The unprecedented display will see more than 300 spectacular pieces of jewellery go on show – many for the first time – in a brand new exhibition at Buckingham Palace
The late Queen’s most famous crown is set to go on display in a historic exhibition showcasing 500 years of royal jewellery.
The exhibition, the first ever to explore jewels, diamonds and crowns is set to open at Buckingham Palace and will bring together more than 300 spectacular pieces – many of which will be on show for the first- and worn by monarchs including Henry VIII and Queen Victoria.
Called Royal Jewellery: From Coronations to Keepsakes, the unprecedented display will feature pieces dating back to the 16th century with its curators saying it will explore the human stories behind the jewels of “love and loss, power and politics, family and faith”.
One of the most famous pieces on show in the King’s Gallery will be the famous Diamond Diadem, which was made for George IV’s extravagant coronation and later immortalised in coins, banknotes and stamps bearing the image of Elizabeth II.
Visitors will also see Queen Victoria’s Small Diamond Crown, which was so closely associated with the 19th-century monarch that it was placed on her coffin during her lying in state.
The cufflinks said to have been worn by Charles I on the scaffold for his execution in 1649 and handed to his loyal supporters will be on public display for the first time.
At the heart of the landmark exhibition will be a collection of jewellery associated with every Queen and consort from Queen Charlotte to Elizabeth II, tracing changing fashions from Georgian splendour and Victorian sentimentality to sleek Art Deco styles and bold mid-century designs.
Caroline de Guitaut and Kathryn Jones, co-curators of the exhibition, said: “This unprecedented exhibition will bring together some of the most important and spectacular royal jewels in British history, many never exhibited publicly before.
“Each jewel carries with it a human story: of love and loss, power and politics, family and faith. Together, they have borne witness to the defining moments of royal lives and offer a deeply personal insight into the individuals and relationships that have shaped the monarchy across generations.”
Items will include, for the first time, Queen Charlotte’s set of garnet jewels, newly connected to George III’s wife through recent research, as well as Queen Alexandra’s gold articulated serpent bracelet, set with diamonds and a black pearl.
A Faberge aquamarine and diamond pendant given to the future Elizabeth II by her grandmother Queen Mary will be among the pieces, alongside the glittering Greville emerald and diamond necklace, part of Dame Margaret Greville’s celebrated bequest to the Queen Mother, and worn by Elizabeth II.
Moving keepsakes associated with Queen Victoria and Prince Albert, capturing moments of love, loss and family life, will also be on show.
Highlights include Victoria’s first ring – a flowerhead set with five emeralds forming the petals around a single ruby – which she wore in infancy, and the diamond and sapphire brooch Albert gave Victoria on the eve of their wedding.
There will also be a bracelet set with pebbles collected by Victoria and Albert on their first journey alone together, a thistle brooch incorporating their eldest daughter Princess Victoria’s first milk tooth, removed by Albert himself, and Victoria’s mourning ring, featuring Albert’s photograph and their intertwined cyphers, after he died at the age of 42 in 1861.
The priceless Crown Jewels will not feature in the exhibition and will remain on show at the Tower of London, but visitors will see other glittering jewels created for coronations and major royal occasions.
Tickets will be available to Royal Collection Trust e-newsletter subscribers from October 28 and to the general public from November 3. The exhibition will open at The King’s Gallery, Buckingham Palace, in London on June 25, 2027 and run for nine months.
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