Queen Elizabeth’s most sentimental jewellery: her diamond engagement ring from Prince Philip’s mum and favourite Cartier earrings from the queen mother

This item was paid for by a group of women lead by Lady Eva Greville (hence the name) in 1893, before Elizabeth’s grandmother Queen Mary took the throne. The tiara originally had large pearls as an embellishment, but they were removed at the request of Queen Mary. The striking item was refashioned in the Cambridge Lovers’ Knot style – seen on various items in the royal collection.

Elizabeth’s mother, the queen mother, then handed down the crown to her as wedding gift. The piece is said to be Queen Elizabeth’s favourite of all those in her collection, which together with her fine art and property portfolio makes her the wealthiest queen in the world with a fortune that runs into the billions of pounds. (There are richer kings, however.)

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Cullinan III and IV brooch – from her grandmother

Another item that Queen Elizabeth received from her grandmother – this time directly when she passed away in 1953 – was the Cullinan III and IV Brooch by Joseph Asscher and Co. Made from a pear-shaped diamond of 94.4 metric carats and a cushion-shaped stone of 63.6 carats, Queen Mary had the brooch made in 1911 and her granddaughter affectionately refers to it as “Granny’s chips”.

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Three-strand pearl necklace – from her father

Although the queen regularly wears pearl necklaces, she is rarely seen without this precious item. The three-strand pearl necklace was given to Elizabeth by her father King George VI on her wedding day in 1947. The pair were incredibly close and in a letter to his daughter on the day she wed Prince Philip, he even lamented “losing” her to marriage.

The piece – one of 46 necklaces in her collection – became even more important after King George’s death, when Elizabeth took over as the reigning monarch at only 25 years old. She loved it so much that she had a similar one made, and was later gifted one in the same style by the Emir of Qatar in 1953. It’s believed she rotates the three so she doesn’t wear out her favourite jewellery. The neck embellishment has become known as part of her “uniform” over the decades.

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Engagement ring – from her mother-in-law

Queen Elizabeth’s three carat, round-cut solitaire ring was made with diamonds from a tiara that Prince Philip’s late mother Princess Alice of Battenberg wore on her wedding day. At the time, Philip said his family wasn’t wealthy due to his father leaving them and his mother fleeing to Paris with the children in the war. However, he managed to work with jewellers Philip Antrobus to create the ring featuring a centre diamond with 10 smaller stones surrounding it and set in platinum.

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Greville pear drop earrings – from her mother

These Cartier pear-shaped drop earrings once belonged to Margaret Greville – a high society friend of the queen’s mother – and were willed to King George VI’s wife in 1942 when Greville passed away. When the queen mother died in 2002, she bequeathed the Greville Peardrop Earrings to the queen.

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