Platinum Jubilee: Queen’s subtle hidden message on balcony

All eyes were on the Queen on the Buckingham Palace balcony but you may have missed a tiny detail which spoke volumes.

All eyes are on the majesty and the pageantry; the fly-pasts, frippery and finery of the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee, but there are plenty of minor details which may pass many by.

One came on Thursday when the Queen took to the Buckingham Palace balcony for the Trooping the Colour ceremony.

Trooping the Colour is a military procession which marks the Queen’s official birthday.

Her Majesty was clad all in blue for the event where she smiled to the crowds. But look closely and you could see she had donned a delicate brooch.

And it’s a piece of jewellery that has important symbolism for the monarch.

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Queen Elizabeth II sports the Queen’s Brigade of Guards brooch as she watches the Trooping The Colour. Picture: Chris Jackson/Getty Images

Brooch’s important symbolism

Called the Brigade of Guards brooch, or Guard’s Badge, she has worn it at all recent Trooping the Colours.

It was made for Elizabeth’s grandmother, Queen Mary, the wife of George V who was king in the early 20th century.

It contains the badges of the five Household Regiments of the British Army – the Grenadier, Coldstream, Scots, Irish and Welsh guards. These are enclosed in an oval frame bearing the legend ‘Quinque Juncta In Uno’ which translates from Latin as “five joined as one”.

During the Trooping the Colour, the Queen inspects soldiers from each of these divisions.

The piece is rendered in diamonds and is topped off with a crown.

The Queen began wearing the piece in 1987 when she stopped having an active role in the Trooping the Colour and ceased wearing her red military uniform for the event.

The only years where she hasn’t worn it since then were during the pandemic in 2020 and 2021.

Returning to donning the Guard’s Badge suggests a return to relative normalcy for the Queen, for the event and perhaps also for the country.

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Members of the public process down the Mall during Trooping The Colour. Picture: Chris Jackson/Getty Images

The celebrations taking part this weekend across the UK and the Commonwealth celebrate the Queen’s 70 years on the throne. She is Britain’s longest reigning monarch and the world’s longest ever serving female head of state.

The Guards Badge is a nod to the troops of the Queen. Picture: Matt Dunham – WPA Pool/Getty Image

Members of the Life Guards, a regiment of the Household Cavalry during the Trooping the Colour. Picture: Yui Mok/WPA Pool/Getty Images

Though her appearance at the events had been in doubt after facing mobility problems recently, the aid of a walking stick and a bill of good health over the last few weeks allowed the 96-year-old monarch to take a salute from mounted troops from the balcony of Buckingham Palace, under the fluttering royal standard.

She was pictured in the same dove blue suit she wore for the official portrait that was released yesterday.

Traditionally, extended members of the royal family usually gather on the palace balcony to watch a fly-past, and while there was still a large number who gathered together, this year’s was dramatically changed by Her Majesty last month, ordering that only working royals could appear on the balcony – ruling out Harry, Meghan and a number of other notable names.