Antique Diamonds and Pearls for Queen Camilla’s Buckingham Palace Reception

The royal celebrations of International Women’s Day continued today with a special reception hosted by Queen Camilla at Buckingham Palace.

Queen Camilla was joined by Queen Mathilde of the Belgians and the Duchess of Gloucester for the Women of the World reception in London. The WOW Foundation, per its website, is “a charity that believes a gender equal world is desirable, possible and urgently required. Through festivals, events and more, our global movement celebrates women, girls and non-binary people, taking a frank look at the obstacles they face and discussing solutions for change.” Queen Camilla has been the honorary president of the WOW Foundation since 2015.

The reception was attended by several familiar faces, including Melanie Brown of the Spice Girls and Dame Helen Mirren. Above, Queen Camilla speaks with Mel B and her daughter, Phoenix.

Camilla also delivered remarks during the reception. As part of her speech, she showed off two stones that were thrown at Buckingham Palace windows by suffragettes in 1914. Camilla noted that the stones were collected and given to Queen Mary, who “decided to keep them for posterity.” She said, “Now please don’t think for a moment that I am encouraging any of you to evade sentries, or throw stones, or do anything unconstitutional–not least because I am not sure how today’s Master of the Household would react. But while the more destructive steps taken by the suffragettes could not be condoned today, I wanted to show you these stones because of what they represent.”

She continued, “In 1914, I believe, they represented hope to the women who threw them–hope that, in the future, they would not be victims of their history, nor of the social and economic forces that were ranged against gender equality. Above all, they represented the hope that it was possible, as Christabel Pankhurst said, ‘to make this world a better place for women.’ Today, 110 years later, you have been invited into Buckingham Palace because you too represent hope for women in the present and in the future.”

For the reception, Queen Camilla wore a blue Fiona Clare dress with a black cape from Amanda Wakeley and black accessories. Queen Mathilde was vibrant in watermelon pink, while Birgitte was elegant in dark velvet.

Camilla kept her jewelry restricted to her usual pieces for the event, including necklaces with familiar pendants and her usual tangle of bracelets. But she did opt for a more special pair of earrings: the sapphire, diamond, and ruby clusters with pearl drops, which once belonged to Queen Elizabeth II. She also wore a pin in the shape of the WOW Foundation’s logo.

Here’s a closer look at Camilla’s bracelets, including her blue agate Van Cleef & Arpels Alhambra bracelet, as well as a gold cross bracelet and a bracelet with a red heart charm.

Queen Mathilde selected slightly more elevated pieces for the palace reception, wearing diamond earrings and a diamond brooch.

The brooch resembles a stylized butterfly from a distance, but up close, it has scroll and floral designs in its composition. The jewel, made of white gold and platinum and set with cushion-cut and rose-cut diamonds, is an antique, made around 1900. It was sold at an auction in Paris in 2014 and acquired by a jewelry dealer, who presumably sold it to Mathilde at some point. She has worn the brooch regularly since 2017.

The Duchess of Gloucester wore a single stranded necklace of large round pearls for the reception. She also pinned a gold feather brooch to her velvet coat dress.

During the reception, Queen Camilla became the latest royal to be immortalized as a Barbie doll. The director of the WOW Foundation presented her with the doll during the event. “Brilliant. You’ve taken about 50 years off my life!” Queen Camilla joked when she saw Barbie Camilla for the first time.

Here’s a closer look at the Barbie doll, which wore an identical outfit to Camilla’s Fiona Clare/Amanda Wakeley ensemble. She’s also wearing pearl drop earrings, a WOW Foundation pin, and even Barbie versions of the Van Cleef & Arpels bracelet and Camilla’s engagement ring.

I’m putting this post up earlier than planned, so I’ll see you all back here with another sparkling article on Thursday morning!