The Queen’s royal jewelry collection is full of different types and varieties of floral brooches. Today, we’ve got a look at a special one: the Chelsea Iris Brooch.
The Queen is the patron of the Royal Horticultural Society, which puts on the annual garden show at the Royal Hospital Chelsea each May. Members of the royal family can often be seen visiting the show, usually on a special preview day before it opens to the public. Above, the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh tour the Chelsea Flower Show in May 1975.
In May 2013, the Queen arrived at the show wearing a special new brooch. The floral jewel was commissioned by the Royal Horticultural Society as a Diamond Jubilee gift for their patron.
The white gold and diamond brooch, which is shaped like an iris, was designed by Kristjan Eyjolfsson, an Icelandic jewelry designer who works in the United Kingdom. Eyjolfsson’s work focuses on sustainable and ethical design, and this brooch was made using recycled materials. Eyjolfsson told The Jewellery Editor, “The brooch is made from 100% recycled British white gold and features over 100 ethically sourced gemstones, including a single conflict-free yellow diamond at its centre.”
The Queen wore the brooch at several consecutive flower shows after receiving it. Above, she wears it pinned to a shantung silk jacket at the event in May 2014.
She wore the iris with an outfit in different shades of blue for the show preview in May 2015.
In May 2016, she arrived for the preview wearing the brooch pinned to a jacket in a pale shade of mint green.
And in May 2017, the brooch took center stage on a simple blue coat. For the Queen’s past two flower show visits, she’s worn other brooches (Queen Mary’s Pink Cluster Brooch and the Flame Lily Brooch). Last year, the show was canceled; this year’s show has been delayed to September. We’ll all have to wait and see whether the Queen attends, and if she does, which brooch she wears!
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