Queen Elizabeth once again paid tribute to her late husband Prince Philip by wearing a brooch with a special meaning behind it.
The monarch visited the company of the aircraft carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth in Portsmouth on Saturday in advance of its maiden departure. During the visit, the royal went aboard the ship, one of the two largest warships ever built by the Royal Navy, and met with various officers of the Royal Navy, Royal Air Force, and Royal Marines. For the occasion, the Queen wore a vibrant red hat and coat adorned with her “Scarab” brooch, an homage to Philip who was also a naval veteran. The “Scarab” brooch, designed by prolific royal jeweler Andrew Grima, is made out of yellow gold with a large ruby in the center accented by carved ruby and diamond embellishments. The piece of jewelry was a personal gift from her late husband in 1966 and one she’s worn numerous times throughout the years, perhaps most notably in 2017 during her platinum anniversary portraits with the Duke of Edinburgh.
This isn’t the first time since Philip’s passing that the Queen has paid tribute to her husband of over seventy years with a sentimental accessory. For his intimate funeral service at St. George’s Chapel in Windsor Castle in April, the monarch wore a black dress, hat, and face mask, accessorized with a large diamond and pearl brooch. The Richmond Brooch, one of the largest in Queen Elizabeth’s collection, was first given to her grandmother Queen Mary as a wedding present in 1893 before the monarch inherited it in 1953. Queen Mary regularly wore the piece as a necklace, but Queen Elizabeth prefers it as a brooch, wearing it very sparingly during her early reign. But over the past several years, the royal has taken to wearing the brooch on multiple occasions, including to Prince Harry’s 2018 wedding to Meghan Markle that also took place at St. George’s Chapel. In addition to wearing the brooch to celebratory occasions, the Queen has also worn it to more solemn affairs like the 2014 and 2018 Royal British Legion Festival of Remembrance to mourn those whose lives were lost in conflict.
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