Queen Camilla’s decision to wear the striking emerald and diamond tiara that had only ever been seen publicly on Princess Eugenie on her wedding day caused headlines, the other gems she chose for the Diplomatic Reception packed a symbolic punch as well. For she wore a diamond necklace that has very personal links but whose style echoes favourite and very important pieces belonging to other queens.
The necklace in question is all diamond and is shaped like a serpent. The gems are packed on to a base that curves around the neck and sees the snake’s head touching its tale. It is a stunning piece and the latest in a long line of royal gems that take on this mysterious shape including one of the most important and romantic gems of all.
Embed from Getty Imageswindow.gie=window.gie||function(c){(gie.q=gie.q||[]).push(c)};gie(function(){gie.widgets.load({id:’PCdF2k0jRK9jGAMdPFgyow’,sig:’PG0r2W5J530zw_Z6mrEtRTyx47r1AJWANqTebDVKuQU=’,w:’400px’,h:’594px’,items:’2246787515′,caption: true ,tld:’com’,is360: false })});Jewels shaped like serpents were very popular in Victorian times. The design is a symbol of transformation and was also interpreted by the Victorians as a sign of eternal love. So it’s perhaps no surprise to find out that Queen Victoria’s engagement ring was shaped like a serpent.
Embed from Getty Imageswindow.gie=window.gie||function(c){(gie.q=gie.q||[]).push(c)};gie(function(){gie.widgets.load({id:’CqaPan29TJZwY75O-QPiVg’,sig:’sG73dz8sWjDXNqhOkFQzmVHTkz0oGsjfzi1B1Evqrpk=’,w:’388px’,h:’594px’,items:’2246787238′,caption: true ,tld:’com’,is360: false })});Prince Albert presented the piece to his beloved after she had proposed to him; royal rules meant that Victoria, as a queen, had to do the asking. However, he chose a really very unusual ring to seal the romantic deal and, calling on his already established love of arts and design, packed it full of symbolism.
Queen Victoria’s engagement ring was shaped like a coiled serpent which was resting with its tail on its head, making an unbroken circle. There are ruby and diamond accents around the ring but the main stone is an emerald, Queen Victoria’s birth stone and also a symbol of wisdom. It’s become one of the most famous royal rings in history.
While serpent jewellery was coming into vogue at the time that Victoria and Albert got engaged, in 1839, the design of the queen’s ring made the concept even more popular.
Another queen, Alexandra, would keep the theme in the public eye. The queen of Edward VII had a golden bracelet shaped like a serpent that she wore at many events. Her reputation as a style icon meant that the design remained popular.
Now, Queen Camilla has added her serpent style to this royal trend. And while her necklace follows in the footsteps of Victoria and Alexandra, it also has a very personal link.
Buckingham Palace revealed that the piece had come to Queen Camilla from one of her grandmothers. Although which granny has never been specified, it’s thought most likely to be Sonia Cubitt, the maternal grandmother of The Queen.
She was born Sonia Keppel and was the daughter of Alice Keppel who was once the mistress of King Edward VII, the husband of Queen Alexandra. Sonia was a leading socialite and had an impressive jewellery collection from her earliest years.
The necklace obviously means a great deal to Queen Camilla who wears it often. Her decision to use it at the Diplomatic Reception for 2025, one of the most important events in the royal calendar, underlines the important place it has in the royal jewellery collection now.
Also striking was Queen Camilla’s choice of tiara for the event. Her Majesty wore the Emerald Kokoshnik, a piece that was relatively unknown until 2018 when it was worn by Princess Eugenie for her wedding to Jack Brooksbank.
The tiara, so called because its design echoes the kokoshnik headdress used in Russia and which became a diadem design at the court of the Tsars, came to the Royal Family through the will of another famous socialite, Mrs Greville. She had no relations to leave her substantial gem collection to and so bequeathed it to Queen Elizabeth, later the Queen Mother.
Some of the most famous pieces worn by the Royal Family, including a striking all diamond tiara once favoured by Queen Camilla, come from the Greville bequest.
The emerald and diamond kokoshnik hadn’t been seen in public until Eugenie wore it on her wedding day. Since then, it’s been informally known as her wedding tiara but now that Queen Camilla has brought it into the wider royal collection, it will no doubt revert to the earlier name.
Emeralds, as well as being a symbol of wisdom, are also seen as signifying love and rebirth as well as loyalty. Along with the choice of a serpent necklace, also signifying continuity and a chance to start again, the tiara perhaps spoke of a royal determination to move on from the difficulties of the past months.
These have been caused, to a large degree, by Eugenie’s father, Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, who may even have seen some of the arrivals at the Diplomatic Reception from his home at Royal Lodge on the Windsor estate. He will move out of the property imminently, to a grace and favour home provided by King Charles on the Sandringham estate.
Meanwhile, Windsor Castle is the growing hub of official royal life with the imminent State Visit by the President of Germany due to be hosted there as well by King Charles and Queen Camilla at the start of December.
It will be another moment to see the Royal Family do what it does best – exercise soft power. And there was a powerful message in the jewels chosen by Queen Camilla as she signalled loyalty and new beginnings with a personal gem that links her to queens past.
