If there is a wish I have I know will never be granted, it is to be let loose in the jewellery vaults of Buckingham Palace, unhindered, for a really good rummage. I have been studying and observing Royal jewels for coming up to 30 years and every time I think I’ve learnt all there is to know, one of the Windsor ladies blindsides every jewellery blogger and historian by sporting a jaw clanger of a jewel no-one has ever seen before. I think the Queen does this on purpose, mischievously enjoying confounding so-called experts who are then forced to revisit their supposed knowledge of her private possessions. Her Majesty hosted her annual Diplomatic Reception in December 2019 and wowed by debuting a previously unseen necklace of matchless emeralds and diamonds. Everyone gasped, the Queen quite rightly stole the show (it was her party, after all) and for once no one could be bothered with Catherine Cambridge’s pearl and diamond tiara yet again (side bar: the Duchess of Cambridge wears this not as a ‘tribute to Diana’, but because it has been known as the Cambridge Lover’s Knot tiara since it was made 100 years ago. It is not loaned by the Queen, Princess Diana received it from her as a wedding present and it became her personal property, inherited by Prince William on her death). Back to the emeralds: no comment, said Buckingham Palace, as the necklace is the Queen’s private property. We can only speculate and the Palace will never confirm. The scarce available information suggests that the Queen’s magnificent necklace is just one of over sixty jewels inherited outright by Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother in 1942 from one Mrs. Ronnie Greville, an extraordinarily legacy now known as the Greville Bequest. On learning of the inheritance, Queen Elizabeth wrote to Queen Mary: ‘I must tell you that Mrs. Greville has left me her jewels, tho’ I am keeping THAT quiet for the moment!’ How she thought she could keep jewellery like this under the radar if publicly worn reveals a rather endearing naivety.

Of the original 60 plus pieces only a few have been seen in public and are well documented because of their ingenious design and flawless execution. We assumed that we had probably seen the best of Mrs. Greville’s jewels and that the rest were trinkets- until Princess Eugenie arrived at St. George’s Chapel to marry Jack Brooksbank rocking a stunning tiara of diamonds set with a 93 carat cabochon emerald. Buckingham Palace informed us that the tiara was a loan from the Queen and had entered the Royal Collection as part of Mrs. Greville’s inheritance. The tiara bears little resemblance to the form in which it was originally bought by Mrs. Greville from Boucheron, sometime in the 1900’s. Back then, it was more of an Edwardian ‘fender’, perfect for those piled up Edwardian hairstyles. As fashions changed and became sleeker and more streamlined, Mrs. Greville had Boucheron rework the tiara into its present form in 1921, adding the 93 carat emerald as the centre stone. The design is a triumph of timeless Art Deco and it is astonishing that this is the first time the tiara has been worn since it changed owners.

We know for certain that the bequest included a necklace of superb emeralds. The Queen Mother wore it only rarely and publicly available images are scarce and grainy. The square emeralds in the Queen’s showstopper closely resemble Mrs. Greville’s necklace, elevated to legendary status with the addition of cabochon emerald drops. These drops mirror the ones suspended in the Queen’s tiara incorporated into the private Royal jewellery collection by Queen Mary. Known as the Cambridge emeralds, it was thought they had all been set into jewellery; if these were part of the Cambridge set, then there are many more stones than was originally thought. Bloggers ooohed and aaaahed over the necklace, overlooking the drop earrings Her Majesty was also wearing, I suppose inevitably overshadowed by the necklace and the tiara. However, there is an archive photograph of the Queen Mother wearing these drops and they are noteworthy. Like every Greville jewel seen so far, the gems are impressive in size and colour. The diamond embellishments are as much part of the design as the emeralds, placing the earrings a class apart from the homogenous banality often prevalent in high jewellery, in which design seems to be an afterthought, hastily executed after the calculation of the price tag.

The speculations on the monarch’s personal jewels, though based on evidence, will never be confirmed by Buckingham Palace. But because the jewels are always in a league of their own, it only makes the mystery more fascinating and leaves us wondering what other treasures are yet to emerge. Without being allowed to be nosey in the Queen’s vault, we will never know. And that’s not going to happen.