A necklace with two of the largest diamonds in the world, worth £50 million; two 300-year-old pearl necklaces; £4 million worth of butterfly brooches bearing more than 500 diamonds - these are only a fraction of the items in the personal jewellery collection of Queen Elizabeth II.
Alongside official jewellery belonging to the state - crowns and tiaras, scepters and jewel-laden sabres - Queen Elizabeth II has a stunning private collection of jewellery, which she wears to state dinners and banquets. Like women in many families, the Queen received or inherited much of her jewellery from her mother, grandmother and other, more distant relatives. She has also received countless gifts from guests from countries both within the Empire and beyond it. The worth of her private collection is unknown, and in fact has never been estimated; yet clearly, it is a collection without peer.
So, what does the jewellery collection of a real queen look like? The current monarch's collection comprises a wealth of "everyday" crowns, which are far simpler than those kept at Buckingham Palace. It also contains thousands of diamonds, pearl necklaces and chokers, pendant necklaces, earrings, brooches, and a host of colourful, more contemporary matching sets inlaid with less traditional gemstones.
Many of the pieces have a story to tell that crosses continents and generations. For example, the Burmese Ruby Tiara began as a wedding gift to the then-Princess in 1947 from the subjects of the Raj in India (diamonds), and from the people of Burma (rubies).
The press of world events at the time prevented the Queen from attending to her gifts and it was not until 1973 that she decided to order a new crown and have it inlaid with the Indian diamonds and Burmese rubies. Another wedding gift of note was given to her by the mother of her groom, Prince Philip: The Princess Andrew of Greece's Meander Tiara, which is in the classic Greek "key pattern". Without meaning to insult, the Queen never appeared in public wearing this tiara, and instead chose to pass it on to her daughter Anne, The Princess Royal, who wore it to her wedding in 1972.
The collection also contains a rectangular sapphire brooch augmented by tiny diamonds, originally given by a besotted Prince Albert to Queen Victoria on the day before their wedding, and consequently known as the Prince Albert Sapphire Brooch. A sapphire is also embedded in the extraordinary necklace that the Queen received from her father, George VI, as part of The George VI Victorian Suite that he gifted her on the occasion of her wedding.
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One of the pieces most beloved of Queen Elizabeth II is the so-called "Brazilian Parure", which is dominated by a large aquamarine - festooned, as surely you have guessed, with diamonds. This necklace, along with matching earrings, was given to the Queen by the Brazilian government in 1953, in honour of her coronation. The Queen loved this parure so much that four years later she had a matching crown made from aquamarine gemstones. In 1958, the government of Brazil sent yet more pieces - a bracelet and a brooch - crafted from the same jewels.
The Queen's "Mary of Teck Turquoise Parure" is also worthy of note: It was given to Queen Elizabeth's grandmother on the occasion of her wedding to the man who would become King George V. This colourful set includes a crown, a necklace, bracelets, brooches and other delights, all of them inlaid with stunning turquoise gemstones encircled by diamonds. Items from the "Turquoise Parure" are worn to this day by the Queen and other female members of the Royal Family.
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