Queen Camilla on March 9, 2026
Credit: Getty
The Gist
Along with other members of the royal family, Queen Camilla attended the Commonwealth Day service at Westminster Abbey on March 9.
The Queen wore a red Fiona Clare coatdress and matching Philip Treacy hat to the event.
Poignantly, Camilla wore an 88-year-old brooch made of 203 diamonds that was beloved by Queen Elizabeth.
Just as Kate Middleton pulled out heirloom jewelry from the late Queen Elizabeth’s collection at the Commonwealth Day service—in the Princess of Wales’s case, a pair of the monarch’s diamond and pearl earrings given to her as a wedding present in 1947—Queen Camilla, too, wore a piece once worn by Her late Majesty.
Camilla, for her part, wore a brooch crafted by Cartier for the late Queen’s mother, known for much of her life as the Queen Mother, to the annual service at Westminster Abbey, which this year took place on March 9. Joining the largest contingent of royals gathered en masse since Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor’s arrest last month, Camilla honored her late mother-in-law through her brooch, wearing it alongside a red Fiona Clare coatdress, a matching red Philip Treacy hat, and black heels.
Queen Camilla at the 2026 Commonwealth Day service
Credit: Getty
Camilla’s brooch is known as the paisley brooch, per Tatler (and also sometimes called the Cartier Diamond Palm Leaf Brooch, per Marie Claire), and was a treasured possession of Queen Elizabeth, having inherited it from her beloved mother. The brooch is carved from 203 diamonds and set in a curved platinum palm leaf shape, Tatler reported. It features a large stone encircled by drop and navette cut diamonds, as well as a series of diamonds that radiate outwards, creating the illusion of fronds, according to the outlet.
Queen Camilla wore a brooch that was beloved by Queen Elizabeth
Credit: Getty
The brooch was made for the Queen Mother out of diamonds from her own collection in 1938. After the Queen Mother’s death in 2002, Queen Elizabeth wore it on a number of occasions.
Despite a period of upheaval in the royal family, Camilla’s husband King Charles’s Commonwealth Day message was optimistic, saying in a statement released ahead of Monday’s service that the world was in “a time of great challenge and great possibility.”
“Working together, we can ensure that the Commonwealth continues to stand as a force for good—grounded in community, committed to the kind of restorative sustainability that has a return on investment, enriched by culture, steadfast in its care for our planet, and united in friendship and in the service of its people,” he continued.
Queen Camilla on March 9, 2026
Credit: Getty
It makes sense that both the Queen and the Princess of Wales would honor Queen Elizabeth through their jewelry—the Commonwealth, a global network of 56 countries across the world, was immensely special to her. Kate and Camilla also projected stability not just through their ensembles—blue and red, the colors of the Union Jack—but also in their choice of jewelry.
Nilesh Rakholia, founder of jeweler Abelini, told Marie Claire that Camilla’s choice of brooch “is a striking nod to royal continuity.”
“The brooch’s sweeping palm leaf shape echoes a paisley motif, which held particular meaning for the Queen Mother,” Rakholia said. “Paisley patterns have long been associated with Scotland, where she spent much of her childhood.”
Kate Middleton at the Commonwealth Day service on March 9, 2026
Credit: Getty
“Seeing it now worn by Queen Camilla places it firmly within the lineage of royal jewels that move through generations, reinforcing the sense of continuity within the monarchy,” he added. Combined, he shared, Kate and Camilla’s jewelry choices “reinforce a theme of heritage. They draw from the royal jewelry archive in a way that emphasizes stability and continuity.”
Read the original article on InStyle