Britain’s longest-serving monarch Queen Elizabeth II passed away at the age of 96 years on Thursday at the Balmoral castle in Scotland. The news of the Queen’s death came after Buckingham Palace announced that doctors were concerned over her health and recommended that she stay under medical supervision. The queen was a fashion icon throughout her life. She also had quite a taste in jewellery and had the most expensive collection in the world. But did you know, among her iconic neck pieces, one of them was gifted by Indian Nizam of Hyderabad as a wedding present to the queen?
In 1947, Asaf Jah VII, the Nizam of Hyderabad, (which was then under British colonial rule), gifted the Queen the necklace as her wedding gift.
The picture of it was shared by the Instagram account of The Royal Family. An excerpt from the caption read: “Nizam had left instructions with the firm of Cartier in London that Princess Elizabeth should select a wedding gift herself, and this platinum necklace set with approximately 300 diamonds was chosen.”
The Queen continued to wear the necklace during her reign and later lent it to Kate Middleton. In the post, the first photo was clicked just days after Queen Elizabeth II’s accession to the throne in February 1952. The photograph was also used as the basis image of hers on stamps.
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Notably, Nizam of Hyderabad was one of the richest men in the world who could afford such a pricey diamond necklace as a wedding gift to the then princess.
He also gifted the Queen the famous Hyderabad Tiara which had a design based on English roses with three detachable floral brooches all made of diamonds and set in platinum. She often wore the magnificent brooches throughout her reign of 70 years.
