Queen Elizabeth Wore a Brooch With a Romantic Royal Story to Prince Philip's Funeral

On Saturday, at 3 PM local time, Queen Elizabeth attended the funeral of her husband, Prince Philip at St. George's Chapel at Windsor Castle. Upon her arrival at the ceremony, Queen Elizabeth could be seen wearing an all-black ensemble, coupled with a large diamond brooch.

The Queen is known for wearing specific brooches (opens in new tab) from her collection at formal occasions, and this somber event was no different. On Saturday, she wore the deeply symbolic Richmond Brooch (opens in new tab) to the ceremony. The brooch, which the Queen has worn to several occasions in the past, is one of the largest in her collection, per Express (opens in new tab), and it features a pear-shaped, pearl-drop component, but the Queen wore the brooch without that detail today.

You might have seen the brooch in recent photos of the monarch. She wore the brooch at the 2018 Festival of Remembrance at Royal Albert Hall, which she attended to honor all those who have lost their lives in past war and conflicts and marked 100 years since the end of World War I.

Here's the story behind the Richmond Brooch: Elizabeth's grandmother, Queen Mary, was gifted the brooch, made by Hunt and Raskell, in 1893 as a wedding present. The brooch features diamonds, set with two pearls—one large round center pearl and the detachable pearl. Mary wore the broach on her honeymoon at Osborne House on Isle of Wight.

It's very fitting that Queen Elizabeth chose to wear this particular brooch today, considering the romantic connections it has in her family and her grandparents' own love story. Elizabeth and Philip were married on November 20, 1947 and would have celebrated their 74th wedding anniversary this year.

"He is someone who doesn’t take easily to compliments but he has, quite simply, been my strength and stay all these years, and I, and his whole family, and this and many other countries, owe him a debt greater than he would ever claim, or we shall ever know," she said  (opens in new tab)on their 50th wedding anniversary in 1997.