Queen Camilla attends the races at Royal Ascot on June 21, 2025 (Maureen McLean/Alamy)
We’ve made it to the end of another royal year, and you know what that means: it’s time for my countdown of the best royal jewels of 2025! My list kicks off this year with an astonishing royal brooch debut from Queen Camilla at Royal Ascot.
Queen Camilla attends the races at Royal Ascot on June 21, 2025 (Andrew Matthews/PA Images/Alamy)
Queen Camilla arrived on the final day of this year’s Royal Ascot race meeting wearing traditional black and white with a special diamond surprise: an heirloom royal brooch that hadn’t been seen in public for almost a century.
The Penny Illustrated Paper, July 8, 1893
The brooch features a diamond watch suspended from a diamond bow, with an elaborate diamond cluster attached to the back of the timepiece. The jewel was a wedding present to Queen Mary from Alice de Rothschild, a member of the famous banking family, in July 1893.
The Duchess of York views a display of Scottish foodstuffs and cookery at British Industries House in Marble Arch on July 3, 1936 (Smith Archive/Alamy)
Later, Queen Mary passed the watch along to her daughter-in-law, Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother. She was photographed wearing the jewel in 1936, when she was still Duchess of York.
Queen Camilla attends the races at Royal Ascot on June 21, 2025 (Maureen McLean/Alamy)
Queen Camilla’s appearance in the brooch took place 89 years later. In the interim, the royal family weathered the abdication, World War II, the death of George VI and the accession of Elizabeth II, and the entirety of Elizabeth’s reign. It’s unreal to think about how many other treasures are waiting in the royal vault to emerge again after so many decades!
Stay tuned: our countdown continues with a second post later today, so don’t forget to come back this afternoon for the next installment!