Royal Visit Jewels: Charles and Camilla in Greece

Here’s a sure sign that things around the world are beginning to get a bit brighter: the British royals undertook a foreign visit this week! Here are all the jewels we spotted during the official visit to Greece by the Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall.

Charles and Camilla arrived in Athens for the official diplomatic visit on Wednesday, March 24. They traveled to Greece (at the request of the Foreign Office) to take part in the celebrations of the bicentenary of Greek independence.

It was a windy day in the Greek capital city on Wednesday, which means one thing: we got to see a better view of Camilla’s earrings than we usually do!

The weather gave us this excellent close-up of Camilla’s favorite diamond and pearl earrings. The detail of these, especially in the stud portion, is usually lost behind the duchess’s hair. But here, we get a gorgeous view of the floral design of the earring.

Inside the National Gallery, Camilla took off the capelet she wore for the official arrival, giving us a great view of her brooch and necklaces. The brooch is a recognizable royal heirloom: it’s the Queen Mother’s Rock Crystal Brooch. Her necklaces are both newer pieces: her Golden Kiwi Necklace and her Kiki McDonough necklace.

Here’s a close-up of the brooch from a previous wearing. Here, you can really appreciate the detailed carving work on the rock crystal, as well as the diamond and black enamel accents.

This brooch was one of the Queen Mother’s favorites during the 1920s, back when she was Duchess of York. She loved to wear brooches on her hats during this period. Above, she wears the rock crystal brooch as a hat accent during her tour of Australia in 1927.

Camilla has been wearing these two necklaces, the Golden Kiwi and the Kiki McDonough, since last year. In the photo above, she wears them for a visit to the Cornwall Air Ambulance Trust in July 2020. The Golden Kiwi Necklace, which was made by Jens Hansen, was given to Camilla during an official visit to New Zealand in 2015. The Kiki necklace, which is set with diamonds and a blue topaz, is a newer addition to her jewelry box. She began wearing the piece shortly after her birthday in 2020, and I’ve speculated in the past that it might have been a birthday gift. (After all, there is at least one member of the family who is a pretty big fan of Kiki.)

Camilla also stacked a series of delicate gold bracelets on her left wrist during her first day of engagements in Athens.

And she topped it all off with the very latest modern accessory: a black face mask printed with the heraldic badge of the Prince of Wales. The mask was made especially for Camilla by a member of the public.

On Wednesday evening, the Prince and the Duchess attended a state dinner hosted by President Katerina Sakellaropoulou at the Presidential Mansion in Athens. Until the Greek monarchy was abolished in the 1970s, the mansion was the Royal Palace, and the grand staircase behind Charles and Camilla was featured in numerous photos of special royal gatherings, including the weddings of King Juan Carlos and Queen Sofia of Spain and of King Constantine II and Queen Anne-Marie of Greece. (Charles was actually one of the crown bearers for Constantine and Anne-Marie in 1964.)

In the remarks Charles delivered during the dinner, he made mention of his own Greek royal heritage: “My wife and I could not be more delighted to be back in Greece, which has long held the most special place in my heart. After all, Greece is the land of my grandfather; and of my father’s birth, nearly one hundred years ago, in the centenary year of Greek Independence. Later, it was in Athens that my dear grandmother, Princess Alice, during the dark years of Nazi occupation, sheltered a Jewish family—an act for which in Israel she is counted as ‘Righteous Among The Nations.'”

For the dinner, Camilla wore a blue gown, embellished with golden detailing, and an ivory wrap edged in golden lace. The dress has been in Camilla’s closet for quite some time. She’s worn it to other royal receptions, including a dinner in Bahrain way back in 2007.

She also, praise the heavens above, wore DIAMONDS. (It’s been so long since we’ve had state dinner diamonds!) I’m not familiar with this set. The earrings appear to have modern polished gold studs in a triangle shape, edged with diamonds, and diamond drops in a golden collet-style setting. The necklace seems to be made of round beads that are pavé-set with diamonds. (You’ll also spot the Golden Kiwi Necklace layered underneath.)

She also again wore a stack of gold bracelets on her left wrist, as well as her wedding and engagement rings on her left hand.

On Thursday, March 25, the second and final day of the visit, Charles and Camilla attended several events, including a wreath-laying ceremony at the Memorial of the Unknown Soldier in Syntagma Square, a military parade in honor of Greek Independence Day (pictured above), and tea at the Presidential Mansion.

Camilla wore a navy jacket and dress edged in lace for the events of the day, and she accessorized with her favorite pearl and diamond earrings (also worn the day before) and her diamond knot brooch.

Here’s a closer view of the delicate knot brooch, which is studded with small diamonds.

Camilla has worn the brooch for several prominent occasions in recent years. In December 2019, she wore the brooch for the annual Christmas Day church service near the Sandringham Estate.

And in March 2020, she wore the brooch in London for the annual Commonwealth Day service at Westminster Abbey. (You’ll note that she’s also wearing the same navy jacket here.)

Underneath her scarf, Camilla was wearing another royal heirloom: a lovely three-stranded pearl necklace with a distinctive Art Deco-style clasp. (You can just see the clasp peeking out of the top of the jacket’s neckline.) She again layered the necklace with her Kiki McDonough topaz necklace and her Golden Kiwi Necklace.

This triple strand of pearls also belonged to the Queen Mother. Camilla wore the necklace most recently in June 2020 (pictured above), when she and Charles welcomed French President Emmanuel Macron to London for a ceremony in Carlton Gardens during a visit to commemorate the 80th anniversary of General de Gaulle’s ‘Appel’ speech. (She’s wearing the dress from the same jacket/dress combo here, too.)

In Athens, Camilla also wore a distinctive bracelet on her right wrist, made of gold embellished with blue-toned accents.

Lucky Prince Charles also received a new piece of “jewelry” on the visit, too. Kostas Bakoyannis, the Mayor of Athens, presented him with the Gold Medal of Athens at City Hall on Thursday.

Here’s a closer view of the elaborate gold decoration, which appropriately features a laurel-leaf theme in its design.

And then, Charles and Camilla boarded RAF Voyager to head back to Britain. Here’s hoping this is just the first of many more major state and official visits and dinners to come in 2021!