Monday 6 February 2017

Elizabeth II, George VI and the Sapphire Jubilee


From father to daughter - George VI was succeeded by Elizabeth II on February 6th 1952
(photo credit Wiki Commons)

The Queen is marking 65 years on the throne today and reminding us all that she is part of a dynasty that stretches back further and a family that goes beyond 'the Firm'. For the official photo, shared for this Sapphire Jubilee, is as much about her father, George VI, as it is his daughter, Elizabeth II.




Buckingham Palace has re-issued a photo taken by David Bailey of the Queen in 2014 in which she wears the sapphire necklace and earrings given to her by her father as a wedding present in 1947. The beautiful stones have been a favourite of the Queen throughout her reign - she added a tiara to match in the 1960s - and they hold symbolic and sentimental meaning, Today, they are the symbol of another milestone in a reign which began far sooner than anyone ever thought because of the untimely loss of a king more successful than anyone ever imagined. It clearly runs in the genes. George VI didn't just give his Lillibet a set of sapphires. He helped turn her into the historic monarch she is today. 

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