It wouldn’t have mattered what magnificent gown Queen Camilla wore to this year’s Diplomatic Corps Reception on 18th November, her tiara was always going to steal the show. As soon as I saw her glimmering emerald-studded headpiece it struck me what a significant choice it was.
We’ve all seen the Greville Emerald Kokoshnik Tiara before - when Princess Eugenie wore it on her wedding day. This was the first time it had been glimpsed in years and no-one had publicly worn it since until Queen Camilla. The tiara is still strongly associated with Eugenie and I think Her Majesty and her team would have known this.
So much thought goes into every detail of a royal’s outfit and Queen Camilla has a staggering amount of tiaras she could’ve picked instead. Yet she chose to make her debut in the Kokoshnik and I think after the scandals and headlines in recent weeks it could be a small nod of support for her niece.
Autumn has been a time of massive change for the Royal Family, as it was firstly confirmed that Eugenie’s father Andrew would no longer use his Duke of York title. A few days later, King Charles made the unprecedented decision to remove his brother’s Princely title in a statement that featured a very important line.
Andrew Mountbatten Windsor, as he is now known, has continued to vehemently deny the accusations against him. His daughters Eugenie and Beatrice remain Princesses and reports have claimed that King Charles holds his nieces in "high affection" and wanted them to be "protected" from the fall of the House of York.
Whilst it could be a coincidence, I personally think it’s possible Queen Camilla wore Eugenie's wedding tiara as a meaningful gesture, indicating how she and Beatrice are still much-loved and close to their wider family.
No other part of Her Majesty’s jewellery or outfit was green, so it wasn’t as though the tiara was tying in with another element.
Any jewelled headpiece would’ve worked with her white gown. Maxwell Stone from UK jeweller Steven Stone has declared that they’ve "previously estimated the distinctive diamond and emerald headpiece - made by the French jewellery, Boucheron, in 1919 - to be worth £10 million."
This would make it "the most expensive of all the tiaras" they’ve studied and Maxwell adds that "wearing emeralds is said to promote friendship, peace, harmony, and domestic bliss". It enables the wearer to "both give and receive unconditional love".
This is a special sentiment at any point and particularly apt now, given the slew of headlines the Royal Family have faced in recent weeks surrounding the former Prince Andrew. Her Majesty’s headpiece hasn’t gone unnoticed since the Diplomatic Corps Reception and I would be surprised if she had expected it would.
Neither she or King Charles have been seen in public with Princess Eugenie or Princess Beatrice since their father was stripped of his title. It remains to be seen whether the sisters will join the royals at Sandringham House for Christmas after everything that has happened, although reports have suggested that they will likely be invited to.
