This trio of diamond brooches were originally part of a tiara, given to Princess Elizabeth in 1947.
The tiara came from the Nizam of Hyderabad (an Indian Prince), as a wedding gift, along with a necklace. Made by Cartier in the design of English roses, Princess Elizabeth was instructed to select something herself, so this was truly a piece she liked.
The Queen wearing the Nizam of Hyderabad rose tiara, a wedding gift she chose herself. Stunning! pic.twitter.com/c18W0SBDzm
— Victoria Howard (@TheRoyalExpert) December 8, 2015
One rose brooch sat in the centre, and two smaller either side; these were detachable, making the tiara multi-functional. The Queen, surprisingly, didn’t wear it the tiara too much over the years – despite having chosen it herself – but we have seen a lot of the brooches and matching necklace.
Remember the stunner Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge borrowed from Her Majesty? Yep, one and the same.
Hugh Roberts states that the tiara was dismantled to create another – the Burmese ruby tiara – but that is for another post!
The Queen usually wears the two smaller brooches together, and the large on its own. She has occasionally used the brooches in an unusual way (to decorate a dress’ square neckline, for example) – see more of those images, at FHMJV.
The Queen wearing the large Nizam of Hyderabad rose brooch. Picture by Ben Stevens / i-Images
Here you can just see Her Majesty wearing the two smaller brooches:
