Fascinating tale behind Queen's favourite brooch-
It was with her at the very start of her reign and it remains with her today. The Queen's priceless Flame Lily brooch has been among her favourite pieces of jewellery since she was presented with it for her 21st birthday.
And for one Shropshire man the brooch has a special significance because it was made by his father.
Eric Kippin handcrafted the diamond and platinum brooch in Africa in 1947.
Mr Kippin Senior created the brooch while he was working in Johannesburg for celebrated jewelers Cartier.
It is thought to feature around 300 diamonds on a platinum base and was presented to the then Princess Elizabeth as a gift from all 42,000 school children in southern Rhodesia.
Each child had given a tickey - three old pence - to pay for the brooch which was created in the shape of the flame lily, a national flower of the country, which is now Zimbabwe.
It was given to the young Princess Elizabeth while she toured southern Africa with her parents King George VI and Queen Elizabeth, and her sister, Princess Margaret.
So taken with the brooch was the young princess that she had it in her possession when she visited Kenya five years later. It was during that trip she learned of the death of her father and she was wearing the brooch the first time she stepped on British soil as monarch after her flight home in February 1952.
Over the years the Queen has worn the Flame Lily during many significant occasions. In recent times she wore the jewel during her televised Christmas speech in 2011 and most recently had it on when she visited the Cartier Queen's Cup polo tournament at Windsor recently.
Leslie Kippin, 70, a retired printer, who has lived in Shropshire for more than 30 years, revealed his father had engraved his own initials on the brooch.
Mr Kippin said he had travelled to Buckingham Palace to inspect the brooch and identify his father's microscopic initials.
Acknowledgement to the "Shropshire Star" and "The Jewellery Editor"