A brooch with a Queen Victoria connection in a week full of comparisons to Victoria, shall we?
The gifts poured in for Queen Victoria when she celebrated her Diamond Jubilee in 1897. Among the presents received were the Diamond Jubilee Brooch, now worn by The Queen, and another brooch of diamonds and cabochon sapphires. As detailed by Royal Magazin, which offers more on the history of the brooch and Jubilee, this was a family gift from four children of Victoria's daughter Alice, Grand Duchess of Hesse and by Rhine, together with their spouses: Prince and Princess Louis of Battenberg (later the Marquess and Marchioness of Milford Haven), Grand Duke Sergei and Grand Duchess Elisabeth of Russia, the Grand Duke and Grand Duchess of Hesse and by Rhine, and the Emperor and Empress of Russia.
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| Queen Victoria's Hesse Diamond Jubilee Brooch |
Unlike the Diamond Jubilee Brooch, which became an instantly recognizable favorite of Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother, the Hesse Brooch went unseen (or so it seems) for about 110 years - all the way up until 2007, when The Duchess of Cornwall wore it during a visit to the United States. It seems likely that the sapphire brooch was in The Queen Mother's possession, given that Camilla wears a large portion of her jewels. If true, it certainly wouldn't have been the only piece of jewelry left unworn for decades in that collection.
Photos: Stella/via Getty Images
