Yesterday, Queen Camilla brought out a special brooch from Queen Elizabeth II’s collection for an annual celebration: Founder’s Day at Royal Hospital Chelsea.
Queen Camilla arrived at the Royal Hospital Chelsea on Thursday for the Founder’s Day parade, held annually to honor the hospital’s founding as a retreat for veterans in the seventeenth century by King Charles II. Each year, a member of the royal family, or occasionally a foreign royal, attends the parade. Recent attendees include the King and Queen of the Belgians in 2023, the Princess Royal in 2024, and the Duke of Edinburgh in 2025.
For this year’s parade, Queen Camilla wore a pink coat dress with raw edge design detailing from her wardrobe. She accessorized with a bright floral handbag and a beige hat and shoes.
She wore a few pieces of favorite jewelry for the occasion, including her diamond floral clip earrings with round pearl drops.
She secured her oak leaf with a special brooch from her late mother-in-law’s collection: the Jardine Star Brooch. Leslie Field writes that the star brooch, a Victorian creation, was left to Queen Elizabeth II by Lady Jardine in 1981.
The brooch was a dedicated favorite of the late Queen, and since her passing Camilla has worn it on a handful of occasions as well. She made her debut in the brooch at Royal Ascot in June 2024.
She also pinned the gleaming diamond star brooch on a white coat dress for a Buckingham Palace garden party last May.
And she made a second appearance in the brooch at Royal Ascot on June 19 of last year, wearing it with a dove-grey dress and hat.
Here’s one more view of Camilla wearing the Jardine Star at yesterday’s parade. I can already hear you asking: why does she have an oak leaf pinned to her dress? The official website of the Royal Hospital Chelsea offers an explanation:
“Known as Oak Apple Day, Founder’s Day is held on a date near 29th May, marking both the birthday of King Charles II and the anniversary of his restoration to the throne in 1660. The day’s events are rooted in history. After the Battle of Worcester in 1651, the future King Charles II famously hid in an oak tree to escape capture. To honour this, Chelsea Pensioners proudly wear oak leaves on their iconic scarlet uniforms during the ceremony.”
Some scheduling notes before I leave you today. Tomorrow, the Princess Royal’s son, Peter Phillips, will marry Harriett Sperling in a private ceremony in Gloucestershire. Members of the royal family are naturally expected to attend, and if I can license photographs of their arrivals, I’ll be covering the event here. (The Epsom Derby also takes place tomorrow, and King Charles and Queen Camilla are scheduled to attend. I’ll be covering that event in coming days if Camilla swaps out her wedding guest jewels for interesting “going to the races” pieces.)
Meanwhile, subscribers over at Hidden Gems can also expect the sixth installment in my series on important days on the life of the late Queen Elizabeth II. This one’s a big one: the day she became monarch. The article on Accession Day will be published bright and early on Saturday. See you both there and (hopefully) here as well!
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