08/07/2022
This brooch was presented by Her Majesty the Queen to the six Maids of Honour at the Coronation in 1953
Royal Jewels ~ Duchess of Norfolk QEII Coronation Monogram Brooch
This brooch was designed and created by Garrard & Co. Ltd. The brooch is designed in HM Queen Elizabeth II's monogram and modeled after HM's own handwriting. "With grateful thanks" is inscribed on the back of the piece. The brooch is crafted from round brilliant which are set in platinum.
Six identical brooches were created by Garrard's and given to the six Maids of Honour, who attended the Queen at the Coronation: Lady Jane Vane-Tempest-Stewart, Lady Anne Coke later known as Lady Anne Glenconner, Lady Moyra Hamilton, Lady Mary Baillie-Hamilton, Lady Jane Heathcote-Drummond-Willoughby, and Lady Rosemary Spencer-Churchill.
This particular brooch, which was recently sold at auction, was gifted to Lavina, Duchess of Norfolk as a thank you for her assistance prior to HM's 1953 coronation. Lavinia Fitzalan-Howard, Duchess of Norfolk stood in for HM The Queen during the rehearsals held at Westminster Abbey in the lead up to the 1953 Coronation. As Earl Marshall of England, the Duchess of Norfolk’s husband, Bernard Fitzalan-Howard, 16th Duke of Norfolk, had overall responsibility for the organisation of the Coronation, and indeed he had also planned the Coronation of King George VI in 1937.”
The brooch was accompanied by a handwritten letter from Her Majesty the Queen addressed to Lavinia, Duchess of Norfolk and dated June 1953, two days after the Coronation, in which she expressed her thanks to the Duchess:
"Dear Lavinia
I write to express my heartfelt thanks to you for standing in for me in the Abbey in the weeks leading up to my coronation. It was extremely kind of you to be there to support me at such an important moment of ones life, and it gave me such tremendous confidence to know all was ready before the service. The Archbishop was very grateful for all your patient help and Mummy hopes that my understudy will be available when I am next ill in bed!!
I hope you will accept this small gift, which was Philip’s inspired idea, as an enduring reminder of my appreciation.
Yours sincerely
Elizabeth R."
Known for her charitable interests, the Duchess of Norfolk donated the brooch to raise funds for the Foreign and British Bible Society in 1956, the funds contributing to the Society’s new headquarters in Canberra, Australia, which were formerly opened in 1960.
Consigned to Noonans from Australia, the brooch came with a copy of a typed and signed letter, dated 8 February 1960, from Mr Anthony Elder, the Chairman of The British and Foreign Bible Society, addressed to Mr Edward Clark of Epping Gospel Church, New South Wales, Australia. The letter confirmed that the ‘Coronation Diamond Pin’ was ‘donated to the Society in lieu of a monetary contribution by Her Grace the Duchess of Norfolk’. To add to the fascinating history of this piece, it was not the Duchess herself who presented the society with the brooch but a ‘Mr Lindwall at Arundel on behalf of the Commonwealth Council’, who acted as the emissary.
This past June 2022 the brooch sold at a Noonan's auction for £180,000 or approximately $215,000 US. The piece was purchased by a European Collector and no further information is available as to the piece's currently whereabouts or the new owner.
It is assumed that the remaining 5 brooches are still in possession of the original owners or their families.
Shared from History & Lives of the British Royals
https://www.facebook.com/History-Lives-of-the-British-Royals-122845112442353/
