Today marks the Anniversary of the Coronation of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth, who were crowned at Westminster Abbey on this day in 1937. Since we have already covered the coronation, today we are taking a look at one of it’s most glittering mementos; Queen Elizabeth’s Coronation Rivière.
Crown | Greville Tiara | Oriental Circlet Tiara | Delhi Durbar Tiara | Fringe Tiara | Turquoise Parure | Lotus Flower Tiara | Strathmore Rose Tiara | Cartier Halo Tiara | Teck Crescent Tiara | Cartier Bracelet Bandeau | Aquamarine Pine Flower Tiara | Teck Diamond Hoop Necklace | Coronation Rivière | Queen Adelaide’s Fringe
Originally composed of forty old-cut diamonds, the Diamond Rivière was likely created in the mid-nineteenth century, and given as a gift from King George VI to Queen Elizabeth to celebrate their Coronation in 1937. This long Diamond Rivière came just months after she was given another Diamond Rivière by her husband, the then Duke of York, and shortly after she gained possession of the historic Coronation Necklace, the most important Rivière in the Royal Collection.
Despite being termed the ‘Coronation Rivière’, it does now seem that it was not actually worn for the Coronation Ceremony at Westminster Abbey in May 1937, but was worn by the Queen in the State Portrait commissioned for the Coronation, paired with the Coronation Necklace and Earrings.
Afterwards, the Coronation Rivière was often paired with the Coronation Necklace and Earrings and became an iconic combination for Queen Elizabeth, being worn with her Crown, the Fringe Tiara and the Teck Crescent Tiara for numerous occasions through the late 1930s, including the State Opening of Parliament in 1938, the British State Visit to France in 1938, State Opening of Parliament in 1938 and the Royal Tour of Canada in 1939, all immortalized by Cecil Beaton in the summer of 1939.
Queen Elizabeth continued to wear her Coronation Rivière with the Coronation Necklace and Earrings after the Second World War, paired with the Oriental Circlet Tiara, Fringe Tiara, or even the Cartier Aquamarine Pineflower Tiara on a handful of occasions, including the Royal Variety Performance in 1946, State Opening of Parliament in 1948, a series of Portraits by Cecil Beaton in 1949, the French State Visit to Britain in 1950, a Royal Gala Performance of Shakespeare’s ‘Twelfth Night’ in 1950, the Danish State Visit to Britain in 1951, and a Gala Performance of Frederick Ashton’s Tiresias by the Sadler’s Wells Ballet at the Royal Opera House in Covent Garden in 1951.
After passing along to the Coronation Necklace to her daughter in 1952, the now Queen Mother paired her Coronation Rivière with Diamond Rivière given to her when Duchess of York in 1936, and the Greville Diamond Peardrop Earrings, which were all worn with with another longer Diamond Rivière for the Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II in 1953.
The Queen Mother wore her Coronation Rivière and York Diamond Rivière on a handful of occasions with the Greville Tiara through the 1950s and 1960s, though they were not publicly seen for decades after that.
After the Queen Mother’s death in 2002, her Coronation Diamond Rivière was inherited by the Queen and while not worn, it was exhibited in an Exhibition on the Queen Mother’s iconic White Wardrobe at Buckingham Palace in 2005, along with Queen Victoria’s Oriental Circlet Tiara and the Coronation Necklace and Earrings.
Two years later, the Queen Mother’s Coronation Rivière was given to Queen Camilla, then the Duchess of Cornwall, after being shortened to thirty-one diamonds from the original forty. The Duchess of Cornwall debuted the Rivière at her 60th Birthday Party held at Highgrove in July 2007.
The next year, the Duchess of Cornwall wore the Queen Mother’s Coronation Diamond Rivière with the Greville Tiara for the French State Banquet at Windsor Castle, a few months before it was worn for a Banquet held by the Sultan of Brunei, which was the last public appearance of the Coronation Rivière.
We do suspect that the massive Diamond Earrings worn by Queen Camilla for the Coronation at Westminster Abbey in May 2023, but debuted a few years earlier, may have been created from the Diamonds that were removed from the Coronation Rivière.
In recent years, Queen Camilla has worn the Coronation Necklace and also Queen Alexandra’s Diamond Rivière but we would like to see the Queen Mother’s Coronation Rivière make a reappearance soon!
Crown | Greville Tiara | Oriental Circlet Tiara | Delhi Durbar Tiara | Fringe Tiara | Turquoise Parure | Lotus Flower Tiara | Strathmore Rose Tiara | Cartier Halo Tiara | Teck Crescent Tiara | Cartier Bracelet Bandeau | Aquamarine Pine Flower Tiara | Teck Diamond Hoop Necklace | Coronation Rivière | Queen Adelaide’s Fringe
Crown
Greville Tiara
Oriental Circlet Tiara
Fringe Tiara
Delhi Durbar Tiara
Turquoise Parure
Lotus Flower Tiara
Strathmore Rose Tiara
Cartier Halo Tiara
Teck Crescent Tiara
Cartier Bracelet Bandeau
Aquamarine Pine Flower Tiara
Teck Diamond Hoop Necklace
Queen Adelaide’s Fringe
Queen Alexandra’s Wedding Necklace
Greville Festoon Necklace
Greville Emerald Necklace
Queen Mother’s Pearl Sautoir
The Queen Mother’s Tiaras
Embed from Getty Images
Originally composed of 40 old-cut diamonds, the Diamond Rivière was probably made in the mid-nineteenth century, and given as a gift from King George VI to Queen Elizabeth to celebrate their Coronation in 1937. This Rivière came just months after she was given another Diamond Rivière by her husband, the then Duke of York, which is called the Duchess of York’s Collet necklace, and when she gained possession of the historic Coronation Necklace, the most important Rivière in the collection.
Embed from Getty Images
Embed from Getty Images
Queen Elizabeth wore her Coronation Rivière at the Coronation and for a plethora of events afterwards, often layered with the Coronation Necklace, with its distinctive Lahore Diamond Pendant, during her time as Queen. As Queen Mother, she wore her Coronation Rivière with the York Collet necklace and a longer, Duchess of Teck, collet necklace at her daughter’s coronation, and usually wore the Coronation Rivière with the former her widowhood, though it wasn’t seen much after the 1960s.
Embed from Getty Images
After her death in 2002, the Coronation Rivière was inherited by the Queen and exhibited at her famous White Wardrobe Exhibition at Buckingham palace before being loaned to the Duchess of Cornwall, after being shortened to 31 diamonds. The Duchess usually wore the Queen Mother’s Coronation Rivière for events in the mid- to late 2000s, most notably her 60th Birthday, and it has not been worn for a few years at this point, though hopefully, it might make a reappearance.
Yes, please! This is a lovely necklace that could easily be worn instead of her pearl choker with the large diamond clasp. The Duchess of Cornwall loves to wear that one and she should give this riviere a chance to shine too!
May the Coronation Rivière be inherited to the Duchess of Cornwall in the future. May prosperity of the Kingdom, Royal Family and the people of Britain continue to reign