Posted by Alex G on December 5, 2012, 4:36 pm, in reply to "Re: What if?"
I think you are right, it wouldn't have been thought as a "loan" to begin with, as I don't believe anybody imagined a divorce scenario.
But I suspect it is the same brooch. I find it perfectly plausible for the divorce settlement to have included provisions to return some of the most important pieces of jewellery back to the Royal Family (be they "loans" named as such from the Queen or "gifts" from the Queen mother), and this might have been one of them.
--Previous Message-- : : I doubt that very much. A gift is a gift is : a gift. : : The lending principle seems to apply only to : the monarch and to his or her extensive : collection, which stays with the reigning : line of the family. : : : --Previous Message-- : My supposition is that it may have been a : loan : that Diana returned after her divorce, which : could explain it being worn again by the QM : in 1997. : : :