This afternoon, Queen Camilla led members of the British royal family at the annual Commonwealth Day service–and wore an astonishing aquamarine brooch for the occasion.
Queen Camilla stepped in for King Charles III, who is Head of the Commonwealth, as the senior royal attending the Commonwealth Day service at Westminster Abbey. King Charles, who is still being treated for cancer, recorded a video message that was played on screens during the service. Queen Camilla was joined by the Prince of Wales, the Princess Royal, the Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh, the Duke and Duchess of Gloucester, and the Duke of Kent at Monday’s service.
Queen Camilla wore a blue Bruce Oldfield coat and a coordinating hat by Philip Treacy for the service. It was a repeat of an outfit that we previously saw her wear for her arrival in Berlin during last March’s state visit to Germany.
Camilla accessorized with her favorite diamond and pearl drop earrings, paired with a gorgeous diamond and aquamarine brooch.
The brooch features a large round aquamarine set in an intricate upside-down diamond heart, from which a second, heart-shaped aquamarine, ringed with diamonds, is suspended from a chain-link element. The palace shared only that the brooch belonged to the late Queen Elizabeth II, adding no additional provenance.
It’s tough to say what the source of the piece might be. To me, this looks like an 1890s-1910s creation, which could link it to Queen Victoria, Queen Alexandra, or Queen Mary, or even Dame Margaret Greville. Aquamarines, of course, are also found in Russia, and the Romanovs owned and gifted many pieces of jewelry set with the gemstone. Here’s hoping that BP shares more with us about the history of the piece soon.
UPDATE: A few minutes ago, Norwegian jewelry historian Trond Norén Isaksen confirmed that the brooch comes from the collection of Queen Alexandra. Isaksen writes at length about the jewels owned by Alexandra’s daughter, Queen Maud of Norway, and he has had access to a photographic inventory of Alexandra’s jewels kept in the Royal Archives at Windsor.
The Princess Royal wore a lovely red floral coat for the service with a blue dress and hat. She was accompanied by her lady-in-waiting, Dolly Maude, who is a close friend of Anne’s daughter, Zara Tindall.
With her ensemble, Anne wore her diamond, pearl, and gold Andrew Grima earrings, plus her eye-catching gold and diamond stalactite brooch.
The Duchess of Edinburgh was elegant in neutrals as she arrived for the service, wearing a light brown coat over a more vibrant patterned dress.
She wore a pair of modern earrings featuring linked silver circles and black pearl drops.
The Duchess of Gloucester chose neutral tones for the service as well, though she added a bit of naturalistic flair with her hat, which features green feathers that resemble foliage.
She also nodded to the natural world with her jewelry, wearing her cream-colored floral earrings with gold accents and her playful tortoise brooches.
Since this is our second post of the day, I’ll be back here later on tomorrow with jewels from Queen Camilla’s palace reception. See you then!
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