Queen Camilla Wears Rare Royal Amethysts for a State Banquet in Washington

The second day of King Charles III and Queen Camilla’s American state visit wrapped up with a state banquet at the White House—and Camilla surprised us all by wearing a very rarely seen suite of heirloom amethyst jewels.

The King and Queen arrived for Tuesday evening’s white tie state banquet at the White House in Washington, D.C. in full gala splendor—though Camilla left her tiara at home. Charles wore his medals and decorations, including the neck badge of the Order of the Bath and the sash and star of the Order of the Garter, and Camilla wore a Fiona Clare evening gown in an electric shade of fuchsia pink.

Camilla may not have worn a tiara, but she did bring along some truly fascinating pieces of royal jewelry, including the necklace and earrings from one of the oldest surviving jewelry suites in the family collection.

The earrings and necklace are part of the demi-parure of amethyst and diamond jewels that belonged to Queen Victoria’s mother, the Duchess of Kent. The necklace features large amethyst and diamond clusters interspersed with diamond star elements and diamond and amethyst shell design motifs.

Appropriately for a stone often worn by those in mourning, the amethysts entered the family collection because of an unexpected death. Princess Charlotte of Wales, the only child of George IV, died in childbirth in 1817. Her death led to something of a succession crisis, with George IV’s brothers hurrying to marry and father an heir to the throne. The winner of this “contest” was the Duke of Kent, who wed Princess Victoire of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld in 1818. They were, of course, the parents of the future Queen Victoria.

Victoire’s suite of amethyst jewels included a necklace, a pair of earrings, a pair of hair combs, and three brooches. It’s thought by some that two of the brooches may have been used to lengthen the necklace, but the third remains part of the collection and can be worn with or without a trio of pendants. Queen Victoria inherited the amethysts when her mother died in 1861, and on her own death in 1901 they were designated as Heirlooms of the Crown.

The late Queen Elizabeth II only wore the necklace and earrings from the suite on very rare occasions. One of these was a state banquet in Portugal in March 1985. She paired the necklace, earrings, and brooch from the amethyst suite with the Girls of Great Britain & Ireland Tiara on that occasion.

But though the necklace and earrings may not have been entirely her cup of tea, the late Queen did wear the brooch from the set very often, both with and without the pendants. Camilla’s decision to wear the amethysts tonight may have been a little nod to Queen Elizabeth II’s appearance in the full brooch at the White House during her American state visit in the spring of 1991. (This was the famous “talking hat” speech moment.)

Camilla finished off her gala look tonight with a diamond bracelet and a gold chain bracelet stacked together on her left wrist, and one of the late Queen Mother’s bracelets–an Art Deco piece from Cartier, set with diamonds and rubies–worn on her right.

And that’s it for our coverage of the jewels worn for today’s state visit events. I’ll be sprinkling in additional coverage when I can. I’ll also be sending my usual free mid-week edition of Hidden Gems to subscribers tomorrow morning, and I’ll be back here on Thursday for the celebrations of the King of Sweden’s 80th birthday in Stockholm. See you all then!

Once again, I thank you all for following the rules and not discussing contemporary politics in the comment section.