Queen Elizabeth II celebrated her 96th birthday on Thursday, marking the 70th anniversary of her accession to the throne.
During the 96 years of her life, the Queen of Britain sparkled with a large collection of luxurious and rare jewelry as well, and pearls were the always important stone that she never separated from, according to the Italian “Van Page” website.
Pearls are Queen Elizabeth II’s favorite jewelry, she has an impressive collection of them, and they are rarely pictured without the 3-strand pearl necklaces.
The Queen of Britain has been wearing pearls since she was young, starting at the age of two, starting with the photo published by Buckingham Palace on the occasion of Her Majesty’s birthday, when the Queen was a little girl with her curly blond hair and wearing a thin necklace of beads like pearls.
But the Queen’s love of pearls appears to have begun early in her life, thanks to a family tradition started by her grandmother, Queen Victoria, that has even gone on for centuries.
Pearls are among the oldest and most important jewellery, worn by brides, for example, as a symbol of fertility and purity, and of course queens have worn them for centuries.
Round and shiny pearls are unique, which is why they are considered “noble” and have been worn by queens of all ages, from Cleopatra to Queen Elizabeth II.
The story of Queen Elizabeth’s pearl necklace
The real reason the Queen of Britain never part with her pearls is a personal one due to a tradition that has continued within the royal family for centuries, specifically by her grandmother Queen Victoria (Queen of the United Kingdom from 1837 to 1876).
According to the American magazine “People”, Queen Victoria gave each of her daughters and granddaughters a pearl every year on their birthday, until they were 18, so that they had enough pearls to make a necklace from.
It seems that Elizabeth II’s parents kept this royal tradition, as King George VI, the father of the Queen of Britain, gave his eldest daughter a fine platinum chain, which he added two pearls to on every birthday for her until she was 18 years old.
Among the occasions when Queen Elizabeth II awarded pearls, in 1935 on the occasion of his silver jubilee, her grandfather, King George V, gave her a 4-row pearl necklace, and he also gave her sister Princess Margaret a two-strand necklace, both of which she wore during the coronation of their parents, King George Sixth, in 1937.
The Queen herself also wore pearls on her wedding day in 1947, opting for an elegant two-row design.
It must be said that the many necklaces of the Queen of Britain’s pearls are considered wealth and historical value, each necklace can be worth nearly 6 million euros.
Despite the many pieces of her favorite jewelry, and despite her owning a lot of exquisite jewelry, the pearl necklace is her main and favorite piece, which she usually pairs on public occasions with pearl earrings matched with a diamond brooch.
