Sparkling Royal Jewels From Around the World
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| DANIEL LEAL-OLIVAS/AFP/Getty Images |
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| Governor-General David Johnston/Twitter |
Winter is knocking on the door here in the Northern Hemisphere, and with the changing season, I wouldn’t be surprised if we see today’s brooch, the Sapphire Jubilee Snowflake, make another appearance soon.
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| STEFAN ROUSSEAU/AFP/Getty Images |
Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom celebrated her Sapphire Jubilee in 2017, marking an astonishing 65 years on throne. But of course, the UK isn’t the only country where she has reigned for so many decades; she’s also monarch in several other realms. To mark her Sapphire Jubilee as Queen of Canada, Governor General David Johnston presented her with a gift on behalf of the nation: a lovely new diamond and sapphire brooch.
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| Governor-General David Johnston/Twitter |
The brooch features diamonds and gorgeous pale blue sapphires in a snowflake-inspired design. (The scientifically-minded among us will undoubtedly note that it’s not really a snowflake, as they feature six-fold symmetry, and the brooch does not.) The sapphires set in the brooch were part of a cache found in 2002 on Baffin Island by a pair of brothers, Seemeega and Nowdluk Aqpik.
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| STEFAN ROUSSEAU/AFP/Getty Images |
The brooch was made by a Canadian firm, Hillberg and Berk, and was designed as a companion to one of the Queen’s most famous Canadian-related brooches: the Diamond Maple Leaf Brooch. Appropriately, the Queen was wearing the Maple Leaf during her visit to Canada House in London to celebrate the 150th anniversary of Canada’s Confederation. During that visit, Johnston took the opportunity to present the Queen with the new snowflake brooch.
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| Andrew Matthews – WPA Pool/ Getty Images |
We had to wait more than a year to see the brooch again. The Queen wore it publicly for the first time in July 2018, during an audience with King Philippe and Queen Mathilde of the Belgians at Windsor Castle. (The event, unfortunately, prompted a whole lot of silly speculation online, which I addressed over here.)
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| Andrew Matthews – WPA Pool/ Getty Images |
Here’s a better look at the Queen from that occasion. Unfortunately, the brooch receded a bit into the colorful dress that HM wore for the day, making the sapphires almost disappear entirely. Here’s hoping that we’ll see her wear the piece again soon, and on a dress or coat that helps the brooch pop a bit more. The chilly weather will surely provide plenty of appropriate opportunities for a snowflake outing!
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| Princess Margaret visits Fort St. John during her tour of Canada, 1958 (Stan Meagher/Express/Getty Images) |
FREDERICTON — Princess Margaret [1] spends a quiet day in a secluded summer cottage on the St. John River near here today. Her only official appearance will be at the harness racing here tonight.
A cottage named Journey’s End about seven miles north of here, owned by contractor Stanley Cassidy, was reported to be the hideaway. Officials would neither confirm nor deny the report.
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| Wearing the Lotus Flower Tiara, Princess Margaret attends a formal event during her tour of Canada, 1958 (Daily Express/Getty Images) |
Thursday night the princess was guest at a banquet given by the Province of New Brunswick and attended by more than 200 persons. Guests included provincial cabinet members, legislature members, judiciary, and armed forces personnel. The dinner climaxed a day that took the princess to seven major appearances.
At the dinner, she was presented with a woollen handwoven skirt by Premier Hugh John Flemming [2] on behalf of the province. An illuminated address of welcome was also presented by the premier. Radiant in a pale blue dress studded with jewels and crowned by a tiara, the princess was accompanied to the dinner by Lieutenant-Governor J. Leonard O’Brien [3].
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| Princess Margaret disembarks from a Royal Canadian Air Force plane during her tour of Canada, 1958 (Express/Getty Images) |
For more than an hour before the dinner began, crowds which followed her on her tour of the New Brunswick capital waited outside and in the hotel lobby in a heavy downpour to catch another glimpse of her.
Other events Thursday included a civic luncheon where Princess Margaret received a bouquet from Donna Shook, a ward of the Fredericton’s Children’s Home, and a visit to the New Brunswick legislature building, where she signed the government visitor’s book.
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| Princess Margaret pictured on her return to England following her tour of Canada, 1958 (Victor Blackman/Daily Express/Hulton Archive/Getty Images) |
Her most enthusiastic welcome came from more than 2,000 boy scouts, girl guides, brownies, wolf cubs, and St. John Ambulance members. At the University of New Brunswick she made a brief speech thanking them.
She made a brief tour of the New Brunswick Polio Clinic and Health Centre and chatted with children and adult patients. An official said she stopped and talked with all 55 patients. Two photographers were allowed to enter the building, but reporters were barred.
NOTES
1. Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon (1930-2002) was the younger daughter of King George VI and the sister of Queen Elizabeth II. In 1958, a few years after the end of her star-crossed affair with Group Captain Peter Townsend, Margaret embarked on a romance with a society photographer, Antony Armstrong-Jones. The couple married in 1960.
2. Hugh John Flemming (1899-1982) was the 24th Premier of New Brunswick. He also later served as Canada’s Minister of Forestry.
3. Joseph Leonard O’Brien (1895-1973) was appointed the 21st Lieutenant Governor of New Brunswick in 1958, a post he held until 1965.