Sparkling monarch: Queen Elizabeth II arrives for a service at St Paul's Cathedral wearing her favourite tiara which she privately calls "Granny's tiara".

When Queen Elizabeth II appears before the public as part of the many festivities planned to celebrate her Golden Jubilee in 2002, Royal watchers might spot some of Her Majesty's favourite items of jewellery on display -- including, perhaps, a tiara or two.

The history of the Queen's jewels is a fascinating one. When she visited Italy, one of the world's fashion centres, in October 2000, Queen Elizabeth's elegant, cool style drew gasps of admiration and praise from the country's top designers.

Noted for their slavery to style, the Italians raved about the Queen's poise, enhanced no doubt by a few judiciously chosen pieces from her priceless jewellery collection.

The world knows of the Crown Jewels which are a symbol of monarchy in the United Kingdom, worn by English kings and queens since at least 1600. Part of the national heritage, the collection includes regalia (items worn at coronations) crowns and pieces donated by various monarchs, church and banqueting plate, orders, insignia, robes, medals and Royal christening fonts. They are on display at the Tower of London.

What are less well known but universally admired each time they make a public appearance, are the Queen's private family collection of jewels worn regularly by her, her predecessors and other members of today's Royal Family.

It was not until 1987 that an inventory of the Queen's family jewels was made. Leslie Field of the United States spent seven days a week for four years compiling the account. As a result of her work, we now know that Her Majesty possesses at least 14 tiaras (which can only be worn by married women), 37 pairs of earrings, 14 watches, 15 rings, six pendants, 37 bracelets, 58 necklaces and 105 brooches. And more might well have been added to the collection since then.

As a dutiful and discreet monarch, the Queen and those close to her are tight-lipped about expressing any preferences for particular items and, of course, fashions and tastes change. But Royal watchers will notice that Her Majesty is rarely seen without a few regular items, such as a wristwatch, three-string pearl necklace, brooch and diamond engagement ring.

Apart from the engagement ring, the Queen is not a great ring wearer, say those in the know, possibly partly due to fears of hurting herself or others during endless rounds of public handshaking. But she has been known to wear the gorgeous Cullinan ring, a pear-shaped diamond from one of nine stones cut from the original Cullinan diamond which weighed 1.25 pounds (595 grams).

Cullinan I and Cullinan II are claimed to be the largest cut diamonds in the world and are in the Crown Jewels. Cullinan III and IV are both in a brooch which make up what is probably the most valuable piece in the Queen's collection.

Her Majesty also favours a stunning ruby ring and a sapphire and diamond ring from a suite of sapphire and diamonds given to her as a wedding gift by her father, King George VI.

The Queen is known to be generous and is happy to share her jewellery with other Royal women. Pieces have been worn in the past by the Queen's former daughters-in-law, Diana, Princess of Wales and the Duchess of York as well as the Countess of Wessex who married the Queen's youngest son, Edward (now Earl of Wessex), in 1999.

In addition to graciously allowing these dazzling and almost incalculably valuable pieces to be worn by others, the Queen is rarely their first owner.

It is said that her favourite tiara, which she refers to in private as "Granny's tiara", was purchased from jewellers Garrard of London in 1893 with money raised by the Girls Of Great Britain and Ireland, and presented to Princess May of Teck -- who became Queen Mary -- as a wedding gift.

Queen Mary was the present Queen's grandmother. The tiara has a diamond festoon and scroll design surmounted by nine large collet diamonds on diamond spikes, set on a diamond bandeau base.

Another frequently favoured tiara of diamonds and pearls was once owned by the Grand-Duchess Valadimir of Russia. When the grand-duchess fled the revolution in 1917, her tiara was rescued by an English aristocrat. It was bought in 1920 by Queen Mary from grand-duchess's daughter and is adored by Queen Elizabeth today.

As well as revealing in quiet bias towards certain tiaras, the Queen also seems to choose one of just a handful of brooches. She usually wears one pinned to her left shoulder and over the years it has often been one of Queen Victoria's bow designs. Queen Victoria had a set of three made in 1858 for which she supplied 508 diamonds.

Queen Mary wore them at her coronation but by 1938, the fashion of the day dictated that less was definitely more and usually just one of the bows was worn at one time. In that year, Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother sported just one when she was out and about with her newly crowned husband, George VI, and Queen Elizabeth also favours wearing a single bow.

Another brooch often worn by the Queen is the Prince Albert brooch. The day before Queen Victoria and her beloved husband Albert were married on 10 February 1840, Victoria wrote that her dearest Albert had given her a beautiful sapphire and diamond brooch.

She continued to wear the large oval, deep-blue stone surrounded by circular diamonds throughout her life. After Price Albert's death, which devastated her, Victoria was rarely seen wearing it. It was later worn by Queen Alexandra at her coronation in 1902, the Queen Mother and of course, the Queen.

Perhaps the Queen's most romantic personal piece of jewellery is a bracelet designed for her by her husband, Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, on the occasion of their fifth anniversary. The piece consists of interlocking gold links in the shape of Es and Ps, the Duke's naval badge is set in diamonds and it also features diamond and ruby-studded roses in memory of the Queen's father, a former Duke of York.

Close attention to pictures of the Royal women may reveal the regular appearance of a diamond watch. The Swiss Republic presented it to the Queen in 1947 as a wedding present and it was made at the world's oldest watch factory, Vacheron and Constantin, founded in Geneva in 1785.

The Queen was regularly spotted wearing it and she in turn passed it on to Princess of Wales as a wedding gift. The watch can clearly be seen on Diana's wrist in a picture from 1983 when she wore it to attend a film premiere with her husband, the Prince of Wales, Prince Charles.

The Princess of Wales's beauty was often enhanced by magnificent jewellery during her short lifetime. One much loved piece which she wore during a trip to Australia in 1983 was also once her mother-in-law's.

The fabulous, lacy diamond necklace was presented to the Queen by King Faisal of Saudi Arabia in 1967. King Faisal had it specially made by United States jeweller Harry Winston and presented it to the Queen during a state visit.

Emeralds are another theme of the Royal collection and one set, the Cambridge Emeralds, was presented to Queen Mary by the Ladies Of India and featured a choker that Diana famously wore to stunning effect as a headband as she danced with Prince Charles.

A 23-carat pink diamond -- the world's most perfect specimen -- was presented to the Queen in 1947 by a reclusive millionaire, Dr John T Williamson who owned a diamond mine. It was made into a daffodil-shaped brooch much loved by the Queen.

Other items in the collection include Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee necklace, an antique festoon tiara which was given as a present to the Princess Royal, Princess Anne, from the Worldwide Shipping Company for launching a tanker, the World Unicorn and much more.

But perhaps the most tender gift to the Queen might well be a delicate string of pink coral beads which had belonged to her own mother when she was a baby. The beads were given to the then Princess Elizabeth when she was nine months old in 1926.

This was the first item of jewellery that she received. Queen Elizabeth was later to present it to her own daughter Anne, continuing the tradition of passing the necklace from mother to daughter.

-- London Press Service

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