On Wednesday, Queen Camilla headed to Shropshire for a visit to Shrewsbury, wearing a pair of bejeweled insect brooches.
Queen Camilla headed to Shrewsbury on Wednesday to take part in a pair of engagements. First, she toured the local farmers’ market, where she signed a guest book at the Old Market Hall. Next, she headed to the newly-restored Shrewsbury Flaxmill Maltings, an Historic England project, and met with members of local community groups.
Camilla also had the opportunity to do a walkabout and chat with members of the public. Two young girls gave her hand-made signs expressing good wishes to the Princess of Wales during her ongoing cancer treatment. “I shall send these on to Catherine,” Camilla promised. “She will be thrilled!”
Camilla also received messages of support and good health for King Charles, and a local artist presented her with a drawing he had made featuring Charles and Camilla together. Touchingly, a young lady named Abi Crighton also presented the Queen with a red rose.
Queen Camilla wore neutrals for the Shrewsbury visit, including a tan coat from her collection with whipstitch detailing.
She accessorized with her gold and diamond drop earrings, plus a pair of gemstone-encrusted insect brooches.
One brooch, set with diamonds and sapphires, is shaped like a housefly, while the other larger brooch is in the shape of a bee. [Update: Or perhaps the smaller one is meant to be a bee as well? Leslie Field mentions “a cabochon sapphire bumblebee with diamond wings” in The Queen’s Jewels. I’m not an entomologist, so I’ll defer to those more familiar with the matter.]
Camilla has worn the larger bejeweled bee brooch on multiple occasions over the years. Why did she choose it for her visit to Shrewsbury? There’s a simple answer: her visit to the farmers’ market included a meeting with members of the local Bee Keepers’ Association.
Here’s one more look at the brooches on Camilla’s coat from today’s visit.
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