20th June, 1897 – Queen Victoria’s diary entry
“This eventful day, 1897 has opened, and I pray God to help and protect me as He has hitherto done these sixty long eventful years!… God will surely help me on! How well I remember this day sixty years ago when I was called from my bed by dear Mama to receive the news of my accession!”
Some nine months after she became the longest reigning monarch in British history, surpassing her grandfather, George III, Queen Victoria reached another milestone: her Diamond Jubilee. Among the many wonderful gifts she received, including an beautiful lace fan from the ‘Worshipful Company of Fan Makers’ and a jade incense burner from the Emperor of China, there were more the personal gifts from children to their mama, or grandchildren to ‘Gangan’.
One of the most decorative, was a diamond and sapphire brooch, created by the Russian Imperial Jeweller, Fabergé. The brooch had a diamond studded, heart-shaped motif, containing the Cyrillic symbol for ’60’ within it, and accented by three larger sapphires.
The brooch was a personal gift to Queen Victoria from her grandchildren by her second daughter, Princess Alice, the Grand Duchess of Hesse and by Rhine. Alice had died some years before, aged only thirty-five, and, as a consequence, Victoria had been quite involved in the upbringing of her children – in fact, it is reported that they were the queen’s favourite grandchildren.
The brooch was given by four of the Hessian siblings and their partners: the Tsar and Tsarina of Russia; Grand Duchess Elisabeth Feodorovna and her husband, Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich; Prince and Princess Louis of Battenburg, and the Grand Duke and Duchess of Hesse (the Duchess, Victoria Melita was also a granddaughter of Victoria, via her son, Alfred).
The fifth Hessian sibling, Princess Irene, had also married a cousin, Prince Henry of Prussia (son of Victoria, The Princess Royal), and they had sent a separate gift from Queen Victoria’s Prussian grandchildren.
The gifts Victoria received were put on display later that year, at the Imperial Institute in Kensington. The brooch can be seen in the centre of the image below, and next to it, the vase presented by the Prussians.
Imperial records show that the brooch cost 1000 Roubles. There is a note on the paperwork by Alexandra detailing how the cost was split.
- Tsar & Tsarina of Russia – 400 Roubles
- Grand Duchess Elisabeth & Grand Duke Sergei – 300 Roubles
- Grand Duke & Duchess of Hesse – 200 Roubles
- Prince & Princess Louis of Battenburg – 100 Roubles
The original design for the brooch was later discovered, and it shows that the sapphires were originally intended to be pearls – there is a note from the Tsarina indicating that the choice to replace them had been hers and her husband’s, and that they had provided the sapphires themselves.
There are no records or images that can be found of Queen Victoria wearing the brooch, but we do know that it was bequeathed to her daughter, Helena – Princess Christian of Schleswig-Holstein – upon her death (as per the Royal Collection Trust).
What is not clear is what happened to it from there, or how it found its way back into the royal collection. Princess Christian had two daughters, neither of whom had children of their own: the younger of the two, Princess Marie Louise, notably left jewels to her godson, Prince Richard, the current Duke of Gloucester, including the Cartier Indian Tiara. She also left other items to the Queen and Queen Mother, so it’s possible the brooch found its way back then.
What is known, is that it did find its way back to the royal collection, and Queen Camilla (then the Duchess of Cornwall) began wearing it during a succession of foreign trips – to the USA in 2007, Canada in 2009, then Norway in 2012.
And, most notably, she chose the brooch to wear for the state funeral of Queen Elizabeth II in 2022.
Mistress of the Robes 