The British royal family’s commemorations of the 80th anniversary of VE Day continued on Thursday with a service of thanksgiving at Westminster Abbey, where plenty of royal pearls and diamonds gleamed for the occasion.
King Charles III and Queen Camilla were joined by the working members of the royal family for Thursday’s service of thanksgiving at Westminster Abbey. The Prince and Princess of Wales were in attendance, as were the Princess Royal and Vice Admiral Sir Timothy Laurence, the Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh, the Duke and Duchess of Gloucester, and the Duke of Kent.
After the service, the royals had the opportunity to speak with some of the veterans in attendance. They also laid flowers at the Innocent Victims’ Memorial beside the Abbey. The memorial, unveiled by Queen Elizabeth II in 1996, remembers “civilians, men, women and children, who have suffered death, torture and oppression throughout the world.” Among those commemorated are more than 100,000 Britons who were killed or injured during World War II, including many casualties of the Blitz.
For the service, Queen Camilla wore a white coat with black stitching and a white and black hat, reflecting the mixture of triumph and sorrow wrapped up in the anniversary of the end of World War II in Europe. Her coat and dress come from Anna Valentine, and Philip Treacy made the coordinating hat.
Camilla kept her accessories simple, wearing her favorite diamond and pearl drop earrings with a meaningful gem-set badge. The brooch is the badge of the 9th/12th Royal Lancers. Camilla’s father, Major Bruce Shand, served with the 12th Lancers during the war. The regiment was amalgamated into the Royal Lancers in 2015, and Queen Camilla is now their colonel-in-chief.
The Princess of Wales also wore white and black for the service, reaching for an Alessandra Rich dress that she previously wore on Garter Day in 2023. She paired the dress with a black hat from Juliette Botterill.
She kept her accessories very simple for the service, wearing the Collingwood Pearl Drop Earrings that belonged to the late Diana, Princess of Wales. She also wore her diamond and sapphire engagement ring on her left hand.
The Princess Royal wore a floral coat in a soft shade of blue for the service, paired with navy accessories. The cashmere and silk coat comes from Shibumi.
Anne wore diamond and pearl button earrings with the three-row pearl necklace that she inherited from her mother, Queen Elizabeth II, in 2022. She also pinned a small diamond brooch with a midcentury sunburst design to her coat.
The Duchess of Edinburgh also wore blue for the service. UFO No More tells us that the dress comes from Beulah London and the coordinating hat was made by Jane Taylor.
Sophie added a little subtle sparkle to the outfit with pavé-set diamond earrings and a necklace with a gold and diamond pendant. The earrings and necklace both come from Collins & Sons.
The Duchess of Gloucester repeated the cream ensemble that she wore last weekend in Copenhagen—more on that tomorrow—and carried a patriotic clutch bag decorated with the Union Jack.
She wore pieces from her extensive collection of diamond and pearl jewels for the service: diamond and pearl drop earrings, a superb necklace of round white pearls, and a petite diamond brooch pinned at the neckline of her dress.
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.