Incredible Heirloom British Royal Jewels at the State Opening of Parliament

A busy royal week for King Charles and Queen Camilla continued on Wednesday with the State Opening of Parliament, and both wore plenty of sparkling jewels for the occasion.

King Charles III and Queen Camilla headed to the Houses of Parliament in London on Wednesday for the State Opening of Parliament. The opening marked the start of the new parliamentary session following recent elections in Britain. The King delivered a speech from the throne during the traditional ceremony.

King Charles wore plenty of bejeweled decorations for the ceremony, including the Imperial State Crown. This marks the third occasion that Charles has worn the crown in public.

This version of the Imperial State Crown was made in 1937 ahead of the coronation of the King’s grandfather, King George VI. Its structure closely followed the lines of the Imperial State Crown made a century earlier for Queen Victoria. The newer crown is set with many of the same gems as the earlier crown, including the Black Prince’s Ruby, the Stuart Sapphire, Queen Elizabeth I’s Pearl Earrings, and St. Edward’s Sapphire. The large diamond at the base of the front of the crown is the 317.4-carat Cullinan II Diamond, one of the stones cut from the incredible Cullinan Diamond.

King Charles wore the Imperial State Crown for the first time in public on his coronation day in May 2023. He also wore it for the State Opening of Parliament a few months later in November 2023.

Queen Camilla wore a white gown with embroidered details on the skirt, hem, and cuffs for the ceremony, paired with more historic diamonds from the royal vaults.

Just as she did for the State Opening in November 2023, Queen Camilla wore the Diamond Diadem for the ceremony, as well as additional diamond pieces, including her Garter star.

The diadem, which is more than two centuries old, was made in 1820 for the upcoming coronation of King George IV. Subsequently, the diamond and pearl circlet has been worn by British queens, both regnant and consort. Queen Adelaide, Queen Victoria, Queen Alexandra, Queen Mary, Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother, Queen Elizabeth II, and Queen Camilla have all made use of the diadem. The late Queen became especially familiar with the piece, wearing it for a remarkable seven decades.

Here’s a look at Camilla wearing the diadem during the State Opening last year, in November 2023. On that occasion, she also wore her coronation dress.

This time around, Queen Camilla wore the same diamond collet necklace that she wore for the 2023 State Opening, but she added a different pair of earrings.

These are the elegant earrings from Camilla’s pear-shaped diamond demi-parure. She’s been wearing the set, which includes a matching necklace, for almost two decades.

There were also two more tiaras in the royal procession at the State Opening. Two of the Queen’s Companions, the Marchioness of Lansdowne and Lady Sarah Keswick, wore diamond tiaras as they accompanied Camilla during the ceremony. Fiona Lansdowne’s sparkler is a classic diamond floral jewel, while Lady Sarah’s tiara is a neat diamond fringe. Both ladies wore the same tiaras for last year’s State Opening as well.

Wednesday was also an important day for the King and Queen for another reason: Queen Camilla celebrated her 77th birthday. Buckingham Palace released this new portrait to mark the moment. The image was taken by veteran royal photographer Arthur Edwards on Tuesday during the royal visit to Guernsey.