Queen Victoria’s Fringe Brooch began its life after the remodelling of another diamond ornament. This was done in 1856, and Queen Victoria wore the brooch in her Winterhalter portrait in 1859.
The diamonds most likely came from jewels presented to Queen Victoria by the Sultan of Turkey in gratitude for the British support during the Crimean War. However, she did not wear it again after Prince Albert’s death, and some of the diamonds of the fringe were sacrificed to make a new small new crown to be worn on her widow’s cap.
Queen Alexandra wearing the brooch at the neck (public domain)
It was left as a personal jewel to her son, King Edward VII and subsequently passed to Queen Alexandra, Queen Mary, Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother and Queen Elizabeth II.1
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