Regards,
Dave.
This thread seems an opportune time to introduce a royal jewel which I don't think has been discussed before.
When Princess Patricia married, she wore a large diamond maple leaf brooch on the centre of her bodice. It is not noticeable on most of the photos circulating on the internet, and so it appears to have been completely overlooked. I have carefully checked all the various jewellery sites and no one has written about it (as far as I can see)
According to the UK media in 1919 the brooch had been given to the Duchess of Connaught by a group of personal friends at the time she left Canada in 1916. That probably explains why it is not seen in the various photos of the Duchess. During the war both the Duchess and Princess Patricia took a special interest in Canadian troops who fought in WWI. As everyone knows Princess Patricia had a newly formed Canadian regiment named after her -- the Princess Patricia Canadian Light Infantry, and members of this unit provided a guard of honour at her wedding.
Princess Patricia wearing the maple leaf brooch.
Detail
The veil worn by Princess Patricia has an interesting history having originally belonged to Queen Charlotte. Presumably it was among the Queen's possessions which were sold to provide money for her daughters.
The irony of how the veil came back to a royal was not lost on the press.
Another view of brooch and veil
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