Our celebration of the Queen’s upcoming 95th birthday continues with a look at some of the jewels she received from her husband, her parents, and her mother-in-law as wedding presents way back in November 1947. What do you get a princess as a wedding gift? Here are some ideas…

On returning from the royal tour of Africa, Princess Elizabeth was finally ready to reveal a major secret: she was engaged to Lieutenant Philip Mountbatten, a naval officer who had been born Prince Philippos of Greece and Denmark. Her new fiancé offered her a stunning diamond and platinum engagement ring. Like Philip himself, the diamonds in the ring had a serious royal pedigree: they came from a diamond and aquamarine tiara that had been given to Philip’s mother, Princess Alice, as a wedding present by Nicholas and Alexandra, the last emperor and empress of Russia (and her uncle and aunt). A second diamond and platinum jewel, the Edinburgh Wedding Bracelet, was made as Elizabeth’s wedding present from Philip using stones from the same tiara. (Princess Alice also gave Elizabeth a second tiara, her meander bandeau, as a wedding present.)

Princess Elizabeth’s father, King George VI, dipped into the royal vaults to offer her these paired pearl necklaces as a wedding gift. If family tradition is correct, they’re among the oldest pieces of British royal jewelry still worn by the Queen. The smaller strand, made of 46 pearls, is said to have been worn by Queen Anne, the last Stuart monarch. The longer strand, which includes 50 pearls, is attributed to Caroline of Ansbach, the queen consort of George II. Queen Victoria’s jewel inventory of 1896, made by Garrard, notes the pearl necklaces and is the first recorded statement of their Stuart/Hanoverian provenance. Elizabeth wore them on her wedding day and continues to wear them occasionally.

The king also gave his daughter a personal present: a suite of 19th-century sapphire and diamond jewels. The set originally included just a necklace and a pair of earrings, but as she often does, Elizabeth later had the necklace shortened. The extra stone was used to make a pendant for the necklace, and a bracelet was also later designed to match the set. (She also later acquired a tiara to go with the set, but we’ll get to that in a few days!)

Elizabeth’s parents also turned to the Greville bequest to present her with a pair of magnificent diamond chandelier earrings to celebrate the wedding. Made in 1929 by Cartier, the earrings feature a variety of cuts of diamonds set in platinum. For many years, these were some of Elizabeth’s go-to gala earrings, but in recent years, they’ve been seen far less. She wears them above during a state visit to the Netherlands in 1958.

Our celebration of 95 of the jewels worn by the Queen during her 95 years continues this afternoon with five pieces that she received in March and April 1947, at the time of her 21st birthday and during her landmark visit to Africa. It was during that royal tour that the princess announced to a global audience on the radio that her “whole life whether it be long or short shall be devoted to your service.”

In 1947, Princess Elizabeth made her first overseas trip, accompanying her parents and her sister on an extensive tour of South Africa. On March 4, she made her first solo appearance during the trip, opening the new Graving Dock in East London on the southern coast of South Africa. After making a speech, the princess received a stunning gift from the South African Railways Administration: five sparkling diamonds, which Elizabeth later had set in a brooch. The Queen often wears the brooch today at events related to the Commonwealth of Nations.

This sparkling brooch was commissioned as a 21st birthday gift for Princess Elizabeth from the children of Zimbabwe, which was then called Southern Rhodesia. Elizabeth arrived in the country with her parents, King George VI and Queen Elizabeth, and her sister, Princess Margaret, on April 7, 1947. The stop was a part of their tour of southern Africa. King George opened the nation’s parliament, and later the same day, six children presented the brooch to the princess. In some of the most iconic images of her reign, photographers captured her on February 7, 1952, wearing the brooch as she descended the stairs to step on English soil as monarch for the first time. Above, she wears the brooch during a tour of Newfoundland in November 1951.

These delicate diamond clips, made by Cartier, were a part of the large jewel bequest from Mrs. Greville to the Queen Mother in 1942. Two years later, the clips were given to Princess Elizabeth as a 21st birthday present during the South African tour. Made of diamonds set in platinum, the clips were commissioned by Mrs. Greville. Their natural ivy leaf motif makes them particularly classic and timeless, and the Queen still wears them today. During her 1951 visit to the United States, pictured above, Elizabeth wore one brooch on her lapel and the other on her hat.

It’s been speculated that this dazzling six-petaled floral brooch may have been Princess Elizabeth’s 21st birthday gift from members of the Royal Household. At the photocall following Elizabeth and Philip’s engagement announcement in July 1947, pictured above, the princess wore her new ring with the sparkling brooch, which is designed as a clematis flower.

In April, Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom celebrates a remarkable milestone: her 95th birthday. To celebrate, we’re going to begin the month with a week-long series on her jewels, highlighting 95 pieces from her incredible royal jewelry collection.

We originally surveyed these jewels five years ago, when the Queen turned 90. I’m revisiting the series this week with a fresh eye, with new photos and new pieces. A reminder, of course, that this is far from an exhaustive list of the Queen’s collection. Rather, this is a chronological overview of examples of jewelry from throughout the Queen’s life, showing how the collection evolved over the years. Enjoy!

To celebrate his Silver Jubilee in 1935, King George V of the United Kingdom gave his granddaughter, Princess Elizabeth, a triple strand of pearls. The necklace sits close to the neck, and is made of identical round pearls. (The three-stranded necklace that the Queen usually wears today is a little longer and made of pearls that are graduated in size.) Above, Elizabeth wears the George V Pearls in October 1949.

Princess Elizabeth was only thirteen when World War II began, and much of her teenage years were spent in a military-focused environment. In January 1942, following the death of the Duke of Connaught, Elizabeth was appointed Colonel-in-Chief of the Grenadier Guards. In April 1942, on the day before her sixteenth birthday, the officers of the regiment presented her with a diamond brooch in the shape of the regiment’s badge. She was often photographed in the badge during the war. Above, in 1944, she wears it for an official visit to the regiment.

Princess Elizabeth received this classic pair of diamond and aquamarine clips from her parents as an 18th birthday gift in April 1944, and she still wears them consistently today. (She also received the Cartier Halo Tiara from her parents on the same birthday.) Although Leslie Field identified their maker as Cartier, the Royal Collection’s website has clarified that Boucheron is actually responsible for this lovely pair. In his Boucheron book, jewel historian Vincent Meylan suggests that the Queen’s uncle, the Duke of Kent, had a part in their commission. Five years ago, the Royal Mail released a special birthday stamp featuring the Queen wearing the clips; the image was taken when she and the Duke visited Jamestown in Virginia in 1957.

Although the most famous photograph of Princess Elizabeth wearing the brooch—the honeymoon snap of her with her new husband, the Duke of Edinburgh—dates to 1947, she actually received the brooch a year earlier. It was given to her in 1946 to commemorate her launching of the British Princess, an oil tanker. The piece is made of platinum and set with diamonds and sapphires to form a chrysanthemum flower with a small stem. Above, in April 1948, she wears it for the unveiling of a memorial for President Franklin D. Roosevelt in Grosvenor Square.

In January 1947, on the day that Princess Elizabeth left for a South African royal tour with her parents and sister, her grandmother, Queen Mary, presented her with these diamond and pearl earrings. The earrings date to the first half of the nineteenth century; they were originally owned by Princess Mary, Duchess of Gloucester, one of the daughters of King George III. She bequeathed them to her niece, Princess Mary, Duchess of Teck in 1857. In turn, the Duchess of Teck bequeathed them to her daughter, Queen Mary, in 1897. The earrings originally included detachable diamond and pearl pendants, but those were made into a separate pair of earrings by Queen Mary. Above, in 1947, Elizabeth wears the earrings on her honeymoon.