Queen Elizabeth stuns in £2,375 sapphire brooch & pale blue dress in Windsor – ‘gleaming’


The Queen welcomed the Sultan of Oman and Her Highness the Honourable Lady Sayyida of Oman to Windsor Castle on Wednesday 15 December. The 95-year-old monarch welcomed Haitham bin Tariq al Said and his wife to her Berkshire home. The Queen was wearing a pale blue dress which looked woollen in fabric, perfect for the December weather.

The dress was patterned and looked elegant and warm on the monarch.

Queen Elizabeth always likes to accompany her outfits with sparkling diamond and sapphire brooches.

Each of Her Majesty’s brooches are steeped in royal history and are often of high sentimental value.

The monarch, wearing a pale blue dress, her trademark pearls and a sapphire brooch, was pictured smiling and shaking hands with the Sultan at her Windsor castle.

On today’s occasion, the Queen wore a sapphire brooch which originally belonged to Empress Marie Feodorovna of Russia, her great-great-aunt.

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The brooch was a gift from King Edward VII and Queen Alexandra to Marie Feodorovna, who was Alexandra’s sister.

The official title of the brooch is as follows: ‘The Empress Marie Feodorovna of Russia’s Brooch’.

The brooch still looks current today, but it is more than a century and a half old.

According to jewellery expert Leslie Field, the jewel is a “cabochon sapphire brooch surrounded by two rows of diamonds with a pearl drop hanging from a collet diamond”.

The brooch was a wedding gift to Princess Dagmar of Denmark from her sister and brother-in-law, the Prince and Princess of Wales, Edward and Alexandra.

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Marie married Tsar Alexander on November 9, 1866.

Queen Mary purchased the brooch from the Dowager Empress Marie’s estate in 1929.

According to the Court Jeweller, Mary paid £2,375 for the piece (which exceeded the brooch’s auction estimate, set between £1,400 and £1,900).

Queen Elizabeth eventually inherited the jewel in 1953 on the year of her coronation.

It has therefore been a staple in Queen Elizabeth’s jewellery collection for the entirety of her reign.

The brooch has made multiple visits with the Queen to the Chelsea Flower Show throughout her reign.

But how did it get into the Queen’s collection?

After Marie’s death, her daughters Xenia & Olga inherited the piece and sold it to their first cousin in law, Queen Mary.

This allowed for her granddaughter the then Princess Elizabeth to inherit the brooch in 1953 when she herself became Queen.

Today’s appearance of the Queen is only the second after a period of rest for her health.

Royal fans were quick to express their support for the monarch.

Twitter user Angela Taylor tweeted: “Her Majesty, our Queen has dropped a lot of weight recently.

“We love and support her. Long live our Queen.

“She is still working and welcoming important foreign figures.”

Instagram user Clara Larkin said: “The pairing of the sapphire brooch and a light blue dress… Her Majesty is gleaming!”



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