Meet the Queens of Hearts – and the fabulous jewelry available to British and European royalty this Valentine's Day…
There will be the traditional avalanche of Valentine's Day gifts today.
But few – if any – can match the extraordinary heart-shaped jewels that the British and European royal families have at their disposal, as these photos show…
The Amethyst Heart Necklace of the Queen Mother
If February was the martyrdom and death of Valentine in 269 AD. marks, it is also the month of the amethyst.
And what better amethyst to show off than an amethyst once given by a queen and empress – in the shape of a heart?
Camilla wore the Queen Mother's Amethyst Heart necklace at the Skyfall premiere in 2012
The necklace, made of amethysts, diamonds and seed pearls with a large amethyst heart, was a gift from Queen Alexandra, wife of Edward VII, to the late Queen Mother on the occasion of her engagement to the future George VI.
The necklace, pictured above right, was inscribed 'To my dear future granddaughter' from Queen Alexandra to Lady Elizabeth Bowes Lyon. The page comes from the newspaper The Sphere
In January 1923, Lady Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon finally accepted the marriage proposal of Prince Albert, Duke of York, and not long after was invited to Sandringham to meet her future family – including her grandmother, Queen Alexandra.
Alexandra, wife of Edward VII, was sufficiently impressed to give the future royal bride an exquisite 'sautoir' necklace of amethysts, diamonds and seed pearls with a large amethyst heart in the centre.
Elizabeth would have worn the necklace low, but unfortunately this style did not last long.
Nowadays, the necklace is often worn wide over the neck and shoulders by Queen Camilla
Cullinan V
My number one royal heart has to be the Cullinan V: the 18.8 carat heart shape, cut from the largest diamond ever found.
It was given to Queen Mary by the people of South Africa in 1911 and subsequently became part of the Royal Collection.
The Queen movingly wore the brooch on Prince Philip's 99th birthday
The Cullinan V is an 18.8 carat heart-shaped diamond, cut from the Cullinan Diamond. The original stone was the largest ever mined
The late queen attended London Fashion Week wearing the brooch
It was made as a brooch, sitting in a diamond scroll and leaf-shaped setting, to be worn by Queen Mary at various other parts of the Cullinan (which has been split into numerous parts) at the Delhi Durbar in 1911.
Queen Elizabeth II often wore the elegant brooch, including in the photo on the occasion of Prince Philip's 99th birthday in June 2020.
However, it was brought back to the forefront of Royal Jewels last year when it was transferred to Queen Mary's Crown, which was used to crown Camilla as Queen Consort.
Never has a heart been more royal.
Baden Palmette Tiara
Have you ever seen a more Valentine's Day tiara than this one, recently bequeathed to Mary, Queen Consort of Denmark by her mother-in-law, Queen Emeritus Margrethe?
This heart-shaped tiara, perfect for Valentine's Day, was created in 1856
The tiara is made of heart shapes and was made in 1856 as a wedding gift for the future Grand Duchess of Baden, Princess Louise of Prussia.
She left it to her daughter, Queen Victoria of Sweden, who in turn left it to Princess Ingrid, who became the Queen of Sweden and mother of Queen Margrethe.
Margrethe, who surprisingly abdicated the throne last month, was last seen wearing the tiara during King Carl of Sweden's 70th birthday in 2016.
Princess of Wales's diamond heart necklace
To celebrate the birth of his first child and heir in June 1982, William – then Prince of Wales – gave his wife Catherine a diamond necklace set with a yellow diamond heart.
It had once belonged to his mother, Princess Diana.
Princess Diana in the heart-shaped necklace at the funeral of Princess Grace of Monaco in 1982
The heart-shaped necklace was a gift from Prince Charles to Diana upon the birth of their first child, Prince William
Diana wore the necklace to a charity concert in Wales in October 1982
Diana wore this on a number of occasions, most notably for Prince William's official portraits and for his 1982 christening in the White Drawing Room of Buckingham Palace.
She also wore it to Princess Grace's funeral and to a charity concert in Wales, both that same year.
Luisa heart necklace
Kate wore this fashionable 14k gold chain with a chunky gold heart pendant when she and William visited BBC Radio 1's Newsbeat to mark World Mental Health Day in October 2022.
The engagement came just a month after the death of Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II.
Kate wore this chunky gold necklace with a heart pendant while visiting BBC Radio One's newsbeat to mark Mental Health Day 2022
This 14k gold necklace with a large gold heart from Luisa was the perfect accessory for Kate's simple cream top and jacket
They both spoke about their experiences and what they had learned from their time as patrons of mental health charities.
The pendant was designed by New York designer Laura Lombardi.
Lauren Leaf Pave diamond earrings
The Princess of Wales is said to own 21 pairs of Kiki McDonough earrings, including these made in heart-shaped leaves.
Kate wears her Lauren Leaf earrings while holding a young Prince George
Kate's earrings are not, strictly speaking, a heart, but are often described as such
The pattern is not strictly a heart, but is more often than not confused as one, or even two.
This Leaf Pavé diamond earring model, named Lauren (because it was inspired by prima ballerina Lauren Cuthbertson), has been hung on Kate's ears many times over the past decade.
Meghan Markle signature sapphire heart ring
In 2019, the Duchess of Sussex was still at the heart of the royal family.
Her visit to see friend Serena Williams play in the second round of Wimbledon attracted a lot of attention.
Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, attends day four of Wimbledon in July 2019
Court One saw Meghan wearing a 0.94 carat sapphire heart ring on her 'pinky' finger.
The ring is rendered in a rare Georgian foreshortened setting by brilliant New Zealand-born jeweler Jessica McCormack.
Such settings were originally used to disguise any irregularities in the shape of a diamond or other gemstone (when the method of cutting them was much less precise than it is today).
McCormack has just opened a new store on Sloane Street in London