The Queen opted for a timeless jewel her grandmother passed on by thanking the NHS volunteers earlier this week.
Her Majesty, 94, wore the brooch with a pearl pendant from Cambridge on Tuesday when she made her first public appearance since her husband, Prince Phillip, 99, left the hospital in the joint video call with the Duchess of Cornwall.
The historic brooch, over 140 years old, originally belonged to Princess Augusta of Hesse-Kassel, wife of Prince Adolphus, Duke of Cambridge, before being passed on to Queen Elizabeth by her grandmother.
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Queen Elizabeth II was photographed during a video call earlier this week to thank volunteers from the Royal Volunteer Service for their work in vaccinating people
A lasting favorite: Queen Elizabeth used the piece for a portrait on her 50th birthday at Windsor Castle on April 21, 1976
An elderly Augusta wore the brooch in a portrait commissioned by her niece, Queen Victoria, in 1877 and was among the items inherited by Queen Maria when her grandmother died.
She used the piece in the baptisms of the future Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Charles before passing it on to her granddaughter.
Queen Elizabeth used the piece for a portrait on her 50th birthday at Windsor Castle on April 21, 1976 and, earlier, for a Christmas broadcast in 1971.
The monarch also wore the brooch in 2019 during a reception at Buckingham Palace to mark the work of The Queen’s Trust and to welcome the Peruvian ambassador to the palace in 2018.
The brooch originally belonged to Princess Augusta of Hesse-Kassel, wife of Prince Adolphus, Duke of Cambridge
More recently, the brooch was seen on the queen in a portrait commissioned last year by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) as a ‘lasting tribute to Her Majesty’s services’ to diplomacy.
His Majesty loves pearls, and they influenced his first “serious” jewel when his grandfather, George V, celebrated his Silver Jubilee in 1935, giving pearl necklaces to both granddaughters.
Princess Elizabeth, then nine years old, received a necklace of three rows of pearls perfectly matched; Princess Margaret, four years younger, was given a two-line version.
Ingrid Seward, editor in chief of Majesty magazine, said that Her Majesty ‘always wears a brooch, even in private, when she wears almost as many jewels as she wears in public’.
His Majesty praised the “wonderful” work of the volunteer army that came during the pandemic, saying that they were a “great, great help in this difficult year”.
The Queen, who has been a patron of the Royal Volunteer Service for nearly 70 years, held a video call with the Duchess of Cornwall, the organization’s president, and RVS volunteers on Tuesday.
Calling from Windsor Castle, the Queen seemed thrilled to see her daughter-in-law, starting the call with a cheerful: ‘Ah, good morning. Hello Camila! ‘
The Duchess, speaking from her London base, Clarence House, replied: ‘Good morning, how are you? “Okay, thanks,” replied the Queen. “Good to see you,” Camilla said warmly.
The monarch wore the brooch in 2019 during a reception at Buckingham Palace to mark the work of The Queen’s Trust
The queen wore the brooch in several of her Christmas broadcasts. She is photographed at Buckingham Palace in 2014
The footage released on Friday shows the first time the queen has appeared since she met her 99-year-old husband Prince Philip on Tuesday in Windsor after he was discharged from King Edward VII’s Hospital, in London, after a 28-day hospitalization.
It also occurs as Buckingham Palace continues to grapple with the aftermath of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s bombshell interview with Oprah Winfrey on March 7.
Harry and Meghan, who faced calls to postpone the interview because Philip was unwell, accused an unidentified royal member, not the queen or duke, of raising concerns about how dark their son Archie’s skin tone would be before he is born.
Meghan also recounted how she begged for help when she was suicidal, but said the institution had given her no support.
The 94-year-old Queen said the issues were worrisome, but that “some memories may vary” and that the issue was a family matter and would be dealt with privately.
As for the RVS scheme featured in the video released today, more than one million new volunteers have signed up to help since last March, bringing the total to an impressive 12.7 million.
The Duchess of Cornwall, president of the organization, also participated in the video call from Clarence House in London
(Top row, from left) Camilla, RVS chief executive Catherine Johnstone, volunteer Sue Cadwallader of RVS, (middle row from left) NHS volunteer respondents Anderson Akponeware and Simon Holmes, RVS volunteer Tracy Clarke and (part lower) the Queen
When RVS chief executive Catherine Johnstone introduced the queen to four of them, the monarch, dressed in a blue floral dress, smiled widely and said, ‘Thank you very much. Very interesting to hear what you’ve been doing.
‘I think it is a wonderful job and I thank everyone, and also everyone else, who volunteered. It has been a great help during this difficult year. Nice to meet you all. ‘
The call was organized to mark a year since the launch of the NHS Volunteer Responders to tackle the pandemic.
The Queen and Camilla list carefully when they are informed about the 1.6 million tasks performed by NHS volunteer respondents since the initial call to arms, including ‘check in and chat’ calls, food delivery and revenue collection.
The scheme was implemented for the vaccination program, they were informed.