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.

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Today his son Leslie, who lives at Shoothill near Shrewsbury, spoke of his family’s pride at their link to the brooch and said he hoped Her Majesty would wear it for her visit to Cosford next month.

Mr Kippin Senior created the brooch while he was working in Johannesburg for celebrated jewellers 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 last weekend.

Today, 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.

“My father always said if you are proud of something you should put your name on it,” said Leslie. “I was just able to make out two of his four engravings in the brooch.”

Mr Kippin junior also has a thank you letter written by the Queen’s lady-in-waiting to her father in 1948.

The letter says: “The Princess greatly treasures this beautiful piece of jewellery which represents the affection and goodwill of the Rhodesian people.”

His father, who also created a similar brooch for Princess Margaret in 1953, died in 1998 at the age of 86.

But now his work has been recognised in a new book about the Queen published in honour of her Diamond Jubilee year.

The Queen’s Diamonds by Hugh Roberts is an illustrated guide to the monarch’s priceless gems. The brooch could also feature in a collection of royal jewellery which will go on display at Buckingham Palace later this month. Leslie Kippin said the flower held a special significance to his family. “When my daughter got married recently she had flame lilies in her bouquet,” he said.

He added: “My father wrote to the Queen after he made the brooch and wished her a long life.

“He was there at the beginning of her reign and little did he know she would go on to have a very long life!

“I have never met her but I am keeping my fingers crossed she will be wearing the brooch at Cosford. It would be fantastic.”

Her Majesty and the Duke of Edinburgh will lead a huge crowd at a day-long pageant celebrating her 60-year-reign at the military base on July 12.

According to Mr Roberts’ book, the brooch was designed by Len Bell of the Salisbury (Harare) jeweller, H.G. Bell and made by Mr Kippin at Sidersky & Son in Johannesburg.

Two flame lilies were sent from Salisbury to Johannesburg to assist the craftsmen in realising Bell’s design.