Category: British Royal Jewels

bookmark_borderThe Heirlooms of the British Crown – The Diamond Bow Brooches

Posted on by thebeaumonde.inc

In 1985, the renowned jewellery author Suzy Menkes wrote her pivotal book ‘The Royal Jewels’.
Through her research, she compiled an extensive list of jewels that Queen Victoria had designated ‘as belonging to the Crown and to be worn by all future Queens in right of it‘

These were to be known as ‘The Heirlooms of the British Crown’

The Heirlooms of the British Crown - The Hanoverian Claim - Crown Princess Thyra

After Queen Victoria lost the Hanoverian Claim in 1857, she was forced to hand over a set of Diamond Bow Brooches that had belonged to her grandmother Queen Charlotte.

During the 1800’s, Gem-studded Bow brooches became popular with European aristocrats looking to enhance the fashionable, bow styled garments that were in style at the time
Probably the most famous example of this trend is Bow Brooch belonging to Empress Eugenie, which can now be found in the Apollo gallery in the Louvre. An elaborate bow brooch that would eventually be owned by Princess Marina was also made in the 1850s

The Heirlooms of the British Crown The Diamond Bow Brooches
The Heirlooms of the British Crown The Diamond Bow Brooches

Wanting to have her own set, she commissioned the crown jewellers, Garrard to produce three diamond brooches of graduating size, containing a total of 506 diamonds.

The Heirlooms of the British Crown The Diamond Bow Brooches
The Heirlooms of the British Crown The Diamond Bow Brooches

Although she was not pictured wearing these brooches, upon Victoria’s death in 1901, the set became an Heirloom of the British Crown, passing to Queen Alexandra.

The Heirlooms of the British Crown The Diamond Bow Brooches

Alexandra chose to wear the brooches as dress ornaments for some of her earliest portraits, including the Coronation in 1902.

When she inherited the brooches in 1910, Queen Mary (ever the maximalist) used the bows to suspend larger diamond pendants such as Cullinan III.

The Heirlooms of the British Crown The Diamond Bow Brooches

In 1936, The Brooches passed to Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother

The Heirlooms of the British Crown The Diamond Bow Brooches
The Heirlooms of the British Crown The Diamond Bow Brooches
The Heirlooms of the British Crown The Diamond Bow Brooches
The Heirlooms of the British Crown The Diamond Bow Brooches

In 1952, the Brooches became the property of Queen Elizabeth II who continued to wear them throughout her 70 year reign.

The Heirlooms of the British Crown The Diamond Bow Brooches
The Heirlooms of the British Crown The Diamond Bow Brooches
The Heirlooms of the British Crown The Diamond Bow Brooches
The Heirlooms of the British Crown The Diamond Bow Brooches

Very unusually, Queen Elizabeth lent one of the brooches to Sarah Ferguson, Duchess of York for an appearance at the Highland Games in 1986.

The brooches became a favourite in later life, worn to very poignant events including Diana, Princess of Wales funeral

The Heirlooms of the British Crown The Diamond Bow Brooches
The Heirlooms of the British Crown The Diamond Bow Brooches
The Heirlooms of the British Crown The Diamond Bow Brooches
The Heirlooms of the British Crown The Diamond Bow Brooches
The Heirlooms of the British Crown The Diamond Bow Brooches
The Heirlooms of the British Crown The Diamond Bow Brooches

She poignantly wore one of the brooches on the balcony of Buckingham Palace during her Platinum Jubilee. This was the last public appearance Queen Elizabeth before her death in 2022.

After his accession, the brooches are now the property of King Charles III but we have yet to see them on Queen Camilla.