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Princess Michael of Kent has apologised after wearing a blackamoor brooch to the Queen’s Christmas lunch at Buckingham Palace, attended by Prince Harry’s fiancee Meghan Markle, who is of mixed race by virtue of her white father and African American mother. The royal, who is married to the Queen’s cousin, was photographed wearing the brooch depicting a black figure on her coat as she arrived for the annual gathering on Wednesday. She was later criticised online for wearing “racist jewellery”.

A SAXON brooch and skull uncovered by a metal detecting enthusiast may point to a 1,500-year-old royal grave hidden beneath a farmer’s fields. The Home Office has ordered the exhumation of an early sixth century skeleton found in West Hanney, near Wantage, on Sunday to allow archaeologists to investigate the size of the burial site. The quality of the Saxon jewellery found pinned to the body has already been compared to treasure found at the Sutton Hoo burial site in Suffolk in 1939 (see panel), now on display at the British Museum. Anni Byard, Oxfordshire County Council’s finds liaison officer,...

The first example to be recorded in Norfolk of a very rare gold Roman brooch was found by a metal detector, it hasd been revealed. Norfolk Museum and Archaeology Service (NMAS) is now keen to acquire the “significant” piece, which dates from the third or fourth century, in order to keep it in the county after it was found in a field in Gunthorpe. Dr Andrew Rogerson, head of the Finds Identification and Recording Service within the NMAS said it was unique within the county and important in the context of our understanding of the late Roman period. “It is...

Spectacular brooch find may 'unlock secrets of Hadrian's Wall' Publisher: Jon Land Published: 17/05/2006 - 12:08:01 PM Hadrian's Wall A 'spectacular' small brooch has been uncovered at a Roman fort that may reveal secrets about the men that built Hadrian's Wall. The discovery of the legionary soldier's expensive and prestigious cloak brooch has excited archaeologists in Northumberland. Experts have discovered that the brooch belonged to soldier Quintus Sollonius who would have been stationed at the forefront of the Roman empire 2,000 years ago. Historians are continuing to examine the artefact and believe it could reveal more secrets behind the men...