The Darnley Jewel or Lennox Jewel

Probably made for Lady Margaret Douglas, Countess of Lennox, the Darnley, or Lennox, Jewel was acquired by Queen Victoria, Queen of the United Kingdom (1819-1901), when Queen of the United Kingdom (1837-1901) and is now one of the most important early jewels in the Royal Collection.

The jewel was formerly in the collection of Horace Walpole (1717-97). It was purchased by Queen Victoria at the sale of Strawberry Hill in 1842 and was listed among her private jewellery taken ‘to the Castle’ following her death in 1901.

The heart-shaped locket, or ‘tablet’ in the language of the 16th century, was intended to be worn around the neck or on the breast. The complex iconography of memento mori motifs and symbols of profane and sacred love relate to the Earl and Countess’s life together - the salamander is the crest of the house of Douglas and the heart its device and three fleurs-de-lis on an azure field form the first quarter of the Lennox arms. The jewel also reveals their ambitions for their grandson, the future James VI and I and provides him with the series of admonitions.

A visit to The Queen's Gallery at the Palace of Holyroodhouse should be on the to-do list for the Douglas Clan Gathering.