The Queen wore a diamond floral brooch she received as a wedding gift for her first public engagement since the funeral of her husband Prince Philip yesterday.
The monarch’s, 95, stoic spirit shone through as she welcomed dignitaries to Buckingham Palace via videolink from Windsor Castle.
She opted to wear the glittering rose brooch from Cartier for the meeting, which was given to her by the Nizam of Hyderabad on the occasion of her marriage to the Duke of Edinburgh in 1947.
The Queen, 95, wore a diamond floral brooch she received as a wedding gift for her first public engagement since the funeral of her husband Prince Philip yesterday
She opted to wear the glittering rose brooch from Cartier for the meeting, which was given to her by the Nizam of Hyderabad on the occasion of her marriage to the Duke of Edinburgh in 1947
Among the Queen’s many wedding presents were a stunning Cartier tiara and necklace from the Nizam of Hyderabad, an Indian monarch and one of the wealthiest jewellery collectors in the world.
The tiara, which cost £5,000 in 1947 (equivalent to £189,000 today), was set with 1,033 diamonds and had three detachable roseshaped brooches.
Oddly, despite his generosity, the Nizam was not invited to the wedding.
The Queen wore his gift several times over 25 years, including on this visit to the Norwegian Embassy in 1951, but had it broken up in 1973 and asked the then Crown jeweller Garrard to make a new tiara.
Among the Queen’s many wedding presents were a stunning Cartier tiara and necklace from the Nizam of Hyderabad, an Indian monarch and one of the wealthiest jewellery collectors in the world
She still wears the matching necklace, which she loaned to the Duchess of Cambridge in 2014.
Yesterday, the monarch held a virtual audience to receive Her Excellency Ivita Burmistre, the Ambassador of Latvia, at Buckingham Palace.
She also received Her Excellency Sara Affoue Amani, the Ambassador of Cote d’Ivoire, during the virtual meeting.
It comes 10 days after the funeral of her husband Prince Philip, who died at the age of 99 earlier this month.
The Queen has regularly worn the stunning necklace (left, circa 1953) and has even lent the piece to the Duchess of Cambridge (pictured right, in 2014)
Though it is the first time the Queen has been photographed working since the Duke of Edinburgh’s funeral, on April 17, it is not the first time she has been back to work since his death.
The Queen returned to royal duties just four days after the death of the Duke of Edinburgh on April 9.
On that occasion she attended retirement ceremony for the former Lord Chamberlain Earl Peel on Tuesday.
Notably, in her most recent appearance today the Queen was pictured no longer in a black mourning outfit.
The Queen was dressed in a pale blue floral dress which featured large purple, white and yellow flowers, with a three-string pearl necklace and a diamond brooch as accessories (pictured, on videolink to Buckingham Palace)
She was dressed in a pale blue floral dress which featured large purple, white and yellow flowers, with a three-string pearl necklace and a diamond brooch as accessories.
Two weeks of royal mourning in memory of the Queen’s husband of 73 years ended for the monarchy and their households on Friday April 23, meaning the Windsors were allowed to go back to work full-time.
The royal family gathered for a poignant final farewell to Philip on April 17 at a socially-distanced funeral service in St George’s Chapel, with the Queen pictured sat alone as she grieved for her consort.
The royal family gathered for a poignant final farewell to Philip on April 17 at a socially-distanced funeral service in St George’s Chapel, with the Queen pictured sat alone as she grieved for her consort
The Queen turned 95 just 12 days after the duke died and used her birthday to release a message thanking well-wishers for their tribute to Philip.
She said she and her family were in a ‘period of great sadness’ but were comforted by words of praise for the duke.
‘We have been deeply touched and continue to be reminded that Philip had such an extraordinary impact on countless people throughout his life,’ she added.
