King Charles III and Queen Camilla formally announced their engagement on 10th February 2005.
The ceremony, which took place at the Windsor Guildhall, was followed by a wedding blessing at St. George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle. As a symbol of their marriage, the royal couple exchanged wedding bands that were made of pure Welsh gold, as is royal tradition.
Camilla’s emerald-cut engagement ring is one of the most expensive engagement rings in the royal family, but what other pieces of jewellery did she wear on her big day?
Jewellery experts at Steven Stone have taken a close look at the brooch that Queen Camilla had attached to her lapel.
The Brooch
On the right hand side of Queen Camilla’s jacket, she was wearing a brooch that was reportedly designed by King Edward VII, who was Prince of Wales from 1842 1901, when he acceded to the throne, following the death of Queen Victoria.
Made of diamonds surrounding a black pearl, the brooch is designed with a Prince of Wales feather motif. At the time of the wedding, the press reported the sentimental piece to be one of the jewels commissioned by King Edward VII for Queen Camilla’s great-grandmother, Alice Keppel.
Though it’s a historic piece, the brooch doesn’t appear to contain any valuable stones. Taking this into consideration, our experts estimate it to be worth $15,000.
Other Royal jewels with the Prince of Wales motif
This isn’t the only piece of jewellery featuring the Prince of Wales motif that’s in regular rotation by the royal family.
Though she didn’t use the title due to its popular association with her husband’s first wife, Diana, Camilla was the Princess of Wales from 2005 to 2022 and wore the Princess of Wales pendant during that timeframe. Whilst Diana tended to wear the jewel as a necklace, Camilla opted to wearing it as a brooch.
Kate Middleton was seen wearing the Princess of Wales pendant as a brooch towards the end of last year, which not only serves as a nod to her new position as the Princess of Wales, but it pays homage to her late mother-in-law, Princess Diana, who wore the pendant regularly during her marriage to the then Prince Charles.
One piece of understated jewellery that features the motif is King Charles III’s signet ring, which he’s been photographed wearing since the mid 1970s. Engraved with the symbol of the Prince of Wales, the signet ring serves as a reminder that although he was born to be King, Charles spent 64 years of his life as the Prince of Wales.
“Queen Camilla’s engagement ring wasn’t the only sentimental jewel that she was wearing on her wedding day – she was also wearing a brooch featuring the Prince of Wales feather motif, that was gifted to her by the then Prince of Wales.
Made of diamonds surrounding a black pearl, the brooch is designed with a Prince of Wales feather motif. At the time of the wedding, the press reported it to be one of the jewels commissioned by King Edward VII for Queen Camilla’s great-grandmother, Alice Keppel – giving it quite the family connection. The Tahitian culture considers black pearls as symbols of strength and resilience, making the brooch even more symbolic as Camilla was a divorcee and the couples relationship was placed under a lot of scrutiny over the years.
This isn’t the only piece featuring the Prince of Wales motif that Queen Camilla has worn and during her time as the Princess of Wales, she wore the Princess of Wales pendant. Previously worn by Princess Diana as a necklace, Queen Camilla opted to wear it as a brooch.
I’d estimate the wedding brooch to be worth $15,000 (£12,000).”
maxwell stone, creative director, steven stone
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