Queen Camilla Wears an Antique Cross Brooch for a Day of Portraits and Poppies

Queen Camilla celebrated the second anniversary of her coronation on Tuesday with visits to the National Gallery and the Tower of London, unveiling portraits and planting ceramic poppies while wearing a special antique brooch.

King Charles III and Queen Camilla arrived at the National Gallery in London on Tuesday for the official reopening of the Sainsbury Wing, the museum extension originally opened by Queen Elizabeth II in 1991. The wing has been transformed into a large new main entrance for the gallery.

Charles and Camilla also had a second reason to visit the museum on Tuesday. On the second anniversary of their coronation at Westminster Abbey, they unveiled a pair of new state portraits depicting them in their coronation attire. Charles’s portrait was painted by Peter Kuhfeld, while Camilla’s portrait was done by Paul S. Benney. Both portraits will be displayed at the National Gallery until June 5, and they will then be moved to their permanent home in the Throne Room at Buckingham Palace.

For the gallery visit and portrait unveiling, Queen Camilla wore a bright red Fiona Clare dress accessorized with her favorite diamond and pearl drop earrings, her usual necklaces and bracelets, and a special brooch with an interesting and evolving royal provenance.

The brooch is in the shape of an embellished cross and is set with white and yellow gemstones. Though Buckingham Palace has (confusingly) referred to the brooch as the Raspberry Pip Brooch, the cross shape of the jewel appears to be a more immediately recognizable design motif.

The palace confirmed that the brooch belonged to the late Queen Elizabeth II, but jewel historians think its history goes back at least two more generations. Comparisons have been made between the cross brooch and a similar jewel worn by the Countess of Strathmore and left to her daughter, Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother. That brooch, described as a cross, is set with white and yellow diamonds. I’m one of the people who thinks they’re the same piece.

Queen Camilla made her first appearance in the brooch on Christmas Day in December 2023, wearing it for a church service at St. Mary Magdalene near the Sandringham estate.

We also saw her wear it for another church service at St. Mary Magdalene earlier this year. On that occasion, she pinned the cross to a dark brown coat.

Here’s one more look at Camilla wearing the brooch at the National Gallery on Tuesday. The details of the piece, especially those smoky yellow stones, jump out beautifully against the bright red background.

Camilla chose a red dress on Tuesday for a special reason. After her visit to the National Gallery, she headed to the Tower of London to view the new ceramic poppy installation there, which commemorates the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II in Europe. The 30,000 poppies are some of the same ones which were used in the landmark World War I poppy exhibition at the Tower of London in 2014. A number of the original 2014 ceramic poppies are now in the collection of the Imperial War Museum, which loaned them back to the Tower for this new installation.

For the visit, during which she “planted” one of the poppies, Camilla wore the same dress and jewels from the National Gallery visit, but she switched out her shoes and added a black cape jacket, as well as a scarf and gloves, both featuring poppy decorations.