Happy Birthday to Lady Sarah Chatto, who turns 62 today! The only daughter of Princess Margaret and Anthony Armstrong Jones, Lord Snowdon, she was born during the Royal Baby Boom of 1964, and was the only niece of the Queen Elizabeth II. Having inherited the bulk of her mother’s jewellery collection, today, we are featuring this small Sapphire and Diamond Brooch!
Snowdon Floral Tiara | Greville Pearl Earrings | Diamond Star Earrings | Sapphire Earrings | Emerald Earrings | Princess Margaret’s Diamond Rivière | Queen Mary’s Diamond and Pearl Riviere | Ear-of-Wheat Brooch | Star Brooch | Floral Spray Brooch | Sapphire Brooch | The Jewels of Lady Sarah Chatto
When Prince Albert, Duke of York married Lady Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon in 1923, she received many spectacular wedding gifts, among them a sapphire and diamond demi-parure given by Queen Mary in 1923, which included this small Sapphire and Diamond Brooch.
The then Duchess of York may have worn the Sapphire and Diamond Brooch atop her Pearls in the 1930s but it does not appear to have been a great favourite, like the rest of the Sapphire and Diamond Suite given by Queen Mary, with the exception of the larger Sapphire and Diamond Brooch.
By the 1950s, the Queen Mother had given the Sapphire and Diamond Brooch to her younger daughter, Princess Margaret, who wore it on a handful of occasions, including with Empress Maria Feodorovna’s Sapphire Bandeau.
Princess Margaret continued to be pictured wearing the small Sapphire and Diamond Brooch on several notable occasions over the years, both for family events and also on some official engagements.
After Princess Margaret’s death in 2002, while some of her jewels remained with her children; the 2nd Earl of Snowdon and Lady Sarah Chatto, many of them were sold at the famous 2006 Christie’s Auction, which included a similar small Sapphire and Diamond Brooch.
Lady Sarah notably wore the small Sapphire and Diamond Brooch for a Memorial Service to celebrate Princess Margaret at Westminster Abbey in April 2002, just a few weeks after her death and just days after the death and funeral of the Queen Mother.
The Sapphire and Diamond Brooch was also worn by Lady Sarah Chatto for a Thanksgiving Service marking the Queen’s 80th Birthday at Windsor in 2006, and the late Queen’s 90th Birthday Service at St Paul’s Cathedral in 2016.
In 2018, Lady Sarah wore the Sapphire and Diamond Brooch for the Wedding of her godson, Prince Harry, and Meghan Markle at Windsor and when she joined the Queen for the Sunday Service at Crathie Kirk near Balmoral Castle the following year.
Most recently, after a gap of several years, Lady Sarah wore the small Sapphire and Diamond Brooch again for the Easter Sunday Mattins Service at St George’s Chapel in Windsor Castle last month. Lets hope we see this small Royal heirloom worn again soon!
