The Brooch Queen Elizabeth Wore At Princess Diana's Funeral Is More Meaningful Than We Understood
The Queen was not exactly short of jewelry. She had big, glitzy crowns to spare! But she didn't just pick a piece at random for a special occasion. No, Her Majesty seemed to think very carefully about her choices. And there may have been a secret meaning behind that beautiful diamond bow brooch she wore at Princess Diana’s funeral.
Victoria’s jewels
It was certainly no ordinary brooch, either. The gorgeous piece was one of three commissioned by none other than Queen Victoria. She’d apparently wanted them as replacements for the ones she’d lost to royal politics. In 1858 some of her jewels – including three bow-shaped brooches passed down from her grandmother – were taken from her and given to her cousin.
Garrard’s creations
Luckily, Victoria more than had the means to replace her lost regalia. The famous monarch handed over 500 of her diamonds to Garrard, and the jewelry company made up three more bow-shaped brooches for her. There are two large ones and one smaller one, and they’re extremely beautiful pieces. No wonder the Queen kept them in rotation.
Family ties
And there’s clearly a sentimental link here if you know your royal family history. You see, Victoria is actually Queen Elizabeth’s great-great-grandmother. Victoria wanted her descendants to wear her jewelry, too, as she had her brooches made “heirlooms of the Crown.” That way, the royals could bring them out for appropriate events – like Princess Diana’s funeral.
Luxury items
Well before Elizabeth II ever got her hands on a brooch, though, the jewels were passed down to Victoria’s daughter-in-law Alexandra. Back in Alexandra’s time, royals were expected to be as ostentatious as possible, so she often wore all three brooches at once as ornaments on her dresses. The recent Queen, by contrast, stuck with just one in public.
