The Queen's brooches in final portrait were gifts from her father: She treasured them till her last moments

Buckingham Palace released a never-before-seen picture of Queen Elizabeth II taken just months before her death on her Platinum Jubilee. The touching portrait was released hours after the United Kingdom observed a minute of silence in her memory on the eve of her funeral, as per Vogue. “Ahead of Her Majesty The Queen’s State Funeral, a new photograph has been released,” the royal family wrote on Twitter. “The photo was taken to mark Her Majesty’s Platinum Jubilee—the first British Monarch to reach this milestone.”

The late monarch's photograph, which was taken by Ranald Mackechnie, features her with a radiant smile in a dusky blue dress, her favorite three-strand pearl necklace, and her pearl earrings. She also has her aquamarine and diamond clip brooches pinned on her dress. Though the Queen’s private jewelry collection holds around 300 pieces, including over 98 brooches, 34 pairs of earrings, and 15 rings, these exquisite brooches have a special story behind them. According to Hello Magazine, these were 18th birthday presents from her father George VI in 1944 making them sentimental pieces of jewelry in the Queen's collection.

The brooches were made by Boucheron from baguette, oval and round diamonds, and aquamarine and depicts two art deco-style pieces, worn one below the other. The Queen wore these special pieces of jewelry when she addressed the nation on the 75th anniversary of VE Day in 2020 and for her Diamond Jubilee televised speech in 2012. Wearing the brooches while addressing the nation in 2020, the Queen sat next to a picture of her father in his Admiral of the Fleet uniform with RAF Wings. She said, "I speak to you today at the same hour as my father did, exactly 75 years ago."

The Queen shared a special bond with her father who also inspired her 70 years of reign as a monarch. She once explained, "I shall always work, as my father did throughout his reign, to advance the happiness and prosperity of my peoples,” per Express. In 1952, her father was laid to rest in a ceremony similar to the one for Queen Elizabeth today and his funeral took place at St. George's Chapel reports Town and Country Magazine. This is the same place of rest for the late Queen Elizabeth.

When King Charles III, 73, addressed the UK on the first full day of his reign in a nearly 9-minute long speech, he called his "beloved Mother" an inspiration adding that she was an "example to me and to all my family, and we owe her the most heartfelt debt any family can owe to their mother; for her love, affection, guidance, understanding, and example," he said. "Queen Elizabeth was a life well lived; a promise with destiny kept and she is mourned most deeply in her passing. That promise of lifelong service I renew to you all today."

Cover Image Source: Twitter/ @RoyalFamily