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At the annual Commonwealth Day services on Monday, Queen Camilla wore a piece of jewelry with a long history for the Windsors: the Queen Mother’s Cartier Diamond Palm Leaf Brooch.
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Queen Camilla seen arriving at Westminster Abbey.
Per The Court Jeweller, Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother, commissioned Cartier to fashion the brooch in 1938, using existing diamonds from her personal collection in the setting. Its shape echoes a paisley pattern, a motif long associated with the Queen Mother’s native Scotland and where she spent much of her childhood. The brooch’s most famous appearance was at the funeral of her husband, King George VI, in February 1952.
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From left: Queen Elizabeth II, Queen Mary, and the Queen Mother (wearing the brooch) at the funeral of King George VI in 1952.
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Queen Elizabeth, in the Cartier Diamond Palm Leaf Brooch, at Royal Ascot in 2021.
When the Queen Mother died in March 2002, the brooch was passed down to her daughter, Queen Elizabeth II, and it quickly became a favorite of hers as she wore it to many official engagements over the years. One of her last known public appearances in the brooch came at Royal Ascot in 2021. This appears to be one of the first times that Queen Camilla is wearing the jewel at a public event.
Commonwealth Day is one of the most important events on the royal calendar. The annual observance brings together senior members of the British royal family together in support of the 56-nation Commonwealth and its 2.7 billion citizens. The multi-cultural service includes music, poetry, dance, and readings representing countries across the Commonwealth.
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A closeup of the brooch.
Dressed in a red Fiona Clare dress coat and matching Phillip Treacy hat for the occasion, the Queen accompanied King Charles to lead the rest of the royals into church for the traditional procession, including the Prince and Princess of Wales, Princess Anne and Vice Admiral Sir Timothy Laurence, and the Duke and Duchess of Gloucester.
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The Queen wore a coat dress by Fiona Clare and matching hat by milliner Philip Treacy.
King Charles is the head of the Commonwealth, and has been an active supporter of the union during his reign and as the Prince of Wales, having visited 48 Commonwealth countries, many of them on numerous occasions. Last year, the King and Queen visited Canada to formally open the country’s 45th Parliament, marking the first time a reigning monarch has opened the Canadian Parliament since his mother, Queen Elizabeth, did in 1977.
Rachel King (she/her) is a news writer at Town & Country. Before joining T&C, she spent nearly a decade as an editor at Fortune. Her work covering travel and lifestyle has appeared in Forbes, Observer, Robb Report, Cruise Critic, and Cool Hunting, among others. Originally from San Francisco, she lives in New York with her wife, their daughter, and a precocious labradoodle. Follow her on Instagram at @rk.passport.