The late Queen had a veritable treasure trove of jewellery, perhaps the most extensive collection being her brooches. Since The King’s accession in 2022, Queen Camilla has been spotted in a number of pieces that belonged to her late mother-in-law, including the Greville Ivy Leaf Clips.
We’ve taken a look at how this pair came into the possession of the Royal Family.
A close up of the Greville ivy leaf clips
The leaf shaped brooches were originally from the collection of Dame Margaret Greville and were made by Cartier. The Cartier archive notes that a diamond was reset in the first piece in 1930, meaning one predates this time.
The second, matching clip was made in 1937, from stones already in Margaret’s collection, with some small changes being made to the original to match.
One of the clips is set with larger diamonds, whilst the other consists of noticeably smaller stones. The stones at the centre of the clips are also different – one is an old-cut whilst the other is more of a modern cut.
Following the death of Greville in 1942, she left a large collection of jewellery – including the clips and the honeycomb tiara – to the Queen Mother. The brooches were then given to the then-Princess Elizabeth for her 21st birthday in 1947 by Queen Elizabeth; they were never worn publicly by the Queen Mother.
The brooches were the last piece of jewellery that was worn by the then-Princess before her accession in 1952, where she wore the clips pinned to the corners of the neckline of her dress. Elizabeth, accompanied by her husband, wore the brooches upon arrival at Sagana Lodge on 5th February, beginning a lengthy trip of the Commonwealth, that was then curtailed by the death of George VI.
Elizabeth II wore the brooches on numerous occasions throughout her reign. Traditionally, she wore the two brooches grouped together. However, in 1951, during a visit to the United States of America, the Queen was seen wearing one of the clips on the her collar of her jacket and the other pinned to her hat.
The last time that Elizabeth II wore the brooches in her reign was for a photograph to mark her accession in her Platinum Jubilee. The photograph showed showed a smiling Elizabeth with one of her famous red boxes and was taken at Sandringham House.
Queen Camilla first wore both clips for the the memorial service for the late Constantine II of Greece at St George’s Chapel.
Queen Camilla at a memorial service for King Constantine of Greece at St.George’s Chapel, wearing the Greville ivy leaf clip brooches
