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Queen Camilla has followed in Queen Elizabeth’s footsteps as a passionate champion of the horse racing industry. And as she spent the afternoon at York Racecourse today, Camilla chose to wear a brooch that was once gifted to her late mother-in-law.
Camila wore a butterfly-shaped diamond and sapphire brooch today which it has recently emerged was originally a gift to Queen Elizabeth in 1977. The delicate piece of jewelry has been worn by Camilla for occasions such as to welcome Japan’s Emperor Naruhito on a State Visit in 2024. When she chose it for her 79th birthday portrait this year, it was shared that the brooch was once a gift to the late Queen in Birmingham in 1977.
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A closer look at the brooch.
The brooch was not immediately visible today as Camilla arrived wearing a raincoat over her outfit and sheltering from the weather under an umbrella. Alongside the butterfly, she also wore a brooch reflecting her role as Patron of the Jockey Club, a role previously held by Queen Elizabeth that Camilla and King Charles jointly took on in 2024.
Queen Camilla’s outing today came as a charity video was released detailing her thoughts on the King Charles’s cancer diagnosis. In an on-camera conversation for charity Maggie’s, the Queen revealed that she had found it difficult to keep his diagnosis a secret when she knew but the public didn’t. “I was just longing to let it out but obviously I couldn’t,” she said of a public visit she made to a Maggie’s center in January 2024, just days before the King’s diagnosis was announced.
Camilla was announced as Patron of York Racecourse in 2024 and she also visited the racecourse last August. Today, she attended the first day of the Ebor Festival, where she was scheduled to meet with people Buckingham Palace described as “unsung heroes” of the Racecourse including a member of the St. John Ambulance who has volunteered for 50 years. She was also scheduled to meet representatives from local charities supported by the track and members of the Yorkshire racing community. She was due to present the trophy to the winning owner of the feature race known as the Juddmonte International Stakes.
Town & Country Contributing Editor Victoria Murphy has reported on the British Royal Family since 2010. She has interviewed Prince Harry and has travelled the world covering several royal tours. She is a frequent contributor to Good Morning America. Victoria authored Town & Country book The Queen: A Life in Pictures, released in 2021.