The Queen wore a brooch from Prince Philip to his memorial service

Her Majesty attended a Westminster Abbey service to honour Prince Philip

Kate Ng
Tuesday 29 March 2022 11:05 EDT
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Queen Elizabeth II attends a Service of Thanksgiving for the life of Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh
Queen Elizabeth II attends a Service of Thanksgiving for the life of Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh (AP)

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The Queen’s outfit to attend the Duke of Edinburgh’s memorial service at Westminster Abbey today was full of tributes to her late husband.

Her Majesty attended the Service of Thanksgiving today wearing a dark green coat, a colour called “Edinburgh Green” and Philip’s official livery colour.

The monarch also honoured the Duke by wearing the Grima Ruby Brooch, which he gifted to her in 1966.

The sparkling brooch, which is made of gold, diamonds and recycled rubies, is one of the Queen’s more modern pieces in her huge collection.

She owns more than 300 items of jewellery, including 98 brooches. Many of them are traditional pieces inherited from the generations before her.

The Queen has worn the Grima Ruby Brooch on several previous occasions, including in 2017 for the official portrait with Philip to celebrate their Platinum Anniversary.

Queen Elizabeth II leaves after attending a Service of Thanksgiving for Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh
Queen Elizabeth II leaves after attending a Service of Thanksgiving for Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh (AFP via Getty Images)

She has also worn the brooch in several of her annual Christmas broadcasts and during important official engagements.

The large piece was made by Andrew Grima, an English-Italian jeweller who is widely known as the doyen of modern jewellery design in Britain.

It features a carved ruby with overlapping petals set within a gold sunburst frame and surrounded by six smaller rubies cut as flower buds. The whole brooch is set with scattered diamonds.

The Queen was not the only royal who wore a brooch that had significance in its relation to Philip.

Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, wore her Rifles brooch in recognition of the moment when the Duke handed over his role as colonel-in-chief of the regiment to her in 2020.

She also wore dark green, as did the Princess Royal. Duke of Edinburgh Gold Awards holder Doyin Sonibare, who delivered a speech about how Philip’s youth scheme impacted her life, also wore dark green.

Sonibare, 28, said later that it was a “crazy coincidence” that she chose the same colour as the Queen, Camilla and Princess Anne.

She added that it was “quite nice, like we’re all in sync”.

Additional reporting by PA

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