From Her Majesty's Jewel Vault: November 2012

Photo: Bauer Griffin

28 November 2012

The Diamond and Ruby Butterfly Brooch

The Diamond and Ruby Butterfly Brooch

The Queen's best known wedding gifts came from organizations, countries, and close family members - but she received gifts from plenty of individuals as well. This brooch, described in the wedding gift list as a "diamond and ruby brooch in the form of a butterfly" was given by the Dowager Countess of Onslow.

This is not a well known wedding gift - it's not a well known brooch in the first place. The Queen doesn't wear it much, but when she does she predictably pairs it with pinks and reds.

Appearances:
8 June 2021: Virtual Audiences
25 August 2019: Church at Balmoral
19 January 2012: Sandringham Women's Institute

Photos: Getty Images/PA

Thames Hospicecare

The Queen visited Thames Hospicecare to mark their 25th anniversary.

No brooch days make me sad.

Girls of Great Britain and Ireland Tiara

Photo: WPA Pool/Getty Images

27 November 2012

The Girls of Great Britain and Ireland Tiara

The Girls of Great Britain and Ireland Tiara

Queen Mary received this tiara as a wedding gift in 1893 from a committee representing the girls of Great Britain and Ireland. It featured pearls on top and a detachable base; Mary removed the pearls. She gave it to her granddaughter, Princess Elizabeth, as a wedding present in 1947. The Queen originally wore it without the base before reuniting the pieces in 1969.

Said to be light and easy to wear, the Girls of Great Britain and Ireland Tiara seems to be the Queen's favorite - she's said to call it "Granny's tiara", and it is her most frequently worn diadem.

Read more at Order of Splendor.

Appearances:
4 December 2018: Diplomatic Reception
23 October 2018: State Visit from The Netherlands, State Banquet
19 April 2018: CHOGM Dinner
8 December 2015: Diplomatic Reception
24 June 2015: State Visit to Germany
21 October 2014: State Visit from Singapore
6 June 2014: State Visit to France
9 May 2014: Order of the Bath Service
5 November 2013: State Visit from South Korea
27 November 2012: State Visit from Kuwait
7 March 2012: Order of the British Empire Service
2011: State Visit from Turkey
2011: State Visit to Ireland
2010: Visit to Canada
2007: CHOGM Dinner
2006: Diplomatic Reception
2006: Order of the Bath Service
2005: State Visit from China
1992: State Visit to Germany
1991: Balmoral Ghillies Ball
1988: State Visit to Spain
1985: State Visit to Portugal
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
Various Years: CHOGM Dinners

Photos: Getty Images

Queen Victoria's Bracelet

Queen Victoria's Bracelet

Each of the 5 links of this bracelet contains 9 diamonds of considerable size. They are surrounded by a diamond foliage setting, but when in use and from afar, the larger diamonds are what truly stand out. This was made for Queen Victoria in 1838 using existing diamonds in her collection, and it was designated by her as an heirloom of the Crown. Queen Victoria wore it in her official Diamond Jubilee portrait.

Left to Right: Queen Victoria, Queen Alexandra, Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother, Queen Elizabeth II

As an heirloom of the Crown, it passed after Queen Victoria's death to Queen Alexandra (who wore the bracelet for her husband's coronation), and then subsequently to Queen Mary and Queen Elizabeth. Elizabeth wore it for some of her most memorable and romantic portraits, and held on to the bracelet during her tenure as Queen Mother. It was inherited by the current Queen in 2002.

Appearances:
27 November 2012: State Visit from Kuwait, State Banquet
1978: State Visit to Germany
1967: Visit to Malta
1965: State Visit to Germany

Photos: Getty Images/Royal Collection

State Visit from Kuwait, State Banquet

The Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh, together with other members of the Royal Family, gave a state banquet in honor of the Emir of Kuwait at Windsor Castle.

Isn't that terribly kind, Her Maj saw we were reviewing some of her wedding gifts this month and now she's worn another to follow the Williamson Diamond worn earlier in the day: it's the Girls tiara! (My fave.) Bless her sparkly little heart, that's ever so helpful.

Coronation Necklace and Earrings
Royal Family Order of George V
Royal Family Order of George VI
Order of Mubarak the Great (Collar and Star)

Queen Victoria's Bracelet
Diamond Watch (same as here)

Photo: Getty Images

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

State Visit from Kuwait, Welcoming Ceremony

The Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh welcomed His Highness Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah of Kuwait at the beginning of his State Visit to the United Kingdom.

Click above for an article and video from The Telegraph.

Woohoo! The Williamson Diamond Brooch makes its long-awaited blog debut! The brooch was swapped to the dress underneath when it came time for indoor schmoozing.

Williamson Diamond Brooch

Household Cavalry Regimental Badges

Photos:Telegraph screencap/Getty Images

26 November 2012

Queen Mary's Stomacher

Queen Mary's Stomacher

This stomacher (a piece of jewelry designed to be worn on the front of the bodice) is composed of three brooches of graduated size. Made of diamonds set in gold and white gold, each brooch includes three pear-shaped pendants and two brilliant pendants; the smallest brooch includes an extra pendant as an elaborate end to the piece. This was made in 1920 for Queen Mary using two pieces already in her collection: the Kapurthala Stomacher, given to her by the Maharajah of Karpurthala, and a diamond crescent from the town of Swansea, both of which she received as wedding presents in 1893.

Queen Mary wearing the Karputhala stomacher

Redesigning existing pieces was something Queen Mary did often, and this is an example of how good she was this sort of repurposing; she took a rather dense and spiky piece and turned it into a light, airy, and intricate stomacher. She gave the redesigned jewel to her granddaughter Princess Elizabeth as a wedding gift in 1947.

Wearing the full stomacher (left) and just the bottom brooch (center and right)

Unfortunately, by the time she handed this down, the fashions that allowed Mary to wear stomachers with such panache had long gone out of style. Perhaps because of the difficulty of the stomacher design and size, these pieces are rarely used in public. The individual brooches are far larger than the Queen's preferred brooch size; she has worn the smallest brooch on its own, though when placed on the shoulder as she usually uses her brooches, the pendant hangs at an awkward angle. We didn't see her use the full stomacher as intended in public until 2002, when she wore it to a dinner celebrating her Golden Jubilee with other monarchs in attendance.

Photos:Royal Collection/Leslie Field/Corbis

The Household Cavalry Regimental Badges

The Household Cavalry Regimental Badges

The Queen is Colonel-in-Chief of the two regiments of the Household Cavalry, the Life Guards and the Blues and Royals. For events concerning the Household Cavalry, she regularly wears these two regimental badges - one for the Blues and Royals (the Garter topped by a crown), and the other for the Life Guards.

While they can obviously be worn separately, they are often paired and so they are paired here.

Appearances:
24 October 2017: Household Cavalry Mounted Regiment Barracks Visit
28 May 2014: Household Cavalry Standard Presentation and Garden Party
26 November 2012: Combermere Barracks Visit

Photos: Getty Images

Combermere Barracks Visit

The Queen, Colonel-in-Chief, visited the Household Cavalry Regiment at Combermere Barracks in Windsor.

Click above to see an article and video from ITV.

Not one but two regimental badges today, and plenty of shiny buttons to fit right in with all those uniformed folks.

Photos: ITV screencap/Ministry of Defence

22 November 2012

The City of London Fringe Necklace

The City of London Fringe Necklace

This impressive diamond fringe necklace was given to Princess Elizabeth by the City of London (technically, the Lord Mayor of London and the Court of Alderman, the Governor of the Bank of England, the Chairman of the Stock Exchange, the Chairman of Lloyds, the Chairman of the Baltic Exchange and the Committee of London Clearing Banks, according to the Royal Collection) as a wedding gift in 1947.

The fringe on display with the wedding gifts, and detail of the front

It’s a classic fringe design, which evolved from jeweled interpretations of the Russian kokoshniks and are frequently seen in both tiara and necklace form (the City of London gave a fringe tiara to the Duchess of Kent as a wedding gift in 1934). This particular 19th century jewel is all diamonds, set in gold and silver, and threaded on silk. The fringe extends all the way around the neck. Unlike many fringes, it does not include a setting to form a tiara.

The Queen has at least one, if not two, fringe necklaces of similar style, and she also has one basic fringe to keep in tiara form, Queen Mary’s Fringe Tiara. Now that the tiara has passed to her, she can make a double fringe pairing, which I happen to love.

Appearances:
17 February 2012: New Zealand Diamond Jubilee Portrait

Photos: The Royal Household/the Royal Collection/Getty Images

Visit to Bristol

The Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh visited Bristol.

Click above for an article with video and pictures from the Daily Mail.

And what did they do in Bristol? They took a ride in a motorhome. A motorhome named Mavis, no less! Well done, Bristol - I don't expect this visit will be easily forgotten.

Gold Lace Work Brooch

Photos:Daily Mail screencaps

21 November 2012

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 Diamond Bouquet Brooch

The Diamond Bouquet Brooch

This brooch of unknown provenance depicts a floral bouquet in diamonds, possibly of roses of some variation or forget-me-nots. I agree with readers that noted that the style of this piece and the worn appearance of the setting seem to indicate an antique, possibly Victorian.

When this brooch appeared during an audience with the High Commissioner for Belize I thought it was a "new" appearance, but it is not: it was also worn during the 2006 state visit from Brazil, at least. The timing of those two appearances suggests a gem from the late Queen Mother's collection to me, but of course it is entirely possible that this has belonged to the Queen for decades.

Appearances:
20 November 2012: Audience at Buckingham Palace

Photos: Getty Images/PA/Corbis

Investiture at Buckingham Palace

The Queen held an Investiture at Buckingham Palace. Among the honors presented were an OBE for Gary Barlow, the musician that coordinated the Diamond Jubilee concert, and a CBE for actress Kate Winslet.

Click above for an article and video from the BBC.

I must say, Ms. Winslet certainly did look fierce fetching her gong in Alexander McQueen. She should get an award for that alone.

Frosted Sunflower Brooch

Photo: BBC screencap

20 November 2012

Audience at Buckingham Palace

The Queen received Ms. Perla Perdomo, the High Commissioner for Belize, for a private audience at Buckingham Palace.

Another new-to-me-and-this-blog brooch! Lilibet, you spoil us.

Okay, we seem to have here a little bouquet with one predominant blossom. This looks like a wild rose to me, but I am not botanically inclined. Anybody else have thoughts on the type of flower here?

UPDATE: It is not a "new" brooch, I have located a previous appearance. Click below for details.

Diamond Bouquet Brooch

Queen Mary's Fringe Tiara

Photos:PA/Getty

Flashback: The Wedding of Princess Elizabeth and Lt. Philip Mountbatten

Princess Elizabeth married Lieutenant Philip Mountbatten on November 20, 1947, at Westminster Abbey in London.

Princess Elizabeth had enough problems on her wedding day to send any bride into a meltdown. Her bouquet went missing. The pearl necklaces given to her by her parents were already on display at St. James’ Palace, when the bride getting ready at Buckingham Palace wanted to wear them. The tiara broke as she was getting ready. Maybe that old adage about rain on your wedding day signaling a successful marriage is true after all: 65 years later, these two are still going strong.

Duchess of Teck Earrings

Queen Anne and Queen Caroline Pearl Necklaces