Lichen It To Nature

Princess Margaret was as artistic a soul as her husband. Here, jewellery expert Geoffrey Munn tells the tale of a piece of Balmoral lichen she had immortalised in gold.

IN any age before photography, the only readily accessible image of the Sovereign was on the coinage and, certainly, most members of the Royal Family went unrecognised by the people. Consequently, it was not only necessary for the monarch to be seen, but to stand out in the crowd. Status symbols, in the strictest sense of the word, were an imperative. Finery of every description—far-fetched silks, feathers, rich furs and especially jewellery—contributed to the stage management of the royal image.

Remarkably, in this media-rich society, in which celebrity has almost subsumed inherited rank, the custom is still very much alive. At every state occasion, at every royal wedding, in a tradition as old as kingship itself, couturiers, hatters and jewellers continue to focus public attention on the Sovereign and the extended Royal Family.

The wedding of Princess Margaret to Antony Armstrong-Jones, 1st Earl of Snowdon was no exception. The splendid ceremony at Westminster Abbey on May 6, 1960, was televised and generated universal excitement. Needless to say, the bride’s dress and magnificent tiara, bought specially for the occasion, took centre stage.