An Heirloom Diamond Brooch Surprise for Queen Camilla at Royal Ascot

Queen Camilla ended Royal Ascot with a smashing royal jewelry surprise on Saturday, wearing a dazzling diamond brooch that has been hidden in the royal vaults for almost a century.

King Charles III and Queen Camilla were once again on hand to watch the races at Royal Ascot on Saturday, giving them perfect attendance for all five days of this year’s race meeting.

King Charles III was once again dapper in a gray morning suit, worn on Saturday with a yellow waistcoat and a blue and pink patterned shirt. He secured his blue patterned tie with a favorite tie pin featuring the royal cypher of Tsar Boris III of Bulgaria.

Queen Camilla, though, pulled off the biggest jewelry surprise of the race meeting by wearing an elaborate diamond jewel, the Rothschild Diamond Watch Brooch, that was given to the future Queen Mary as a wedding present in the summer of 1893.

The brooch is comprised of two sections: a diamond bow and a round diamond floral pendant, suspended from a diamond chain. The pendant conceals a watch. It was a wedding present to Mary of Teck in July 1893 from Alice de Rothschild. Known as “Miss Alice,” she was a member of the famed Rothschild banking family. She inherited a lavish British country house, Waddesdon Manor, from her brother and filled it with carefully curated collections—something that she and Queen Mary had in common.

The diamond watch brooch was later worn by the Queen Mother when she was Duchess of York. This photograph, previously highlighted by Beth on Instagram, was taken in July 1936 during Elizabeth’s visit to a Scottish exhibition at the British Industries House in London.

Here’s a close-up of Elizabeth wearing the diamond watch brooch, with the details of the piece clearly visible against her black jacket. (The royal family was in mourning for King George V at this point in time.)

At Royal Ascot on Saturday, Queen Camilla paired the Rothschild brooch with another piece of jewelry associated with the Queen Mum: a diamond Art Deco bracelet, made by Cartier. The bracelet is part of a quintet acquired for Elizabeth in the 1920s. During this week’s race meeting, Camilla has made three separate appearances in bracelets from the set.

Also in Saturday’s carriage procession were the King’s niece, Princess Eugenie, and her husband, Jack Brooksbank. Eugenie wore a red ensemble with an interesting pair of earrings that appear to be set with diamonds, emeralds, and aquamarines.

We previously saw Eugenie wear these earrings at Cheltenham in March. Some have speculated that these might be a sentimental family gift from Jack, as their birthstones are aquamarine (for Eugenie) and emerald (for Jack).