President Donald Trump and Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II inspect a Guard of Honor at Windsor Castle. Image: Getty
For some, they’re an accessory used to add a little excitement to simple separates, but for Britain’s monarch, perhaps, they’re a coded political harbinger. HM Queen Elizabeth‘s jewelry choices made headlines this week, following the royal’s multiple meetings with US President Donald Trump. The American politician jetted into the UK last Thursday, on his first official visit to Britain since taking office. During his trip, Trump was widely criticized for his behavior, keeping Her Majesty standing in wait for him for afternoon tea, and breaking royal protocol by walking in front of her. However, fashion commentators have since claimed that Queen Elizabeth may have in turn been making her feelings clear when it came to the controversial president, subtly letting her accessories do the talking.
It might sound like a plot line for The Crown, however, Twitter user Samurai Knitter has put forward a convincing argument to suggest that might be the case. For her first meeting with Trump, the 92-year-old monarch wore a simple brooch given to her as a personal gift by the former US President Barack Obama and former First Lady Michelle Obama. The piece is known as the American State Visit Brooch, and is a vintage ornament featuring a small green flower given to Her Majesty in 2011. “The US has given Queen Elizabeth jewelry before over the years and I bet her dresser could put hands on any and all of it given five minutes. But she chose the most sentimental piece in the collection, the one that was given out of friendship with the Obamas as people,” Samurai Knitter posted in a now-viral thread.
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On day two of the official visit, Queen Elizabeth sported a palm-leaf brooch which the Queen Mother wore at the state funeral for King George VI, while on day three, Her Majesty wore a sapphire, snowflake-shaped brooch gifted to her by Canada last year. As The Guardian‘s Hadley Freeman notes, Canada is “a country with which Trump is less than pleased at the moment (also, it was in the shape of a snowflake, a classic Trump term for people who disagree with him).”
Following his visit, President Trump described the monarch as an “absolutely a terrific person”, telling reporters gathered at the White House that witnessing the Honor Guard was “very inspiring to see and be with her”. “And I think the relationship, I can truly say is a good one. But she was very, very inspiring indeed.” By convention, Queen Elizabeth must remain politically neutral, so caution must be taken when reading into her sartorial choices. Buckingham Palace has declined to comment on the story, however Freeman adds that “it is known the Queen does choose her brooches according to the theme of the day, such as the love knot brooch she wore to William and Kate’s wedding”. While there will never be firm proof from the royal herself, the speculation about her perceived subliminal messages certainly doesn’t appear to be subsiding any time soon.
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