The Greville Ruby Necklace

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Seventy years ago, Princess Elizabeth of the United Kingdom received a treasure trove of wedding gifts. Among them was this unusual diamond and ruby necklace, which we’re calling the Greville Ruby Necklace.

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The necklace, which features a distinctive v-shaped design, was made by Boucheron in 1907 for the Hon. Mrs. Ronnie Greville. Above, in a close-up from a 1987 portrait, you can see that the necklace includes diamond floral elements interspersed with rubies. It was among the numerous jewels that Mrs. Greville left to Queen Elizabeth in 1942.

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Elizabeth wore the necklace throughout the first decades of her reign. Above, for a 1954 banquet in Australia, she wears the necklace with jewels that belonged to Queen Mary: the Girls of Great Britain and Ireland Tiara and the Ruby Cluster Earrings.

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For years, the necklace was hidden away in the royal vaults, but this year’s Spanish state banquet brought a surprise. The Duchess of Cambridge wore the necklace for the first time in public, pairing it with Queen Mary’s Lover’s Knot Tiara.