The Jewelry In Queen Elizabeth's Final Portrait Means More Than You Realize

Queen Elizabeth II's final portrait was released the day before her funeral, and as the royal family noted on Twitter when they released the picture, it "was taken to mark Her Majesty's Platinum Jubilee — the first British Monarch to reach this milestone."

In the photo, where she's smiling broadly, she's wearing her signature three-strand pearl necklace with matching earrings, and the final jewelry touch in the picture is an aquamarine brooch (per Vogue). Pearls meant a lot to the queen and the royal family, and Queen Elizabeth received a three-strand pearl necklace from her grandfather, King George V in 1935 for his Silver Jubilee, according to People. She loved it so much, she allegedly had a copy of the necklace made so she could wear it more often without wearing out the original, Timeless Pearl reported. 

As for the pearl and diamond earrings in the picture, it was Queen Mary, Queen Elizabeth's grandmother, who gifted them to her (via Vanity Fair). And the sparkly diamond and aquamarine clip brooches, according to The Court Jeweller, were a gift to the queen from her parents on her 18th birthday.

The queen was said to have at least 300 pieces in her personal jewelry collection, Marie Claire said. Out of all the options for her final portrait, she chose ones that clearly had sentimental value.