The Royal Family has a spectacular jewellery collection that brings together many strands of history. One of the most familiar sets also has one of the most interesting stories and it goes back centuries.

The Kent Amethyst Demi-Parure is an amethyst and diamond set that includes a necklace, a pair of earrings, a pair of hair combs, and three brooches. 

The necklace is a stand-out piece, with eight large cabochon-cut amethysts surrounded by diamonds with three more amethyst and diamond drops. 

Queen Elizabeth II only wore the Kent Demi-Parure a handful of times and never the complete set, at least not in public. In 1985, she wore the necklace and earrings during a State Visit to Portugal. We have yet to see Queen Camilla wear these pieces.

While we largely associate amethysts with February as its birthstone, historically it has been associated with mourning in Britain as purple is considered the colour of half-mourning. 

The Duchess of Kent, mother of the future Queen Victoria, acquired this set of jewels when the family was in mourning following the death of Princess Charlotte of Wales and then King George III in the late 1810s and early 1820s. 

The Duchess left the jewels to Queen Victoria upon her death; Victoria then chose to include the amethyst pieces in the royal collection rather than her personal collection. 

That means they are passed down through generations of the Royal Family and are just waiting to be worn again.