Princess Anne is currently in New Zealand with her husband Sir Timothy Lawrence and she’s definitely been dressing to impress.
Her first visit to the country since 2010, the Princess Royal’s plans have been derailed by the onslaught of natural disasters New Zealand has faced in the past week.
Princess Anne was due to attend a military event in Palmerston North on Wednesday, but it was cancelled due to the Defence Force being called in to assist towns hit by the storm. Instead, she was given a tour of the National Crisis Management Centre in Wellington by Prime Minister Chris Hipkin.
Looking a vision in gold, the Princess Royal accessorised with one of her lesser seen pieces of jewellery.
Steven Stone’s leading diamond expert, Zack Stone, has taken a close look and revealed everything you need to know about the brooch.
During her tour of New Zealand’s disaster management headquarters on Wednesday, Princess Anne spoke with disaster response officials and heard about their strategies for dealing with the major weather event.
Wearing a surgical mask to protect against Covid transmission in the bunker, the Princess Royal looked as elegant as ever in a smart coat with a golden hue and striped design – accesorising with a gold jewellery set that included a gold chain choker, droplet earrings and a mysterious brooch that appeared to be in the shape of a wreath.
Made of 18k yellow gold, carved into an ornate three flower, three leaf pattern, Zack estimates the brooch to be worth £4,500 – a modest price for a piece of royal jewellery.
Though the brooch doesn’t carry a huge value, it carries a wealth of symbolism. Whilst wreaths symbolise welcome, friendship and remembrance, leaves symbolize growth and hope amid hardship – making the piece a particularly sentimental choice by the Princess Royal as she’s visiting the country during a testing time.
The brooch is definitely one of Princess Anne’s lesser seen jewels, with sightings of it far and few between.
Back in 2016, Princess Anne wore the jewel during a visit to a Save the Children charity shop in Tring. She also gave it two outings in September 2019 – to an event celebrating 200 years of Henry Poole banking with Coutts, and to the book launch of ‘Henry Poole & Co: The First Tailor of Savile Row’.
The brooch was last seen in 2020, when the Princess Royal wore it during a video message that was shared on the Royal Family Instagram account to celebrate the International Day of the Midwife.
There’s no evidence that the piece has been worn by any other royal, which makes it likely that the Princess Royal bought it for herself.
“Princess Anne has definitely been dressing to impress in New Zealand and one of her accessories in particular has caught our eye – the gold brooch that was on her coat when she visited New Zealand’s disaster management headquarters.
The brooch appears to be in the shape of a wreath and is made of 18k gold, carved into an ornate three flower, three leaf pattern. I’d estimate it to be worth £4,500.
The piece oozes with symbolism. Whilst wreaths symbolise welcome and friendship, leaves are often symbols of hope amid hardship – making the piece a particularly sentimental choice by the Princess Royal as she’s visiting the country during a testing time
With its appearances few and far between and there being no evidence that the mysterious piece has been worn by another royal, it’s highly likely that Princess Anne bought it for herself, which would explain the modest price tag.”
zack stone, leading diamond expert, steven stone
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