British Royal Sapphires and Rubies Sparkle at the VE Day Procession in London

Today in London, the British royal family began a week-long commemoration of the 80th anniversary of VE Day, honoring veterans with a military procession, fly past, and tea party at Buckingham Palace.

King Charles III and Queen Camilla were joined by most of the working members of the royal family for the celebration events on Monday in London, including the Prince and Princess of Wales with Prince George, Princess Charlotte, and Prince Louis; the Princess Royal and Vice Admiral Sir Timothy Laurence; the Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh; and the Duke of Kent. The Duke and Duchess of Gloucester were not present because they traveled this weekend to Denmark to be there for the celebrations of the 80th anniversary of that nation’s liberation. (More on that here in the coming days!)

Many of the members of the royal family were in uniform for the procession. Joe Little of Majesty Magazine notes, “The King is wearing Naval Uniform No. 1 dress, with no medals or decorations, as His Majesty’s grandfather King George VI wore on the balcony at Buckingham Palace Balcony on VE-Day 1945.” (We talked quite a bit about the brooch that the King’s grandmother wore during that balcony appearance earlier today.) The Prince of Wales wore RAF No. 1 Uniform for the occasion.

As expected, there were also lots of patriotic and military jewels on display for the events of Monday. Queen Camilla wore pearls and her modern sapphire and diamond cluster earrings, plus the badge of the 9th/12th Royal Lancers (Prince of Wales’s). Camilla is the colonel-in-chief of the Royal Lancers (Queen Elizabeths’ Own), a regiment formed by the amalgamation of the 9th/12th Royal Lancers and the Queen’s Royal Lancers in 2015. The Queen’s father, Major Bruce Shand, served with the 12th Lancers during World War II. He was captured as a prisoner of war and liberated 80 years ago in 1945.

The Queen and the Princess of Wales neatly coordinated their jewelry to reflect the colors of the British flag. With a purple-red outfit previously worn for the South African state visit in 2022, Catherine wore a pair of earrings featuring diamond and ruby cluster pendants and a necklace with a matching cluster pendant. We first saw her wear the necklace during a visit to Warsaw in 2017.

Kate also wore the three-row pearl and diamond bracelet that belonged to the late Diana, Princess of Wales. On her coat, she pinned the badge of the Royal Navy’s Fleet Air Arm. She’s been their commodore-in-chief since 2023.

The Princess Royal was in uniform for the procession, as was Sir Tim. Like the one chosen by her brother, Anne’s uniform also carries special significance for the day. Joe Little explains, “The Princess Royal is wearing the uniform of the First Aid Nursing Yeomanry (Princess Royal’s Volunteer Corps) with no decorations. The late Queen, as Princess Elizabeth, wore the military uniform on VE Day 1945 as a member of the Auxiliary Territorial Services.”

Here’s the future Queen Elizabeth II standing beside her mother, Queen Elizabeth, on VE Day, wearing that same uniform. You’ll note that both Charles and Anne wore versions of their ancestors’ uniforms but with gold aiguillettes on the right shoulder. The other royals in uniform on Monday wore them, too. They signify an appointment as a personal aide-de-camp to the monarch.

And here’s a look at the Duke of Edinburgh (in the Army No.2 Service Dress of the Scots Guards, looking very much like George VI from this angle) and his Duchess. Sophie wore a pink and white ensemble for the procession, accessorized with her Dior resin pearl cluster earrings and a cluster pendant with a pale pink gemstone centerpiece.

After the procession, the royals gathered on the balcony of Buckingham Palace to view the RAF fly past. You can see the Duke of Kent, wearing Field Marshal No. 2 Service Dress, stepping on to the balcony in this photograph. He is the only person on the balcony on Monday who was alive on VE Day. The 89-year-old Duke was a few months away from his tenth birthday on May 8, 1945; because of the early death of his father during the war, Prince Edward had already held the title of Duke of Kent for several years at that point.

After the procession and fly past, there was another special moment for the royals and their guests: a tea party at Buckingham Palace honoring World War II veterans. All of the working royals who were present on the day participated, as did another special guest: Prince George of Wales, the eleven-year-old son of the Prince and Princess of Wales. As second in line to the throne, events like these are excellent on-the-job training for the young prince, helping him gain first-hand a sense of the history and importance of the day and the sacrifices made by the guests who had come to tea.

A couple of scheduling notes: this is a very busy week with lots of events, so I’ll be popping in here with articles from time to time, not always following our normal schedule. We’ll have more VE Day anniversary moments from Britain, Denmark, and the Netherlands, plus a state visit in Sweden and possibly some Met Gala jewels. Stop by early and often to make sure you don’t miss any of the sparkle!