Queen Mary’s Dolls House

Recommended by Louise O’Keeffe for everyone, especially grandparents!
The silver crown is set with diamonds. Rubies, sapphires, emeralds and seed pearls are peppered through the design. And the red velvet cap inside would be fit to cushion the head of a monarch.

Except that the whole thing is only an inch tall…

The jeweled miniature, a copy of Britain’s Imperial State Crown is part of Queen Mary’s Dolls’ House, back on display at Windsor Castle, where the everyday objects, luxuries and curiosities of royal life in the early 20th century are reproduced at one-twelfth scale.

The house was given to Queen Mary, the wife of King George V, in 1924, not as a child’s toy, but as a carefully constructed depiction of the best of British craftsmanship for a royal who loved all things miniature.

Throughout 2024, Royal Windsor Castle is celebrating the 100th anniversary of Queen Mary’s Dolls’ House. The entire exhibition has been reimagined and has only recently just re-opened.