Dazzling Diamonds and Pearls for Queen Camilla in Ascot and London

On Saturday, Queen Camilla headed to Ascot Racecourse for British Champions Day, the finale of the British flat racing season. The race day is sponsored by QIPCO, a private investment company owned by members of the Qatari royal family. (We discussed the connection previously here.)

Camilla was pictured chatting with John Warren, racing manager of the late Queen Elizabeth II and now of King Charles III, and Sir Francis Brooke, the late monarch’s official representative at Ascot.

During the meet, Camilla watched one of King Charles’s horses, King’s Lynn, finish tenth in the the QIPCO British Champions Sprint Stakes. She also awarded prizes. Here, she presents a trophy to British jockey Tom Marquand, winner of the Queen Elizabeth II Stakes.

For the day, Camilla wore navy and white. She selected a jacket and dress by Bruce Oldfield and a hat by Philip Treacy, accessorized with familiar pieces of jewelry from her collection. Her diamond and pearl drop earrings are a pair that we’ve seen her wear on countless occasions for more than a decade and a half.

Here’s a closer look at the earrings from a previous appearance (the 2021 visit to Greece). The stud portion of the earrings features a flower design set with diamonds. I’ve always thought that these looked like antiques, though I don’t believe we know their provenance.

Camilla paired the earrings on Saturday with another favorite piece of jewelry: her four-stranded pearl choker necklace with the round diamond clasp. The necklace is part of a large collection of similar pieces in Camilla’s jewelry box. On this occasion, two of the pearl strands were twisted slightly. You’ll also spot the gold chain of a second necklace layered beneath the choker, likely the one that she wears with a pendant featuring the initials of her grandchildren.

Camilla wore her engagement and wedding rings on her left hand. Her engagement ring, which features a large emerald-cut diamond, was originally owned by the late Queen Mother.

She also wore several layered gold bracelets on her right wrist, including the blue Magic Alhambra bracelet from Van Cleef & Arpels, which we recently discussed in another article.

And speaking of Van Cleef & Arpels…! On Monday evening, Queen Camilla was on hand in London for the presentation of the 2022 Booker Prize for Fiction. Here, she speaks with the winner of this year’s prize, the Sri Lankan writer Shehan Karunatilaka, who was recognized for his second novel, The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida.

Camilla, pictured here speaking with the actress Natascha McElhone, wore a black lace dress for the evening reception.

She accessorized with her diamond Magic Alhambra earrings from Van Cleef & Arpels. The blue Magic Alhambra bracelet was also among the stack she wore on her right wrist. She finished off the look with her Kiki McDonough Apollo Necklace, which features a pendant set with diamonds and blue topaz. I know she paired the VC&A and Kiki jewels just for the big fans of the brands who are part of our community here. 😉 In all seriousness, though—it’s worth remembering that personal taste in jewelry varies, and there’s no right or wrong to personal preference about style!