EXCLUSIVE: Secret Location of Queen's Jewelry Hoard Revealed

Queen Elizabeth II's extraordinary collection of priceless tiaras and jewels has been kept in a surprisingly ordinary hiding place – with one royal commentator revealing that some of the monarchy's most treasured possessions are stored in labeled wardrobes rather than underground vaults.

RadarOnline.com can reveal the late monarch, who died at age 96 in September 2022, accumulated and inherited an extensive collection of historic jewelry during her 70-year reign.

Now royal journalist Emily Andrews has disclosed the tiaras worn by senior royal women have been housed in large wardrobes at Windsor Castle and Buckingham Palace, with individual shelves designated for different family members.

Speaking on the Catching Up with the Royals podcast, Andrews explained the arrangements were considerably less elaborate than she had previously imagined.

She noted: "I had always assumed they were deep underground in some dungeon lair."

However, Andrews revealed the late Queen's jewelry was organized according to which royal family member regularly wore particular pieces.

She added: "So, for instance, Catherine, the Duchess of Cambridge, always wears the Lover's Knot tiara, and that's on her shelf that's labeled 'Duchess of Cambridge.' For Camilla, the [former] Duchess of Cornwall, the tiaras that she wore were on her shelf."

A palace source told us: "There was something wonderfully characteristic of Elizabeth about the whole arrangement. These were extraordinary pieces of jewelry, some with histories stretching back generations, yet the system for organizing them was almost comically ordinary.

"She was never somebody who needed unnecessary fuss or elaborate ceremony behind closed doors. The idea of having tiaras arranged on shelves with people's names attached would have appealed to her practical nature. To the outside world, they were priceless royal treasures, but within the family, they were also pieces of jewelry that needed to be kept organized and ready to wear."

Among the most recognizable of the treasures is the Queen Mary Lover's Knot tiara, a diamond-and-pearl creation that has become closely associated with Catherine, Princess of Wales, 44.

The tiara was previously worn by Diana, Princess of Wales, who died aged 36 in 1997, and has become one of Catherine's most distinctive accessories at formal royal occasions.

Queen Camilla, 79, has also worn historic royal tiaras previously associated with Elizabeth, reflecting the tradition of passing ceremonial jewelry between generations.

Andrews' account describes arrangements during Elizabeth's lifetime rather than confirming the present whereabouts or security arrangements of individual pieces.