Every year, military music lovers have an unmissable date at the great Horse Guards Parade ground in London — the same stage where the Trooping the Colour parade is held and a tourist attraction in the city — where the Household Division’s musical show is performed. On the day of its inauguration, the show was attended by Princess Anne as guest of honor. The sister of King Charles, who is one of the most active members of the British royal family, wore a printed silk crossover dress in one of her favorite colors, royal blue, for the occasion. It was the perfect scenario to wear one of the most special jewels in her jewelry box: a brooch with 12 diamonds and a large faceted sapphire in the center that Princess Anne inherited from Queen Victoria. Although this jewel was commissioned by King Albert, the one in Princess Anne’s possession is actually a replica of the original.
Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha gave the brooch to Queen Victoria a few days before their wedding. The queen liked it so much that she wore it pinned to her wedding dress on her wedding day. In the 20 years that followed, she wore it often until King Albert died and she stopped wearing it. The brooch became part of the royal jewelry box so its use was reserved for princesses and queens of the British royal family. Some studies suggest that King Albert had several copies of this brooch made (one for each of his five daughters), although the most plausible theory is that of the Royal Collection, which explains that in reality there is only one copy of Victoria’s brooch and that it was commissioned for herself, not for her daughters.
Although the origin of this jewel and whether or not it belonged to Queen Victoria has not been officially confirmed, it bears an incredible resemblance to the original. Something that has been noted on the rare occasion when Elizabeth II and Princess Anne coincided wearing the sapphire brooch at the same event. It was during the 50th birthday of Princess Anne, in 2000 when mother and daughter appeared wearing almost the same color dress and twin brooches.
