In a week where speculation over the Royal Family reached new heights, or should we say lows in some cases, it was left to The Queen to set some sparkle on the situation. As Her Majesty arrived at Westminster Abbey for the annual Commonwealth Day service, the jewels pinned to her blue coat led to plenty of questions, fortunately with far less crazed answers than the ones offered in some social media quarters to other royal debates this week.
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Queen Camilla did something previously thought impossible. She unearthed a royal brooch that no one could remember Queen Elizabeth II wearing. Her Late Majesty was known for her love of a good brooch and dozens, if not hundreds, in the Windsor jewel box were given plenty of outings during her historic reign. The fact that at least one remained that no one could remember her using in public came as a surprise for a start.
However, there it was. Queen Camilla walked into the Abbey sporting a set of stunning aquamarines that immediately got glitter gurus wondering. And there was no question of missing them. This was a brooch and a bit. In the past weeks, Her Majesty has shouldered the lion’s share of royal representation so carrying the weight of some ancient aquamarines was a walk in the park for her. Thankfully, a metaphorical walk rather than a literal one which might have led to images of trees and more speculation from internet sleuths about whether plants grow in spring.
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No, all attention was on the aquamarines. They were a rather appropriate choice as the gems are the birthstone for March and these ones are set in a very pretty arrangement. One of the blink and you’ve no chance of missing it massive stones is shaped into a heart and is surrounded by smaller diamonds. It hangs from another heart, made of filigree dotted with more diamonds and which contains an even bigger, round aquamarine at its centre.
There’s no doubt, it’s a stunner but where did Queen Camilla find it? There was only one place to go and that was straight to the Court Jeweller whose excellent website is packed with exquisite information about royal jewels. In this instance, Lauren Kienha found confirmation from historian Trond Noren Isaksen that this particular gem began its royal career with another queen, Alexandra.
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The brooch in question is part of her collection which Trond Noren Isaksen had seen at Windsor Castle. There’s little else known about it but its provenance means it is over 100 years old. Quite why it’s not been seen in public in living memory isn’t known. It is an unusual and rather large piece so may not have suited outfits chosen by others. It certainly worked on Queen Camilla and it’s rather pleasing to see her own chapter of royal jewels building up now.
Perhaps even more importantly, it gave us a break from the incessant and increasingly inexplicable obsession with the Mother’s Day photo posted by the Princess of Wales. In a week when some parts of social media appeared to lose their grip on reality, a little bit of royal sparkle was the perfect and glittering way to ground us all again.