Garrard & Co. Ltd.

Sotheby’s is proud to present this incredibly rare piece of royal history in the Coronation sale. This brooch is one of six identical jewels given by Queen Elizabeth II to her coronation maids of honour as a thank you for their service during this historic event. This particular example is the second to ever come to auction. Modelled in the late Queen’s handwriting at the suggestion of the late Duke of Edinburgh, the brooch was made by the then crown jewellers Garrard, who held this position from 1843-2007, making pieces such as the Queen Mother’s coronation crown, which has been recently adjusted for the coronation of the Queen Consort in May, and the Attallah Cross worn by Princess Diana and sold earlier this year by Sotheby’s for £163,000.

This charming and highly personal brooch belonged to Lady Moyra Campbell (1930 – 2020) neé Hamilton who was the daughter of the 4th Duke of Abercorn. She had known Queen Elizabeth since childhood, having been a member of the 1st Buckingham Palace Company of Girl Guides formed in 1937 for the then Princess Elizabeth. When asked about taking part in the coronation during a BBC interview she remarked,

"I was terribly lucky to be invited to be one of the maids of honour to carry the Queen's train. There were so many highlights. The amazing feeling in the abbey; the incredible prayerfulness throughout and the sight of all those crowds who had been waiting in appalling weather all night; some of them had been there overnight, others had been there from early the day before."

Lady Moyra also wore this brooch to the Service of Thanksgiving at Westminster Abbey on the 4th June 2012.

Lady Moyra lived a life dedicated to the royal family, serving as a lady in waiting to Princess Alexandra until 1964 when she became an extra lady in waiting to Queen Elizabeth. It was at Buckingham Palace that she met her husband Commander Peter Campbell, a naval officer who served as an equerry to the Queen. Another passion of Lady Campbell’s was her charity work. She devoted her philanthropy to children’s charities, having a seventy-year long association with the NSPCC, serving as the Honorary President of Early Years and also President of the Cancer Fund for Children.