Queen Victoria Small Diamond Crown Replica

After her husband, Prince Albert, passed away on 14 December 1861, Queen Victoria lapsed into a long mourning period that lasted over 10 years. Because Great Britain and the Commonwealth, needed her active presence in the affaires of state, the Queen was forced to re-emerge to life outside the walls of Buckingham Palace and oversee matters of goverment. Prior to her first opening of Parliament in London since coming out of mourning, Queen Victoria discovered that the "state crowns", were too big and heavy for her to carry on her head, especially since she had taken to wearing a "widows veil". She retrieved a necklace that she personally owned containing several thousand diamonds of different sizes and cuts. She contacted her favourite jeweler in London and had them create a small headpiece, encrusted with the diamonds of her necklace and that, dear chums, became the famous "Queen Victoria Small Crown". She wore the headpiece on a regular basis throughout the remaining years of her life