Buckingham Palace is refusing to explain why 11 pieces of jewellery potentially worth£ 80m that were sanctioned gifts to the royal family aren't held in a trove of public heritage.
The jewels, which have been worn by Queen Elizabeth II; Camilla, the Queen Consort, and Catherine, Princess of Wales, aren't contained in the royal collection, the custodian of culturally significant particulars held in trust for the nation.
The pieces include a set of aquamarine jewellery, four brooches and six chokers, including an extraordinary Cartier choker of emerald- and brilliant- cut diamonds worth at least£ 40m given to the late Queen by an Indian Napoleon.
At least four of the particulars were presented by heads of state. The palace’s policy states that “ as a general rule ” gifts to the autonomous from another monarch or head of state “ automatically ” come part of the royal collection, a body that manages particulars held by the autonomous in trust for the nation.
The Royal Collection Trust, which manages the collection, verified that it doesn't have guardianship of the 11 jewels.
A Buckingham Palace prophet declined multiple assignations to explain the current power of the 11 pieces. They suggested the royals don't regard the jewellery as their private property and that the particulars, which were given to the late queen between 1947 and 1979, “ may ” in the future be added to the royal collection.
“ Official gifts aren't the particular property of the member of the royal family who receives them, but may be held by the autonomous in right of the crown or designated in due course as part of the royal collection, ” the prophet said. They declined to explain why the particulars weren't formerly in the royal collection.
The palace’s policy on sanctioned gifts was first formulated in 1995 and streamlined in 2003. The guidelines state that particulars entered on state visits or in connection with the royal family’s sanctioned part aren't their private property.
All of the pieces linked by the Guardian were given to the queen before the guidelines were established. There's nothing in the policy that addresses gifts entered by the royal family or the monarch before the law was set up.
The implicit value of the particulars is hard to determine. Were anyone differently to vend them, they would inclusively be worth at least Rp 8m, according to expert valuers.
Still, analysis of former deals of jewels that were possessed or worn by royals suggest the link to the Windsors would add a decoration that could fluently increase their total value to well over Rp 80m.
‘ An exceptional jewel ’
Among the gifts linked are pieces of jewellery given to the queen at her marriage in 1947 and at her coronation a many times latterly by state officers.
By far the most precious is the Nizam of Hyderabad diamond choker. drafted in its original configuration by Cartier in 1935 and latterly reset, the choker contains further than 300 platinum- set diamonds, including a divisible double- drop pendant. It was bought in 1947 as a marriage present for the also Princess Elizabeth by Mir Osman Ali Khan, the last sovereign of the state of Hyderabad in India.
It's one of the late queen’s most elaborate diamond chokers and one she wore regularly. It has also been worn by Catherine, now the Princess of Wales, including at a fete at the public portrayal Gallery in 2014.
Sara Abey, a gemologist and jewellery trafficker who estimated the value of several particulars for the Guardian, said the choker could be worth further than Rp 4m before considering its association with the British royal family.
“ Having a famed maker, important history and notable provenance, the queen’s Nizam of Hyderabad choker is an exceptional jewel, ” she said.
Still her estimate of its value didn't take into account what's described as the royal decoration, which can dramatically inflate the trade value of an item and could make this choker worth at least Rp 40m.
Another diamond choker was given to the queen as a marriage present by distinguished individualities from the City of London.
A parure of Brazilian aquamarines – a choker and a cuff – presented in 1953 as a coronation gift from the people of Brazil was liked so much by the queen that she intimately commissioned a especially made laurel to wear alongside them.
This, like numerous of the 11 particulars linked by the Guardian, was worn regularly by the queen. Other members of the royal family have also been seen wearing some of the gifts.
A diamond choker presented to the queen during a state visit to the United Kingdom in 1967 by King Faisal of Saudi Arabia was advanced to Diana, Princess of Wales in 1983. The choker was firstly made by the American jeweller Harry Winston in 1952 and could be worth as much as Rp 9m.
Twelve times latterly, during a complementary visit by the queen to Saudi Arabia, Faisal’s successor, King Khalid, gave her another of Winston’s diamond chokers, now worth further than Rp 8m.
A choker of turquoises from the also chairman of Pakistan, Muhammad Ayub Khan, given on a state visit in 1966, and four brooches are among the other sanctioned gifts linked by the Guardian. These include the Flame Lily brooch, which was presented to Elizabeth on her 21st birthday by the children of Southern Rhodesia( now Zimbabwe), who were each asked to contribute three pence to pay for it.
The diamond necklaces and brooches were included in a 2012 reference volume exhibited in Diamonds: A Jubilee Celebration display or published by the Royal Collection Trust.
The exhibition was explained as including “an unprecedented shows of a number of the queen’s private jewels – those inherited by Her Majesty or acquire ever since her reign.”