Queen Elizabeth Paid Tribute to Prince Philip With a Rarely-Seen Brooch

Photo credit: Pool - Getty Images
Photo credit: Pool - Getty Images
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Queen Elizabeth is not a woman who lacks in jewelry options. From glittering tiaras to her famous strands of pearls to full matching sets of gems, there are few collections in the world that could hope to compete with the beautiful baubles at Her Majesty's disposal. Yet, if there's a single signature piece that the Queen is most closely associated with, it's almost certainly her brooches.

For decades, she's been completing her sartorial statements with a glamorous pin, and over the years, many have sought to read into the often enigmatic monarch's thoughts and moods by interpreting the meaning behind her selections. From speculations about her throwing royal shade at Donald Trump to the flower basket brooch she favors for new births in the family, the Palace isn't in the habit of confirming or denying whether her brooches convey secret meaning, but given how much thought the Queen surely put into her appearance, we have to think that they show at least some of what's on the monarch's mind.

Case in point, earlier this week, during a set of virtual meetings, the Queen selected a piece from her collection that rarely makes a public appearance: a butterfly brooch, which was given to her as a wedding present. The brooch, which features a diamond-winged butterfly with ruby accents, was gifted to her by the Dowager Countess of Onslow in 1947 when the then-princess married Prince Philip. Though she doesn't often don the piece, her choice this week seemed particularly poignant, considering that she chose something with such sentimental value just two days before what would have been Prince Philip's 100th birthday.

While the monarch has been getting back to her regular schedule of events recently after a year of curtailed events due to the global pandemic, it's only natural that her husband, who passed away earlier this year at the age of 99, is still very much on her mind. The butterfly brooch marks the second time in recent weeks that the Queen has paid homage to the late Duke of Edinburgh with her jewelry. In May she also wore the Scarab Brooch for a visit to an aircraft carrier, evoking Philip's service in the Royal Navy with the ruby-studded piece which was a gift from her late husband in 1966.

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