LONDON, APR 10 – If you saw the Queen’s speech on Sunday, you must have noticed that she was wearing an unusual piece of jewellery: a diamond and turquoise brooch.

According to an article in Vanity Fair, “it’s fairly unusual for Queen Elizabeth to wear turquoise jewelry, so when she sat for a national address Sunday evening—only her fourth during her 68-year reign—her diamond and turquoise brooch was yet more evidence that she is living through an usual time. The gem’s blue tone stood out against her emerald green crepe dress, its diamond-encrusted filigrees gently catching the light in the queen’s Windsor Castle sitting room.”

The Queen inherited the brooch in 1953 from her father’s mother, Queen Mary, but didn’t wear it in public till six years ago.

Queen Mary’s jewels were inherited by Queen Elizabeth when she passed away at 85 and are worn on special occasions. These include the tiara she wore at her wedding the diamond jubilee neckless she has worn to processions over the years. The tiara her grandson’s wife, Meghan Markle, wore to her wedding also came from Mary’s collection.

The Queen choosing to wear Mary’s brooch is quite significant. “Though she’s provided the emblems for the family’s happiest moments, Mary’s reign also coincided with some of the most difficult events in world history—including a pandemic flu that may be the closest historical comparison to what we are now living through,” Vanity Fair said.

“The brooch the queen wore on Sunday is one of a pair given to Mary as a wedding present by her father- and mother-in-law, the Prince and Princess of Wales, who would later become King Edward VII and Queen Alexandra. Mary was photographed wearing it later in life,” it added.

The history and symbolism of the jewellery worn by the Queen are discussed in great depth with her dresser Angela Kelly, when she is getting ready for a moment like this.

According to the article, “turquoise has long been considered a color of healing and peace. But this piece’s connection to Queen Mary might hint at an even deeper message from the Queen about the current pandemic. In 1892, Mary had been engaged to marry George’s older brother, the Duke of Clarence, when he fell ill with the flu and died at Sandringham. Mary and George later wed at the suggestion of Queen Victoria, but soon grew to be genuinely close.”

The Queen’s grandparents were monarchs during the First World War and survived the 1918 influenza pandemic which killed more than 228,000 Britons.