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The Diamond Diadem, which dates from 1820 and was worn by Queen Elizabeth II for her stamp portraits, will go on show (Royal Collection Enterprises Limited 2026/Royal Collection Trust/PA)
The first-ever exhibition to explore 500 years of British royal jewellery is to open at Buckingham Palace next year.
Royal Jewellery: From Coronations to Keepsakes will bring together more than 300 spectacular pieces – two-thirds of which will be on show for the the first time – worn by monarchs from Henry VIII to Charles II, and Queen Victoria to Queen Elizabeth II.
Queen Elizabeth II, wearing the Diamond Diadem, returning to Buckingham Palace after the state opening of Parliament in 2019 (Yui Mok/PA)PA Archive/PA Images - Yui Mok
The unprecedented display, with adornments dating from the 16th century to the present day, will explore the human stories behind the royal jewels of “love and loss, power and politics, family and faith”, its curators said.
On show in The King’s Gallery will be the famous Diamond Diadem, which was made for George IV’s extravagant coronation and later immortalised in coins, banknotes and stamps bearing the image of Elizabeth II.
Visitors will also see Queen Victoria’s Small Diamond Crown, which was so closely associated with the 19th-century monarch that it was placed on her coffin during her lying in state.
Queen Victoria’s Small Diamond Crown by Garrard & Co, 1870 (Royal Collection Enterprises Limited 2026/Royal Collection Trust/PA)
Queen Victoria wearing the tiny crown (Royal Collection Enterprises Limited 2026/Royal Collection Trust/PA)
The cufflinks said to have been worn by Charles I on the scaffold for his execution in 1649 and handed to his loyal supporters will be on public display for the first time.
At the heart of the landmark exhibition will be a collection of jewellery associated with every queen and consort from Queen Charlotte to Elizabeth II, tracing changing fashions from Georgian splendour and Victorian sentimentality to sleek Art Deco styles and bold mid-century designs.
Cufflinks, dating from around 1640, said to have been worn by Charles I on the scaffold (Royal Collection Enterprises Limited 2026/Royal Collection Trust/PA)
Caroline de Guitaut and Kathryn Jones, co-curators of the exhibition, said: “This unprecedented exhibition will bring together some of the most important and spectacular royal jewels in British history, many never exhibited publicly before.
“Each jewel carries with it a human story: of love and loss, power and politics, family and faith. Together, they have borne witness to the defining moments of royal lives and offer a deeply personal insight into the individuals and relationships that have shaped the monarchy across generations.”
Queen Alexandra’s articulated serpent bracelet c.1870 (Royal Collection Enterprises Limited 2026/Royal Collection Trust/PA)
A necklace from Queen Charlotte’s set of garnet jewels, dating from the late 18th century (Royal Collection Enterprises Limited 2026/Royal Collection Trust/PA)
Items will include, for the first time, Queen Charlotte’s set of garnet jewels, newly connected to George III’s wife through recent research, as well as Queen Alexandra’s gold articulated serpent bracelet, set with diamonds and a black pearl.
A Faberge aquamarine and diamond pendant given to the future Elizabeth II by her grandmother Queen Mary will be among the pieces, alongside the glittering Greville emerald and diamond necklace, part of Dame Margaret Greville’s celebrated bequest to the Queen Mother, and worn by Elizabeth II.
The Greville emerald and diamond necklace (Royal Collection Enterprises Limited 2026/Royal Collection Trust/PA)
Queen Elizabeth II wearing the Greville emerald and diamond necklace at a diplomatic reception in Buckingham Palace in 2019 (Victoria Jones/PA)PA Archive/PA Images - Victoria Jones
Queen Mary’s Faberge aquamarine and diamond pendant, which was later given to her granddaughter, the future Queen Elizabeth II (Royal Collection Enterprises Limited 2026/Royal Collection Trust/PA)
Queen Elizabeth II wearing the pendant as a brooch in Malta in 2015 (Facundo Arrizabalaga/PA)PA Archive/PA Images - Facundo Arrizabalaga
Moving keepsakes associated with Queen Victoria and Prince Albert, capturing moments of love, loss and family life, will also be on show.
Highlights include Victoria’s first ring – a flowerhead set with five emeralds forming the petals around a single ruby – which she wore in infancy, and the diamond and sapphire brooch Albert gave Victoria on the eve of their wedding.
Queen Victoria’s first ring, (c.1820–5) (Royal Collection Enterprises Limited 2026/Royal Collection Trust/PA)
Queen Victoria’s Wedding Brooch, given to her by Prince Albert on the eve of their wedding (Royal Collection Enterprises Limited 2026/Royal Collection Trust/PA)
There will also be a bracelet set with pebbles collected by Victoria and Albert on their first journey alone together, a thistle brooch incorporating their eldest daughter Princess Victoria’s first milk tooth, removed by Albert himself, and Victoria’s mourning ring, featuring Albert’s photograph and their intertwined cyphers, after he died at the age of 42 in 1861.
The priceless Crown Jewels will not feature in the exhibition and will remain on show at the Tower of London, but visitors will see other glittering jewels created for coronations and major royal occasions.
Brooch, from 1847, set with the first milk tooth of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert’s eldest child, Princess Victoria ((Royal Collection Enterprises Limited 2026/Royal Collection Trust/PA)
Victoria’s mourning Ring for Prince Albert, 1861 (Royal Collection Enterprises Limited 2026/Royal Collection Trust/PA)
Tickets will be available to Royal Collection Trust e-newsletter subscribers from October 28 and to the general public from November 3.
The exhibition will open at The King’s Gallery, Buckingham Palace, in London on June 25 2027 and run for nine months.
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