Tonight, King Charles III and Queen Camilla will host a sparkling state banquet at Buckingham Palace for the Emir of Qatar. As we anticipate the gala jewelry we’ll see at the event, I think it’s fair to say that we might get a glimpse of one of the suites presented to the late Queen by one of the previous Qatari rulers.
King Charles III and Queen Camilla will welcome the Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, to London today for a state visit. This is the first formal state visit to Britain by the ruler of Qatar since 2010, when Sheikh Tamim’s parents, Sheikh Hamad and Sheikha Moza, visited the late Queen Elizabeth II. Sheikh Tamim will be accompanied to London by his royal consort, Sheikha Jawaher. The trip is the second that the couple have made to England in as many years, as they were also present at Westminster Abbey for Charles and Camilla’s coronation in May 2023.
For tonight’s state banquet at Buckingham Palace, I think we can expect to see Queen Camilla incorporate pieces of jewelry connected to the Qatari royal family into her gala ensemble. The late Queen Elizabeth II received two suites of jewelry from previous Emirs of Qatar during her reign: a set of diamond and ruby jewels and a demi-parure made of diamonds and pearls.
During an official visit to Qatar in 1979, Queen Elizabeth II received a demi-parure of diamond and pearl jewelry from the Emir of Qatar, then Sheikh Khalifa bin Hamad Al Thani, the grandfather of the present Emir. The suite includes an enormous six-stranded pearl necklace with diamond accents, plus a coordinating pair of diamond and pearl earrings.
Elizabeth wore the jewels often for events related to the Qatari royal family, but she also wore the jewels more generally. Here, she wears the necklace and earrings with additional diamond and pearl pieces, including the pearl setting of the Vladimir Tiara, at the CHOGM banquet in South Africa in 1999.
She also wore the suite with the Vladimir Tiara during the most recent Qatari state visit to Britain. Here, in October 2010, she wears the jewels for a state banquet at Windsor Castle. Though she most often paired the Qatari pearls with the Vladimir Tiara, she also occasionally wore them with Queen Alexandra’s Kokoshnik Tiara.
The newer of the two Qatari royal gifts is the demi-parure of jewelry set with diamonds and rubies. The suite has been in the royal vaults since the 1980s. The set was described by Leslie Field in her landmark book on British royal jewelry: ““As recently as 1985, on a State visit to England, the Amir of Qatar presented the Queen with a diamond swag necklace with a centerpiece of two large rubies.” The set also includes a pair of coordinating earrings. Sheikh Khalifa bin Hamad Al Thani was also the Emir who presented the rubies to the Queen.
Queen Elizabeth wore the Qatari rubies for a variety of gala occasions over the next four decades. Here, in Madrid in 1988, she wears them for a black-tie reception, paired with one of Queen Victoria’s Wheat Ear Brooches as a hair ornament.
She also wore the rubies with various tiaras from her jewelry collection. Here, in May 2008, she paired the rubies with Queen Alexandra’s Kokoshnik Tiara during a state visit to Turkey. She also wore the rubies more than once with the Burmese Ruby Tiara and, interestingly, wore them on two occasions for the State Opening of Parliament in the 1990s.
Which one of the sets would you like to see Queen Camilla debut at tonight’s banquet? I’m guessing we might see the Qatari Pearls make an appearance, perhaps paired with the Vladimir Tiara or the Greville Tiara.
Stay tuned: coverage of the Qatari state visit will continue here throughout the day, starting with the official welcome ceremonies and then continuing later with the sparkle from the state banquet tiaras!
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