Sat, May 2, 2026 at 11:00 AM UTC
22 Photos of the Royals in Amethyst JewelsSamir Hussein – Getty Images
Purple has long carried an association with power and monarchy, and the British royal family’s jewelry collection reflects that connection more literally than most. The Windsor vaults hold a considerable number of amethyst pieces, worn across generations.
Among the oldest amethyst pieces still held by the royal family are the Kent Amethysts—a demi-parure comprised of a necklace, earrings, and brooch— that belonged to Queen Victoria’s mother, the Duchess of Kent, who commissioned the suite in the first half of the 19th century. Victoria later designated the pieces as family heirlooms.
Queen Alexandra was particularly devoted to the stone, favoring amethysts above most other gems aside from diamonds and pearls. In 1923, when Lady Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon became engaged to Prince Albert, Duke of York, the Dowager Queen marked the occasion by giving her future granddaughter-in-law an amethyst, diamond, and pearl sautoir necklace with a large heart-shaped amethyst pendant.
Queen Mary, the royal family’s most celebrated jewelry collector, assembled her own amethyst parure—tiara, necklace, earrings, and brooch—from stones she acquired at a charity auction. Queen Elizabeth II, however, did not share her grandmother’s enthusiasm for the color, and those particular pieces were eventually sold.
Here, a look back at some of the finest amethyst pieces the royal family has worn:
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