Thanks Beth for sharing these interesting anecdotes. I wasn't aware of this Thistle Star, but I presume that the Queen had already received a set of insignia the year before: the entry on George V's star from the RCT states the following:

"But the present collection has been enriched by gifts of insignia made by the people of Scotland to members of the Royal Family. In this way the Duke of York (later King George V) received the insignia as a wedding present in 1893 and Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother received a set of insignia in 1937.
Text adapted from Royal Insignia: British and foreign orders of chivalry from the Royal Collection, London 1996"

https://www.rct.uk/collection/441237/order-of-the-thistle-king-george-vs-star

Does that mean that Queen Elizabeth's insignia were gifted by the people of Scotland? Or did the author confuse the date of the presentation of Lord Elgin's gift?


One of the most entertaining stories about moving jewels is that of the Hanoverian Crown Jewels, which were reportedly transported by a Countess (Julie?) Kielmansegge, presumably the wife of the Hanoverian Ambassador to London at the time, Count A. Kielmansegge, to whom the jewels had been handed over on 28th January 1858°, to be taken to King George V following the terms of the agreement.

(°Michael L. Nash, Royal Wills in Britain from 1509 to 2008)

In 1866, Countess Kielmansegge took the jewels to Vienna, after Prussia defeated Hannover and Austria, reportedly wearing Queen Charlotte's crown in her hat, and with the jewels sewn into the clothes of five ladies*.

(*Lord Twining, The Crown Jewels of Europe)

Queen Mary herself recounted how the jewels were transported to London once more, in 1870, again hidden in this most peculiar manner!

"After reading the enclosed story about the saving of the Hanoverian Crown Jewels in 1866, I remembered that my Aunt the Grand Duchess of Mecklenburg-Strelitz had told me that when she was coming to England on a visit in 1870, when she arrived at Calais to embark in her special steamer (in those days every member of the royal family was given a special steamer for crossing the Channel), a Hanoverian lady she knew met her and asked whether the Grand Duchess would give her a passage to England because she had the Hanoverian crown jewels sewn into her dress and that the crown was inside her hat, she was to deposit them in the Bank of England in London for safe keeping. Of course the Grand Duchess consented readily. This lady must have been the Countess Kielmansegge mentioned in the story."

(this was originally posted by Nellie on the other board, quoting a note of December 1948 by Queen Mary, from the Royal Archives)