Another day, another major heirloom royal brooch moment at Royal Ascot! Queen Camilla wore Queen Mary’s turquoises and diamonds for the second day of the race meeting, and there were plenty of other interesting royal jewels on display as well.
While the King was back at Buckingham Palace meeting with the President of Zambia, Queen Camilla led the royal party in the carriage procession on the second day of Royal Ascot. The four carriages included members of the royal family alongside several friends and courtiers. Carriage one featured the Queen, the Prince of Wales, and the Earl and Countess of Halifax. (As I mentioned yesterday, the Queen and Lady Halifax were sisters-in-law during their first marriages.) In the second carriage were the Duke and Duchess of Gloucester with Lord and Lady Lloyd-Webber. Both Birgitte Gloucester and Andrew Lloyd Webber were installed as members of the Order of the Garter on Monday.
The third carriage brought Princess Eugenie and Jack Brooksbank to the racecourse alongside Lady Sarah Keswick, one of the Queen’s companions, and the trainer Sir Mark Prescott. And in the fourth and final carriage were the Marchioness of Lansdowne with the Earl of Rosslyn and Baron and Baroness von Westenholz. Lady Lansdowne and Lady von Westenholz are two more of the Queen’s companions, while Lord Rosslyn is the King’s Lord Steward of the Household.
For her second appearance at Ascot this year, Queen Camilla chose another blue ensemble, this time accessorized with an important heirloom brooch from the royal vaults. The elaborate diamond and turquoise jewel was one of the wedding presents given to the future Queen Mary in 1893 by her parents-in-law, King Edward VII and Queen Alexandra (then Prince and Princess of Wales).
The late Queen Elizabeth II wore the diamond and turquoise brooch on a handful of occasions later in her life. Her first prominent outing in the brooch came when she traveled to Malta for the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in November 2015.
She also famously wore the brooch in April 2020 when she delivered a televised message to the nation at the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic.
Intriguingly, Camilla paired the brooch on Wednesday with diamond and turquoise earrings that appear to match the brooch’s design. I don’t know if these were made at the same time as the brooch, or made later to match the antique jewel’s design. The late Queen never wore these earrings, to my knowledge. They’re almost certainly clips, which means that they’re perhaps better suited to Camilla than to the the late Elizabeth II.
The Prince of Wales looked dapper in his Ascot attire, including a golden tie pin. I think this is one that has been in his collection for many years. I’ve guessed in the past that it may feature the royal cypher of his great-grandfather, King George VI.
The Princess Royal wore blue and white for the second day of the race meeting, including a large picture hat.
She accessorized with favorite pieces from her jewelry collection. Her gold earrings feature cabochon sapphires and pearl drops. She also wore her favorite gold and diamond equestrian brooch, pinned alongside her badges for the day.
Princess Anne’s daughter, Zara Tindall, looked lovely in a floral dress for the occasion. She accessorized with earrings featuring two shades of pink gemstones.
As usual, Zara was right in the middle of the royal party, enthusiastically greeting her relatives. Here, she’s pictured with the Countess of St. Andrews (daughter-in-law of the Duke and Duchess of Kent) and the Duchess of Edinburgh.
It was a big day for the Duchess of Edinburgh, who wore a pair of sparkling hoop earrings with her flower-festooned dress. On Wednesday, Edward and Sophie celebrated their 25th wedding anniversary.
Prince Edward and Sophie Rhys-Jones were married at St. George’s Chapel, Windsor on June 19, 1999. They became the Earl and Countess of Wessex on the wedding day. Sophie wore a diamond tiara given to her by her mother-in-law, Queen Elizabeth II, with her wedding ensemble, as well as a suite of pearl jewelry designed for her by her new husband.
The couple were made Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh last year by King Charles III on Edward’s 59th birthday, carrying out wishes outlined by the late Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip on Edward and Sophie’s wedding day two decades earlier. On Tuesday, Buckingham Palace released a new portrait of the Duke and Duchess to celebrate their anniversary. The image was taken in the gardens of Bagshot Park, their home in Surrey, on June 10.
The Duchess of Gloucester made her second appearance at this year’s Royal Ascot meeting on Wednesday, wearing gorgeous pieces from her collection of diamond and sapphire jewels.
There were more members of the extended royal family on hand as well. Here’s Princess Beatrice, wearing a lovely floral dress. I didn’t spot any significant jewels on Beatrice on this particular occasion, but there’s certainly hope for the future. She wore the same tiny pair of hoop earrings on Wednesday that we’ve seen her sport on numerous recent occasions, suggesting that she has finally decided to pierce her ears.
Wearing more significant earrings in the carriage procession was Beatrice’s sister, Princess Eugenie. She sported her diamond and emerald wedding earrings, just as she did for the races on Tuesday.
The York princesses were joined on Wednesday by their husbands and by their mother, Sarah, Duchess of York. Fergie opted for a pair of golden pendant earrings for her first outing at Ascot this year.
There were several more royal-adjacent figures in the parade ring on Wednesday, too. The Prince of Wales was joined by his parents-in-law, Michael and Carole Middleton. Carole wore a blue floral dress with a coordinating pair of gem-set earrings.
Here’s a closer look at the jewels worn in the procession by the Countess of Halifax: a lovely pair of pearl and diamond earrings and a pearl choker with an elaborate diamond floral clasp. Lady Halifax and her husband are very involved in the equestrian world in Britain. They’re both members of the Jockey Club. Camilla Halifax, as I mentioned above, was also once a sister-in-law of the Queen, via her brief first marriage to Richard Parker Bowles, younger brother of Andrew.
And we saw a glimpse of jewels that appear to be set with amethysts on Madeleine Lloyd Webber during the carriage procession as well. Lady Lloyd-Webber is an exceptionally successful trainer and breeder of racehorses. She owns stud farms in England and Ireland, and she sits on the board of Newbury Racecourse.
See you back here tomorrow for more Royal Ascot jewels on Ladies’ Day!
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