Posted by Beth1 on February 6, 2015, 2:35 am, in reply to "More info in Field"
Dawn, I was very interested to read your query, as I am a great believer in questioning things. So often information is repeated when there are not any definite facts to verify assertions. (As in many histories of jewels)
There are, as we know, 2 Queen Carolines of the UK to consider. However, the wife of George IV is, in my opinion, not a possible owner of the necklace, as I very much doubt if she was ever given any expensive jewels by her husband and, even if he had, I doubt if she would have left any personal jewels in England, so bitter was their estrangement. (Think of the Queen Caroline divorce case and her being locked out of Westminster Abbey when George IV was crowned)
As Arthur has noted, the Queen Anne in question is Anne Stuart. Horace Walpole's comment re Queen Anne's necklace appears to be one definite, verifiable source for such a necklace.
We can see that there are discrepancies in the size of the pearls said to be the necklace of Queen Anne in the images Arthur posted; however, these paintings were done in a period when, as the present Queen of Denmark said in a recent documentary, great ladies were painted with large pearl necklaces. HM's comments, as I recollect, suggested that at times the size was exaggerated and at times ladies were painted with such necklaces, even if they did not actually own them
I suspect that the Royal Archives would have positive information linking the two Queens to each necklace and that this is why the names of these Queens have appeared.