When King Charles III and Queen Camilla first ascended the throne, there were plenty of formal occasions where the Windsors showed off their medallions, family orders, and most importantly, sparkling headwear. But for fans of royal jewelry, the change of reign came with an important asterisk. Though Camilla and her stepdaughter-in-law Kate Middleton both wore some of the family’s most beloved jewels, the range was limited.
Camilla and Kate wore gems pulled primarily from the private collection that Queen Elizabeth II built over the course of her lifetime from personal purchases, gifts from foreign leaders, and bequests from the Queen Mother, her grandmother Queen Mary, and family friend Dame Margaret Greville. Some of the more historic and spectacular pieces remained in the jewelry vault.
In 2024, a tumultuous year for the royals on multiple fronts, Camilla began to pull more surprising options from the famous Windsor jewelry collection. In November and December alone, she debuted two rarely seen tiaras, including a rare tiara the late queen hadn’t worn in public since the 1970s. By the end of the year, the queen had begun to put her own stamp on one of the most spectacular jewelry collections in history.
George IV State Diadem
The George IV State Diadem, often called the Diamond Diadem, was designed by jewellers Rundell, Bridge & Rundell in 1820 and features 1,333 diamonds with a yellow four-carat brilliant. It has been worn by consorts ever since Queen Adelaide, and in June 1953, Queen Elizabeth II wore it on the way to her coronation. Throughout her life, she continued to wear it for the State Opening of Parliament, and was last seen in the diadem in October 2019. Camilla first wore the tiara during the State Opening of Parliament on November 7, 2023. She wore it to open parliament again on July 17, 2024, which just so happened to be her 77th birthday.
The Greville Tiara
This tiara with a honeycomb design entered the family when Margaret Greville left it to the Queen Mother after her death in 1942, and the Queen Mother wore it for formal events as late as 1998, notes the Court Jeweller’s Lauren Kiehna. When Camilla married Charles in 2005, she began to wear the tiara for various banquets and state dinners. She made her first appearance in the tiara as queen consort during a visit to Germany in March 2023.
The Burmese Ruby Tiara
Designed by longtime crown jeweler Garrard & Co in the early 1970s and set with rubies already belonging to the family, this tiara was a favorite of Queen Elizabeth during the time of her Silver Jubilee in 1977. Camilla made her debut in the tiara during the state visit of the Korean president in November 2023, when she paired it with a matching necklace from the late queen’s private collection. Camilla wore the tiara again in June 2024, paired with a three-stranded diamond necklace.
The Girls of Great Britain and Ireland Tiara
The tiara, also a favorite of Queen Elizabeth, was originally purchased as a wedding gift for Queen Mary in 1893. Women’s groups around the UK and Ireland raised funds for the gift, which is how the piece got its distinctive name. Camilla made her debut in the tiara on October 18, 2023 at an event at the Mansion House in London, paired with a 21-carat diamond necklace given to Queen Elizabeth on her 21st birthday in 1947.
The Belgian Sapphire Tiara
In the 1960s, Queen Elizabeth purchased this tiara to match with a parure she received as a wedding present from her father, King George VI. Camilla made her debut in the tiara at a Buckingham Palace diplomatic reception in late 2022.
Queen Alexandra’s Kokoshnik Tiara
This tiara, designed by Garrard, was worn by jewelry-obsessed Queen Mary in a couple of her iconic official portraits. It once belonged to Queen Alexandra, the Denmark-bork wife of King Edward VII, and was a staple of Queen Elizabeth’s formal attire. Queen Camilla made her debut in the tiara during a palace banquet honoring a state visit from the emir of Qatar in early December 2024.
Queen Elizabeth’s Aquamarine Tiara
Queen Elizabeth was only photographed in this tiara once, during a 1970 official tour of Canada. And until Sophie, Duchess of Edinburgh wore it at a royal wedding in 2012, some experts believed that it had been repurposed to make the queen’s Brazilian Aquamarine Tiara. At the 2024 palace reception for the diplomatic corps, Camilla made her debut in the tiara, pairing it with an aquamarine necklace and set of earrings that she has owned since at least 2009.
