Diamonds for a Jubilee to go on show at Palace

Buckingham Palace is to house a dazzling exhibition of diamonds to mark the Queen’s 60 years on the throne.

In an apt tribute to the monarch’s Diamond Jubilee, the Royal Collection is celebrating the gemstone and charting its association with British monarchs during the last 200 years.

The exhibition, which will be the focal point of the Palace’s 2012 summer opening, will include an unprecedented display of some of the sovereign’s personal jewels. Historic pieces such as Queen Victoria’s miniature personal crown which contains nearly 1,200 diamonds will also be on view.

Many of the pieces that will be on display at the Palace have undergone transformations through the ages, having been re-cut or used in new settings depending on the fashion or the preferences of the queens or princesses who used them.