Today marks the Anniversary of the Death of Queen Victoria, who passed away on this day in 1901! The ‘Grandmother of Europe’ who mourned her husband for over 40 years, and whose Reign saw immense change and expansion of the British Empire, becoming second-longest reigning British Monarch and the British Empress of India, Queen Victoria possessed some magnificent jewels, which included her Diamond Fringe Brooch!
In 1856, Queen Victoria ordered a large Diamond Chaine de Corsage from the Crown Jeweller, Garrard, using diamonds from an ornament given by Ottoman Sultan Abdul Mejid I, likely after the Crimean War. All that now remains is a large emerald-cut diamond, surrounded by 12 large brilliants, from which nine graduated pampilles are suspended.
Queen Victoria famously wore the original diamond chaine de corsage for an iconic Winterhalter Portrait with the George IV State Diadem, but set it away after Prince Albert’s death, thinking it too grand for mourning.
In 1870, Queen Victoria had the large Diamond Chaine de Corsage partially dismantled, the diamonds being reset into her Small Diamond Crown, with the remaining Brooch worn for portraits well into her old age.
Unlike other jewels, that were left to the Crown, Queen Victoria’s Diamond Fringe Brooch was inherited directly by her eldest son, King Edward VII, and was often worn by Queen Alexandra during her husband’s reign and in her widowhood, including for the State Opening of Parliament in 1901 and the Wedding of Prince Arthur of Connaught and her granddaughter, Princess Alexandra, Duchess of Fife, in 1913.
After Queen Alexandra’s death in 1925, Queen Victoria’s Diamond Fringe Brooch passed to Queen Mary, who wore it for a few rare portraits in the late 1920s and early 1930s.
In 1936, Queen Victoria’s Diamond Fringe Brooch was among the jewels handed over by Queen Mary to the new Queen Elizabeth, for whom it soon became a favourite, being worn on numerous occasions with Queen Victoria’s Oriental Circlet Tiara and the Teck Diamond Hoop Tiara.
The Queen Mother retained Queen Victoria’s Diamond Fringe Brooch after being widowed in 1952, and continued to don it on the most important occasions, like the Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II in 1953 and the Wedding of Prince of Wales and Lady Diana Spencer in 1981.
The Queen Mother retained the Brooch until her death in 2002, when it was finally inherited by the Queen, who first wore the Fringe Brooch for a Turkish State Banquet, an appropriate choice given the provenance of the diamonds.
In 2014, the Queen wore the Fringe Brooch for the D-Day 70th Anniversary celebration which may have been a tribute to the late Queen Mother, who played an important role during the Second World War. Now, we hope to see this magnificent royal heirloom worn by Queen Camilla soon!
