Another appearance of the Greville diamond bow broochArchived Message
Posted by Arthur on December 24, 2016, 8:32 am
Among the many jewels bequeathed by Mrs Greville to Queen Elizabeth (later Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother) in 1942 was a large and beautiful brooch in diamonds of Victorian/Edwardian style. According to Hugh Roberts in The Queen's Diamonds (page 238), the brooch was made by Boucheron (as proved by the box in which it is kept, with the stamp "Boucheron") in 1900 and resulted from the dismantling of a knot-pattern diadem. It was originally partly articulated to allow adjustment of the bow:
The most famous public appearance of this brooch was in 1961, worn by the Queen Mother:
But the Queen Mother does not seem to have been fond of this brooch, which might have been difficult to wear, because of its impressive size - and Queen Elizabeth II, who inherited the brooch in 2002, does not seem either.
I have finally found another occasion on which Queen Elizabeth (then still Queen consort) wore this brooch. For the 1948 State Opening of Parliament, the Queen wore the brooch pinned on her right shoulder, at the junction with her ermine-trimmed train:
I hope we will see this gorgeous brooch again soon!