of Cornwall's Pearl and Diamond Prince of Wales Feathers Brooch

The Duchess of Cornwall's Pearl and Diamond Prince of Wales Feathers Brooch

The Duchess of Cornwall has a handful of jewels at her disposal that depict the triple feather heraldic badge of her husband, The Prince of Wales, and this brooch was an early addition to her collection. It's a small diamond rendition of the Prince of Wales' feathers stemming from a single gray pearl in a diamond surround. According to a feature in Hello! magazine, it was given to Camilla in the late 1990s and has been seen in public since at least 1999. The magazine wrote that the brooch was among a group of Prince of Wales feather pins Charles had made to give to close friends.

View image | gettyimages.com

The brooch's most significant appearance came when it was pinned to her Robinson Valentine coat for the couple's civil wedding ceremony at the Windsor Guildhall on April 9, 2005 - a subtle touch, but perfectly fitting for the occasion. It is one of the smaller brooch options from the section of her jewel collection that relates specifically to the Prince of Wales title, and she continues to wear it regularly.

Appearances:
11 June 2016: Trooping the Colour
7 June 2016: Visit to Wales 
19 May 2016: Buckingham Palace Garden Party
16 December 2015: Buckingham Palace Family Christmas Luncheon
2005: The Wedding of The Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall  

Photos: via Getty Images

The Queen Mother's Pearl of the Dee Brooch

The Queen Mother's Pearl of the Dee Brooch

As a gift to mark her 100th birthday, the Salmon and Trout Association commissioned this brooch for Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother from goldsmith Rachel Jeffrey. The design is based on a salmon fly and it includes a blue gray pearl at the top, a body of solid 19 carat gold with a lattice work in sapphires, emeralds, and rubies, wings small touches of yellow and white diamonds, and a tail of 18 carat gold. It cost a reported £2500 to make, and the color scheme was a tip of the hat to the birthday girl's racing colors, according to the designer's site. Considering The Queen Mother loved to fish when in Scotland, I'm sure it made her smile. And it made a few other people smile too, with a limited edition production of 100 brooches that sold quickly.

Official engagement photo

I don't know if Queen Elizabeth had a chance to wear it publicly before she passed away, but it would get a significant debut a few years later, appearing in the engagement photo of Camilla Parker-Bowles and The Prince of Wales, which was taken at Birkhall (Queen Elizabeth's home on the Balmoral Estate, now used by the couple). The new Duchess of Cornwall would also wear the brooch for the first royal engagement after her wedding, in Scotland on the couple's honeymoon (shown below).

View image | gettyimages.com

Knowing what we know now, the appearance of this brooch and that engagement ring were huge tips to what Camilla's jewel future held. They were just the first of many pieces from The Queen Mother's collection that we would see on The Duchess of Cornwall.

View image | gettyimages.com

As for this brooch, it hasn't had many outings since these early ones. She has also worn it to the Braemar Gathering, so it seems the Scottish connection is strong. And there's another strong connection for The Duchess too: the designer set her business up with the help of a loan from The Prince's Trust, started by The Prince of Wales. (By the way, the Braemar appearance shown above seems to be the first time she wore it properly. The first two appearances? Worn upside down. Oops.)

Photos: Rachel Jeffrey, Clarence House, and via Getty Images

The Godman Necklace

Frederick DuCane Godman (1834-1919) was an English naturalist who was a member of the Royal Society and a trustee of the British Museum. His wealthy family background allowed him to travel the world, and the spoils of one of those travels ended up linking his name to the jewel collection of Queen Elizabeth II.

The Godman Necklace

In a tale told by Leslie Field in The Queen's Jewels, while on holiday in Bavaria in the 1890s, Godman purchased this magnificent diamond and emerald necklace. The piece has seven pendants, each with a central emerald in a scrolling diamond surround, hanging from a foliate diamond base studded with three additional emeralds. The original story of the necklace's provenance tied it to Empress Joséphine, first wife of Napoleon I. Joséphine's son, Eugène de Beauharnais, married Princess Augusta of Bavaria and settled there after Napoleon's downfall, so it was not out of the question that one of her jewels would end up in Bavaria. Godman gave the necklace to his two daughters, Eva Mary and Catherine Edith, and in 1965, they decided that they might like The Queen to have it. They wrote to the Lord Chamberlain and told him they had a piece of jewelry that might be of interest due to its possible provenance, and the palace sent the Surveyor of the Queen's Works of Art to check it out. A thorough investigation turned up no evidence to validate the ties to Empress Joséphine, but the Godman sisters still wanted to give their gift and The Queen liked the necklace enough to accept. It is rare for her to accept gifts in this fashion, but apparently an exception can be made for something this extraordinary.

It certainly is an eye-catching piece; I receive more requests for information on this necklace than just about any other item in Her Majesty's jewel vault. The sisters were thanked in a private audience and The Queen has fulfilled their one request, that she wear the piece occasionally. The connection to Empress Joséphine may have been false, but the necklace has been used for some French events, such as a dinner during the 1984 French state visit, and a banquet at Windsor Castle to celebrate the centenary of the Entente Cordiale in 2004. That banquet was filmed for the documentary Windsor Castle: A Royal Year (a clip can be seen here), and the sparkle of these diamonds and emeralds is truly spectacular. I believe that was the last time the necklace was seen in public.

Photos: Field/British Monarchy/Corbis/BBC video

The FEI Lifetime Achievement Award Brooch

The Queen's new brooch of interlocking horseshoes from @myfei_home, given with its lifetime achievement award. pic.twitter.com/wsRJP8b4SL
— Patricia Treble (@PatriciaTreble) November 27, 2014

The Queen was presented with the inaugural FEI Lifetime Achievement Award on November 26, 2014 by Princess Haya Bint Al Hussein, President of the FEI, the International Federation for Equestrian Sports (Fédération Équestre Internationale). The award, given in honor of her lifelong support of equestrian sport, includes this brooch. Made of diamonds set in white gold and created specially for The Queen, it mirrors the insignia of the FEI Awards (seen below). The design is a shape created from nine interlocking horseshoes.

 

I think this is a lovely design, including a connection to Her Majesty's passion but without being overly themed, and it will be interesting to see how The Queen uses it.

Appearances:
27 February 2015: Visit from The King and Queen of Tonga

The Daffodil Spray Brooch

The Daffodil Spray Brooch

This brooch, a spray of three yellow daffodils in diamonds, was first seen in a painting by Dan Llywelyn Hall which was commissioned by the Welsh Rugby Union in honor of the 60th anniversary of the coronation. The portrait was released in May 2013 and The Queen sat for it in late 2012. The brooch was selected for the painting because daffodils are a national emblem of Wales.

 

It is likely the brooch was a Diamond Jubilee gift to The Queen, though exact details are unknown (to me) at this time. A similar brooch in diamonds with gold details, the Three Thistle Brooch, was confirmed to have been part of a set of four pins given to The Queen by The Sultan of Oman; it is possible but unconfirmed that this brooch could share that provenance. (See the Three Thistle Brooch entry for more speculation on that set.)

Appearances:
11 April 2017: Visit to Bedfordshire
26 June 2015: State Visit to Germany, Final Day
6 May 2014: Visit to Essex
3 May 2013: Recent Portrait Releases

Photos: Getty/PA/Dan Llywelyn Hall/Welsh Rugby Union

The New Zealand Blue Pearl Brooch

The New Zealand Blue Pearl Brooch

Monarchy New Zealand shared via Twitter a personal gift given by New Zealand Prime Minister John Key to the Queen during his September 2013 visit to Balmoral Castle: a brooch! From Eyris Pearls in Christchurch, the brooch includes a blue pearl surrounded by a design of mixed metal tones and what look to be marquise diamonds. The blue pearl makes an interesting addition to the brooch collection; I don't know that I've seen the Queen wear a blue pearl before, publicly at least. She already has at least one New Zealand-specific brooch, of course, the New Zealand Fern Brooch.

Appearances:
17 July 2014: Reading Railway Station Opening
28 October 2013: Commonwealth Nations Reception

Photo: @monarchynz

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 Six Petal Diamond Flower Brooch

The Six Petal Diamond Flower Brooch

The Queen has had this brooch since she was Princess Elizabeth. It's composed of six diamond petals surrounding a large single diamond collet. Each diamond petal has a row of larger diamonds down the center. It's a common design; Princess Alexandra has a similar model in her own collection.

An article by Frederick Corbitt*, Deputy Comptroller of Supply at Buckingham Palace in the 1930s and 1940s, identified this brooch as one given by the Household staff to Princess Elizabeth for her 21st birthday. It was an antique of Brazilian diamonds. This suggested provenance adds a thoughtful touch to the young Elizabeth's choice to wear the brooch when announcing her 1947 engagement to Lieutenant Philip Mountbatten, just a couple months after she received the gift.

*With thanks to Adelaide in the comments!

Appearances:

17 October 2017: Audience at Buckingham Palace
22 July 2014: Audiences at Buckingham Palace
3 July 2014: Scottish National War Memorial Service
28 January 2014: Thornham Village Hall Opening
23 June 2013: Al Habtoor Royal Windsor Cup
1 June 2013: Epsom Derby
6 July 2012: Holyrood Week, Day 5
15 March 2012: Re-Opening Kensington Palace 
10 February 2012: Audiences at Buckingham Palace 
2007: Royal Ascot
1947: Engagement of Princess Elizabeth and Lieutenant Philip Mountbatten 

Photos: PA/Vogue/Life

The Jardine Star Brooch

The Jardine Star Brooch

On the Queen's list of favorite brooches is a traditional model we call the Jardine Star. It features 8 diamond rays separated by a single collet which fan out from a central cluster of a large diamond 8 smaller stones.

What's known about this brooch's history comes from Leslie Field in The Queen's Jewels:

"In 1981 the Queen was left a late-Victorian diamond star brooch by Lady Jardine, which she has worn on many occasions. It has a collet diamond on a knife-wire between each of its eight points."

Further detail on who exactly Lady Jardine is and what her connection or motivation might have been to gift the Queen with this brooch is omitted. There are a few Jardine Baronetcies and the wives of the baronets would be titled Lady Jardine. A queen receiving a bequest of jewels from someone no matter the connection is not so unusual, of course; one example is the Greville bequest which provided many of the Queen Mother's favorite jewels.

The brooch in action, as the Queen addresses Parliament on the occasion of her Diamond Jubilee

Princess Anne owns a similar piece, and there are plenty more star brooches out there that look like this one. Their all-purpose design never really goes out of style, as the Queen shows us regularly.

This entry was first posted at Order of Splendor.

Appearances:
28 March 2019: Visit to Somerset
11 November 2018: Armistice Centenary Service
29 July 2018: Church at Balmoral
10 July 2018: RAF Centenary
20 June 2018: Royal Ascot, Day 2
14 February 2018: Commonwealth Diaspora Reception
25 December 2017: Christmas Broadcast
30 November 2017: Visit to West Sussex
23 October 2017: HMS Sutherland Visit
7 July 2017: Royal Society of Edinburgh Visit
23 June 2017: Royal Ascot, Day 4
13 June 2017: Companions of Honour Centenary
18 October 2016: Team GB Reception
5 July 2016: Holyrood Week: Garden Party
18 June 2016: Royal Ascot, Day 5 
21 April 2016: The Queen's 90th Birthday Walkabout and Birthday Beacon Lighting
2016: Elizabeth at 90 - A Family Tribute (release date)
19 November 2015: Visit to Birmingham
10 July 2015: Battle of Britain Anniversary Flypast
20 May 2015: Buckingham Palace Garden Party
23 February 2015: Magna Carta Anniversary Reception
2 February 2015: King's Lynn Fire Station Opening 
20 November 2014: RAF Lossiemouth Visit
7 June 2014: Epsom Derby
10 April 2014: State Visit from Ireland, Northern Ireland Reception
14 November 2013: Visit to Manchester
5 July 2013: Holyrood Week, Day 5: Robin Chapel and Thistle Foundation
22 May 2013: Buckingham Palace Garden Party
2 May 2013: Defence Medical Rehabilitation Unit
31 March 2013: Easter Service
24 January 2013: Sandringham Women's Institute
20 October 2012: British Champions Day at Royal Ascot
18 July 2012: Visit to the North East, Day 1
3 June 2012: The Thames Diamond Jubilee Pageant
21 May 2012: Chelsea Flower Show
26 April 2012: Visit to South Wales, Day 1 
5 April 2012: Royal Maundy Service 
20 March 2012: Diamond Jubilee Address to Parliament
12 March 2012: Commonwealth Day Reception 
2011: Visit to Australia 
2009: Easter Service
2007: Commonwealth Day Observance Service
2006: Christmas Service 
2006, 2008, 2011: Royal Ascot
2003, 2005, 2011: Royal Maundy Service  
2001, 2006: Chelsea Flower Show   
Various Years: Christmas Broadcast


Photos: Corbis/Polfoto