Queen Camilla Wears Her Coronation Diamonds at St. Paul’s Cathedral

Today, King Charles III and Queen Camilla headed to St. Paul’s Cathedral in London for a service honoring the members of the Order of the British Empire, and Camilla brought out some of her coronation diamonds for the occasion.

The British Empire no longer exists, but the order of chivalry that bears its name continues to honor those who have made special contributions to the arts and sciences, with charitable and welfare organizations, and in public service. (There have been numerous suggestions about changing the name of the OBE to something more current–I’m a fan of the “Order of British Excellence” name that’s been proposed. But I’m American, so no one’s consulted me, ha.) The order was created by King George V in 1917 primarily as a way to recognize the work done by those in non-combat roles during World War I. The chapel of the OBE is located at St. Paul’s Cathedral, and every four years services of thanksgiving are held in the cathedral to celebrate the members of the order and their achievements. 

Since his accession, King Charles III has been the sovereign of the order. There’s also a second-in-command for the OBE, the order’s Grand Master. Over the years, that role has been filled by four different royals: Prince Edward (later King Edward VIII, later Duke of Windsor), from 1917 until his accession in 1936; Queen Mary, from 1936 until her death in 1953; Prince Philip, from 1953 until his death in 2021; and now Queen Camilla, who was appointed by King Charles to take over the role on April 23 of this year.

Charles and Camilla were accompanied by the current Lord Mayor of London, Michael Mainelli, at the service. Both the King and the Queen wore the mantle of the order over their clothes for the service. Charles wore a military uniform under his robes, while Camilla appears to have opted for a floral-patterned day dress.

Charles and Camilla both wore the elaborate golden collar of the order over their mantles for the occasion as well. The collar features the royal cypher of the order’s founder, King George V, in it design.

Camilla also added a pair of significant diamond and gold earrings to her ensemble for the service. She has had the earrings in her collection for some time, but they gained new importance last May when she wore them for her coronation at Westminster Abbey.

Here’s a view of Camilla wearing the diamond earrings on Coronation Day last year. She wore her own diamond earrings rather than the traditional Coronation Earrings for a simple reason: her ears are not pierced.

Here’s another view of the earrings as worn by Camilla for today’s service. This angle shows the interesting gold setting of the diamonds, as well as the triangle-shaped gold clip portion of the earrings.

I’m anticipating some discussion about Camilla’s choice of attire for the service of thanksgiving, because it is in some ways a departure from what we’ve seen in the past. During her reign, Queen Elizabeth II handled the problem of what to wear with the order’s mantle for the daytime service of thanksgiving by opting for a sort of mantle-dress hybrid. She’s pictured here wearing the garment in May 1960, after the service of dedication for the order’s chapel at St. Paul’s. The Telegraph described her outfit on this occasion as “a mantle of rich pink satin” with a “train lined in grey silk.”

With her mantle-gown, the Queen wore evening gala jewels for the service. She usually opted for the Girls of Great Britain & Ireland Tiara for the occasion. In 1960, pictured here, she wore Queen Mary’s large pearl and diamond button earrings–originally part of the same wedding gift as the GGB&I Tiara–and Empress Marie Feodorovna’s Pearl Choker, worn either without its diamond and sapphire clasp or with the clasp placed at the nape of her neck.

The late Queen wasn’t the only royal lady who had to navigate the dress code for the service. Two of her aunts were also present for the chapel dedication in 1960, and they opted for long evening gowns and tiaras with their mantles. Here’s Princess Alice, Duchess of Gloucester wearing Queen Mary’s Honeysuckle Tiara with her OBE collar and robes.

And here’s Princess Marina, Duchess of Kent wearing the Kent City of London Fringe Tiara and her diamond circle earrings with her pink satin mantle and collar.

Queen Elizabeth continued to wear the mantle-gown for OBE services over the years. Above, she’s pictured wearing it with the Girls of Great Britain & Ireland Tiara, the Diplomatic Corps Diamond Earrings, and the Baguette and Brilliant Bracelet for the service at St. Paul’s in 2004.

This image from the 2012 service of thanksgiving gives you an excellent look at the construction of the late Queen’s unusual OBE ensemble. She’s wearing it with the Girls of Great Britain & Ireland Tiara and diamond cluster earrings.

But there was also a time when she decided to move on from the mantle ensemble. For a service celebrating the centenary of the order in 2017, Elizabeth chose to wear a day ensemble with a dress, coat, and hat, accessorized with her usual pearls and the Queen Mother’s Palm Leaf Brooch.

I’ll be back here later on today with jewels from the Buckingham Palace garden party. See you then!