Buckingham Palace to Show More Than 300 Royal Jewels in 2027
Royal Collection Trust's first exhibition devoted to the royal jewellery collection will include Queen Victoria's Small Diamond Crown and her mourning ring for Prince Albert.
Royal Collection Trust has announced Royal Jewellery: From Coronations to Keepsakes, at The King's Gallery, Buckingham Palace, from 25 June 2027 to 19 March 2028. More than 300 pieces from the 16th century to the present day will be shown, about two thirds of them never exhibited publicly before. Tickets go on general sale on 3 November 2026.
The exhibition
The exhibition was announced on 22 October 2026 and is curated by Caroline de Guitaut and Kathryn Jones of Royal Collection Trust. It runs at The King's Gallery, Buckingham Palace, from 25 June 2027 to 19 March 2028, and covers five centuries of jewellery worn and collected by the British royal family. Makers represented include Garrard, Cartier, Boucheron and Fabergé, according to Country & Town House. A companion book is planned, which The Court Jeweller reports is described as the first comprehensive study of the royal jewellery collection.
Coronation jewels
The grandest pieces include the Diamond Diadem commissioned by George IV for his coronation in 1821, the circlet familiar from Queen Elizabeth II's portraits on stamps and banknotes, and Queen Victoria's Small Diamond Crown of 1870, made by Garrard. Victoria wore the little crown over her widow's veil for much of her later reign, as in the 1882 photograph above, and it was placed on her coffin during her lying-in-state in 1901. The Greville emerald and diamond necklace, left to Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother by Dame Margaret Greville in 1942, and a 1909 Fabergé diamond and aquamarine pendant given by Queen Mary to the future Queen Elizabeth II are also listed.
Keepsakes, love tokens and mourning
The more personal pieces may interest collectors most, because they belong to traditions that still turn up on the antiques market. Royal Collection Trust lists 17th century cufflinks with crowned hearts and joined hands, said to have been worn by Charles I on the scaffold in 1649; garnet jewels newly linked to Queen Charlotte; the diamond and sapphire brooch Prince Albert gave Victoria on the eve of their wedding in 1840; a bracelet of pebbles the couple collected in 1841; a thistle brooch set with their eldest daughter's first milk tooth; and a mourning ring made after Albert's death in 1861, holding his photograph and their joined cypher.
Love tokens, hair and portrait jewellery and memorial rings were made in large numbers in the Georgian and Victorian periods, and Victoria's long mourning for Albert helped make black and memorial jewellery a fashion. Our guide to mourning jewellery and guide to Georgian jewellery explain how to recognise them.
Tickets
Royal Collection Trust e-newsletter subscribers get early access from 28 October 2026, and tickets go on general sale on 3 November 2026.
If you own Georgian or Victorian jewellery
What makes a sentimental piece desirable is its quality, its condition, how complete and original it is, and whether its inscription, hair work or portrait has survived intact. A named or dated memorial ring tells a story a buyer can follow. If you have a piece like this, you can sell your antique jewellery with us or browse our Victorian jewellery. Every piece is different: send us a few photos and we will tell you what yours is worth, free and with no obligation.
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- Country & Town House: Royal jewellery exhibition at Buckingham Palace (22 Oct 2026)
- The Court Jeweller: A landmark royal jewelry exhibition will open at Buckingham Palace next summer (23 Oct 2026)
- Royal Collection Trust
- Image: Queen Victoria by Alexander Bassano, 1882 (public domain, Wikimedia Commons)
Exhibition details as announced by Royal Collection Trust and reported by the outlets above. Mozeris Fine Antiques is not connected with Royal Collection Trust. The photograph is a public-domain image from Wikimedia Commons.
