Each item on this page was selected by Town & Country editors. We may earn commissions on certain goods you choose to purchase.

Learn more about the famous Greville bequest, which left the Windsor couple with gems such as Princess Eugenie’s emerald wedding tiara and the Duchess of Cornwall’s favorite diamond necklace.

Given the number of jewelry that Queen Elizabeth inherited, commissioned, and received as a gift in her nearly 100 years of life, it is impossible for even the most ardent observer of the royal family to understand all the contents of the Windsor vault. Of course, Her Majesty has been there for a few years. Tested true favorites: Queen Mary's girl and Vladimir Tiaras of Great Britain and Ireland, Prince Albert brooch of Queen Victoria, her Burmese ruby, her Cullinan. She was also generous when lending precious heirlooms to her family. The Duchess of Cambridge prefers the Cambridge lover's knot headdress and Queen Mary's diamond necklace bracelet. At the same time, the Duchess of Cornwall liked the Boucheron crown and a spectacular diamond floral necklace. They belonged to the queen mother. She herself received these from a legendary jewelry collector named Margaret Greville. Dozens of jewelry and other pieces.

Greville was born in 1863 to a beer tycoon and his mistress. When she married Ronald Greville, heir to the baronial and a member of the Marlborough family, she began to rise in the ranks of the blue blood society. , If you will, it surrounds the court of Albert Edward, and then the Prince of Wales (by 1901, King Edward VII). Although her husband died of pneumonia in 1908 after only 17 years of marriage, Mrs. Greville, who never remarried, continued to consolidate her status as a famous socialite and hostess—and to please the royal family.

She was particularly close to King Edward VII’s favorite mistress, Alice Keppel, who also happened to be the great-grandmother of Camilla Parker Bowles (Greyville is the grandmother of the Duchess of Cornwall Sonia Keppel Godmother). She became good friends with Queen Mary, and she especially admired Mary’s daughter-in-law, Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon. She was the future spouse of King George VI and later the Queen Mother-when the couple married in 1923, Greville was in her home country. Polesden Lacey received them at the Surrey Manor for their honeymoon.

Like Queen Mary, Greville has an impeccable vision and a greedy appetite for jewelry. She likes Boucheron and Cartier, and she picked up gems from her world travels. Although Mary likes to buy Russian royal jewellery, Greville may prefer French jewellery-it is said that in her treasury there is a necklace that once belonged to Marie Antoinette, and the other belonged to Napoleon’s first wife Josephine Queen. Given that the Grevilles had never had children of their own, when Greville died, her entire collection (of course, only the real collection-anything less than £100 would be given to the maid) was left to Elizabeth, "Take me Love" in 1942.

There are rumors that there are about 60 jewels in Greville's bequest, but the entire contents may never be known to the public: in the past 79 years, only a few gems in the collection have been seen. Nevertheless, there are still a few people who have become excellent mainstays in the jewellery works of the House of Windsor. The Queen Mother cleverly used two of the most valuable pieces of jewelry: the Greville Tiara created by Boucheron in 1921 and the five-string diamond floral necklace. (She was also wise, not making her debut until the end of World War II and the subsequent austerity period.)

The show-offs are now decorated with the Duchess of Cornwall, who have borrowed them from the Queen on important occasions. Other known treasures in the box include a pair of diamond ivy clips, which the queen mother gave to her daughter Elizabeth on her 21st birthday; chandelier earrings received by the current monarch as a wedding gift; the queen likes low-key and practical diamonds And a pearl brooch; a ruby ​​and diamond floral necklace borrowed by Kate Middleton for the state banquet in 2017; the eye-catching emerald kokoshnik headdress worn by Princess Eugenie on her wedding day marks the gem’s self-entry The first public appearance since the Windsor Vault.

Below are examples of 17 royal jewels from the famous Greville bequest.

The queen mother wore the Greville crown made by Boucheron for Margaret Greville in 1921. After wearing it for a period of time, Cartier added diamond clusters on the top and in the middle A marquise-shaped diamond was added to make it bigger. In this 1954 portrait, she also wore Greville Peardrop earrings, Cartier's 1938 work, set with 20 carats of pear-shaped diamonds-just like a headwear, they are one of her first-choice jewelry.

More: 18 photos of the Diamond Royal Family

In the 17th Royal Film Performance in 1963, the Queen Mother once again chose her combination of Greville Tiara and Greville Peardrop earrings.

One night at the Opera House in the same year, the Queen Mother paired her Greville Tiara with Greville Emeralds. This is a necklace and earring set. The exact source is unknown, but there are rumors that it is this necklace—consisting of several square emeralds. Surrounded by clusters of diamonds-said to belong to Marie Antoinette or Queen Josephine. On the other hand, earrings are large pear-shaped cabochon emeralds hanging from diamonds.

More: 26 photos of royal family members glowing in emeralds

At the opening ceremony of the parliament in 1983, Queen Elizabeth wore a Greville ruby ​​and diamond floral tube top necklace, which was a wedding gift given to her by her parents in 1947. Mrs. Greville bought this piece-marked by a deep V-shaped ruby ​​set in a diamond floral pattern and paired with a pear-shaped diamond pendant-produced by Boucheron in 1907.

The jewels worn by Queen Elizabeth for the reception held in the Netherlands in 1958—Queen Alexandra’s Kokoshnik headdress, her own diamond festoon necklace, Queen Mary’s lover knot brooch—are Greville chandelier earrings. Just like ruby ​​flower necklaces, these are wedding gifts from the Queen Mother. These earrings are made by Cartier and are decorated with diamonds in various cuts, including emeralds, pears, squares, half moons, trapeze shapes and rectangles.

Take a closer look at the Greville chandelier earrings worn by Queen Elizabeth in 1992. Mrs. Greville first purchased a pair of much simpler diamond pendant earrings from Cartier in 1918. In the next 11 years, they changed twice and added 22 diamonds. Also in the picture: girl headgear from Great Britain and Ireland And a rare example of a monarch wearing a necklace.

In 1990, the Queen Mother wore Greville Emeralds to take a portrait of Buckingham Palace.

In 2000, on her 100th birthday, the Queen Mother took part in the ballet performance with three jewels bequeathed by Greville: Peardrop earrings, 5 rows of Festoon necklaces (3 rows of avatars worn here) and Scroll brooches.

After Queen Elizabeth married Prince Charles in 2005, she gave the Crown of Greville as a long-term loan to the Duchess of Cornwall. She did the same with the Diamond Festoon necklace, Camilla wore all its 5-chain glory at an event in Uganda in 2007. Cartier first designed it as a two-row necklace in 1929, but Mrs. Greville returned to the brand in 1938 and added three necklaces to make them larger, which can be worn alone or attached to the original for a gorgeous display of diamonds.

More: 19 photos of Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, sparkling with diamonds

In the 1980s, the Queen Mother wore Greville Peardrop earrings to an event. Also in the picture: Queen Alexandra's wedding necklace recently seen on the Duchess of Cambridge in 2018, and the emerald-cut diamond ring that Prince Charles later redesigned for Camilla.

More: The sentimental story behind the engagement ring of Prince Charles Camilla

Cartier made the first Greville ivy leaf brooch for the same name before 1930, and the second was made in 1937. After inheriting Greville jewelry for five years, the Queen Mother gave these brooches to her daughter's 21st birthday in 1947.

More: Queen Elizabeth brooches are more than just beautiful jewels-their secret meaning is fascinating

At a dinner during her visit to Canada in 2010, Queen Elizabeth wore the jewelry of each of her previous queens: Queen Mary’s british and Irish girl headdress and chain bracelet, Queen Alexandra’s diamond choker necklace, Queen Victoria Diamond Jubilee brooch, and Greville chandelier earrings from the Queen Mother.

Since the 1980s, the Queen has not worn a Greville ruby ​​and diamond floral tube top necklace. In 2017, it finally appeared again on the Duchess of Cambridge. The Duchess of Cambridge borrowed this gem at a banquet at Buckingham Palace for the state visit of King Felipe and Queen Letizia of Spain.

In 2018, the Greville ruby ​​and diamond floral tube top necklace was unveiled again, this time on the Queen of the Commonwealth Summit at Buckingham Palace.

At the wedding in Windsor Castle in the fall of 2018, Princess Eugenie sneaked into her grandmother's vault and borrowed the Greville Emerald Kokoshnik Tiara made by Boucheron in 1919. It marks the first time this stunning work is centered on a 94-carat cabochon emerald, which has appeared in public since the death of Mrs. Greville in 1942.

More: Princess Eugenie borrowed an emerald tiara from the queen on her wedding day

Cartier made the Scroll brooch for Mrs. Greville in 1929. Three pearls are inlaid in a simple diamond speck rolling design, which has been used many times by the Queen Mother and Queen Elizabeth.

In 2019, at the reception held by Buckingham Palace for the diplomatic mission, Queen Elizabeth launched an unprecedented emerald necklace, as well as her beloved Vladimir crown and Greville emerald earrings, which made many people speculate about this. The piece may also be a bequest from Greville, or it may be a redesigned version of Greville Emerald Necklace, which has not appeared since the death of the Queen Mother in 2002.