An egg fit for a Queen: Royalist's£350,000 gift including 200 diamonds and 800 pearls

With 200 diamonds, 800 pearls and a replica state carriage in 18ct gold, it is certainly a present fit for a Queen.

The designer of an ornate “Royal egg” hopes his creation will be just that, after spending years perfecting a gift inspired by the Queen and Duke of Edinburgh to honour their long service.

The 12-inch-high egg, inspired by the famous Faberge creations now worth millions of pounds, has been based on the Queen’s coronation, taking in elements of her dress, crown, and the countries of her United Kingdom.

Made by an ardent Australian Royalist and British master craftsman, it contain miniature portraits of the Queen and Duke and cost around £350,000 to make.

Jim Frecklington, the man behind it, now hopes to present it as a gift to the Royal Family, on behalf of the Commonwealth.

Mr Frecklington, now 67, worked for the Royal Household as a young man, looking after the Duke of Edinburgh’s horses at Windsor Castle in 1972 before moving to Buckingham Palace to tend to the Queen’s horses and drive carriages.

He has previously built two State coaches for the Queen, including, in 2014, one named for the Diamond Jubilee and incorporating fragments of wood from important British ships and buildings from the Mary Rose to 10 Downing Street, the Royal Yacht Britannia, HMS Victory, the Royal box at Ascot and Sir Ernest Shackleton’s Antarctic base.

His Royal egg, which took a team of around half a dozen craftsmen a year to make, includes a similar level of detail, and comes in a box lined with leather left over from the State carriage.

Inside a hinged top is a miniature replica of the carriage itself.

Made from 18ct gold with a blue enamel guilloche, it is topped by a small crown: a precise replica of the St Edward’s Crown used for coronations.

With the symbols of the rose, thistle, leek and flax, it has a laurel wreath in gold and lines of pearls in an imitation of the coronation dress.

Mr Frecklington, who has paid for the egg himself and is now seeking a suitable benefactor, said he hoped to present it to the Queenand Duke as soon as possible “to commemorate Her Majesty’s loyal and devoted service and tireless contribution to Britain and the Commonwealth”.

“Both the Queen and Duke of Edinburgh have given people so much pleasure,” he said. “I thought something special should be made for them to thank them for the sterling job they have done, and this is a consequence.”

To make the egg. Mr Frecklington enlisted the help of Jack Perry, master goldsmith, and his team in West Sussex.

Between them, they researched every detail of the Coronation to incorporate into the design, coming up with something they hope perfectly reflects the Queen’s tastes.

Mr Perry, who retired after completing the egg, said the finished creation was “totally unique”, with input from expert craftsmen in each area.

Mr Frecklington, who was awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia for building his first Royal carriage, the Australian State Coach, in 1988, has travelled between his Sydney home and Britain to oversee the egg’s completion.

It is now stored safely in a bank vault while he seeks a benefactor and coordinates plans to finally present the egg with them at the Palace. 

“It is my desire that this Royal Egg should become a tribute from the Nation to Her Majesty and Prince Philip, in gratitude for the great contribution, not only to Britain but also to the Commonwealth,” he said, adding that the recent retirement of the Duke had provided a suitable moment.

Of the prospect of the egg reaching the Queen and her Royal Collection, Mr Perry added: “I hope so. She deserves it.”