Queen Camilla ended Royal Ascot with a sparkling surprise as she wore an unusual royal gem not seen for decades.

The Queen chose a striking and rather large diamond brooch for the final day of the famous race meeting. As well as its appearance being a surprise, the gem itself also has an unexpected twist to it.

The brooch contains over a hundred diamonds shaped into a bow and a flower pendant which are connected by a double chain. And the diamond studded flower holds a watch.

The gem was given to Queen Mary as a wedding present in 1893 and it has a very late Victorian feel to it with swirls and twists that matched the bride’s own fashion sense at the time.

However, it was also a gift that pleased the groom at this royal wedding, too. For Mary’s husband, the future George V, was notorious for liking everyone to be on time and even set his clocks forward so that no one was ever really late.

Queen Mary wore the brooch but her wedding didn’t just mark the start of married life. It was also the moment Mary commenced an epic jewellery collection that is still offering up surprises today. By the time of her death, in 1953, Queen Mary had accumulated a huge amount of sparkling gems and left many to her granddaughter, Queen Elizabeth II.

There’s no record of Elizabeth II wearing this gem in public so its appearance at Royal Ascot was quite the surprise.

It was a suitably glittering pick for one of the society events of the year. For the brooch had been given to the Royal Family by Alice de Rothschild, part of the banking dynasty, who was known as ”Miss Alice”. She was known for her independence and love of art and was one of the most famous figures in society.m

Now, Queen Camilla has put the sparkling diamonds Miss Alice added to the royal collection back in the spotlight again.