Buckingham Palace has announced that tomorrow’s Royal Variety Performance will be given in the presence of the King and Queen, marking the first time that Charles and Camilla have attended the event in almost a decade. Ahead of the show, I’ve got a look back at the jewels that Camilla has worn for Royal Variety Performances past.
Charles and Camilla, then the Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall, attended their first Royal Variety Performance as a married couple in December 2006. The show included performances by Rod Stewart, Barry Manilow, and the casts of Spamalot, Wicked, Avenue Q, and The Sound of Music. Camilla arrived at the Coliseum in London wearing a deep pink velvet gown with satin accents.
She also added several pieces of glittering jewelry to her outfit. She wore earrings featuring large amethysts in slim diamond clusters, as well as a delicate necklace with amethyst and diamond drops. The necklace has been in Camilla’s jewelry box since the early years of her marriage, and it’s thought to be an antique piece dating to the nineteenth century. A final touch of sparkle was added with a gorgeous diamond bracelet, worn on her left wrist.
Two years later, in December 2008, Charles and Camilla arrived for another Royal Variety Performance, this time at the London Palladium. Camilla wore a dramatic, voluminous blue Vivienne Westwood gown as the couple watched performances by Cliff Richard, Josh Groban, Leona Lewis, and the cast of The Lion King.
She also wore a whole lot of diamonds! This diamond demi-parure, with its pear-shaped stones, has been in Camilla’s collection since at least 2005. That November, she debuted the diamond earrings and necklace at a dinner in San Francisco. Since then, she’s worn the jewels for a whole variety of evening occasions.
In December 2010, the Prince and the Duchess headed to the London Palladium with some special friends, Andrew and Madeleine Lloyd Webber, for the Royal Variety Performance. Camilla wore green with her diamond and emerald demi-parure, thought to have been a gift from the Saudi royal family, to watch performances by Adele, Kylie Minogue, the Royal Ballet, and the cast of Les Miserables.
Three years later, the royal couple made their return to the Royal Variety Performance, attending the show at the London Palladium in November 2013. Camilla repeated her blue Vivienne Westwood gown for the show, which featured performances by Mary J. Blige, Bryn Terfel, Dame Edna, and Torvill & Dean.
This time around, Camilla wore sapphires and diamonds with the blue evening gown. The spotlight piece was a modern diamond floral pendant with an enormous sapphire centerpiece, worn suspended from a diamond necklace. Camilla also wore coordinating sapphire and diamond earrings.
Charles and Camilla most recently attended the Royal Variety Performance in December 2016, though Charles did make a virtual appearance during the performance in 2020. They arrived at the Hammersmith Apollo for the 2016 show, which showcased artists like Barry Gibb, Lady Gaga, Sting, and Robbie Williams. Camilla wore an eye-catching red lace evening gown for the occasion.
Along with the sparkling embellishments on the gown itself, Camilla added even more glitz by wearing serious diamonds: the necklace and matching earrings from her pear-shaped diamond demi-parure.
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