The Diamond Maple Leaf Brooch

Happy Victoria Day to our Canadian friends! For those of you who aren’t residents of (most of) Canada: Victoria Day is a Canadian federal holiday that celebrates both Queen Victoria’s birthday (which is actually Tuesday) and the official Canadian birthday of the current monarch, Queen Elizabeth II. To mark the occasion, we’re taking a look at one of the Queen’s most Canadian pieces of jewelry: her diamond maple leaf brooch.

The brooch’s first owner was the Queen Mother. In the spring of 1939, just before the outbreak of World War II, King George VI and Queen Elizabeth made a royal visit to Canada. He gave her the brooch, which was made by Asprey, to commemorate the tour. The brooch is made of diamonds set in platinum. In The Queen’s Diamonds, Sir Hugh Roberts describes it as being “in the form of a leaf of the Canadian Sugar Maple … the national emblem of Canada, transparent-set with brilliants and baguettes.”

Queen Elizabeth wore it in public for the first time as they crossed the Atlantic in May 1939 on their way to Canada. It quickly became a staple in her brooch wardrobe. In the photo above, she wears the brooch during Eleanor Roosevelt’s visit to London in the autumn of 1942.

The Queen Mum wore the brooch for the rest of her very long life—literally. Above, she wears the brooch in October 2000, a few months after her 100th birthday, to receive the insignia of the Order of Canada.

The Queen inherited the brooch from her mother in March 2002. Although the Queen only added the brooch to her jewelry box fourteen years ago, she had worn it decades before. She borrowed the jewel from her mother for her first trip to Canada in 1951, when she was still Princess Elizabeth.

Over the years, especially since she inherited the brooch, Elizabeth II frequently wore the brooch both on trips to Canada and for events in Britain related to Canada. Here, she wears the brooch on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on Canada Day in July 2010.

Seven years later, she wore the brooch for a stop at Canada House in London. The visit was timed to mark a pair of special occasions: Canada’s 150th anniversary of Confederation, and the 65th anniversary of the Queen’s accession to the throne. During the visit, Elizabeth received a special Sapphire Jubilee gift: a sapphire and diamond snowflake brooch, designed to serve as a companion piece to the Diamond Maple Leaf.

After inheriting the brooch, Queen Elizabeth II followed in her mother’s footsteps by loaning it to her daughter-in-law, the Duchess of Cornwall, for her first official Canadian visit. Camilla wears the brooch above in November 2009 for a welcome ceremony in St. John’s.

And Camilla isn’t the only family member who has borrowed the brooch in recent years. Queen Elizabeth II also loaned the brooch to her granddaughter-in-law, the Duchess of Cambridge, for her first tour of Canada in 2011. Here, Catherine wears the brooch on Canada Day, pairing it with a fascinator that was appropriately festooned with red maple leaves.

Kate made multiple appearances in the maple leaf brooch during that first tour. She pinned it to a purple dress for Canada Day fireworks in Ottawa later that evening.

And on the ninth day of the royal tour, Catherine wore the brooch with a red jacket and dress for a reception at the Calgary Zoo.

When William and Kate headed back to Canada with Prince George and Princess Charlotte in the autumn of 2016, she borrowed the brooch again. Here, she wears it for an official welcome ceremony in British Columbia, paired with a striking blue dress and hat.

She also wore the brooch with a red dress for an evening reception at Government House in Victoria during the 2016 royal tour.

When King Charles III inherited the throne in September 2022, he also inherited the lion’s share of his mother’s jewelry collection, including the Diamond Maple Leaf Brooch. Queen Camilla wore it prominently in an official portrait as Queen of Canada released in summer 2024.