It is commonly accepted that the “King George VI’s Festoon Necklace”, so often worn by Queen Elizabeth II, was made for her, on her father’s request.
In The Queen’s Diamonds, Hugh Roberts writes (page 292): “The necklace was commissioned by King George VI for Princess Elizabeth in 1950, using a total of 105 loose collets that had passed to the King as heirlooms of the Crown. They were among the 154 loose collets that Garrard had marked with a ‘C’ (for ‘Crown’) in 1911, and which Queen Mary used for extending existing collet necklaces”. Significantly, this necklace appears in the chapter dedicated to Queen Elizabeth II’s jewels, and not in the chapter dedicated to Queen(-Mother) Elizabeth’s jewels. Roberts also mentions that Garrard shortened the necklace in 1953 by removing ten diamonds (which means the initial necklace had 115 collets, since in its current form it has 105 collets which can be easily counted on the HQ picture published in the book).
The list of the jewels designated as “heirlooms of the Crown” by Queen Victoria (as published in Lord Twinnings’ Crown Jewels of Europe, later copied in the appendix of Vincent Meylan’s Bijoux de Reines) indeed included 154 unmounted collet diamonds.
I have nevertheless come to the conclusion that Roberts is probably wrong when he writes that the necklace was made “for Princess Elizabeth” (i.e. the future Queen Elizabeth II).
First of all, I find it strange that the King would present his daughter with a jewel made of stones explicitly identified as “heirlooms of the Crown”, which should consequently be worn exclusively by the Sovereign or the Queen Consort. When the necklace was made in 1950, Princess Elizabeth was only the heir apparent, and she could have theoretically stepped back in the order of succession, had the King fathered a son.
Second, I do not remember of pictures of the then Princess Elizabeth wearing this necklace under her father’s reign. I think that Queen Elizabeth II wore this necklace for the first time during her Royal Tour of the Commonwealth (New-Zealand, Australia, Ceylon...) in 1953-1954. Please, correct me if I am wrong on this point.
And finally, we have a picture showing Queen Elizabeth (later the Queen-Mother) wearing the necklace in 1950. The picture was taken on March 8, 1950, during the Return Dinner given at the French embassy by the French President Vincent Auriol at the end of his State Visit to Britain. Though the characteristic triangular diamond motives are hidden under the Queen’s fur stole, we can clearly see the three rows of diamonds at the front, and one single row at the back. I am 99% sure the Queen is wearing the Festoon Necklace on this picture. Next to it, I post another picture of Queen Elizabeth II, in the same angle, for a better visual comparison.
So my guess is that this Festoon Necklace was not made for the then Princess Elizabeth. It is rather an “heirloom of the Crown”, like the stones it is made of, at the disposal of all Queens (whether Queens Consort or reigning Queens).
on July 18, 2014, 3:14 am
