Queen Elizabeth II’s Crowns, Tiaras & Other Jewels and Priceless Heirlooms
Few things captured the dualities of Queen Elizabeth II’s personality—her love for heritage and thrift alongside her appreciation for finery, grand gestures, and innovation—quite like her extensive jewelry collection. The Windsor collection, passed down through the generations, is the very definition of the word priceless, yet the queen knew how to seamlessly meld spectacular diamonds into her everyday outfits.
According to historian and jewelry expert Suzy Menkes, the queen had a simple formula when it came to accessorizing—just a simple pearl necklace, a brooch on the lapel, and her diamond engagement ring. But interpreting the variations on that theme became an obsession for royal watchers around the globe. As a woman who was seldom able to speak her mind freely, she learned how to tell a vivid story through the brooch or earrings she selected for a certain event, injecting memories of the beloved queens that came before her into everything she did.
For generations, it has been difficult to tell which jewels belong to the Windsor monarch in their personal capacity and which are held in the name of the crown. Adding more complexity to the situation, most pieces in the crown collection began as personal pieces. While the queen typically wore her personal jewelry on average days, she used special occasions as an opportunity to show off some of the most dazzling pieces in her Buckingham Palace vaults.
Though the name Windsor dates back to 1917, the collection really began during the six-decade reign of Queen Victoria, who collected gems as the British empire expanded. She was also considered a passionate matchmaker and loved to give extravagant wedding gifts to her children and their spouses. But the most spectacular pieces in Queen Elizabeth’s collection were posthumous gifts from her grandmother, Queen Mary, a gemstone and diamond obsessive who built her collection through world travel, diplomatic gifts, and close connections with the jewelers of London and Paris.
With the end of the second Elizabethan era, it may be years before the public is able to see her most emotionally significant pieces, but as the world’s most photographed woman, she has left behind plenty of memories, perfectly accessorized.
From Bettmann/Getty Images.1. Coronation Crown Jewels
On the day of her coronation, June 2, 1953, the queen wears the garb that has collectively become known as the crown jewels. Upon her head is St. Edward’s Crown, which was designed for Charles II in 1661 and has been a part of every coronation since. In her hands she holds the Sovereign’s scepter and orb, which are given to the new monarch as a part of the coronation ritual.
From the Hulton-Deutsch Collection/Corbis/Getty Images.2. Queen Mary Fringe Tiara & 3. Queen Anne and Queen Caroline Necklaces
Then princess Elizabeth wears two pearl necklaces and the Queen Mary fringe tiara on her wedding day, November 20, 1947. The necklaces, which were given to the future monarch as a wedding gift from her parents, originally belonged to Queen Anne, the last Stuart monarch who lived in the 17th century, and Queen Caroline, the consort of George II who lived in the 18th century. Both became a part of the crown collection after Queen Victoria’s death.
From Hulton Archive/Getty Images.4. Duchess of Teck’s Earrings
On a 1954 royal tour of Australia, the queen stands on a balcony on Melbourne’s Government House, wearing earrings that belonged to Queen Mary’s mother, the Duchess of Teck, and a pair of floral brooches that she wore as dress clips.
By Terry Disney/Express/Getty Images.5. Girls of Great Britain and Ireland Tiara & 6. King George VI Festoon Necklace
The queen attends a performance at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in November 1964, wearing the George VI Festoon necklace and Queen Mary’s Girls of Great Britain and Ireland tiara. The tiara was a gift for the occasion of Mary’s 1893 wedding to the future King George V, and women’s clubs across the countries fundraised to purchase it.
From PA Images/Getty Images.7. King George VI Victorian Sapphire Suite
Princess Elizabeth meets Ava Gardner and Frank Sinatra at the London Coliseum in December 1951. She is wearing a necklace and earring suite made of sapphires reconstituted into a necklace, earrings, and brooch for her mother at the time of her father’s coronation.
By Reginald Davis/Shutterstock.8. The Belgian Sapphire Tiara
In 1969, the queen attends a reception at the Grosvenor House hotel, wearing the George VI sapphire suite with a central brooch added on and the Belgian Sapphire Tiara, which she purchased herself.
From Hulton Archive/Getty Images.9. Coronation Necklace and Earrings & 10. Queen Mary’s True Lover’s Knot Brooch
The queen attends Trinidad’s State Opening of Parliament in February 1966, wearing the Girls of Great Britain and Ireland tiara, a necklace and earrings from her coronation, and Queen Mary’s True Lover’s Knot brooch.
From Tim Graham Photo Library/Getty Images.11. Prince Albert Sapphire Brooch
During the 1986 Maundy Thursday ceremony, the queen wears the Prince Albert sapphire brooch, which was a gift from Albert to his wife, Queen Victoria, and a pair of diamond and pearl earrings usually called Queen Mary’s button earrings.
From Hulton Archive/Getty Images.12. Engagement Ring & 13. Brazilian Floral Diamond Brooch
Prince Philip and Princess Elizabeth pose for photographs at Buckingham Palace after announcing their engagement in July 1947. The engagement ring diamond had originally belonged to Philip’s mother, and the family managed to save it when they were exiled from Greece. She is wearing a set of pearls likely borrowed from the Queen Mother, and the six-petal floral Brazilian diamond brooch she wears is said to be a gift from the palace employees.
By Reginald Davis/Shutterstock.14. Queen Alexandra’s Dagmar Necklace
The queen attends the premiere of The Guns of Navarone at the Odeon Leicester Square on April 27, 1961, wearing the Dagmar necklace once belonging to her great-grandmother Queen Alexandra. She is also wearing the Duchess of Teck’s earrings and the Girls of Great Britain and Ireland tiara.
From Bettmann/Getty Images.15. Vladimir Circle Tiara & 16. Queen Victoria’s Golden Jubilee Necklace
At a charity performance in 1955, the queen wears the Vladimir Circle tiara and Queen Victoria’s Golden Jubilee necklace.
By Anwar Hussein/Getty Images.16. The Cambridge Emeralds
At a May 1976 state banquet in Finland, the queen wears a necklace made from the Cambridge emeralds and the Vladimir Circle tiara with emeralds swapped in for the more commonly seen pearl settings. She is also wearing Queen Mary’s Dorset bow brooch.
By Steve Parsons/WPA Pool/Getty Images.17. Prince Philip’s Naval Badge Brooch
On May 22, 2021, the queen makes one of her first appearances after the death of Prince Philip, wearing a diamond and ruby brooch as she tours the HMS Queen Elizabeth at a naval base in Portsmouth. Philip designed the piece, which is also called the Grima brooch, as a replica of his naval badge in precious stones and gave it to the queen soon after their wedding.
By Haber/Fox Photos/Hulton Archive/Getty Images.18. Queen Alexandra’s Russian Kokoshnik Tiara
The queen arrives at a government luncheon during her February 1961 visit to Pakistan. She is wearing Queen Victoria’s Golden Jubilee necklace and the Russian kokoshnik tiara that once belonged to her great-grandmother Queen Alexandra.
By Max Mumby/Indigo/Getty Images.19. Queen Mother’s Leaf Brooch
During a 2017 celebration of Canada’s 150th anniversary of confederation at the country’s embassy in London, the queen wears a maple leaf brooch that was presented to the Queen Mother during her 1938 tour of the country.
By Arnold Sachs/AFP/Getty Images.20. Prince Philip’s Gifted Diamond Bracelet & 21. Queen Mary Pearl Drop Earrings
Prince Philip and the queen, wearing a diamond bracelet, her coronation necklace, pearl drop earrings once owned by Queen Mary, and the kokoshnik tiara, at the 1957 Canadian State Opening of Parliament in Ottawa. Philip helped design the platinum and diamond bracelet, which he gave to her as a wedding present.
By Richard Pohle/WPA Pool/Getty Images.22. George IV State Diadem
The queen wears the George IV State Diadem and Queen Victoria’s Golden Jubilee necklace after the State Opening of Parliament on May 18, 2016.
From AP/Shutterstock.23. Queen Victoria’s Diamond Stud Earrings
During a November 1961 trip to Sierra Leone, the queen attends a garden party in Freetown, accessorizing a hat featuring artificial leaves and berries with four strands of pearls, a brooch, and Queen Victoria’s diamond stud earrings.
From Fox Photos/Getty Images.24. Queen Mary’s Dorset Bow Brooch & 25. Queen Mary’s Button Earrings
On a July 1965 visit to the Isle of Wight, the queen wears two pieces once belonging to Queen Mary: her button earrings and her Dorset bow brooch. The brooch was made by famed London jeweler Carrington & Co. in 1893 and presented to Mary as a wedding gift on behalf of a group representing the county of Dorset.
