The busy week of state visits in Europe continues today with the Sultan of Oman’s visit to Britain. He was officially welcomed by the senior royals in Windsor earlier today, with both the Queen and the Princess of Wales wearing special brooches for the occasion.
Today’s state visit features a “guest” who resides part-time in London: Haitham bin Tariq, the Sultan of Oman. He was greeted on Tuesday at his private home in Regent’s Park, Nuffield Lodge, by the Prince of Wales, who then accompanied him to Windsor for the official welcome ceremony.
Waiting at Windsor Castle were King Charles III, Queen Camilla, and Princess Catherine. The four royals are pictured with their guests here on the dais during the rainy welcome ceremony.
For the occasion, Queen Camilla wore a red coat and hat, reflecting one of Oman’s national colors, with black accessories. She pinned a special heirloom brooch to her coat that comes from the collection of the King’s beloved grandmother, Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother.
The brooch is one of a pair of floral clip brooches, set with diamonds and rubies, that the Queen Mother commissioned from Cartier in the 1940s. I photographed the brooches when they were displayed in 2025 as part of the major Cartier exhibition at the Victoria & Albert Museum in London.
The Queen Mother sometimes wore the brooches together as a pair, but she also often wore them one at at time. Here, she has one of them pinned at her shoulder as she celebrates her 80th birthday in Covent Garden in 1980.
After inheriting them from her mother in 2002, the late Queen Elizabeth II wore the brooches occasionally, usually one at a time. She memorably wore one of the clips for the service at Westminster Abbey in honor of her diamond wedding anniversary in 2007.
Here’s another look at Camilla wearing the brooch. I believe this is the first time we’ve seen her wear it. Ruby is Camilla’s birthstone, and she’s showed a preference for the gem in the past, so it’s no surprise to see her bring this piece out of the vault.
Princess Catherine opted for another of Oman’s national colors for the welcome ceremony, wearing a dark green Alexander McQueen coat dress with a lace blouse, a matching hat, and a Chanel handbag.
On her coat, she pinned a brooch that has become one of her signature state visit pieces: Queen Alexandra’s Three Feathers Brooch. The diamond, ruby, and emerald jewel has been worn for generations by Princesses of Wales. Appropriately, the piece is made of gold mined in Merionethshire.
The brooch was given to Alexandra as a wedding present in 1863 by a committee of women, the Ladies of North Wales, who used funds raised by subscription to purchase it from Garrard. The brooch is featured at the bottom of this contemporary newspaper illustration.
The brooch was memorably worn for years by Kate’s mother-in-law, Diana. Here, she wears the piece as a pendant on a necklace, without its emerald drop, for a reception during the royal tour of Australia in 1983.
The brooch was later worn occasionally by Queen Camilla. Since 2022, it has been worn exclusively by Catherine, who has chosen it for a range of occasions, wearing it both with and without its emerald drop.
Catherine also wore another green-themed accessory for the welcome ceremony: a new pair of earrings from one of her favorite jewelry designers, Cassandra Goad. These earrings, inspired by acai berries, are made of yellow gold and set with chrome diopside and diamonds.
I’ll be back later today with the tiaras worn for tonight’s state banquet. Which jewels are you hoping to see this evening? Perhaps Kate will surprise us by debuting pieces from Diana’s Oman sapphire suite? Fingers crossed!
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