Jewels of Elizabeth II

She owned more than 300 items of jewellery,[2] including 98 brooches, 46 necklaces, 37 bracelets, 34 pairs of earrings, 20 tiaras, 15 rings, 14 watches and 5 pendants,[3] the most notable of which are detailed in this article.

Most of the jewellery was purchased from other European heads of state and members of the aristocracy, or handed down by older generations of the royal family, often as birthday and wedding presents.

In recent years, Elizabeth had worn them in her capacity as Queen of Australia, Canada and New Zealand, and can be seen wearing jewels from her collection in official portraits made specially for these realms.

Thus, when Queen Victoria acceded to the throne of the United Kingdom, her uncle Ernest Augustus, Duke of Cumberland and Teviotdale became King of Hanover.

In Franz Xaver Winterhalter's painting The First of May, completed in 1851, Victoria can be seen wearing it as she holds Prince Arthur, the future Duke of Connaught and Strathearn.

[19][20] During the Russian Revolution in 1917, the tiara was hidden with other jewels somewhere in Vladimir Palace in Petrograd, and later saved from Soviet Russia by Albert Stopford, a British art dealer and secret agent.

Elizabeth wore the tiara in her official portrait as Queen of Canada as none of the Commonwealth realms besides the United Kingdom have their own crown jewels.

[22] Elizabeth II's first tiara was a wedding present in 1947 from her grandmother, Queen Mary, who received it as a gift from the Girls of Great Britain and Ireland in 1893 on the occasion of her marriage to the Duke of York, later George V.[24] Made by E. Wolfe & Co., it was purchased from Garrard & Co. by a committee organised by Lady Eva Greville.

[27] The Girls of Great Britain and Ireland Tiara is one of Elizabeth's most recognisable pieces of jewellery due to its widespread appearance in portraits of the monarch on British banknotes and coinage.

[30] A total of 96 rubies are mounted on the tiara; they were originally part of a necklace given to her in 1947 as a wedding present by the people of Burma (now Myanmar), who credited them with having the ability to protect their owner from sickness and evil.

The Kokoshnik Tiara was presented to Alexandra, Princess of Wales, as a 25th wedding anniversary gift in 1888 by Lady Salisbury on behalf of 365 peeresses of the United Kingdom.

[34] In a letter to her aunt, the Grand Duchess of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, Princess Mary wrote, "The presents are quite magnificent [...] The ladies of society gave [Alexandra] a lovely diamond spiked tiara".

It is now a part of Elizabeth II's collection; she had worn the pieces individually as bracelets over the years and had also lent them to other members of the royal family.

This tiara made by Garrard in 1957 comes as part of a set of necklace and earrings gifted to the Queen for her coronation in 1953 by the President Getúlio Vargas and the people of Brazil.

[64] Catherine, Princess of Wales wore the earrings at the state banquet held following the wedding of Hussein, Crown Prince of Jordan, and Rajwa Al Saif in 2023.

Horace Walpole, the English art historian, wrote in his diary, "Queen Anne had but few jewels and those indifferent, except one pearl necklace given to her by Prince George".

Colville completed his journey on foot, and when he arrived at St James's Palace, he had to explain the odd story to the guards who were protecting Elizabeth's 2,660 wedding presents.

King Faisal bought the necklace, made by the American jeweller Harry Winston, and presented it to Elizabeth II while on a state visit to the United Kingdom in 1967.

The Nizam's entire gift set for the future Queen of the United Kingdom included a diamond tiara and matching necklace, whose design was based on English roses.

[94] Six wheat-ear brooches or hair ornaments were commissioned by William IV for Queen Adelaide, and made in 1830 by Rundell, Bridge & Co.[95] Three were remade in 1858 after the successful Hanover claim.

[98] The piece had been worn occasionally by Queen Elizabeth II and appeared in the first formal joint portrait of Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, with her husband Prince William.

[104] It holds baguette-cut diamonds mounted in platinum, formed in the shape of the sugar maple tree leaf, the national emblem of Canada.

[citation needed] The piece was worn by Elizabeth II, then a princess, on her 1951 trip to Canada, and multiple instances since both within the country and in Britain.

[106][68] The Queen owns a Wattle brooch, which was gifted to her by Prime Minister Robert Menzies on behalf of the Government and people of Australia on her first visit in 1954.

[107][108] Made of platinum, and set with yellow and white diamonds, the brooch is in the form of a spray of wattle, and tea tree blossoms.

[citation needed] To mark her Platinum Jubilee, the Manx government gave the Queen a brooch in the shape of the island, made there by Element Isle.

The 'Infinity Isle of Man' brooch design outlines the Island with four gems (Blue Topaz, Citrine, Amethyst and Emerald) representing the towns of Ramsey, Peel, Castletown and the city of Douglas.

[73] Gifted by the mayor of Colombo to the Queen during her state visit in 1981, the piece features "pink, blue and yellow sapphires, garnets, rubies and aquamarine.

In 1953, the president and people of Brazil presented Elizabeth II with the coronation gift of a necklace and matching pendant earrings of aquamarines and diamonds.

Ornate coronets of gold lined with crimson and edged with ermine were designed by Garrard & Co. and brought to the royal couple for inspection.