Queen Victoria’s Diamond Bow Brooches 

Today marks the second Anniversary of the Death of the late Queen Elizabeth II, who passed away on this day in 2022! The oldest and longest reigning British Monarch had one of, if not the, largest jewellery collections, and Queen Victoria’s Diamond Bow Brooches had been among her favourites for 70 years!

Girls of Great Britain and Ireland Tiara | Vladimir Tiara | Queen Alexandra’s Kokoshnik Tiara | Belgian Sapphire Tiara | Burmese Ruby Tiara | Brazilian Aquamarine Tiara | Queen Mary’s Fringe Tiara |  The Jewels of Queen Elizabeth II

After she lost many family heirlooms to the King of Hanover in 1858, Queen Victoria commissioned these three Diamond Bow Brooches, two large and one slightly smaller, from Garrard using over 500 diamonds she had in her collection.

These Diamond Bow Brooches no doubt replaced Queen Charlotte’s Diamond Bow Brooches which were given to the Hanoverian Royal Family. While she was not pictured wearing her new Brooches, Queen Victoria designated the Diamond Bows as Heirlooms of the Crown upon her death in 1901, meaning they pass “to be worn by future Queens in right of it”.

Queen Alexandra hung rows of diamonds from the Diamond Bow Brooches and hung them down her skirt for the State Opening of Parliament in 1901 and also hung them down as a girdle for the Coronation of King Edward VII and herself in 1902.

Queen Mary wore the three Diamond Bow Brooches suspended from the massive Diamond Cockade for her Coronation and the official Coronation Portrait in 1911.

Over the years, Queen Mary suspended various Diamond Pendants and wore the Brooches as a part of a long Diamond Stomacher on various occasions, most notably the Wedding of Prince Ernst August of Hanover and Princess Victoria Louise of Prussia in Berlin in 1913.

Queen Mary creatively hung diamonds as pendants from the Bow Brooches and used them as stomachers and skirt ornaments, often wearing all three together.

Later, Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother wore just one of the Diamond Bow Brooches more conventionally on her left shoulder, though she did sometimes wear a Diamond Bow on her hat in the 1930s and 40s.

Queen Victoria’s Diamond Bow Brooches passed to the late Queen in 1952 and early in her reign, she notably wore one of the Diamond Bows on the Sash of the Order of the Garter for the New Zealand State Opening of Parliament and the Australian State Opening of Parliament during her 6-month Commonwealth Tour, though she later preferred to wear her other, larger, Diamond Bow Brooches for gala events afterwards.

The Queen wore Queen Victoria’s Diamond Bow Brooches frequently on countless occasions over the years or all manners of Tours, Visits and Services in addition to several portraits and private events.

In 1986, the Queen loaned one of Queen Victoria’s Bow Brooches to the newlywed Duchess of York for the Braemar Games, a very unusual gesture but very much appreciated by the Duchess who is a well-known fan of Queen Victoria.

Queen Victoria’s Diamond Bow Brooches continued to be among the Queen’s most regularly worn jewels, worn notably on the day she superseded Queen Victoria and became the longest reigning monarch in Britain in 2015, with an average of 3-5 appearances of the Diamond Bow Brooches every year in the last decade of her life, ranging from audiences and visits to Remembrance events.

In 2022, the Queen notably wore one of Queen Victoria’s Diamond Bow Brooches when she appeared on the Balcony of Buckingham Palace for a final time after the Platinum Jubilee Pageant, where we had the honour of seeing her.

Just a few days later, the Queen wore one of the larger of Queen Victoria’s Diamond Bow Brooches on the Sash of the Order of the Garter for the Order of the Garter Service at Windsor Castle, just a few months before her death. The Diamond Bow Brooches have yet to appear on Queen Camilla, but let’s hope they will be seen again soon!

Girls of Great Britain and Ireland Tiara | Vladimir Tiara | Queen Alexandra’s Kokoshnik Tiara | Belgian Sapphire Tiara | Burmese Ruby Tiara | Brazilian Aquamarine Tiara | Queen Mary’s Fringe Tiara |  The Jewels of Queen Elizabeth II

Girls of Great Britain and Ireland Tiara

Vladimir Tiara

Queen Alexandra’s Kokoshnik Tiara

Belgian Sapphire Tiara

Burmese Ruby Tiara

Brazilian Aquamarine Tiara

Queen Mary’s Fringe Tiara

Queen Mary’s Lover’s Knot Tiara

Queen Victoria’s Oriental Circlet Tiara

Nizam of Hyderabad Tiara

Plunket Tiara

Five Aquamarine Tiara

Imperial State Crown

George IV State Diadem

Coronation Necklace and Earrings

The Cambridge Emerald Parure

Queen Victoria’s Golden Jubilee Necklace

King George VI Sapphire Suite

Queen’s Three-Strand Pearl Necklace

King George VI Festoon Necklace

Queen’s South African Diamonds

Queen’s City of London Fringe Necklace

Nizam of Hyderabad Necklace

Greville Ruby Necklace

Queen’s Japanese Pearl Choker

Kent Amethyst Parure

Queen’s Emerald Tassel Suite

Empress Maria Feodorovna’s Sapphire Choker

Greville Emerald Necklace

Queen’s Dubai Sapphire Suite

King Khalid Diamond Necklace

Pakistani Turquoise Necklace

Queen’s Jordanian Turquoise Suite

Andamooka Opal Necklace

The Queen’s Sapphires

Earrings

Greville Diamond Chandelier Earrings

The Cullinan Diamond

Queen’s Engagement Ring

Imperial State Crown

In marking the first anniversary of Her late Majesty’s death and my Accession, we recall with great affection her long life, devoted service and all she meant to so many of us.

I am deeply grateful, too, for the love and support that has been shown to my wife and myself during… pic.twitter.com/NfM6LDWTA0

— The Royal Family (@RoyalFamily) September 7, 2023

   

Girls of Great Britain and Ireland Tiara

Queen Alexandra’s Kokoshnik Tiara

Burmese Ruby Tiara

The Belgian Sapphire Tiara

Greville Tiara

Delhi Durbar Tiara

Cubitt-Shand Tiara

Queen’s Five Aquamarine Tiara

George IV State Diadem

Queen Mary’s Crown

Queen Mary’s Lover’s Knot Tiara

The Cartier Halo Tiara

The Lotus Flower Tiara

Strathmore Rose Tiara

King George VI Festoon Necklace

Greville Festoon Necklace

Coronation Necklace

King George VI Sapphire Suite

Modern Diamond Suite

Diamond Serpent Necklace

Turquoise Suite

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