Today, a special service was held at St Giles’ Cathedral in Edinburgh to celebrate the recent coronation of King Charles III, bringing us a crown and regalia and a whole lot of elegant royal pearls.
The King and Queen departed from the Palace of Holyroodhouse to head to St Giles’ Cathedral in Edinburgh on Wednesday afternoon for a national service of thanksgiving and dedication.
They were joined at the service by the Duke and Duchess of Rothesay (the titles used by the Prince and Princess of Wales when in Scotland). The service featured music, readings, and prayers, but the centerpiece of the moment was the presentation of the Honours of Scotland, the nation’s crown regalia.
The Honours of Scotland include three pieces of regalia. The most recognizable of these is the Crown of Scotland, carried here by the Duke of Hamilton and Brandon. (The Dukes of Hamilton are the hereditary crown bearers of Scotland.) The crown was made in 1540 for King James V, using materials that came from an even older crown.
The monarch doesn’t wear the Crown of Scotland anymore, but it was presented to him along with the rest of the regalia during the service. Here, King Charles touches the crown during the presentation.
The moment echoed the service held seventy years ago for his mother, Queen Elizabeth II. The Crown of Scotland was presented to her during that June 1953 service by another Duke of Hamilton and Brandon, the grandfather of the current title holder.
Dame Katherine Grainger, an Olympic gold medalist rower and chancellor of the University of Glasgow, carried the second piece of regalia, the Sword of State, into the cathedral for the service. The newly-commissioned ceremonial sword, named the Elizabeth Sword, replaces an older sword of state that is now too fragile to use. (That earlier sword was given to King James IV by Pope Julius III in 1507.) The new Elizabeth Sword made its debut at this service. Note the thistle motif in the design of the sword’s hilt. The blade is engraved with the royal motto of Scotland (“In my defens God me defend”) on one side and the motto of the Order of the Thistle (“Nemo me impune lacessit”) on the other.
The third piece of regalia, the Sceptre, was given to King James IV by Pope Alexander VI in 1494. It was carried during the service by Lady Dorrian, who has been the Lord Justice Clerk of Scotland since 2016.
For the service, both the King and the Queen wore the robes and insignia of the Order of the Thistle, Scotland’s highest order of chivalry. King Charles III wore his robes over his ceremonial Royal Navy uniform as Admiral of the Fleet.
Queen Camilla wore a ruffled white gown by Bruce Oldfield with her robes. She was appointed as a member of the Order of the Thistle just a few days ago, on June 16. And the press tells us that the insignia that she wore for her first appearance as a Lady of the Thistle is particularly special.
They’re the same Thistle collar and star worn by Queen Elizabeth II.
Queen Camilla wore pearls with her gown and robes for the service as well.
She chose her favorite earrings, which feature diamond floral button studs and pearl drops, for the occasion, as well as a multi-stranded pearl necklace.
Her blue Van Cleef & Arpels Alhambra bracelet also peeked out from the sleeve of her dress, and her engagement and wedding rings were in their usual spot on her left hand.
The Duke of Rothesay has been a knight of the Order of the Thistle since 2012, and he also wore his robes for Wednesday’s service.
He wore the robes and insignia over his RAF uniform for the occasion.
The Duchess of Rothesay opted for bright Scottish blue for the service of thanksgiving, wearing a familiar coat dress by Catherine Walker.
We’ve seen her wear this coat dress on previous occasions, including an appearance at the Commonwealth Day service at Westminster Abbey in March 2022.
She also wore the coat dress on Easter Sunday at Windsor in April.
This time around, she paired the coat dress with a new hat from Philip Treacy.
While she previously wore blue jewels, including sapphires and lapis lazuli, with the coat dress, she opted for pearls for the service of thanksgiving.
She reached for the Collingwood Pearl Drop Earrings, a versatile workhorse pair from her collection.
The earrings were gifted by Collingwood to Diana, Princess of Wales as a wedding present in 1981. She often paired them with Queen Mary’s Lover’s Knot Tiara, a combination that has also been adopted by Kate.
Kate paired the earrings with a special necklace for the service at St Giles’: the late Queen Elizabeth II’s Japanese Pearl Necklace.
The four-row pearl necklace is part of a demi-parure of jewels from the late Queen’s collection. Garrard made the necklace and coordinating bracelet using pearls reportedly gifted to Elizabeth II by the Japanese government in the 1970s.
The necklace and bracelet were also pictured on Diana, Princess of Wales. She memorably wore them (again, with Queen Mary’s Lover’s Knot Tiara) for a banquet at Hampton Court Palace during the Dutch state visit in 1982.
Kate has been wearing the pearls since the autumn of 2017. She’s often chosen them for important family occasions. Here, she wears the necklace with the Bahrain Pearl Drop Earrings for Prince Philip’s funeral in April 2021.
She also wore the necklace and the bracelet with the same earrings for Queen Elizabeth II’s state funeral in September 2022.
For the service in Scotland on Wednesday, Kate paired the necklace with a different pearl and diamond bracelet: the three-row bracelet made by Nigel Milne for Diana, Princess of Wales. She finished off the look with her usual trio of rings: engagement, wedding, and eternity.
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