Royals

The Queen’s Birthday – 5 of Her Favourite Jewels

Queen Elizabeth II's jewellery

Queen Elizabeth II’s jewellery is a stunning way to take a nostalgic trip down memory lane and remember some of her finest moments as she celebrates her birthday. To mark this royal occasion, discover the beautiful jewels that she reportedly loves the most.

#1. The Queen’s Engagement Ring

Queen Elizabeth II was engaged to the (now late) Prince Philip Mountbatten, Prince of Greece and Denmark, in 1947.

Her Majesty’s engagement ring is her smallest piece of diamond jewellery, but we’re sure it’s the one she holds the dearest. It is a platinum ring with a 3-carat solitaire diamond, shouldered by five smaller stones. 

Prince Philip was very involved in designing it and the diamonds in it came from his mother’s tiara.

So it’s a truly special and meaningful family heirloom and the Queen’s all-time favourite piece of jewellery despite the fact that she owns some of the worlds largest diamonds and most expensive treasures.

#2. The Queen’s Classic Pearls

It’s plain to see from her outfits that The Queen is a huge lover of pearl jewellery. Her Majesty is especially famous for wearing multiple-strand pearl necklaces.

However, her most famous double pearls, which she wore on her wedding day, are in fact two separate necklaces. They were the Queen Anne and Queen Caroline Necklaces, a wedding gift from her parents. 

Below, she’s pictured wearing them in her wedding portrait. The Royal Wedding took place just four months after the couple’s engagement, at 10.30am on 20 November 1947 at Westminster Abbey.

#3. The Queen’s Royal Emeralds

The Queen has an extensive and beautiful collection of emeralds. The Cambridge emeralds, which she wears as part of the Vladimir tiara in the picture below, have a fascinating story. 

They were won in a charity raffle by Augusta of Hesse-Kassel, the original Duchess of Cambridge. 

Augusta was Queen Mary’s grandmother, so they were eventually inherited by Queen Elizabeth II, and they are among her dearest jewels.

Queen Elizabeth II's jewellery

#4. The Queen’s Red Rubies

The Queen’s Burmese ruby tiara was commissioned by her, and made by Garrard & Co.

The 96 rubies mounted into it were a wedding present from the people of Burma (now Myanmar), and they’re said to bring her luck.

The tiara’s design features a wreath of ruby “roses” with silver and diamond petals. 

Queen Elizabeth II's jewellery

#5. The Queen’s Brazilian Aquamarines

The President of Brazil gave Queen Elizabeth II a stunning aquamarine necklace and earring set as a coronation gift in 1953.

In 1958, Brazil gifted her a matching aquamarine brooch and bracelet. 

Her Majesty obviously adored the aquamarine jewellery because she later commissioned Garrard & Co to create her a matching tiara with detachable brooches.

Queen Elizabeth II's jewellery

We hope you enjoyed our trip down memory lane and celebrating The Queen’s life through her jewellery. Did you know that the Queen has two birthdays?

One is her official birthday, celebrated the second Friday in June. Her real birthday, on the other hand, is on 21st April.

This is customary for European royals, as it’s quite tricky to organise parades and celebrations any other time of the year than during the summer months!