Next week marks the 160th Anniversary of the Birth of Dame Margaret Greville, the Hon Mrs Greville The illegitimate daughter of a brewery millionaire, she married the son of a Baron, and became a noted Society Hostess, from her magnificent home at Polesden Lacey, getting close to the Queen Mother, to whom she left her enormous Jewellery Collection, so we are featuring several of her jewels, continuing with the Greville Diamond Bow Brooch!
Greville Tiara | Greville Emerald Tiara | Greville Festoon Necklace | Greville Emerald Necklace | Ruby Necklace | Greville Diamond Chandelier Earrings | Diamond Bow Brooch | Pearl Earrings | Greville Ivy Leaf Clips
In 1900, Mrs. Greville went to Boucheron in Paris with an old Diamond Knot Tiara, which was dismantled to create another Tiara and this striking Diamond Knot Brooch which was described by Hugh Roberts as ‘large and lively, despite being of exceptional size.’
Dame Margaret Greville, the Hon Mrs Greville was not pictured wearing the Diamond Bow Brooch, and on her death in 1942, the majority of her magnificent Jewellery Collection, all pieces valued over 100 pounds, was inherited by Queen Elizabeth. In 1942, the Queen wrote to Queen Mary:
I must tell you that Mrs Greville has left me her jewels, She has left them to me ‘with her loving thoughts,’ dear old thing, and I feel very touched, I don’t suppose I shall see what they consist of for a long time, owing to the slowness of lawyers & death duties etc, but it is rather exciting to be left something, and I do admire beautiful stones with all my heart.”
When the jewels arrived to the Queen a few months later, there was much unwanted press attention on the contents of the initialled black trunk, which included the Greville Diamond Tiara, an Emerald Tiara, the Festoon Necklace, the Diamond Chandelier Earrings, a Ruby Necklace, two Emerald Necklaces, Ivy Leaf Clips, and a pair of Pearl Earrings, alongside several spectacular Diamond Earrings, Necklaces, Brooches and Bracelets, the true extent of which has never been publicly revealed.
A few years later, Queen Elizabeth wore the Diamond Bow Brooch for the first time at the State Opening of Parliament in 1948, paired with Queen Victoria’s Oriental Circlet Tiara, the Coronation Necklace and Earrings, the Coronation Rivière and Queen Victoria’s Fringe Brooch.
The next appearance of the Diamond Bow Brooch came on the Queen Mother in 1961, at the Royal Film Performance of ‘The Facts of Life’, paired with the Greville Diamond Tiara.
After the Queen Mother’s passing in 2002, the Bow Brooch, like all of her other jewels, were inherited by her daughter, the Queen, though it was never publicly worn nor loaned to other members of the Royal Family. The Greville Diamond Bow was, however, photographed for The Queen’s Diamonds in 2012.
Earlier this month, Queen Camilla wore a striking Diamond Stomacher from the Queen Mother, which was probably a part of the Greville Bequest, for the Diplomatic Reception at Buckingham Palace. Now that she is wearing such splendid heirlooms, let’s hope we see the Greville Diamond Knot Brooch worn soon!
Greville Tiara | Greville Emerald Tiara | Greville Festoon Necklace | Greville Emerald Necklace | Ruby Necklace | Greville Diamond Chandelier Earrings | Diamond Bow Brooch | Pearl Earrings | Greville Ivy Leaf Clips
Girls of Great Britain and Ireland Tiara
Vladimir Tiara
Queen Alexandra’s Kokoshnik Tiara
Belgian Sapphire Tiara
Burmese Ruby Tiara
Brazilian Aquamarine Tiara
Queen Mary’s Fringe Tiara
Queen Mary’s Lover’s Knot Tiara
Queen Victoria’s Oriental Circlet Tiara
Nizam of Hyderabad Tiara
Plunket Tiara
Five Aquamarine Tiara
Imperial State Crown
George IV State Diadem
Necklaces
Coronation Necklace and Earrings
The Cambridge Emerald Parure
Queen Victoria’s Golden Jubilee Necklace
King George VI Sapphire Suite
Queen’s Three-Strand Pearl Necklace
King George VI Festoon Necklace
Queen’s South African Diamonds
Queen’s City of London Fringe Necklace
Nizam of Hyderabad Necklace
Greville Ruby Necklace
Queen’s Japanese Pearl Choker
Kent Amethyst Parure
Queen’s Emerald Tassel Suite
Empress Maria Feodorovna’s Sapphire Choker
Greville Emerald Necklace
Queen’s Dubai Sapphire Suite
King Khalid Diamond Necklace
Pakistani Turquoise Necklace
The Queen’s Sapphires
Earrings
Greville Diamond Chandelier Earrings
Duchess of Gloucester’s Pendant Earrings
Queen Victoria’s Pearl Earrings
Queen’s Bahrain Pearl Earrings
Antique Diamond Earrings
Queen’s Pear-Drop Diamond Earrings
Queen’s Silver Jubilee Earrings
Brooches
The Cullinan Diamond
Queen Victoria’s Bow Brooches
Queen’s Williamson Pink Diamond Brooch
Duchess of Cambridge’s Pearl Pendant Brooch
Queen Mary’s Diamond Stomacher
Prince Albert’s Sapphire Brooch
Queen Victoria’s 11 Pearl Brooch
Queen Adelaide’s Diamond Brooch
Queen Mary’s Diamond Thistle Brooch
Queen Victoria’s Fringe Brooch
Queen Mary’s Russian Sapphire Cluster Brooch
Queen Victoria’s Wheat Ear Brooches
Queen Mary’s Celtic Knot Brooch
Teck Flower Brooch
Queen Victoria’s Diamond Jubilee Brooch
Maple Leaf Brooch
Queen Victoria’s Crown Ruby Brooch
Queen’s Welsh Guards Leek Brooch
Queen’s Brigade of Guards Brooch
Greville Ivy Leaf Clips
