The Queen’s jewelry boxes are packed with brooches featuring florals in their design. Unique among them is today’s brooch: a modern diamond jewel made to resemble a spray of yellow daffodils.
The lovely daffodil is the national flower of Wales, so it should come as no surprise that our first glimpse of this royal brooch came in a portrait of the Queen painted for the Welsh Rugby Union. The rather controversial image, unveiled in May 2013, was painted by Welsh artist Dan Llywelyn Hall to mark the 60th anniversary of the Queen’s coronation. She sat for the painting at Windsor Castle in November 2012. He later also painted a second portrait based on the same sitting.
The first formal outing for the brooch came a year later, when the Queen wore it for engagements in Essex. The brooch shone on her tweedy coat during outings that included a stop at Chelmsford Cathedral to celebrate the centenary of the diocese.
The Queen wore the daffodil brooch in public for a second time in 2015. That June, she brought it along on a three-day visit to Germany, wearing the brooch with a yellow outfit for engagements in Berlin. On the same visit, she also wore a modern diamond shamrock brooch. Some jewelry lovers believe that the daffodil and shamrock brooches are part of the same new set, presented to the Queen by the Sultan of Oman as a Diamond Jubilee gift in 2012. The set definitely includes this thistle brooch, and it may also include her modern Tudor Rose Brooch.
In April 2017, the Queen brought out the daffodil brooch for another springtime day of engagements. This time, she made a series of outings in Dunstable, including a stop at an independent living facility for seniors and a delightful visit to a new elephant care center at the local zoo.
One of the brooch’s most recent appearances came during Royal Ascot in June 2019. The Queen wore the brooch for Ladies’ Day, pairing it with a gorgeous yellow and gray ensemble featuring additional yellow flowers.
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