Platinum Jubilee celebrations: Her Majesty’s jewellery to go on display
As part of this summer’s Platinum Jubilee celebrations, magnificent jewellery from Her Majesty The Queen’s personal collection will go on display at Buckingham Palace, Windsor Castle and the Palace of Holyroodhouse
At each palace, a different historic occasion in Her Majesty’s 70-year reign will be explored in the displays – the Accession, the Coronation and previous jubilees. Visitors will be able to see photographs, paintings, works of art and items of the Queen’s dress and jewellery up close.
Buckingham Palace
In Buckingham Palace’s State Rooms, which will be open this summer for the first time since 2019, official photographic portraits of the Queen taken by Dorothy Wilding just weeks after Her Majesty’s Accession will be on display, alongside items of jewellery which were worn for the portrait sittings.
This will include the Diamond Diadem, which is one of Her Majesty’s most widely recognised pieces of jewellery as it featured on the Queen’s image on postage stamps (taken by Wilding) from 1953 until 1971 and the official portrait of Her Majesty which was sent to every British embassy throughout the world. The Diadem was instantly recognisable to millions of people across the globe.
Created for the notoriously extravagant coronation of George IV in 1821, the diadem is set with 1,333 brilliant-cut diamonds, and diamonds set in the form of a rose, a thistle and two shamrocks, the national emblems of England, Scotland and Ireland. The Diadem was passed down to Queen Victoria, and then Queen Alexandra, Queen Mary, Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother, and then, of course, to Her Majesty The Queen, who wore it on the day of her coronation, and has worn it on her journey to and from the State Opening of Parliament since the first year of her reign.
Buckingham Palace will also display the world-famous Delhi Durbar necklace, which incorporates nine emeralds originally owned by Queen Mary’s grandmother, and an 8.8. carat diamond pendant cut from the Cullinan diamond, which is the largest diamond ever found. The Queen inherited the necklace in 1953 and wore it in a portrait by Dorothy Wilding in 1956.
Platinum Jubilee: The Queen’s Accession will be at the Summer Opening of the State Rooms at Buckingham Palace from Friday, 22 July to Sunday, 2 October 2022. Book tickets here.
Windsor Castle
As part of the Platinum Jubilee celebrations at Windsor Castle, Her Majesty’s favoured royal residence, her Coronation Dress and Robe of Estate will go on display. The Queen wore these for her Coronation at Westminster Abbey on 2 June 1953, and they feature emblems of the seven independent states of which she was monarch, together with those of England, Scotland, Ireland and Wales.
Brooches that represent the emblems of Commonwealth countries, that Her Majesty has worn while visiting or meeting representatives of those countries, will also be on display at Windsor Castle. This will include the Canadian Maple-leaf Brooch, worn by Her Majesty on her first visit to Canada in 1951 and the Flame-Lily Brooch (the emblem of Zimbabwe), which was pinned to The Queen’s mourning clothes when she returned to Britain from Kenya after the death of her father in 1952.
Platinum Jubilee: The Queen’s Coronation will be at Windsor Castle from Thursday, 7 July to Monday, 26 September 2022. Book tickets here.
The Palace of Holyroodhouse
Edinburgh’s royal residence will celebrate the Platinum Jubilee with a display of outfits worn by Her Majesty to celebrate her Silver, Golden and Diamond Jubilees. Visitors will be able to see the outfit Her Majesty wore for the Silver Jubilee in 1977, when the royal couturier Sir Hardy Amies designed a striking ensemble of dress, coat and stole in pink silk crêpe and chiffon, with a matching hat designed by Frederick Fox with flowerheads hanging from silk stems.
For the first time, Her Majesty’s ensemble for her Diamond Jubilee will also be on display, designed by Angela Kelly (Personal Adviser to The Queen (Wardrobe)) and consisting of a pale turquoise dress and coat embroidered with scattered silver flowers, and a matching hat.
The Platinum Jubilee display at the Palace of Holyroodhouse will be from 3 July to 25 September 2022. Book tickets here.
Read more: Platinum Jubilee celebrations
For our round-up of events to celebrate the Platinum Jubilee that are happening across Britain over the next few weeks, click here.
And to sign our online card for Her Majesty, which we will send to Buckingham Palace before the celebrations begin, click here.
To read more about the Queen’s accession to the throne in 1952, and her remarkable 70-year reign, click here.
