| The Queen At 80: A Life In Jewels |
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| Written by Morag Clark | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Friday, 21 April 2006 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
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I
have been a keen Royal fan since Lady Diana Spencer became engaged to
Prince Charles in February 1981, after which time I followed Diana
avidly, keeping scrapbooks and collecting books and magazines,
primarily on the Princess of Wales. Soon, though, I broadened my interest to include the wider Royal Family and became especially fascinated by royal jewellery. This was prompted in part by the sale of the Duchess of Windsor's jewels in 1987, the catalogue of which I eagerly bought. The 1980s was a wonderful time for jewellery fans as several books on the jewels worn by the royal ladies were published, the most notable ones being by the authors Leslie Field and Suzy Menkes. 
There is the thorny question as to whether Royal Family Orders and regimental or military badges should be included in any list of royal brooches. Personally I think they should — when is a badge not a brooch?! I don't profess to be an expert on jewellery, just an interested observer, so any errors or omissions would be gratefully received. And so, in honour of the Queen’s 80th birthday today, here is a selection of eight of her brooches. I have tried to select ones worn at a memorable event of each decade, right up to the present day. Some are priceless heirlooms that have passed down the Royal generations, whilst others are gifts presented to Her Majesty during her lifetime. Hopefully these few brooches show all of the characteristics and offer us all an insight into the royal jewellery box: 1940s: The Flower Basket Brooch.  This is a delightful brooch in the shape of a basket of flowers made from diamonds, rubies and sapphires.The Flower Basket brooch was given to the Queen (as Princess Elizabeth) by her parents, King George VI and Queen Elizabeth, following the birth of Prince Charles on November 14th 1948, and featured in an image of the royal mother and new baby. The Queen has worn this particular brooch many times over the past 58 years, including for the Commonwealth Day service in March 2005 and, as pictured here, just a few weeks ago during a visit to Staffordshire. 1950s: Rhodesian Flame Lily Brooch  This turned from being a 'happy' to a 'sad' brooch for the Queen.Elizabeth was presented with this beautiful Flame Lily brooch — consisting of platinum and diamonds — in Rhodesia in 1947 as a 21st birthday gift from schoolchildren who had collected and donated their pocket money. So delighted was she by the gift, the Princess immediately pinned it to her dress. Just a few years later, the Princess — now Queen — wore the brooch on her black mourning clothes as she arrived back in Britain from Kenya following the death of her father, King George VI, in February 1952. 1960s: Cambridge Emerald Drop Brooches  In
June 1967 a plaque was unveiled by the Queen to celebrate the 100th
anniversary of the birth of Princess May of Teck, who was to become our
very own Queen Mary, wife and Consort of King George V.This was a historic day, it being the first time the exiled Duke and Duchess of Windsor had appeared at a Royal event since he left the country, and his family, following his Abdication in December 1936. At the unveiling of the plaque, Queen Elizabeth wore one of two similar diamond and emerald brooches which have the option of being worn with or without emerald drop. One is in a circular design whilst the other incorporates a scroll shape. The emeralds were originally won in a raffle in 1818 by the-then Duchess of Cambridge, wife of the seventh son of King George III. The jewels passed down to Queen Mary, who had them made into a stomacher along with some of the diamond 'chips' or cuttings from the Cullinan, the largest cut diamond. The stomacher was a large brooch that literally covered one's stomach and Queen Mary wore it at several significant occasions including the Durbar in India where she was crowned 'Empress of India' in 1911. Since Queen Mary's time the stomacher has been broken up, each separate brooch often being worn by the Queen. 1970s: Williamson Diamond Brooch  In
1977 Queen Elizabeth celebrated her Silver Jubilee. As well as touring
much of the country there was a thanksgiving service on June 6th in St
Pauls Cathedral. All children were given the day off school and I well
remember watching the Queen on our then, black and white television as she embarked on an extended walkabout after the service and walked all the way
to the Guildhall for lunch.The Queen's outfit on this day was a pale pink coat and dress with a hat from which were suspended 25 bells, one for each year of her reign. The brooch she wore on that occasion contained, quite aptly, the Williamson pink diamond which weighs a stunning 23.6 carats. It was presented to the Queen by Dr. John Williamson as a wedding present and she had it made up as a brooch in her Coronation year, 1953. The Queen has worn this brooch on many occasions since then, including for portraits in 1954 with her still very young children, Prince Charles and Princess Anne and more recently for the 1999 wedding of Prince Edward to Sophie Rhys-Jones. 1980s: Queen Victoria’s Sapphire Brooch  In
1982 Prince William was christened in the Music room at Buckingham
Palace. The Queen wore a sapphire blue outfit so what better brooch to
wear with it than Queen Victoria’s sapphire brooch.Prince Albert presented this brooch to Queen Victoria in 1840 on the eve of their wedding. Victoria wore it often while Albert was alive, but rarely after his death. Victoria bequeathed her Sapphire brooch to her daughter-in-law, Queen Alexandra, with instructions that it should be worn by all future Queens. In accordance with Victoria's wishes, Queen Mary, Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother and Queen Elizabeth II have all worn it since Victoria's death in 1901. Prince Albert had copies of the brooch made for his daughters and when one came on the market the present Queen bought it for her daughter, the Princess Royal. 1990s: The Funeral of Diana, Princess of Wales  On
September 6 1997 the UK came to a near standstill for the funeral of
Diana, Princess of Wales. Her untimely and tragic death acted as a sea
change for both the Royal family and also the UK.On Friday 5th September, the eve of Diana's funeral, the Queen made a live televised speech in her capacity as both a representative of a family in grief and as Head of State, paying tribute to the late Princess as having been an "exceptional and gifted human being". The following morning, the cortege passed the front of Buckingham Palace at which point the Queen and other members of the Royal Family — although not all — bowed their head in respect as Diana's coffin passed by. It was a remarkable tribute as the Queen does not bow to anyone. On this sad day the brooch the Queen wore was one of three that are known as Queen Victoria's Bow Brooches which were made for the Queen by the Royal Jeweller Garrard in 1858. They were worn by both Queen Alexandra and Queen Mary on their Coronation days in 1902 and 1911 respectively. Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother wore them often and even Sarah, Duchess of York was loaned one to wear for the Braemar Highland games in September 1986, just weeks after her marriage to Prince Andrew. 2002: Golden Jubilee Celebrations  On
4th June 2002 the Queen celebrated her Golden Jubilee. There was a full
day of celebrations which started with a concert inside the Buckingham
Palace gardens the night before, following which there was a stunning
fireworks display.I was on the Mall that evening and was lucky enough to be standing directly opposite the raised dais where the Queen stood to start the fireworks display. I returned to the Mall the next day and saw the procession of the Gold State Coach down the Mall. I will never forget how brilliantly gold, glowing and shiny the coach looked as it passed by. Then, after a long wait of many hours, members of the Royal family walked up each side of the Mall to return to the Palace. This was prior to a huge and stupendous procession capturing the essence of the Queen’s reign. I was delighted to find I was standing on the side of the Mall that Princes William and Harry 'worked', the two Princes shaking hands and chatting with the crowds. On that day the Queen wore two outfits and two brooches. For the Thanksgiving service she wore a blue suit with a diamond lily brooch given to her by the City of London. 
However, I want to focus on the gold sunflower brooch that she wore on
the red outfit that she subsequently changed into. This brooch has been
worn by the Queen for many years. She has worn it on happy and sad
occasions, the most famous of the former being at'the Guildhall in
November 1992 when she gave her "annus horribilis" speech in reference
to the breakdown of the marriages of Anne and Mark Phillips, Andrew and
Sarah, Charles and Diana, and also the fire which ravaged Windsor
Castle.The earliest photo I have found of this particular brooch is following the Canadian tour of 1964. 2005: The Wedding of Charles and Camilla  For
the wedding of Charles and Camilla the Queen brought out a brooch which
is an 'old favourite', the Australian Wattle brooch. This beautiful piece of jewellery was
presented to the Queen in 1954 on behalf of the Government and people of Australia during her visit to
Canberra.The brooch is made up of 150 diamonds including many rare yellow ones and also some that are 'blue white'. The Queen has worn this brooch on many occasions over the years, including her 60th birthday in 1986, when she appeared on the Palace balcony in a coat and hat of daffodil yellow; Derby day in 1980, again pinned to a yellow coat, and during a previous tour of Australia in 1977. In an example of how jewellery can play an important diplomatic role, the Wattle brooch makes frequent appearances whenever the Queen tours Down Under, the Queen of Australia wearing it in tribute to her links to this Commonwealth nation and her subjects. I hope you have enjoyed this short tour through the Queen’s life and brooches. Particular references I have used are: The Queen's Jewellery by Sheila Young (1968) The Jewels of Queen Elizabeth The Second by Leslie Field (1987 and 1992) The Royal Jewels by Suzy Menkes (1985) Queen Elizabeth II: A Pictorial Celebration of her Reign by Penny Junor (1991 ) Comment on this article
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