Royalty’s diamonds to go on show for Jubilee

Buckingham Palace is to house a dazzling exhibition of diamonds to mark the Queen’s 60 years on the throne.

In a fitting tribute to the monarch’s Diamond Jubilee, the Royal Collection is putting on a celebration of the precious gemstone, charting its association with British monarchs during the past 200 years.

The exhibition, which will be the focal point of the palace’s 2012 summer opening, will include an unprecedented display of some of the Sovereign’s personal jewels.

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Among the items on show will be the Girls of Great Britain Tiara which the Queen recently wore at the state banquet for the Turkish President in November.

It was a wedding present to Princess Victoria Mary of Teck, later Queen Mary – the Queen’s grandmother – on behalf of the Girls of Great Britain and Ireland in 1893.

Originally crafted with upright pearls around the top and a bandeau base, it was altered in 1920 by Queen Mary who replaced the pearls with diamonds and removed the base.

It is one of the Queen’s favourites and is known as “Granny’s tiara”, being a wedding present from her grandmother in 1947.

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Many of the pieces that will be on display at the palace have undergone transformations through the ages – having been re-cut or used in new settings depending on the fashion or the preferences of their users.

Visitors will also see the impressive necklace and earrings worn by the Queen at her coronation ceremony in Westminster Abbey in 1953.

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