RESPLENDENT IN THE RICHES OF HISTORY
No ode to the Queen’s jewellery collection would be complete without mention of the Crown Jewels, seen here in the coronation portrait taken by Cecil Beaton in the Green drawing Room at the Palace in 1953.
There are 142 historical objects stored in the Jewel House, a secure vault at the Tower of London, many of them dating from 350 years ago when Charles II acceded to the throne.
on Her Majesty’s head is the Imperial Crown, set with more than 3,000 gems around a velvet cap trimmed with ermine. Curiously, it wasn’t used to crown her: this honour went to St edward’s crown — which is heavier and less photogenic.
In her left hand she holds the Sovereign’s orb, a gold sphere bedecked with jewels and pearls, made for Charles II in 1661. In her right is the Sovereign’s Sceptre, a gold rod topped by the Cullinan I (the Star of Africa), the largest part of the Cullinan diamond. Festooned in all her jewels, she truly is a dazzling Queen.