Queen Mary, ca. 1930s (Wikimedia Commons)

While the Queen [1] is taking her summer holiday at Balmoral, her pearl necklaces have been sent to be restrung. This is done annually and by a little old man who has had the job for years. The pearls are guarded by detectives and great secrecy is observed when the necklaces leave the palace.

Another routine job is cleaning the many valuable stone bracelets belonging to the Queen. Some of these are reset to make them fashionable, and often they are pierced with a tiny hook and can be rearranged by a clever adaptation on a skeleton fastening.

Of late the Queen has taken an interest in the collection of necklaces of uncommon design. These she keeps in a corner cupboard in one of the sitting-rooms at Buckingham Palace, on shelves covered with black velvet, which shows them off admirably.

NOTES

1. Queen Mary of the United Kingdom (1867-1953), born Princess Mary of Teck, was the consort of King George V of the United Kingdom. Born in Kensington Palace, her parents were Prince Francis, Duke of Teck and Princess Mary Adelaide of Cambridge (who was a first cousin of Queen Victoria). She was the mother of two British kings, Edward VIII and George VI, and the grandmother of Queen Elizabeth II.