A new exhibition at Windsor Castle has opened for the Platinum Jubilee and is celebrating The Queen’s Coronation in 1953. The collection includes four prominent brooches that have never been on public display.
Platinum Jubilee: The Queen’s Coronation is now open at Windsor Castle. The Royal Collection Trust exhibition features Her Majesty’s Norman Hartnell-designed coronation gown, her Robe of Estate, her Coronation necklace, and earrings.
The four brooches that are on display for the first time represent England, featuring the rose, Scotland, featuring the thistle, Northern Ireland, featuring the shamrock, and Wales, featuring the daffodil. The late Sultan of Oman gave these as a Diamond Jubilee gift to The Queen in 2012.
The brooches are made with yellow and white gold and have white, yellow, and pink diamonds, as well as emeralds, set in them.
The Queen has worn the brooches before without any confirmation on their origins. She wore the Rose of England brooch for Princess Beatrice’s 2020 wedding and the Thistle of Scotland brooch at Royal Ascot in 2015. She also wore both the Shamrock of Ireland brooch and the Daffodil of Wales brooch on her 2015 state visit to Germany. Her Majesty has often worn these pieces when visiting the nation of the flower on the brooch, too.
These are not the only brooches that are highlighted in the exhibition. Many Commonwealth nations are also represented. The Canadian Maple-leaf Brooch, the New Zealand Silver Fern Brooch, the Australian Wattle Brooch, and the Flame-Lily Brooch, a gift from Zimbabwe that The Queen wore on her return to Britain upon her father’s death.
The exhibition at Windsor opened on 7 July and will be open until 26 September, with Windsor Castle closed to the public on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. A ticket to the exhibition is included with general admission to the castle.
