![Queen Elizabeth greets newly elected leader of the Conservative party Liz Truss as she arrives at Balmoral Castle for an audience where she will be invited to become Prime Minister and form a new government on September 6, 2022 in Aberdeen, Scotland](https://i0.wp.com/www.thecourtjeweller.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/2022-0907-01-queen01.jpg?resize=1200%2C827&ssl=1)
On Tuesday, the Queen held her first audience with her 15th (!) prime minister, and she wore casual pearls for the occasion.
![Britain's Queen Elizabeth II waits to meet with new Conservative Party leader and Britain's Prime Minister-elect at Balmoral Castle in Ballater, Scotland, on September 6, 2022](https://i0.wp.com/www.thecourtjeweller.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/2022-0907-01-queen02.jpg?resize=1200%2C800&ssl=1)
The Queen usually appoints new prime ministers from Buckingham Palace, but because of HM’s continuing mobility issues, it was decided that Liz Truss would journey to Balmoral Castle in Scotland to meet the Queen for their first audience.
![Britain's Queen Elizabeth II and new Conservative Party leader and Britain's Prime Minister-elect Liz Truss meet at Balmoral Castle in Ballater, Scotland, on September 6, 2022, where the Queen invited Truss to form a Government](https://i0.wp.com/www.thecourtjeweller.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/2022-0907-01-queen03.jpg?resize=1200%2C1624&ssl=1)
In an official bulletin, the press office at Buckingham Palace wrote, “The Queen received in Audience The Right Honourable Elizabeth Truss MP today and requested her to form a new Administration. Ms Truss accepted Her Majesty’s offer and kissed hands upon her appointment as Prime Minister and First Lord of the Treasury.” Note that the phrase “kiss hands” is traditional and symbolic language—no actual hand-kissing takes place during these initial meetings.
![Britain's Queen Elizabeth II waits to meet with new Conservative Party leader and Britain's Prime Minister-elect at Balmoral Castle in Ballater, Scotland, on September 6, 2022](https://i0.wp.com/www.thecourtjeweller.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/2022-0907-01-queen04.jpg?resize=1200%2C1742&ssl=1)
For the appointment audience, the Queen wore the usual casual outfit she prefers while in residence at Balmoral: a blouse, skirt, and cardigan sweater. Her pleated, kilt-like skirt was in the Balmoral tartan pattern. She accessorized with pearl earrings and a multi-stranded pearl necklace, as well as a daytime watch and her engagement and wedding rings. No brooch—she doesn’t wear them on cardigans as a rule. Her more casual attire at this meeting shouldn’t, I think, be viewed as a signal about the state of her health or her attitude toward the important constitutional moment. It’s just what she usually wears at home at Balmoral.
![Queen Elizabeth II welcomes newly elected leader of the Conservative party, Boris Johnson during an audience where she invited him to become Prime Minister and form a new government in Buckingham Palace on July 24, 2019 in London, England](https://i0.wp.com/www.thecourtjeweller.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/2022-0907-01-queen09.jpg?resize=1200%2C1623&ssl=1)
When the first meeting between the Queen and her Prime Minister takes place at Buckingham Palace, we tend to see her wear a more formal version of her daytime attire. She’s worn day dresses, pearls, and brooches for the initial audiences with three of her most recent prime ministers. Here, she greets Boris Johnson on his appointment to the role in July 2019.
![Queen Elizabeth II welcomes newly elected leader of the Conservative party, Boris Johnson during an audience where she invited him to become Prime Minister and form a new government in Buckingham Palace on July 24, 2019 in London, England](https://i0.wp.com/www.thecourtjeweller.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/2022-0907-01-queen10.jpg?resize=1200%2C1728&ssl=1)
For that meeting, the Queen wore her usual pearls with one of her newer brooches, a diamond and pearl jewel in a navette or lens shape. I don’t believe we have any provenance information about the brooch itself, though it’s been speculated that it may have been a 90th birthday present.
![Queen Elizabeth II welcomes Theresa May at the start of an audience where she invited the former Home Secretary to become Prime Minister and form a new government at Buckingham Palace on July 13, 2016 in London, England](https://i0.wp.com/www.thecourtjeweller.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/2022-0907-01-queen07.jpg?resize=1200%2C1422&ssl=1)
In July 2016, for her first audience with Prime Minister Theresa May, the Queen wore another printed day dress with pearls and a brooch.
![Queen Elizabeth II welcomes Theresa May at the start of an audience where she invited the former Home Secretary to become Prime Minister and form a new government at Buckingham Palace on July 13, 2016 in London, England](https://i0.wp.com/www.thecourtjeweller.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/2022-0907-01-queen08.jpg?resize=1005%2C1413&ssl=1)
This time, the chosen brooch was a more important historical piece. The Queen chose the Cambridge Emerald Cluster Brooch with its cabochon emerald pendant for the meeting. As the name suggests, the brooch comes from Queen Mary’s Cambridge Emerald collection.
![British Queen Elizabeth (R) greets Conservative party Leader David Cameron, for an audience at which she invited him to be Britain's next Prime Minister, at Buckingham Palace in central London May 11, 2010](https://i0.wp.com/www.thecourtjeweller.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/2022-0907-01-queen05.jpg?resize=1200%2C813&ssl=1)
And in May 2010, for her first audience with Prime Minister David Cameron, the Queen again wore a dress with pearls and a brooch. This time around, the dress featured a tweedier fabric with a metallic sheen, which could be worn for both day and evening events.
![British Queen Elizabeth greets Conservative party Leader David Cameron, for an audience at which she invited him to be Britain's next Prime Minister, at Buckingham Palace in central London May 11, 2010](https://i0.wp.com/www.thecourtjeweller.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/2022-0907-01-queen06.jpg?resize=896%2C1456&ssl=1)
With her pearls, the Queen wore a brooch that she’s had since the 1940s: the Diamond Clematis Brooch. This is the brooch that she chose for her official engagement portrait session in July 1947.
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