It’s time for our annual countdown of some of the best royal jewelry moments of the year! My list for 2024 begins with a collection of stellar royal brooch debuts from Queen Camilla, who wore numerous heirlooms from the vaults (and some new pieces!) for the first time this year.
The first new brooch we spotted on Queen Camilla in 2024 was this elegant diamond, enamel, and gold jewel, which she wore for events beginning in January. The piece took the spotlight again two months later, when she wore it in March at Hillsborough Castle in Belfast during a trip to Northern Ireland. We soon learned that the gorgeous little brooch was a gift from King Charles III. The antique jewel was made in England the last decade of the nineteenth century. It was acquired through Wartski, who described it as “an undulating square of old cut diamonds interwoven with two ribbon like, electric green enamelled gold strands.” Fittingly for Charles and Camila, Wartski’s website added, “The interweaving of two unbroken strands is symbolic of two lives which have been joined together by love.”
In February, Queen Camilla made her first foray of the year into the royal vaults. For a memorial service in Windsor in honor of the late King Constantine of Greece, she wore a pair of diamond ivy leaf clips, made in the 1920s and 1930s by Cartier, that were part of the grand jewelry bequest from Dame Margaret Greville to Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother. The clips were given to Queen Elizabeth II as a birthday present in 1947, and she was the only wearer of the brooches until Camilla’s appearance in them in 2024. Queen Camilla also wore the clips on Christmas Day at Sandringham.
An even bigger surprise was in the works for March. Queen Camilla arrived at Westminster Abbey for the annual Commonwealth Day service wearing an absolutely spectacular antique aquamarine and diamond brooch with a fabulous heart-shaped pendant. We soon learned that the brooch was an heirloom from the collection of Queen Alexandra, suggesting that it’s been tucked away in the vaults for almost a century, just waiting to sparkle again.
A few weeks later, another royal jewel peeked out of the vaults for the first time in memory. During a visit to Shropshire, Queen Camilla wore a pair of insect brooches. Along with a honeybee that has been in her collection for some time, she wore a petite sapphire bumblebee brooch. It seems almost certain that this is the brooch from Queen Elizabeth II’s collection that is described in Leslie Field’s landmark royal jewelry book. Camilla wore the delightful little bee again a few weeks ago for her annual children’s Christmas party at Clarence House.
Queen Camilla stepped in to represent King Charles at this year’s Royal Maundy Service in March, and when she arrived at Worcester Cathedral for the occasion, she was wearing another pair of Cartier clips that belonged to the late Queen. These gold, sapphire, and diamond flower brooches were purchased in the 1940s by King George VI and Queen Elizabeth and given to their elder daughter, Queen Elizabeth II.
A few days later, Queen Camilla wore another of the late Queen’s jewels on Easter Sunday in Windsor. This little flower brooch is set with diamonds, sapphires, and emeralds, and it may be an heirloom from Queen Mary’s collection.
In April, the royal jewelry reappearances continued when Queen Camilla hosted a reception at Clarence House for the women of the Maiden Yacht Crew. In their honor, she donned a little diamond, sapphire, and ruby brooch shaped like the warrior-goddess Britannia. The little brooch, previously worn by the Queen Mother, was designed to mimic part of the cap badge of the old Royal Norfolk Regiment. This was Camilla’s second outing in the brooch, which she also wore in January for a visit to the Gaia Centre in London.
As the royal events of spring began to really fill the calendar, Queen Camilla started to bring out even more impressive brooches from the royal vaults. She stunned us all when she turned up at a Buckingham Palace garden party in May wearing the Cullinan V Brooch. We’d previously seen her wear the jewel, which features an 18.8-carat heart-shaped stone cut from the famed Cullinan Diamond, on her crown on Coronation Day, but this was her first outing wearing the piece as a brooch. She became just the third royal lady to wear the diamond, after Queen Mary and Queen Elizabeth II.
She also brought out another equally important heirloom brooch in May. For another garden party at the palace, and for the Japanese state visit welcome ceremony a few weeks later, Queen Camilla wore the Williamson Pink Diamond Brooch. The jewel features a rare pink diamond centerpiece, given to Queen Elizabeth II as a wedding present in 1947, set in a flower brooch designed by Cartier. Queen Elizabeth II wore the brooch for numerous important occasions over the decades, and now the jewel sparkles on her daughter-in-law.
As always, the brooch stakes really ramped up in June at Royal Ascot, and Queen Camilla did not disappoint with her heirloom brooch choices for the races. On the second day of the meet, she wore Queen Mary’s Diamond and Turquoise Brooch, which was given to her by her parents-in-law, the future King Edward VII and Queen Alexandra, as a wedding present in 1893. The late Queen Elizabeth II wore the brooch occasionally toward the end of her life. For the Royal Ascot outing, Camilla wore the brooch with earrings that appear to have been made to match.
My vote for Queen Camilla’s very best heirloom royal brooch debut of the year goes to her Ladies’ Day jewel: the remarkable Ladies of India Brooch. The jewel, which features a large carved emerald set in a diamond frame, was given to Queen Mary during the 1911 Delhi Durbar by a committee of women called the Ladies of India. It was later worn on various occasions by Queen Elizabeth II. For her appearance in the brooch at Ascot, Camilla paired the jewel with diamond floral earrings.
On the fourth day of Royal Ascot, Queen Camilla wore a brooch that was perhaps treasured above almost all others by her late mother-in-law. Queen Elizabeth II wore the Jardine Star Brooch for an enormous number of events during the last four decades of her life. The antique diamond star coordinates with almost everything, making it particularly valuable and versatile as a royal jewel. Camilla paired it with her favorite diamond and pearl drop earrings for the Ascot outing.
In July, King Charles and Queen Camilla made visits to the Channel Islands. During their stop in Jersey, Queen Camilla wore a petite pearl ribbon brooch with teeny diamond-set tassels. Nothing appears to be known so far about the piece’s provenance—fingers crossed we learn more about it soon!
Queen Camilla saved one of her most important brooch debuts of 2024 for last. She arrived in Sydney at the start of the first royal tour of Australia of her husband’s reign in October wearing a particularly meaningful jewel: the Australian Wattle Brooch, which was given by the nation to Queen Elizabeth II as a coronation gift in 1954. Camilla also wore the spectacular diamond brooch for a set of official portraits published in July.
Stay tuned: our countdown continues later today, so be sure to stop by again this afternoon for the next installment!
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