Princess Anne has spent the weekend in Canada, where she visited the country’s oldest military regiment on their 175th anniversary.
In addition to meeting members of the regiment, both past and present, the princess attended a commemorative concert, a parade and a gala dinner – during which, she accesorised with two particularly interesting brooches.
Fine jewellery and diamond experts at Steven Stone have taken a close look at the brooches, revealing the history behind them and their values.
The 8th Hussars have had a long association with Royalty. In 1879 after mounting a Guard for the Governor General of Canada and his wife, HRH Princess Louise, the Regiment sought and was given permission to add her name to their title in 1884.
It was only fitting that they would name a wounded colt, rescued in the fighting in Italy during WW2, and retained as a mascot, Princess Louise. This horse went on to be given the Freedom of the Town in Hampton on her arrival from Europe and eventually would have two foals of her own, aptly named Princess Louise II and III.
Princess Anne – sister to King Charles and a former Olympic equestrian rider – was appointed to her role with the 8th Canadian Hussars (Princess Louise’s) regiment in June 1972, when she was just 21 years of age.
She has visited the unit several times and maintained a close relationship with it – including when they had a regular force regiment in Germany, Base Gagetown in 1985/86 and in Moncton in 1998, when the regiment celebrated their 150th anniversary.
Horse Brooch
Princess Anne’s working visit to New Brunswick started in Fredericton on Friday, where Her Royal Highness met with Lieutenant Governor Brenda Murphy and handed out Diamond Jubilee medals at RCMP headquarters.
She then travelled to Moncton in a military helicopter for a wreath-laying ceremony at the RCMP memorial for the three Mounties who were shot and killed on 4th June 2014.
Dressed in navy blue, the Princess Royal accesorised with a silver plated circular brooch that featured the outline of a horse and its rider in the centre.
The brooch is a particularly sentimental choice by Princess Anne as it pays tribute to the horse that the regiment rescued during WW2 and both her equestrian career and general love of horses.
Our experts estimate the silver brooch to be worth the modest price of £500.
Princess Louise Brooch
On Saturday, Princess Anne attended the 8th Canadian Hussars Exercise of the Freedom of the City of Moncton Parade.
Donning the Hussars’ red and blue colours, the Princess Royal was wearing a regal ‘Nehru’ Coat from Shibumi Style in ‘Venetian Red’, a matching scarf and a sparkling brooch.
Oozing with symbolism, the white gold brooch was in the shape of Princess Louise’s monogram – featuring a yellow gold crown in the centre and adorned with what appear to be pave diamonds.
It’s heartwarming to see the Princess Royal pay tribute to both a late royal and the regiment that she’s been associated with since such a young age.
Our experts estimate the brooch to be worth approximately £8,000.
Princess Anne continued to wear the brooch throughout the weekend and was spotted sporting it at a commemorative concert on Saturday evening, as well as during a visit to the 8th Hussars Regimental Museum on Sunday.
“The royal family have a spectacular collection of brooches. Though their values vary, they’re all rich in history and symbolism.
The first brooch that Princess Anne was seen sporting during her trip was a silver plated circular brooch that displayed a horse and its rider – though renowned for her equestrian career and love of horses, the royal was likely paying tribute to the horse that the regiment rescued during WW2.
The Princess Royal’s second brooch – which she wore at various points during the weekend – was just as symbolic. Featuring a yellow gold crown and white gold adorned with pave diamonds, the sparkling brooch was in the shape of Princess Louise’s monogram. The regiment added the royals name to their title in 1884.
The two brooches that Princess Anne wore in New Brunswick have fairly modest price tags – while the brooch showcasing Princess Louise’s monogram is likely to be worth £8000, I’d estimate the silver plated brooch to be worth just £500.”
zack stone, managing director, steven stone
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