More than 300 pieces of royal jewellery, including historic treasures worn by generations of monarchs, will go on display in a landmark exhibition at Buckingham Palace next summer.
Royal Jewellery: From Coronations to Keepsakes will open at The King’s Gallery in June 2027, marking the first exhibition to explore 500 years of British royal jewellery. Around two thirds of the pieces on display will be exhibited publicly for the first time.
The exhibition will bring together jewellery worn by monarchs from Henry VIII and Charles II to Queen Victoria and Queen Elizabeth II, alongside paintings, designs and documents from the Royal Collection and Royal Archives.
Together, the objects will tell stories of power, politics, diplomacy, faith, grief and love, offering an insight into the personal lives of the Royal Family and the role jewellery has played in shaping the image of the monarchy over five centuries.
Tickets will be available to Royal Collection Trust e-newsletter subscribers from Wednesday, 28 October, before going on general sale on Tuesday, 3 November. The exhibition will run for nine months and will be accompanied by a book of the same name, the first comprehensive study of the British royal jewellery collection.
Caroline de Guitaut and Kathryn Jones, co-curators of the exhibition, said: “This unprecedented exhibition will bring together some of the most important and spectacular royal jewels in British history, many never exhibited publicly before. Each jewel carries with it a human story: of love and loss, power and politics, family and faith.
“Together, they have borne witness to the defining moments of royal lives and offer a deeply personal insight into the individuals and relationships that have shaped the monarchy across generations.”
From the work of early royal goldsmiths to creations by celebrated jewellery houses including Garrard & Co, Cartier, Boucheron and Fabergé, the exhibition will trace the evolution of royal jewellery and its enduring significance.
Although the Crown Jewels will not feature, remaining on display at the Tower of London, visitors will be able to see magnificent jewels created for coronations and other major royal occasions.
Among the highlights will be the Diamond Diadem, made for the extravagant coronation of George IV and subsequently immortalised through its appearance in coins, banknotes and stamps bearing Queen Elizabeth II’s image.
Also on display will be Queen Victoria’s Small Diamond Crown, which became closely associated with the monarch and was placed on her coffin during her lying in state.
A major section of the exhibition will explore jewellery associated with every queen and consort from Queen Charlotte to Queen Elizabeth II, revealing how royal fashions changed from Georgian splendour and Victorian sentimentality to Art Deco elegance and bold mid-century designs.
Several pieces will be shown publicly for the first time, including Queen Charlotte’s garnet jewels, newly connected to the Queen through recent research, and Queen Alexandra’s articulated serpent bracelet, set with diamonds and a black pearl.
Other highlights include a Fabergé aquamarine and diamond pendant given to the future Queen Elizabeth II by her grandmother, Queen Mary, and the spectacular Greville emerald and diamond necklace. The latter formed part of Dame Margaret Greville’s celebrated bequest to Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother.
The exhibition will also explore the deeply personal stories preserved in royal jewellery, particularly those associated with Queen Victoria and Prince Albert.
Visitors will discover objects tracing their relationship from courtship and marriage to parenthood and bereavement. These include Victoria’s first ring, worn in infancy, and the diamond brooch Albert gave her on the eve of their wedding.
A bracelet set with pebbles collected during their first journey alone together will also feature, alongside a thistle brooch incorporating the first milk tooth of their eldest daughter, removed by Albert himself.
Among the most poignant objects is Victoria’s mourning ring, set with Albert’s photograph and their intertwined cyphers, reflecting the enduring grief she experienced following his death in 1861.
Beyond these intimate family stories, the exhibition will examine how jewellery became an expression of loyalty, legitimacy and dynastic ambition during the political upheaval of the 16th and 17th centuries.
One particularly striking display will feature jewellery associated with the cult of Charles I following his execution in 1649, including cufflinks said to have been worn by the King on the scaffold.
Passed to his loyal supporters, the cufflinks will be displayed publicly for the first time, demonstrating how personal objects could become powerful symbols of royal loyalty and remembrance.
Through these remarkable survivals, Royal Jewellery: From Coronations to Keepsakes will explore how jewels have served not only as expressions of wealth and beauty, but also as enduring witnesses to the relationships, tragedies and defining moments that have shaped the British monarchy.
