Audience at Buckingham Palace

The Queen received the President of Sri Lanka, Mr. Maithripala Sirisena, and his wife, Jayanthi, for an audience at Buckingham Palace.

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Exciting! The Queen came prepped and ready to get in the Sri Lanka mood in her Sri Lankan Flower Spray Brooch, given to her while on a state visit there in 1981. We haven't seen this brooch since 2011, and I always manage to forget just how HUGE it is between wearings. A nice change after some appearances where we could scarcely see the brooch on display, right?

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Sri Lankan Flower Spray Brooch

Queen Mary's Button Earrings

Three Strand Pearl Necklace

Gold Watch

Engagement and Wedding Rings

Photos: WPA Pool via Getty Images

The Sri Lankan Flower Spray Brooch

The Sri Lankan Flower Spray Brooch

While on a state visit to Sri Lanka in October 1981, the Queen was given this brooch by the Mayor of Colombo. The brooch is a spray of various types, colors, and cuts of precious and semi-precious stones to represent flowers, each with a gold stem and tied at the base with a gold bow. There are also two golden leaves at the base.

This large brooch has earned the honor of being worn for "regular duty", if you will - events outside of those specifically tied to Sri Lanka (a rather rare honor, when one considers the tremendous number of gifts the Queen has collected over the years which are rarely seen after they are accepted). In recent years in particular it has gained a few notable appearances, and it's nice to see her in some different colored stones and semi-precious stones too, for a change.

Appearances: 
11 March 2015: Audience at Buckingham Palace
2011: Visit to Australia

Photos: Royal Collection/Queen Elizabeth II/Corbis