Thank you very much, Torkel! It is a great find, and a very convincing one! You have solved the mystery!
Here is the additional information posted on this board by our fellow poster Brock on 12 July 2010:
This was indeed presented to Queen Mary when Duchess of Cornwall and York in Montreal on the 1901 tour of Canada. It was presented to QM by Lady Strathcona on behalf of the Citizens' Reception Committee.
Here is an excerpt from "The Royal Tour in Canada 1901" by Joseph Pope (published in 1903):
"...Shortly after dinner on Wednesday, a simple ceremony took place at Lord Strathcona’s residence, being the presentation to Their Royal Highnesses of mementos of their visit to Montreal, by members of the Citizens’ Reception Committee. That to the Duchess, which was presented by Lady Strathcona and Mrs. Drummond, consisted of a spray of maple leaves wrought in gold and enamel set with diamonds and pearls. An album of Canadian views accompanied this gift, and a richly illuminated address which read:
To Her Royal Highness the Duchess of Cornwall and York: MAY IT PLEASE YOUR ROYAL HIGHNESS: AS A SOUVENIR OF YOUR VISIT TO THIS CITY, THE MEMBERS OF THE CITIZENS’ RECEPTION COMMITTEE RESPECTFULLY ASK FOR YOUR GRACIOUS ACCEPTANCE OF THIS JEWEL, WHICH REPRODUCES IN AUTUMNAL TINTS THE MAPLE LEAF. WITH IT ARE TWO VOLUMES OF CANADIAN PHOTOGRAPHS. THEY DESIRE LOYALLY TO TENDER TO YOUR ROYAL HIGHNESS AN EXPRESSION OF HOPE FOR A PROSPEROUS ACCOMPLISHMENT OF YOUR LONG JOURNEYINGS AND A HAPPY REUNION WITH YOUR CHILDREN."
I remember that is was at the time strongly speculated on this board that this was the brooch worn by the Queen in 2010, but the posters were not totally sure. I think your new information enables us to remove any remaining doubt.
Note that Queen Elizabeth II wore the 'Montreal Maple Spray Brooch' (as I think we can call this brooch now) twice during her Royal Tour of Canada in 2010:
- 29 June 2010: reception for "A Celebration of Novia Scotia" at the Cunard Centre in Halifax, Nova Scotia:
- 5 July 2010: visit to a communication factory in Waterloo, Ontario, and to Pinewood Studios in Toronto, Ontario (note that, when the Queen transfered the brooch from her coat to her dress, she flipped it upside down: the pearl is at the bottom of the brooch when worn on the coat, while it is at the top when worn on the dress):
--Previous Message-- : When Queen Elizabeth visited Canada in 2010, : she twice wore a previously unseen Maple : leaf brooch: : : : : It was speculated that this brooch was one : described by Leslie Field as a gift to Queen : Mary from the ladies of Montreal during the : 1901 world tour of the Duke and Duchess of : Cornwall and York (as George V and Mary were : known at the time). : : http://queensjewelvault.blogspot.no/2013/09/the-enamel-maple-leaves-brooch.html : : I think I can now confirm this is in fact a : brooch from the 1901 Canada tour. : There was an exhibition of gifts from the : tour at the Imperial Institute in London in : May 1902. More than 870 individual gifts : were exhibited. A report in The Times 15 May : 1902 has the following: : "Exhibition of the Prince of Wales´s : Presents : … : Canada, like Tasmania, is represented by a : beautiful collection of furs and by some : jewelry of great value, notably a bracelet : of unalloyed nuggets, from the miners of : Atlin, British Columbia, and a branch of : maple leaves in gold, the outline and stem : being marked by brilliants, the colour shown : in enamel, and at the end of the branch a : large bouton pearl." : : The article doesn´t state who (in Canada) : gave her the brooch, but the description : perfectly fits the one worn by Queen : Elizabeth. :
on October 3, 2014, 7:46 am, in reply to "
