04 November 2013

The Richmond Brooch

The Richmond Brooch (sketch with pearl pendant; as worn, without)
A present from the town of Richmond for her 1893 wedding to the future King George V, Queen Mary's Richmond Brooch is a large piece made from diamonds set in silver and gold in a scrolling design surrounding a central pearl, with a pearl and diamond pendant hanging below. It's a flexible jewel - the central pearl and pearl pendant are detachable (Mary, as we know, was prone to switching around her jewels, and accordingly this pendant was once used in the Cambridge Lover's Knot Tiara), more pendants can be added, the whole brooch can be used as a pendant itself, and Queen Mary even used it in her hair.
Queen Mary (wearing the brooch in the center of her bodice, left, and as a pendant on a necklace while dressed in costume for the Devonshire House Ball, right)
The brooch has been identified by several different names over the years. In the original edition of Leslie Field's The Queen's Jewels, it was identified as the Warwick Sun Brooch, a present from the Earl of Warwick and family; in a later edition, it was called the Surrey Brooch, a present from the Ladies of Surrey Needlework Guild. Hugh Roberts' The Queen's Diamonds has now corrected this to be the brooch from Richmond. These were all wedding gifts to the then-Princess Victoria Mary of Teck; since the bride's gifts included upwards of 40 brooches, it's not surprising that some confusion has resulted.
The Queen, both with and without the pearl drop
The Queen inherited the brooch when Queen Mary died, in 1953. She wore it during her post-Coronation Commonwealth tour but then seems to have put it away. Only in her later years has it appeared again, worn for evening events and a few special day engagements. She has worn it both with and without the bottom pearl pendant.

Appearances:
10 November 2018: Festival of Remembrance 
19 May 2018: The Wedding of The Duke and Duchess of Sussex
10 June 2016: The Queen's 90th Birthday Service
8 November 2014: Festival of Remembrance
2009: State Visit from India
2007: Festival of Remembrance
2000: State Visit to Italy, Papal Audience

Photos: Leslie Field/Getty Images/Lafayette/V&A
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02 November 2013

Flashback: Remembrance Events

In November, The Queen's calendar is always marked with events surrounding Remembrance Day, a memorial day to pay respects to the country's war dead. She attends the Royal British Legion Festival of Remembrance ahead of the main ceremony at the Cenotaph war memorial on Whitehall in London; other events can also be included, such as opening the Field of Remembrance at Westminster Abbey, though not every year. Red poppies are the symbol of remembrance, a reference to the World War I poem "In Flanders Fields" by John McCrae, and The Queen fastens a cluster of these with her brooch.

The Festival of Remembrance is an evening affair, with a few fancier jewels.
(A note: Pearl necklaces are all identified simply by their number of strands not because they are the same necklace, but because they're hard to identify by different names)


It might seem frivolous to talk about jewelry when it comes to somber events like this, but I think it's interesting how they can be used in symbolic and touching ways. At the main Cenotaph event, The Queen leads the wreath-laying ceremony with senior members of her family in uniform behind her (she herself attended in uniform during some of her years as Princess Elizabeth, but she wears regular black as Queen). Other members of the family watch from balconies above, and many of them choose to honor regiments they're identified with by wearing regimental badges; The Duchess of Cambridge has on occasion worn a crystal poppy brooch, the sales of which help aid the Royal British Legion. Sometimes The Duchess of Cornwall accents her poppies with her Diamond Stick Insect Brooch, which is said to have been a gift from her late father, a veteran and former prisoner of war.
For her part, The Queen dips into her collection of bow brooches. They handle the poppy job well, being large enough to accommodate the five poppies typically worn (as seen in the Festival flashbacks above, she has used brooches beyond the bows, but they aren't all well suited to the task - it appears she had to reduce her usual poppy number when using the Cambridge Pearl Pendant!). The Dorset Bow Brooch seems to be the most popular. None of these are restricted to use at Remembrance Day exclusively, but many aren't seen too often apart from poppy events, giving her choice a special touch.

Photos: PA/BBC/Royal British Legion/Getty Images/Corbis/EPA/AFP/Reuters
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01 November 2013

The Newhaven Horse Brooch

The Newhaven Horse Brooch (shown with the Duke of Edinburgh's Tudor rose tie pin)
To commemorate their visit to East Sussex on October 31, 2013, the Newhaven Chamber of Commerce presented the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh with pieces donated by jeweler Mike Shorer and his company Historic Jewellery Reproduction. Picking up on the Queen’s love for horses, her brooch is a reproduction of a second century Romano-British horse brooch and is made from gold plated English pewter accented with green and blue enamel. (The Queen is not the only one that may have a replica of this second century piece – other versions up for sale in the past include one at the Royal Armouries Shop* and one previously auctioned on Ebay.) The Duke received a Tudor rose tie pin, also made of gold plated English pewter, which was inspired by Henry VIII’s Mary Rose warship.

We have not yet seen the Queen wear her Newhaven brooch.

*Thanks to Jelena for this link.

Photo: Sussex Express screencap
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31 October 2013

Visit to East Sussex

The Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh made a one day visit to East Sussex.
Video: The Queen, the DoE, and some mega fish. Also click here for an article and pictures from the Express, worth it for the picture with the four-year-old alone.
She's in a pink mood this week and she's working it - lovely to see the Small Pink and Diamond Brooch out and about again, and just as I was giving its provenance another ponder, too (see the comments on the brooch entry).


Also, it looks like the Queen left East Sussex with a new addition to the collection! And we shall dub it the Newhaven Horse Brooch.

Photos:PA/@SussexExpressPh
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30 October 2013

Audience and Investiture at Buckingham Palace

The Queen received the President of Afghanistan, Hamid Karzai, for an audience at Buckingham Palace. She also held an Investiture.
Looks like President Karzai and his impressive bow were treated to an outing of the Gold Trellis Brooch, though this is an extreme angle to spot it at (click here for video, or here for a gallery). He also stopped by to see the Prince of Wales and Duchess of Cornwall over at Clarence House.

Blog update! You might have noticed, I added a few things on the sidebar of the blog. (<---That way.) Now we have a list of Recently Updated Posts and a list of Recent Comments. Conversations still happen on older posts and I continue to update past published posts as I come across new information, and both features will let you know when that happens.

Photo:PA
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29 October 2013

Ebony Horse Club Visit

The Queen visited Ebony Horse Club, Brixton. She was accompanied by the Duchess of Cornwall, President of the organization.
Video, above
A girls' day out with the horses, a common interest for these two ladies - adorable, no? As for the gems, totally typical, and the Frosted Sunflower Brooch is well on its way to claiming this year's #1 Most Worn spot...again.

P.S.: You might want to check back in on yesterday's post, I have posted a video link for another look at that new addition to the brooch collection in action.

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28 October 2013

Commonwealth Nations Reception

The Queen, accompanied by other members of the Royal Family, hosted a reception at Buckingham Palace in advance of the 2013 Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting, which will be held in November in Sri Lanka.
Click here for an article from ITV News.
Look at this, kids: it's the first public appearance of the New Zealand Blue Pearl Brooch, given to Her Maj in September! A Commonwealth event debut, well played. It looks darker here than I thought it would. Is it living up to your expectations?

UPDATE: Click here for a video with several brooch glimpses from ITNSource.

Photo: PA
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