Queen Mary’s City of London Choker

The Princess Royal celebrates her 70th Birthday this week! The only daughter of the Queen and Duke of Edinburgh, who has been a working member of the Royal Family for over 50 Years, Princess Anne possesses an impressive collection of jewels, and to mark the occasion, we are featuring her Top 7 Jewels, continuing with with Queen Mary’s City of London Choker.

In 1893, Princess May of Teck received a pair of Pearl and Diamond Bracelets in a lattice design, which could be worn together as a choker, and were a Wedding Gift from the Lord Mayor and the City of London to mark her Wedding to the future George V (as illustrated by this sketch of the wedding gifts found by the wonderful Beth).

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The Choker was a lifelong favourite, often worn with the Girls of Great Britain & Ireland Tiara, the Vladimir Tiara, and her Lover’s Knot Tiara, being one of the rare jewels that was not modified and remained with her until her death in 1953.

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Queen Mary’s City of London Choker was inherited by the Queen, and since she doesn’t wear chokers, it remained unworn until 2001 (a huge credit to Franck and Beth of the History of Famous Jewels Message Board for this amazing find), when Princess Anne wore the City of London Choker to the annual “Festival Of Trees” Gala at the Natural History Museum, which raises funds for Save The Children. She wore Queen Mary’s City of London Choker at the same Gala again in 2005, and now we await its next appearance.