The royal jewelry action rolled on at Royal Ascot on Friday, with Queen Camilla wearing a fantastic diamond and turquoise brooch that belonged to Queen Mary.
For the fourth consecutive day, King Charles III and Queen Camilla were in the lead carriage in the procession from Windsor Castle to the racecourse. They were joined by their racing advisor, John Warren, and Prince Saud, son of the late royal racehorse owner Prince Khalid bin Abdullah Al Saud. Following in the second carriage were Lord Caledon, the Lord Lieutenant of County Armagh, and his wife, Lady Caledon, with the legendary composer Lord Lloyd-Webber and his equestrian wife, Madeleine.
The third carriage featured the Australian horse trainer Ciaron Maher and his mother, Eileen, who has had a fascinating recent correspondence with the King. With them were the trainer Ed Walker and his wife, Camilla. In the fourth carriage were General Sir Roly Walker, Chief of the General Staff, with his wife, Kate, and the Lord Chamberlain, Lord Benyon. At his side was Lady Benyon, who is better known to jewelry lovers as Zoe Robinson, one of the co-founders of Robinson Pelham.
King Charles wore a playful tie festooned with clouds for the fourth day of Royal Ascot. He secured it with a small tie pin featuring the Royal Navy’s rope-wrapped anchor topped by a heraldic crown. Charles was himself an active naval officer through the 1970s, as were Kings George V and George VI.
Queen Camilla wore sky blue for the races on Friday, and she echoed the color by wearing a spectacular diamond and turquoise brooch and coordinating earrings. The brooch is a legacy from Queen Mary, who received it as a wedding present from her in-laws, King Edward VII and Queen Alexandra, in 1893.
In the last decade of her life, the late Queen Elizabeth II wore the turquoise brooch on a handful of occasions, including this appearance in Malta in 2015.
Her most famous moment with the brooch was, undoubtedly, her speech to the nation during the pandemic in April 2020, when she wore the jewel with her favorite pearls and a green dress.
Camilla made her public debut in the turquoise brooch exactly two years ago at Royal Ascot. The event also marked the first appearance in the earrings, which share some interesting design similarities with the brooch. I don’t think their provenance has ever been clarified—especially whether they also date to the nineteenth century or are newer creations.
On her wedding anniversary, the Duchess of Edinburgh (pictured here with her son, the Earl of Wessex) wore jewels from her collection of pieces set with blue gemstones.
Also making her fourth appearance during this Royal Ascot meeting was Zara Tindall, who wore a custom version of a black-and-white polka dot dress from Claire Mischevani.
Her earrings for the day were another pair from the brand Hector Lion, a new British-based jewelry brand. These, whimsically, are their Croissant Earrings, featuring gold-plated studs and coin pearl pendants.
A quick heads up before I go about the schedule for the next several days. I’ll be back here tomorrow with coverage of the jewels of the final day of Royal Ascot. Because of that, there will be no new Saturday article at Hidden Gems.
Saturday also marks the 80th birthday of the Duchess of Gloucester, so I can recommend this Hidden Gems archive piece on her Cartier Indian Tiara to hold you over until Monday, when I’ll share a big piece on her jewelry here at The Court Jeweller to celebrate the milestone. And, of course, don’t miss my free Sunday newsletter for a handy digest of all of the incredible sparkle we’ve enjoyed this week. See you tomorrow!
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