Queen Camilla made a striking appearance at a white tie diplomatic reception at Windsor Castle, donning a tiara previously worn by Princess Eugenie on her wedding day.
Her Majesty chose the Greville Emerald Kokoshnik tiara, a piece famously loaned to Princess Eugenie by her grandmother, the late Queen Elizabeth II, for her 2018 nuptials.
The annual gathering for members of the Diplomatic Corps, held on Tuesday evening, saw the King and Queen joined by the Prince of Wales.
Notably absent was the Princess of Wales, whose last attendance at the event was in 2023, prior to her cancer diagnosis.
Kate, who announced she was in remission in January, delivered her first major public speech in two years earlier on Tuesday when she called on business leaders to prioritise “time and tenderness just as much as productivity and success” at a summit hosted by her Royal Foundation Business Taskforce for Early Childhood.
Camilla’s emerald tiara was made by Boucheron for socialite Margaret Greville in 1919 in the fashionable “kokoshnik” style popularised in the Russian Imperial Court.
Set with a large central cabochon emerald, it is made of brilliant and rose cut diamonds pave set in platinum, with smaller emeralds on either side.
It was bequeathed by Mrs Greville, then Dame Margaret Greville, to Queen Elizabeth (later the Queen Mother) in 1942.
Eugenie wed Jack Brooksbank in St George’s Chapel, Windsor Castle, in October 2018.
She has retained her princess title despite her disgraced father, Andrew, being stripped of his birthright to be a prince and having his dukedom removed from the Roll of the Peerage over his links to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
Camilla was dressed in a cream embroidered dress by Fiona Clare, her diamond serpent necklace and diamond Van Cleef and Arpels earrings.
Both Charles and William opted to wear a traditional Windsor Coat with its distinctive red collar and cuffs.
The garment is only worn at the Berkshire castle, and the custom dates back to the reign of King George III, who adopted the idea from Frederick the Great, who used to dress his staff in a combination of a navy coat with red embellishments.
Charles also opted for traditional knee breeches and buckled shoes, while William wore classic trousers instead.
It is the first time the diplomatic reception has been hosted in Windsor for 24 years, with Buckingham Palace saying the last occasion was in 2001.
The late Queen had been due to stage the event there early in 2022, but it was postponed due to the conflict in Ukraine, and later took place at Buckingham Palace a few months into the King’s reign.
The reception celebrates the presence in London of one of the largest Diplomatic Corps in the world.
Hundreds of representatives of countries accredited to the Court of St James were welcomed to the castle dressed in their finery for the showcase of the UK’s diplomatic year.
The evening usually includes a buffet supper and dancing.
Foreign ambassadors and high commissioners based in the UK, their spouses or partners, and diplomatic staff were among those who were entertained.
