The royal family have an impressive selection of jewellery, from the Crown Jewels to personal pieces in their own collections. While crowns and tiaras are reserved for very formal occasions, brooches are worn for most regular engagements; with many having a long history and strong symbolism behind them. Princess Anne’s latest brooch, however, presents something of a mystery.
During a trip to South Korea earlier this month, Princess Anne stepped out wearing a prominent, leaf-shaped pin beside her lapel. The golden brooch was surrounded by peals, to form the outline of the leaf shape. It doesn’t appear that Princess Anne has worn the piece in public before, but there are some clues towards its meaning, and the reason why she chose it for this particular visit.
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‘Princess Anne often uses brooches for diplomatic and sentimental expression,’ says jewellery expert and Director CIRCA Bethesda & Tysons, Robin O’Neill. ‘Princess Anne wore this piece on her visit to South Korea. The trip was made to mark the 75th anniversary of key Korean War battles, pay tribute to fallen British soldiers, and deepen diplomatic, industrial, and cultural ties. The floral motif is significant as flowers traditionally symbolize service, longevity, and remembrance.’
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Princess Anne in South Korea this July.
Robin believes the brooch is from the 1950s and is constructed of pearls and diamonds. Pearls have strong significance to Princess Anne, as they were famously her mother, Queen Elizabeth II’s, most-worn stones. For the majority of the late Queen’s public engagements, she wore her trademark triple-strand pearl necklace, with the Queen Mary Button Earrings. Since her passing, Princess Anne has been the only royal to wear her mother’s iconic pearls in public.
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The late Queen Elizabeth II in her favourite pearl earrings and necklace.
The choice is also significant for Princess Anne’s current visit, as it echoes one her mother undertook more than two decades ago. In 1999, Queen Elizabeth II visited South Korea when she was almost the same age as Princess Anne is now (75), during a landmark trip which also marked her 73rd birthday. It’s therefore fitting that Princess Anne would give a subtle nod to her late mother by keeping pearls close to her through the brooch. Robin agrees that Princess Anne frequently chooses ‘pieces with deep personal or historic meaning’ to wear on official engagements.
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Queen Elizabeth II in South Korea, wearing her trademark pearl jewellery set, in 1999.
While a wide array of brooches worn by the royals (often shared between the senior women of the extended family) are well-documented, every now and then a new addition crops up. Sometimes, it’s because the piece is a recent gift or purchase to a personal collection, and other times it’s because a brooch simply hasn’t been chosen for an occasion yet, despite being owned by the Royal Family for a number of years.
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Princess Anne has a large number of brooches in her collection which she regular wears to engagements.
‘The provenance remains unclear,’ says Robin, of the pearl leaf brooch. ‘But Princess Anne is known to have one of the largest brooch collections of the British royals and frequently wears pieces that have not been publicly cataloged.’