This November 19, 2024, King Charles III organized his traditional reception of the diplomatic corps at Buckingham Palace. This evening bringing together all the foreign ambassadors stationed in London, marks the start of the end-of-year festivities. Queen Camilla chose this prestigious event to make a masterful comeback, wearing for the first time the aquamarine tiara of Queen Elizabeth II, a jewel that her late mother-in-law only wore once times.
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Queen Elizabeth II's aquamarine tiara reappears on Queen Camilla's head
Every year, the British sovereign hosts a reception at Buckingham Palace to meet ambassadors and heads of diplomatic missions representing their countries in the United Kingdom. Usually, this reception is organized at the beginning of December to end the calendar year in style. This year, due to the state visit of the Emir of Qatar, King Charles III brought forward this event by a few days.
This November 19, King Charles III, 76 years old, received foreign ambassadors in Buckingham. Queen Camilla, 77, the Prince of Wales, 42, and other members of the royal family were also in attendance. It was the great return of Queen Camilla, who had been convalescing for more than a week due to a lung infection. Queen Camilla seemed perfectly recovered, displaying a big smile during this prestigious evening.
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Queen Camilla wears for the first time this tiara worn only once by Queen Elizabeth II
Queen Camilla wore one of her favorite velvet dresses and had her medal of the Family Order of King Charles III pinned on the blue cord of the Order of the Garter. Above all, royal jewelry specialists will have noticed that she wore Queen Elizabeth II's aquamarine tiara for the first time. Never before has Queen Camilla worn this tiara. Queen Elizabeth II herself seemed to shy away from this tiara. According to The Court Jeweler, the mother of King Charles III wore this tiara on only one occasion, in July 1970, during a reception at the city hall of Yellowknife, Canada.
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The tiara personally belonged to Queen Elizabeth II and Queen Camilla can now choose from the jewelry left to her by her mother-in-law. This tiara features five aquamarine stones, held together by a ribbon structure that forms knots.
Because the tiara was only worn once, several historians believed it had been dismantled and the stones and other parts were used to create another tiara. However, this theory was proven wrong when the jewel made a surprise reappearance on the Countess of Wessex's head in 2012.
If the aquamarine tiara had not found favor in the eyes of its first owner, Queen Elizabeth II had the habit of lending it to her daughter-in-law, the Duchess of Edinburgh, from 2012. Duchess Sophie, still titled Countess of Wessex, has worn this tiara on several occasions, including at royal weddings abroad. This Tuesday, Queen Camilla had matched this tiara with pale blue stones with an imposing diamond necklace and earrings which are jewels from her personal collection, which she has worn frequently for more than fifteen years during very large events .
Nicolas Fontaine
Editor-in-chief
Nicolas Fontaine has been a designer-editor and author for numerous Belgian and French brands and media. A specialist in royal family news, Nicolas founded the site Histoires royales of which he is the editor-in-chief. [email protected]
