Tonight, the Queen attended a state dinner at the 18th century Bellevue Palace, German President Joachim Gauk’s official residence. Her Majesty and the Duke of Edinburgh are undertaking a four-day official visit to the country where their ancestors hail from; up until 1918 the House of Windsor was part of the House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha.
The Queen wore a tiara we’ve seen many times before, the Girls of Great Britain and Ireland, originally gifted to her grandmother, Queen Mary. Read the fascinating story behind this tiara.
Splash News
The Court Jeweller was able to identify her rubies as “heirlooms of the crown that [the Queen Mum] kept/wore until her death.”
According to From Her Majesty’s Jewel Vault, Queen Victoria originally bought the jewelry from Garrard in 1854. However, the original stones were opal; it wasn’t until Victoria left them to the crown that Queen Alexandra had them swapped out for rubies. The set was passed down through the family, finally ending up in the Queen Mum’s possession. After her death in 2002, the rubies were left to the Queen.
RONNY HARTMANN/AFP via Getty Images
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