History of Famous Jewels and Collections
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    QEQM and Queen Victoria's bow brooch. How it was worn? Archived Message

    Posted by Beth on August 6, 2018, 12:25 pm

    I came across a photo of Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother wearing one of Queen Victoria's bow brooches, but I am not sure how the former wore the brooch.

    QEQM in 1939



    Could QEQM be wearing the brooch pinned in her hair?

    Unless the pin for the brooch is placed very high on the jewel it seems to be pinned in the hair. Even if the pin was placed high having the brooch pinned to the very edge of the hat seems cumbersome, the brooch being likely to pull the hat out of shape.

    In photos of QEQM from the same era when she wore the brooch on a hat, it is pinned to the crown of her hat and stands proud and I have gained the impression that the pin is near the centre of hat. For example

    5 July 1938


    Arrival in France 19 July 1938



    None of the images in Roberts shows where the pin is situated on any of the 3 brooches.

    The nearest (or perhaps the best) indication I can find of where the pin was on the brooch during the era it was worn by QEQM is from the photo below. In that it seems that the pin is jutting out on the right hand side about the middle of the jewel.

    11 July 1946



    What do others think? Is the brooch pinned in HM's hair in the first photo, or is it pinned to the edge of the hat?



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