Here’s something delightful to get you firmly in the holiday spirit: Queen Camilla hosted her annual children’s Christmas tree decorating party at Clarence House this week, wearing a colorful hummingbird brooch designed to put a smile on little faces.
On Thursday, Queen Camilla welcomed children and families supported by a pair of medical-related charities to Clarence House for a festive and fun Christmas party. The event brings together families from Helen & Douglas House, a pioneer in the children’s hospice movement that helps to care for children with terminal illnesses, and Roald Dahl’s Marvellous Children’s Charity, which provides care and support for seriously ill children living with complex, lifelong conditions. Queen Camilla is patron of both organizations, and she has now been hosting the Christmas party for 20 years.
The annual party is designed to bring some delightful Christmas cheer to the children and their families. Father Christmas stops by to deliver presents and chat about nice and naughty lists with each of the children before they sit down for a kid-approved meal personally served by the Queen.
Queen Camilla and her equerries also help the children to decorate the Clarence House Christmas tree. Above, Queen Camilla helps little Dolce hang her chosen ornament on the tree. Major Rob Treasure and Major Ollie Plunket provided extra pizzazz, using their swords to place baubles on the highest branches.
Outside, there were more surprises. The State Sleigh, recently displayed during the German state visit, had been placed in the garden for the children to enjoy, with the careful supervision of Santa and two brightly-uniformed soldiers. Designed by Prince Albert for Queen Victoria, the State Sleigh dates to the 1840s and was recently restored. Two weeks ago, it was displayed in Windsor for the visiting President of Germany. Here, Camilla poses on the sleigh with Samuel and Myla.
When you’ve got St. Nick and a sleigh, surely reindeer are a requirement? Queen Camilla provided those, too. Here, she and Samuel chat with Dancer.
For the party, Queen Camilla wore a seasonally-appropriate green dress with a festive ribbon trim. She accessorized with gold and pavé-set diamond earrings, several bracelets and rings (including her diamond engagement ring and wedding band), and a fun brooch from her Van Cleef & Arpels collection.
This is the hummingbird brooch from the company’s “Lucky Animals” line. The cheerful little jewel is made of gold and set with malachite and lapis lazuli—a perfectly playful jewel for an event focused on children.
Camilla clearly had the children in mind when she chose the hummingbird brooch. She did something similar last year, wearing a pair of diamond and sapphire insect brooches for the party that were surely appealing to her littlest guests. The smaller of the two brooches belonged to her late mother-in-law, Queen Elizabeth II.
YouTube’s Royal Family Channel from ITN has posted a half-hour long video full of footage from the event. It’s a wonderful look inside one of the most magical moments of the royal year, and clearly every adult involved takes great joy in making the party a special one for the children. “It’s so lovely to have you all every year,” Queen Camilla noted as she thanked her guests for coming and the charities for their important work. “To me, it’s the start of Christmas.”
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.