Regal Purple Jewels at the Palace

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In the middle of February, what could be more appropriate than a bright violet outfit and an amethyst brooch for the Queen at Buckingham Palace?

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HM held audiences at Buckingham Palace on Wednesday, receiving ambassadors including Sierra Leone’s Tamba Lamina and and Sri Lanka’s Manisha Gunasekara.

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On her gorgeous violet-colored dress (one of my favorite colors!), she pinned the Kent Amethyst Brooch.

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Here’s a closer look at the brooch from another occasion. The brooch, which features diamond-set scrolls and sunrays in its design, is part of a suite of amethyst jewels that once belonged to Princess Viktoria of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld, better known to history as the Duchess of Kent — and the mother of Queen Victoria. The set, which you can learn more about in this post, also includes a necklace, earrings, and haircombs.

You’ll also note three small loops at the base of the brooch, which allows a trio of petite diamond and amethyst pendants to be suspended from the bottom of the piece. However, the Queen usually wears the brooch without these pendant drops.

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The Queen also recently wore the brooch in Norfolk during her annual holiday residence at Sandringham, selecting it for a Sunday church service in January.