On King Charles III’s birthday last week, Queen Camilla wore a pair of heirloom royal earrings with a classic diamond leek brooch during a visit to South Wales.
On his 77th birthday, King Charles III cut a special birthday cake at Cyfarthfa Castle in Merthyr Tydfil during a visit to South Wales. The castle was also celebrating a milestone: its 200th anniversary. Built by William Crawshay II, who owned the local ironworks, the castle stayed in the family until 1907, when it was sold to the local council. Today, it houses a museum.
The couple also made other stops during the visit. Queen Camilla went to Cyfarthfa Primary School to mark Poetry Together Day, while King Charles opened the new South Wales Metro Depot in Taff’s Well. For the day of engagements, Queen Camilla wore a favorite blue dress and coat with fringed tweed accents.
She also added some significant pieces of jewelry. Her earrings, which features sapphire, diamond, and ruby clips with pearl drops, belonged to her late mother-in-law, Queen Elizabeth II. The diamond and gold leek brooch that she pinned to her jacket has been in her collection since before her husband’s accession to the throne.
Camilla has worn the brooch many times for visits to Wales over the past two decades. In July 2024, she memorably wore the brooch with a pink ensemble for a visit to mark the 25th anniversary of the Senedd in Cardiff.
Because the leek is such an important national symbol in Wales, the ladies of the royal family have often worn leek brooches over the years. Queen Elizabeth II had one in her collection, seen here when she presented new colours to the Welsh Guards at Windsor Castle in 2006. The leek is doubly important to the regiment, because it’s part of their regimental badge.
The present Princess of Wales has a diamond leek brooch, too. She wore it for a St. David’s Day visit to the Welsh Guards in March 2023. A real leek was also pinned to her lapel during the celebration.
The Prince of Wales’s late mother, Diana, Princess of Wales, also wore a leek brooch for appearances during her royal marriage. Here, with a young William standing beside her, she wears her diamond leek brooch on a blue jacket for a St. David’s Day visit to Cardiff in 1991. The visit was Prince William’s very first public royal engagement.
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