The finale of Ruby Tiara Celebration Week doubles as a birthstone-appropriate birthday tribute. Queen Camilla, who turns 79 today, has embraced her mother-in-law’s ruby and diamond tiara, including a memorable appearance during the Japanese state visit two years ago.
On June 25, 2024, King Charles III and Queen Camilla welcomed the Emperor and Empress of Japan to London for a long-awaited state visit. That evening, they hosted a glittering state banquet for the imperial couple at Buckingham Palace.
Queen Camilla wore one of her signature white evening gowns for the occasion. This particular Fiona Clare design features leafy tonal embroidery on the skirt. Because she doesn’t have a Japanese decoration, Camilla wore the sash and star of the Order of the Garter with the gown, as well as the Royal Family Orders of her husband and her late mother-in-law.
The late Queen was also very present in the jewelry choices that Camilla made for the dinner. That evening she made her second appearance in the Burmese Ruby Tiara, which was commissioned by Queen Elizabeth II in the early 1970s. The jewel was made by Garrard using diamonds taken from the dismantled Nizam of Hyderabad Tiara and rubies given to the Queen by the colonial government of Burma as a wedding present.
With the tiara, Camilla wore ruby and diamond earrings from her personal collection. Her necklace, though, is another royal heirloom: the diamond festoon necklace commissioned in 1950 by King George VI using diamonds that belonged to his mother, Queen Mary. The necklace was worn for years by Queen Elizabeth II, and in 2023 the Princess of Wales wore it for the coronation.
She finished off the look with bracelets on both wrists, including a gorgeous diamond bracelet with an Art Deco-style design on her left wrist and layered chain bracelets from her personal collection on her right.
And that’s it for Ruby Tiara Week! Hope you enjoyed the July birthstone sparkle. I’ll be back with some current-event jewelry moments next week. Until then, you can find me tomorrow at Hidden Gems, where paid subscribers will join me for the second half of my chronicle of the Coronation of 1953. And on Sunday, my free weekly digest newsletter will be sent out with a full update of all the sparkle of the week!
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