It’s time for the final installment of our series on the Queen’s jewels at the State Opening of Parliament! Today, we’re wrapping up a series with a look at the jewels worn for the State Opening from 2010 until the most recent ceremony in 2019.

For the State Opening of Parliament on May 25, 2010, the Queen wore familiar pieces of jewelry (the Imperial State Crown and Queen Victoria’s Pearl Drop Earrings) with a less-familiar necklace. This two-stranded pearl necklace, which features a distinctive round diamond clasp, pops up occasionally at royal events. The Queen Mother wore it with her “white wardrobe” during the 1938 state visit to France; the Queen wore it for the Duke of York’s wedding in 1986.

No State Opening of Parliament ceremony was held in 2011. The following year, the Queen wore diamonds with the Diamond Diadem as she arrived for the State Opening on May 9, 2012: her Diamond Festoon Necklace and the Diamond Frame Earrings now worn by the Duchess of Cambridge.

For the State Opening on May 8, 2013, the Queen arrived wearing the Diamond Diadem with Queen Victoria’s Pearl Drop Earrings and her Golden Jubilee Necklace.

That year, the Duchess of Cornwall accompanied the Queen, the Duke of Edinburgh, and the Prince of Wales to the ceremony for the first time. She wore jewelry that has become a sort of “uniform” for her at the event: the Greville Tiara with her favorite pearl drop earrings and one of her pearl choker necklaces with an all-diamond clasp. She secured the sash of the Royal Victorian Order with a diamond floral brooch for the occasion.

On June 4, 2014, the Queen repeated the jewels from the previous year, delivering her speech from the throne wearing the Imperial State Crown with Queen Victoria’s Pearl Drop Earrings and Golden Jubilee Necklace. She’s also wearing her pearl watch and a four-row pearl bracelet.

The Duchess of Cornwall wore her State Opening jewelry uniform: the Greville Tiara, pearl drop earrings, and pearl choker necklace. She again wore the diamond floral brooch to secure her sash.

On the Queen’s arrival to and departure from the State Opening on May 27, 2015, we got an excellent view of the Coronation Necklace and Earrings.

Camilla stayed true to her jewelry uniform for the 2015 State Opening, including the Greville Tiara, but she did change up her brooch. She secured her order sash with an Art Deco-style diamond and enamel brooch for the occasion.

The State Opening of Parliament on May 18, 2016, was the final time that the Queen wore the Imperial State Crown in public. (It’s beyond impressive that she wore the heavy, tough-to-balance crown until she was 90 years old!) Fittingly, she wore the crown with the necklace and earrings she wore for her very first State Opening as monarch in 1952: Queen Victoria’s Pearl Drop Earrings and Golden Jubilee Necklace.

No surprises from Camilla during the State Opening in 2016: she wore the same jewels, including the Greville Tiara, she’d worn for the previous ceremony.

For the first time since 1974, the State Opening of Parliament was a stripped-back version of the ceremony, held on June 21, 2017. As she’d done in 1974, the Queen wore her usual daytime clothing — a coat and dress with a matching hat — to read her speech. The Imperial State Crown was still present as a symbol of the monarchy, resting on a cushion nearby.

The Queen may not have worn gala jewels for the ceremony, but she did bring along an important diamond jewel nonetheless, wearing the Cullinan V Brooch for the occasion.

No State Opening was held in 2018. The grand pomp and circumstance had returned to the State Opening ceremony on October 14, 2019, but the Queen had decided to no longer try to wear the heavy Imperial State Crown, deciding instead to wear the Diamond Diadem as she delivered her speech from the throne. She’s wearing it here with the Coronation Necklace.

The Queen usually wears the Coronation Necklace and Earrings together, but on this occasion, she paired the necklace with Queen Mary’s Diamond Cluster Earrings.

Though the Queen’s jewelry strategy for the ceremony had undergone a major change, Camilla stayed true to her formula, wearing the same jewels she’d worn in previous years.

Two months later, a second State Opening of Parliament was held on December 19, 2019. Much like the 2017 State Opening, this one was a scaled back affair. The Queen again wore regular daytime clothing to deliver her second speech of the year.

Just as she had in 2017, the Queen wore the Cullinan V Brooch for this scaled-back State Opening.

And though the Queen did not wear gala jewels, the Imperial State Crown processed just ahead of her as she arrived for the event, just as it likely will be for all State Openings in the near future.

 

Our trip back in time to see the jewels of State Openings of Parliament past continues today with a look at the splendor and pageantry during the 1990s and 2000s!

On November 7, 1990, the Queen arrived for the ceremony wearing the Diamond Diadem and one of her modern jewelry sets: the Qatari Rubies.

The Queen paired the diadem with the Coronation Necklace and Earrings for the State Opening on October 31, 1991. Princess Diana rode beside HM in the carriage, wearing the Lover’s Knot Tiara with the Collingwood Pearl Drop Earrings and her Eleven-Row Pearl Choker, which had diamonds and rubies set in the spacer elements.

Pearls and diamonds accompanied the Queen to the ceremony on May 6, 1992. She arrived for the State Opening wearing the Diamond Diadem with Queen Victoria’s Golden Jubilee Necklace and the Gloucester Pendant Earrings.

She wore the same jewels — the Gloucester Pendant Earrings and Queen Victoria’s Golden Jubilee Necklace — with the Imperial State Crown as she read her speech from the throne during the State Opening on November 18, 1993.

On November 16, 1994, the Queen wore the Imperial State Crown with the Qatari Rubies as she delivered her speech.

We also got a look at the jewels worn by some of the other royal ladies in attendance. Princess Margaret dazzled in the Poltimore Tiara, the Duchess of Gloucester wore Queen Mary’s Honeysuckle Tiara, and the Duchess of Kent wore her Pearl Fringe Tiara.

The Queen paired Queen Victoria’s Pearl Drop Earrings with her Golden Jubilee Necklace for the State Opening of Parliament on November 15, 1995.

We also got to see the jewels worn by the rest of the royals. Princess Margaret (at the end of the row, wearing a green gown) wore the Lotus Flower Tiara.

The Duchess of Gloucester wore the Cartier Indian Tiara with diamonds, including a diamond necklace with a cross pendant and a diamond floral brooch.

And the Duchess of Kent wore her Pearl Fringe Tiara with additional diamond and pearl jewels.

On October 23, 1996, the Queen read her speech wearing the Imperial State Crown with the Coronation Necklace and Earrings.

Princess Margaret wore the Poltimore Tiara with a diamond riviere for the ceremony.

The Queen wore the Imperial State Crown with Queen Victoria’s Golden Jubilee Necklace and the Gloucester Pendant Earrings when she processed in for the ceremony on May 14, 1997.

Princess Margaret sparkled in the Poltimore Tiara with additional diamond jewels.

And the Duchess of Gloucester was elegant in the Teck Turquoises.

On November 24, 1998, the Queen wore the Imperial State Crown with the Coronation Necklace and Earrings as she made a long-awaited but controversial announcement during the State Opening of Parliament: she noted that a bill was being introduced to remove the rights of hereditary peers to sit and vote in the House of Lords. The reform of the House of Lords took place in 1999.

Interestingly, it was one of these hereditary peers who brought some Hollywood glamour to the State Opening in 1998. Actress Jamie Lee Curtis was seated in the chamber during the ceremony, wearing a small gold tiara with a leaf design. She is married to the director Christopher Guest, who inherited the title of Baron Haden-Guest in 1996. He was one of the peers whose time in the Lords was ended by the 1999 reform.

The Duchess of Gloucester also attended the State Opening in 1998, wearing the grand Cartier Indian Tiara.

With her crown, the Queen wore Queen Victoria’s Golden Jubilee Necklace and the Gloucester Pendant Earrings for the State Opening of Parliament on November 17, 1999.

The Queen wore classic diamonds with the Imperial State Crown for the State Opening on December 6, 2000: the Coronation Necklace and Earrings and one of Queen Mary’s Chain Link Bracelets.

On June 20, 2001, the Queen traveled to and from the ceremony wearing the Diamond Diadem with Queen Victoria’s Golden Jubilee Necklace and the Gloucester Pendant Earrings.

For the State Opening on November 13, 2002, the Queen wore the Imperial State Crown with her Antique Girandole Earrings and her Diamond Festoon Necklace.

On November 26, 2003, the Queen wore jewels from Queen Victoria’s collection — her Pearl Drop Earrings and her Golden Jubilee Necklace — for the State Opening ceremony.

She repeated the same combination of jewels (Queen Victoria’s Pearl Drop Earrings and Golden Jubilee Necklace) with a golden gown the following year for the State Opening on November 23, 2004. (Fun fact: I’ve only seen the Queen in person once — as she drove from Buckingham Palace to Parliament for this State Opening!)

And she repeated the same combination again, for the third year in a row, for the State Opening of Parliament on May 17, 2005.

For the State Opening on November 15, 2006, the Queen switched up her jewelry a bit. She wore the Coronation Necklace and Earrings, as well as her pearl wristwatch and a bracelet set with white and yellow diamonds.

On November 6, 2007, the Queen arrived for the State Opening of Parliament wearing the Diamond Diadem with Queen Mary’s Diamond Floret Earrings and her Diamond Festoon Necklace.

For the State Opening on December 3, 2008, the Queen returned to her tried-and-true combination of Queen Victoria’s Golden Jubilee Necklace and the Gloucester Pendant Earrings. She also wore her pearl wristwatch, plus the Diamond Quatrefoil Bracelet now worn by the Duchess of Cambridge.

We’ll wrap up this part of the retrospective with the State Opening on November 18, 2009. For that occasion, the Queen reached for some of the most classic diamonds in her collection: the Coronation Necklace and Earrings.