The royal women of the House of Windsor were out in force for Ladies’ Day at Royal Ascot on Thursday, watching the Gold Cup while wearing spectacular Cartier diamonds and aquamarines.
Once again, King Charles III and Queen Camilla led the royal party as they arrived for the third day of this year’s Royal Ascot race meeting. Also in attendance on Gold Cup Day were the Princess Royal and Vice Admiral Sir Timothy Laurence, the Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh, Princess Beatrice and Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi, Zara and Mike Tindall, and Peter Phillips and Harriet Sperling.
King Charles once again added a few jewelry touches to his morning suit for the occasion—tie pin, cuff links, signet ring. The details of this particular tie pin are a little difficult to discern from the photographs available. If I squint, I can almost convince myself that this is a little miniature tie pin version of the Great George.
There was no doubt about the brooch that Queen Camilla chose for Ladies’ Day: the grand Jardine Star Brooch, dazzling in all of its nineteenth-century diamond glory.
The brooch was a favorite piece of the late Queen Elizabeth II, who received it as a bequest in the early 1980s. Royal jewelry historian Leslie Field tells us, “In 1981 the Queen was left a late-Victorian diamond star brooch by Lady Jardine, which she has worn on many occasions. It has a collet diamond on a knife-wire between each of its eight points.” It went on to become one of the late Queen’s most-worn brooches.
Queen Camilla made her debut public appearance in the brooch at Royal Ascot in 2024, and she also wore it recently for a garden party at Buckingham Palace.
Here’s another look at a fabulous close-up of the brooch from the May 2025 garden party.
Queen Camilla also wore a few more pieces of jewelry on Thursday, including her favorite diamond and pearl drop earrings and another one of the Queen Mother’s Cartier Art Deco Bracelets.
There was also another member of the royal family wearing Cartier jewelry at the races. The Princess Royal paired the late Queen’s favorite three-row pearl necklace with a Cartier aquamarine and diamond brooch.
The brooch was originally the centerpiece of a tiara from the collection of Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother. The aquamarine and diamond jewel has a pinecone (or “pineflower”) design theme. She wears the original tiara here at the ballet in 1951. (You’ll also spot another Cartier aquamarine and diamond jewel pinned to her handbag.)
The Queen Mother gave the tiara to Princess Anne as a wedding present in 1973. Anne later had the piece renovated, with the original center element removed and repurposed as a brooch. If you’re curious about the second version of the tiara, you can see it on display right now as part of the Cartier exhibition at the Victoria & Albert Museum in London. (The brooch pinned to the QM’s clutch bag in the previous photo is there, too!)
The Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh rode alongside Princess Anne and Sir Tim in the carriage procession. Sophie wore a lovely dress with a clover pattern and a hat to match. She accessorized with diamond earrings from Collins & Sons and a necklace with a heart-shaped pendant—a fitting choice, as Thursday marked the Edinburghs’ 26th wedding anniversary.
And here are two more princesses riding in the carriage procession: Princess Beatrice and Princess Zahra Aga Khan, daughter of the late Aga Khan IV and sister of the present Aga Khan. Zahra wore lovely pearls for the day, while Beatrice accessorized with a spectacular pair of diamond earrings from Chopard.
The royal party on Thursday also included Princess Anne’s children. Zara Tindall was elegant in black and white, wearing a pair of earrings from a favorite designer, Laurence Coste. The Cosima Earrings feature “a coloured glass top with a Lalique effect” and baroque pearl drops.
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.