Queen Camilla made some symbolic statements with her Easter Sunday outfit pick this year and among the most striking was the brooch she wore as she joined the Royal Family at St. George’s Chapel at Windsor for the morning service.
The Queen added a favourite diamond jewel to the bright red coat she chose for the Easter Day event and it seems to have a particular meaning for her, given its use in the past couple of years.
The brooch in question has been called the ‘Raspberry Pip’ by Buckingham Palace which gave it that name when Queen Camilla first wore it publicly, at Christmas 2023. It’s believed to be a reference to the shape of some of the jewels in the brooch but what is most noticeable about this gem is its shape and that seems to have influenced how The Queen has used it since starting to wear it.
(Royal Family you Tube Channel/ fair use)
This gem is formed as a cross and it’s a very noticeable design. The brooch extends out into four distinct points of a cross and also contains another cross spanning the bridges of the jewel.
Given its shaping, it’s become something of a go to for Queen Camilla at religious events. She first wore it for the Christmas Day service in 2023 when it was seen sparkling on her beige coat as she walked to church with King Charles and the rest of the Royal Family. This was the first Christmas since the Coronation, when Queen Camilla had been anointed and crowned at Westminster Abbey alongside her husband.
The brooch was seen again at another church service at Sandringham on a cold January morning in early 2025 when Queen Camilla wore it for Sunday worship again.
However, perhaps its most significant use was in October 2025 when The Queen wore it for the visit to the Vatican in which she and King Charles met the new Pope, Leo XIV.
(Vatican Media)
Queen Camilla came dressed in black, as is traditional, and wore a black veil held in place by a striking headpiece made of leaf shaped pieces which echoed the focus in the Sistine Chapel service she attended around care for the environment. But hew jewellery also made a statement. The Queen chose the Raspberry Pip brooch which she wore beneath the discreet ribbon which came with the new honour she was given for the visit. Pope Leo appointed her a Dame Grand Cross of the Vatican.
There was no doubt about the significance of the visit – this was the first time that a British monarch and a Pope had prayed together publicly since the Reformation of the 16th century. Queen Camilla’s choice of the cross shaped brooch held a deep symbolism and also added another chapter of history to the unusual piece.
(Stephen Lock/ i-Images)
The gem belonged to Queen Elizabeth II and several noted royal jewellery experts, including The Court Jeweller, trace it back to her maternal family. It’s believed this piece is the cross brooch left to Queen Elizabeth, later The Queen Mother, by her own mother, the Countess of Strathmore.
The jewel itself is rather elegant. It’s mostly diamonds although there is some debate over whether the larger, yellow stones in it are diamonds of that hue or topazes. Either way, the gems have taken on a different significance in Queen Camilla’s care.
For this is now very much a brooch associated with religious events and has become symbolic, in some ways, of the Monarchy’s link with faith. This Easter, that has been a contentious issue with some criticism of King Charles for not issuing an Easter statement. Instead, The King let his faith speak for itself. As previously, he greeted Easter with the simple phrase that many Christians use as the day dawns – He is Risen!
Meanwhile, Queen Camilla made her own, now usual, gesture to a day of religious significance with a brooch that she has turned into a new royal symbol.
