Royal Brooch Christmas has arrived, everyone! And Queen Camilla treated us to a two brooch outing today, wearing a spectacular Cullinan—and hiding a Victorian heirloom on her hat.
King Charles III and Queen Camilla led the carriage procession from Windsor Castle to the Ascot Racecourse on Tuesday. They were joined by two of their good friends, the Duke and Duchess of Wellington. The second carriage brought the Princess Royal, Peter and Harriet Phillips, and the Queen’s nephew, Sir Ben Elliot, to the races. The third carriage featured the Duke and Duchess of Gloucester with Gus Christie, chairman of the Glyndebourne Festival, and his wife, the lyric soprano Danielle de Niese. In the fourth and final carriage were Matt Ramsden, former joint master of the Beaufort Hunt, with his wife, and Alice Irwin, Queen Camilla’s niece, with her husband, Luke.
No ambiguity about King Charles’s tie pin for the first day of Royal Ascot this year: it’s a bold pin in the shape of the Union Jack.
Queen Camilla looked lovely in a dress embroidered with blue and pink flowers. Just as she did last year, she kicked off Royal Ascot with an appearance from a truly spectacular jewel: the Cullinan V Brooch, which houses one of the stones cut from the magnificent Cullinan Diamond.
Camilla also wore a lovely pair of diamond drop earrings. To me, these look similar in shape to the smaller pear-shaped diamond earrings sometimes worn by Queen Elizabeth II. (By “smaller,” I just mean smaller than the large pendants of the Coronation Earrings or the Greville Peardrop Earrings. These are still pretty big by all normal standards.)
Intriguingly, Camilla also wore a second royal heirloom brooch for the first day of Ascot this year. On her hat, she pinned the ten-diamond bar brooch that belonged to Queen Victoria. Camilla has worn the brooch occasionally in recent years, usually with an order sash. I’m very glad that she decided to wear it today, but I do find the placement a little odd.
In the second carriage, Princess Anne glowed in pearl drop earrings and her favorite gold horse brooch. You’ll also spot a pearl necklace peeking out from beneath the collar of her coat.
Beside Anne was her new daughter-in-law, Harriet Sperling Phillips, who married Peter Phillips just a little over a week ago. Harriet wore a lovely pair of diamond earrings with her pale blue ensemble for her first married Ascot.
Harriet also added a little sparkle on her right wrist with this three-row diamond bracelet, which was visible when she and her new husband shared a toast in the Royal Box.
Princess Anne’s daughter, Zara Tindall, didn’t ride in the carriage procession on Tuesday, but she was waiting with her husband, Mike, in the parade ring when the rest of the family arrived.
With her pink coatdress and hat, Zara wore a pair of earrings with pink center stones.
And last but never least, here’s a look at the gorgeous vintage-inspired suit and hat worn by the Duchess of Gloucester for the first day of the races. Birgitte’s accessories included pearl drop earrings, a two-row pearl necklace, and her diamond and rock crystal circle brooches, which she wore on the collar of her jacket.
I’ll see you back here during the day tomorrow for a big double-header: the second day of Royal Ascot in Britain and the start of the Japanese state visit in the Netherlands. And before that, don’t forget to subscribe to Hidden Gems so that tomorrow morning’s free Wednesday edition arrives directly in your inboxes. There’s a whole lot of sparkle included, including all the details about this fascinating tiara, which recently made a splash in a London auction. See you then!
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