I am having difficulty getting a clear enough pic of all the bodice ornaments Queen Mary wore at her own coronation. Her gown was heavily decorated making it hard to see the jewels.
But curiously, this first portrait, from the UK National Portrait Gallery collection, cannot be authentic. The crown is quite wrong and not even the Imperial Crown of India. Queen Mary wore a collar of nine diamond necklaces, including the QV/coronation necklace, and not the Love Trophy. She wore the full three-piece cockade in a V formation with drops which I think are the bottom two-thirds of the QV earrings now named coronation earrings. She also wore the Kensington bow brooch. And more I think. (I’m working on various pics at the moment.)
That collection has another coronation portrait, lower here, which is interestingly labelled as “the only authentic” !!
Next, this RCIN 2808099 study for her coronation picture shows her collar of diamond necklaces beautifully.
Next is the “only authentic” also from the National Portrait Gallery, which looks correct to me.
on April 24, 2013, 7:45 am
