Spectacular Diamonds and Pearls for Ladies’ Day at Royal Ascot

It was a glittering Gold Cup Day at Royal Ascot on Thursday, with royals wearing special diamonds and pearls—including a rare appearance from a special royal wedding necklace.

King Charles III and Queen Camilla headed up the carriage procession once again on Thursday, with Princess Margaret’s son, the Earl of Snowdon, and his partner, Isabelle de la Bruyère, joining them in carriage number one. The second carriage was full of Windsors: the Princess Royal and Vice Admiral Sir Timothy Laurence with the Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh. In the third carriage, Zara Tindall was joined by Princess Zahra Aga Khan, trainer Willie Mullins, and QIPCO CEO Sheikh Hamad bin Abdullah Al Thani. Rounding out the procession in carriage four were Hugh Cavendish, Baron Cavendish of Furness and his wife, Grania, who is a childhood friend of Queen Camilla, with the actor Stanley Tucci and his wife, the literary agent and television producer Felicity Blunt.

The King and Queen were beautifully turned out for the day, with King Charles wearing his usual gray morning suit with a blue vest and Queen Camilla in a pale green Fiona Clare dress with a Philip Treacy hat and a Dior handbag.

The King’s tie pin was a particularly lovely one today: a luminous moonstone and diamond cluster.

Queen Camilla’s Gold Cup Day jewelry was made up of carefully-curated heirlooms. She wore the same diamond earrings that she wore on Tuesday (which I suspect belonged to Queen Elizabeth II) with the Courtauld Thomson Scallop-Shell Brooch. The brooch was left to the Queen Mother by the writer Winifred Hope Thomson, and it’s been a royal favorite now for three generations.

Camilla finished off the look with another treasured jewel from the Queen Mother: the diamond and emerald bracelet from the Cartier Art Deco set bought for Elizabeth by her husband, King George VI, in the 1920s when he was still Duke of York.

The Princess Royal wore orange and ivory for Ladies’ Day at the races. She accessorized with her gold, diamond, and pearl earrings from Andrew Grima, her favorite gold equestrian brooch, and the beloved three-row pearl necklace that belonged to the late Queen Elizabeth II.

The Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh were in attendance at the races during a special week for them. Tomorrow marks their 27th wedding anniversary. Edward wore a morning suit with a tie pin in the shape of the cap badge of The Rifles, while Sophie wore a navy dress festooned with tiny tufted bows.

Sophie’s jewelry for the day was particularly meaningful. She wore the white and black pearl cross necklace designed for her as a wedding present by Edward back in 1999. She notably wore the necklace with her wedding dress on June 19, 1999, but she’s brought it out only on rare occasions in the decades since. She paired the necklace on Thursday with diamond and pearl earrings from Garrard’s Tudor Rose collection. Even her Jane Taylor hat had a lovely pearl cluster detail in the center of the feather embellishments.

Here’s Sophie chatting with Lord Snowdon, Isabelle de la Bruyère, and Zara Tindall. Isabelle added some truly gorgeous diamond and carved emerald jewelry—earrings and a brooch, worn at her waist—with her white and black ensemble. Zara wore a yellow Rebecca Vallance dress in the brand’s embossed jacquard fabric.

Her earrings come from a favorite royal brand: Kiki McDonough. These are the brand’s mini Grace citrine and diamond drops.

Zara’s name twin and carriage mate, Princess Zahra Aga Khan, wore a bold paisley-print trouser suit for Gold Cup Day. She’s pictured here speaking with the Princess of Wales’s mother, Carole Middleton, who wore a blue coat dress with diamond earrings and a pendant featuring a central fleur-de-lis design.

Zahra’s jewels for the day included a single strand of pearls and a bold pair of heart-shaped earrings set with emeralds and diamonds.

Before I leave you today, here’s a peek inside the last carriage. Grania Cavendish wore pearl drop earrings and a four-row pearl choker necklace with an interesting bejeweled bee clasp. Beside her, Felicity Blunt (who is an executive producer of the new television adaptation of Dame Jilly Cooper’s Rivals novel) wore tiny diamond earrings and layered gold necklaces, plus a cool pair of gold-rimmed sunglasses.

See you all back here tomorrow for day four of the Ascot races! In the meantime, I’ll also drop back in if we get some good jewelry from tonight’s Rijksmuseum visit during the Japanese state visit to the Netherlands.