![Queen Camilla views the Camp Toyoyo exhibition wall during a visit to the Eastlands Library in Nairobi on October 31, 2023 (Chris Jackson/PA Images/Alamy)](https://i0.wp.com/www.thecourtjeweller.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/2023-1103-01-camilla02.jpg?resize=1200%2C787&ssl=1)
This week, King Charles and Queen Camilla have been in Kenya on a state visit. The jewels have been subdued overall, but on Tuesday, Camilla wore a spectacular brooch with significant royal provenance.
![King Charles III and Queen Camilla are welcomed at the state house in Nairobi by President William Ruto and his wife, Rachel, on October 31, 2023 (Arthur Edwards/PA Images/Alamy)](https://i0.wp.com/www.thecourtjeweller.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/2023-1103-01-camilla04.jpg?resize=1200%2C800&ssl=1)
King Charles III and Queen Camilla were officially welcomed at the state house in Nairobi on Tuesday at the start of their state visit to Kenya. They were received by the President of Kenya, Dr. William Ruto, and his wife, Rachel.
![Queen Camilla views the Camp Toyoyo exhibition wall during a visit to the Eastlands Library in Nairobi on October 31, 2023 (Chris Jackson/PA Images/Alamy)](https://i0.wp.com/www.thecourtjeweller.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/2023-1103-01-camilla01.jpg?resize=1200%2C835&ssl=1)
The royals carried out various engagements on Tuesday, including stops at the Eastlands Library, where they viewed the organization’s Camp Toyoyo exhibition, and at the Mashujaa Museum in Uhuru Gardens.
![King Charles III and Queen Camilla are welcomed at the state house in Nairobi on October 31, 2023 (Arthur Edwards/PA Images/Alamy)](https://i0.wp.com/www.thecourtjeweller.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/2023-1103-01-camilla05.jpg?resize=1200%2C2153&ssl=1)
Queen Camilla wore a white dress for the first day of the Kenyan state visit, paired with a matching handbag and spectator pumps.
![Queen Camilla tours the Mashujaa Museum in Uhuru Gardens in Nairobi on October 31, 2023 (Ian Vogler/PA Images/Alamy)](https://i0.wp.com/www.thecourtjeweller.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/2023-1103-01-camilla06.jpg?resize=1200%2C1783&ssl=1)
She accessorized with several familiar jewelry pieces, including her favorite diamond floral and pearl drop earrings and her usual necklaces and bracelets.
![Queen Camilla arrives for a visit to the Eastlands Library in Nairobi on October 31, 2023 (Chris Jackson/PA Images/Alamy)](https://i0.wp.com/www.thecourtjeweller.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/2023-1103-01-camilla08.jpg?resize=1200%2C1696&ssl=1)
But she also pinned another special jewelry piece to her dress: a diamond and pearl brooch that has been worn by three generations of British royal women.
![Queen Camilla arrives for a visit to the Eastlands Library in Nairobi on October 31, 2023 (Chris Jackson/PA Images/Alamy)](https://i0.wp.com/www.thecourtjeweller.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/2023-1103-01-camilla09.jpg?resize=932%2C1180&ssl=1)
The jewel, which is known as the Courtauld Thomson Scallop-Shell Brooch, was made in in London by the Goldsmiths and Silversmiths Co., Ltd. It was designed in part by Sir Courtauld Thomson, who was the son of a famous Scottish inventor. His sister, the writer Winifred Hope Thomson, ended up with the piece.
![The Queen Mother and the Prince of Wales are pictured during the celebrations of her 100th birthday in London on August 4, 2000 (Trinity Mirror/Mirrorpix/Alamy)](https://i0.wp.com/www.thecourtjeweller.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/2023-1103-01-camilla14.jpg?resize=1200%2C787&ssl=1)
Winifred left the brooch to Queen Elizabeth, better known to us later as the Queen Mother, in 1944. Sir Hugh Roberts notes that Thomson’s decision to leave the brooch to Elizabeth was made as “as a mark of respect and profound admiration.” The Queen Mother wore the brooch often throughout her long life, especially in her later years. Above, she wears the brooch on a very significant day: her hundredth birthday in 2000.
![Queen Elizabeth II is greeted by King Felipe VI of Spain at during a ceremonial welcome on Horse Guards Parade in London on July 12, 2017 (Matt Dunham-WPA Pool/Getty Images)](https://i0.wp.com/www.thecourtjeweller.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/2023-1103-01-camilla11.jpg?resize=1200%2C801&ssl=1)
When the Queen Mum passed away in 2002, the brooch was one of many jewelry pieces inherited by her elder daughter, Queen Elizabeth II. The inheritance carried out Winifred Thomson’s explicit wish for the brooch to pass from queen to queen. Above, Queen Elizabeth II wears the brooch during the Spanish state visit to London in July 2017.
![Queen Elizabeth II and the Duke of Edinburgh depart after the wedding of Zara Phillips and Mike Tindall at Canongate Kirk in Edinburgh on July 30, 2011 (Jeff J. Mitchell/Getty Images)](https://i0.wp.com/www.thecourtjeweller.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/2023-1103-01-camilla12.jpg?resize=1200%2C1085&ssl=1)
Elizabeth wore the brooch for a variety of different occasions, including the wedding of her eldest granddaughter, Zara Phillips, in Edinburgh in July 2011.
![Queen Elizabeth II is pictured after the funeral service of Patricia Knatchbull, Countess Mountbatten of Burma at St Paul's Church in Knightsbridge on June 27, 2017 (Matt Dunham-WPA Pool/Getty Images)](https://i0.wp.com/www.thecourtjeweller.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/2023-1103-01-camilla10.jpg?resize=1200%2C848&ssl=1)
She also sometimes used the brooch on occasions of mourning and remembrance. Here, she wears the jewel for the funeral of the late Countess Mountbatten of Burma in London in June 2017.
![Queen Camilla arrives at Ascot Racecourse for day one of Royal Ascot on June 20, 2023 (Imageplotter/Alamy)](https://i0.wp.com/www.thecourtjeweller.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/2023-1103-01-camilla13.jpg?resize=1200%2C1803&ssl=1)
Winifred Thomson’s wish was carried out once again in 2022, when the brooch passed from Queen Elizabeth II to King Charles III and Queen Camilla. We saw Camilla wear the jewel for the first time at Royal Ascot in June 2023.
![Queen Camilla views the Camp Toyoyo exhibition wall during a visit to the Eastlands Library in Nairobi on October 31, 2023 (Chris Jackson/PA Images/Alamy)](https://i0.wp.com/www.thecourtjeweller.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/2023-1103-01-camilla03.jpg?resize=1200%2C1693&ssl=1)
And this week, she brought out the brooch again for a second wearing in Kenya. The piece is a true classic, able to be worn with a variety of outfits and on a wide range of occasions, so I think it’s safe to say that we’ll be seeing it often in the coming years as well.
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