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Recently HM, QEII wore an aquamarine bar brooch for an audience.



Detail


That was not the first time we had seen this particular brooch as Bryce drew our attention to it some time ago as HM had worn it when inspecting preparations for a garden party which featured in the program, Monarchy at work, part 4.





The views of the brooch seen in that program show that it can look different when photographed from different angles. For example --







When Bryce initially alerted us to this brooch, I did some hunting through images to see if I could spot it being worn by either Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother or Queen Mary who both wore similar brooches from time to time.

None of the images I had of Queen Mary seemed to match, but I found two of QEQM which may be a match.

The most likely match seems to be the image below which shows the then Duchess of York at a house party at the seat of Lord Somers in mid June 1934.



Unfortunately, the image is not as clear as we might like. This was a private occasion, which might explain why the brooch was not seen on "official" occasions. Perhaps it was used by QEQM only for private wear.

Another image, taken in Potsdam in 1929, might also show the brooch, but this image is equally blurred and it is not as apparent that there is a central stone in the brooch worn by the then Duchess. This too was a "private" occasion.