Queen Camilla paid tribute to her late mother-in-law, Queen Elizabeth, this evening by wearing a tiara long thought to be Her Majesty’s favourite.
The Queen, 76, accompanied King Charles, 74, to Mansion House in the City of London, where the monarch took part in a history-filled ceremony and dined with business leaders.
Arriving at the venue in a glittering Bruce Oldfield dress, Camilla wore the Girls of Great Britain and Ireland tiara for the first time since the death of Queen Elizabeth II in September 2022.
The beautiful diadem was first given to Princess Victoria Mary of Teck on the occasion of her wedding to George V in 1893.
Her Majesty was known to be very fond of the headpiece and affectionately called it ‘Grandma’s Tiara’.
As she arrived at Mansion House this evening, where King Charles took part in the presentation of the Sword of Pearl, Queen Camilla wore the tiara of Girls of Great Brtiain and Ireland for the first time.
She wore the diadem during one of her first public appearances after the funeral of her father George VI, not long after she came to the throne.
It takes its name from the committee of women who raised money to create it.
Made of diamonds set in silver and gold, with 14 pearls on top, but these were replaced by 13 brilliant cut diamonds.
It is believed to have been one of Her Majesty’s favorites as she was often seen wearing it, and is even depicted wearing it on some banknotes.
The tiara was passed down to Queen Camilla by her late mother-in-law, Queen Elizabeth. It is thought to have been the monarch’s favorite diadem
This tiara (pictured on the Queen on 26 February 1952), given by the ‘Girls of Great Britain and Ireland’ to Princess Victoria Mary of Teck on the occasion of her wedding to George V in 1893, was one of the Queen’s favorite pieces . She affectionately called it ‘Granny’s Tiara’ and wore it during one of her first public appearances after the funeral of her father, George VI
It takes its name from the committee of women who raised money to create it. Made of diamonds set in silver and gold, with 14 pearls on top, but these were replaced by 13 brilliant cut diamonds
Camilla is the third queen to wear the tiara, a wedding gift in 1893 to Queen Mary, who passed it on to her granddaughter, the future Queen Elizabeth II, when she married in 1947.
As the Queen proudly wore the sparkling headpiece for the first time this evening, she chose a poignant occasion to wear it for the first time.
Charles and Camilla took part in a presentation of the Pearl Sword on arrival at Mansion House, a tradition carried out by monarchs in the year of their coronation since the 17th century.
The Pearl Sword, believed to have been gifted to the City of London by Queen Elizabeth I in 1571, has approximately 2,500 pearls on its scabbard.
After receiving the mayor’s sword, the king returned it, indicating the mayor’s authority on the Square Mile when the king is not present.
The ceremony was performed by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth in 1953, the year of her coronation, and also in the years of her Silver and Golden Jubilee; 1977 and 2002.
Tonight’s glittering banquet, featuring a stirring and moving speech from King Charles urging the audience to recognize the things that ‘unite us’ amid a backdrop of increasingly polarized online debate, recognizes the work of The City and its Livery Companies, in a tradition started in 1689 with King William III.
Addressing the crowd, the monarch told city dignitaries that he believes the country is at a “turning point”, not least when the people’s natural instinct to unite and work together is at risk are drowned out by the ‘screams’ of the population. the ‘digital sphere where civilized debate too often gives way to resentment and bitterness’.
He warned that people owe it to each other to listen to views different from their own with “civility and respect” and to be “passionate but not combative,” avoiding the desire to scapegoat those who seek to serve .
The King described the UK as a ‘community of communities’, ‘an island nation where our shared values are the force that holds us together, and reminds us that there is much, much more that unites us than divides us’.
He urged people to take action and face the “harsh reality” of climate change, and – against the backdrop of conflict in the Middle East – urged citizens to draw on the “deep well of civility and tolerance on which our political life and broader national conversations depend and enable the practice of all religious faiths.”
“Such understanding, both at home and abroad, is never more important than in times of international unrest and heartbreaking loss of life,” he said.