Anna Wintour Just Showed Up to Buckingham Palace Wearing a Royal Necklace With a Mysterious Past

Anna Wintour wearing a gray suit and amethyst necklace with black sunglasses and holding a box with a red medal inside.

Dame Anna Wintour received a major royal honor at Buckingham Palace on Tuesday, Feb. 4 as she was made a Companion of Honour by King Charles. And while she looked sophisticated as ever in an asymmetrical gray blazer and matching midi skirt, she added what appears to be a piece of actual royal history to her investiture look.

The legendary Vogue editor-in-chief arrived at the palace wearing her signature sunglasses, but what caught the eye of royal history aficionados was Wintour's massive amethyst necklace. The dazzling purple piece would be noteworthy on its own, but in fact, it looks to be a reworked design that was once worn by The King's great-grandmother, Queen Mary.

The necklace has a bit of a mysterious history, as it was once sold at auction to an unknown buyer—and it seems that person is none other than Met Gala icon Wintour.

According to The Royal Watcher, the design was part of a set including an amethyst tiara, earrings and a ring that was given to Queen Mary by Princess Catherine of Württemberg in 1898.

Wintour posed outside the palace after her investiture on Feb. 4. (Image credit: Getty Images)

She wore the original necklace to a 2007 event at the V&A in London. (Image credit: Getty Images)

After Queen Mary died, the set was said to have been passed on to another family member, per The Royal Watcher, who then "discreetly sold it, reportedly to settle debts." According to Rorik Ravel, whose wife wore the full parure of jewelry for their 1983 wedding, "As far as I know PM [Princess Margaret] inherited it directly from QM [Queen Mary]." Ravel continued that Margaret sold the set "when her mother was still alive."

The amethyst collection was put up for auction in 1993 and "sold for £55,357 to an unknown seller," per the royal blogger. But here's where Anna Wintour comes into play.

The parure was later put up for sale at the London Grosvenor House Antiques Fair and went to another "unknown" buyer, but in 2007, the Vogue editor wore the necklace to a party at the V&A Museum in London.

At the time, it was assumed the necklace was on loan—but then Wintour arrived to the palace in all of her royal finery. The design appears to have been altered to be less, shall we say, blingy, with the stones reset into gold versus diamond settings. But Queen Mary, known for her love of layering jewels, would certainly approve.