Queen Elizabeth II lived 96 royal years. 70 years as the Queen of The United Kingdom, the Commonwealth and the undisputed star of monochrome fashion. No Queen however is anything without her jewels, of course and to nobody's surprise, Queen Elizabeth II wore some of the world's most precious jewels. Queen Elizabeth II's jewellery collection passed down by generations, is the true definition of priceless. Either commissioned or gifted, Queen Elizabeth II was the face of 'diamonds are a girl's best friend'. Necklaces, crowns, earrings to even brooches, the Queen had a fondness for them all and never left a speck on her monochrome looks without a little diamond dust on it. We look back at some of the most prestigious pieces of jewellery she owned in remembrance.
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Her Coronation Jewels seem like a good start to introduce her envious jewellery collection. Some of the most famous jewels like the the Black Prince's Ruby, the Stuart Sapphire, and the Cullinan II diamond are all part of the crown. An absolute splendour that nobody could dare put a price on.
Perhaps one of the most beautiful necklaces that still exist in the world was a gift to the Queen on her wedding by the Nizam of Hyderabad. The then Princess Elizabeth chose her gift by the Nizam with instructions given to the jewellery giant Cartier to pick whatever she liked. She picked a platinum diamond drop necklace with 300 diamonds set in perfect unison. She went on to wear it for her first official photograph which eventually went on the stamps, official portraits to the Embassies and Regiments all over the world and many other official dinner galas. The Duchess of Cambridge is the only other member of the Royal Family to have ever worn it after the Queen. Experts say that the necklace is worth over 100 million pounds, but for us, truly priceless.
The Queen Mary Fringe Tiara was created on the commission by the Queen's mother and was worn by her on her wedding day to the Duke of Edinburgh. The tiara is set in gold and diamonds and is one of the more modern-day looking tiaras from her collection. This tiara is a special wedding tiara it seems as Princes Beatrice wore the piece too for her wedding.
The Girls of Great Britain and Ireland Tiara is one of the most resplendent pieces of jewellery in the collection which was gifted to Queen Mary on her wedding day. It is a silver and gold-set pierced foliate form tiara of mainly pavé-set diamonds with the top border with claw-set brilliants. It sure is brilliant to say the least.
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Queen Alexandra's Russian Kokoshnik Tiara is a grand diamond fringe tiara shaped like a kokoshnik, which is a halo-shaped headdress worn by Russian women. The tiara was once worn by her great-grandmother Queen Alexandra and derives its name from it.
George IV State Diadem was one of the Queen's most beloved pieces of jewellery. The crown belonged to King George IV and was constructed in gold, silver, pearls and diamonds. The diadem features English roses, Irish shamrocks, Welsh daffodils and Scottish thistles - emblems of the nations she represented.
Queen Elizabeth loved her brooches and on any given occasion picked one from her collection for her appearances. But one brooch that was part of her collection from the time of her reign was Queen Mary's Dorset Bow Brooch. The brooch made of diamonds set in gold and silver is designed in the shape of an elaborate bow and was often seen wearing it.
Queen Elizabeth II may have worn the choicest diamonds in her lifetime but it was unmatched compared to the glint in her eyes.
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