State Opening of Parliament Tiaras: 2010-2019

 

It’s time for the final installment of our series on the Queen’s jewels at the State Opening of Parliament! Today, we’re wrapping up a series with a look at the jewels worn for the State Opening from 2010 until the most recent ceremony in 2019.

For the State Opening of Parliament on May 25, 2010, the Queen wore familiar pieces of jewelry (the Imperial State Crown and Queen Victoria’s Pearl Drop Earrings) with a less-familiar necklace. This two-stranded pearl necklace, which features a distinctive round diamond clasp, pops up occasionally at royal events. The Queen Mother wore it with her “white wardrobe” during the 1938 state visit to France; the Queen wore it for the Duke of York’s wedding in 1986.

No State Opening of Parliament ceremony was held in 2011. The following year, the Queen wore diamonds with the Diamond Diadem as she arrived for the State Opening on May 9, 2012: her Diamond Festoon Necklace and the Diamond Frame Earrings now worn by the Duchess of Cambridge.

For the State Opening on May 8, 2013, the Queen arrived wearing the Diamond Diadem with Queen Victoria’s Pearl Drop Earrings and her Golden Jubilee Necklace.

That year, the Duchess of Cornwall accompanied the Queen, the Duke of Edinburgh, and the Prince of Wales to the ceremony for the first time. She wore jewelry that has become a sort of “uniform” for her at the event: the Greville Tiara with her favorite pearl drop earrings and one of her pearl choker necklaces with an all-diamond clasp. She secured the sash of the Royal Victorian Order with a diamond floral brooch for the occasion.

On June 4, 2014, the Queen repeated the jewels from the previous year, delivering her speech from the throne wearing the Imperial State Crown with Queen Victoria’s Pearl Drop Earrings and Golden Jubilee Necklace. She’s also wearing her pearl watch and a four-row pearl bracelet.

The Duchess of Cornwall wore her State Opening jewelry uniform: the Greville Tiara, pearl drop earrings, and pearl choker necklace. She again wore the diamond floral brooch to secure her sash.

On the Queen’s arrival to and departure from the State Opening on May 27, 2015, we got an excellent view of the Coronation Necklace and Earrings.

Camilla stayed true to her jewelry uniform for the 2015 State Opening, including the Greville Tiara, but she did change up her brooch. She secured her order sash with an Art Deco-style diamond and enamel brooch for the occasion.

The State Opening of Parliament on May 18, 2016, was the final time that the Queen wore the Imperial State Crown in public. (It’s beyond impressive that she wore the heavy, tough-to-balance crown until she was 90 years old!) Fittingly, she wore the crown with the necklace and earrings she wore for her very first State Opening as monarch in 1952: Queen Victoria’s Pearl Drop Earrings and Golden Jubilee Necklace.

No surprises from Camilla during the State Opening in 2016: she wore the same jewels, including the Greville Tiara, she’d worn for the previous ceremony.

For the first time since 1974, the State Opening of Parliament was a stripped-back version of the ceremony, held on June 21, 2017. As she’d done in 1974, the Queen wore her usual daytime clothing — a coat and dress with a matching hat — to read her speech. The Imperial State Crown was still present as a symbol of the monarchy, resting on a cushion nearby.

The Queen may not have worn gala jewels for the ceremony, but she did bring along an important diamond jewel nonetheless, wearing the Cullinan V Brooch for the occasion.

No State Opening was held in 2018. The grand pomp and circumstance had returned to the State Opening ceremony on October 14, 2019, but the Queen had decided to no longer try to wear the heavy Imperial State Crown, deciding instead to wear the Diamond Diadem as she delivered her speech from the throne. She’s wearing it here with the Coronation Necklace.

The Queen usually wears the Coronation Necklace and Earrings together, but on this occasion, she paired the necklace with Queen Mary’s Diamond Cluster Earrings.

Though the Queen’s jewelry strategy for the ceremony had undergone a major change, Camilla stayed true to her formula, wearing the same jewels she’d worn in previous years.

Two months later, a second State Opening of Parliament was held on December 19, 2019. Much like the 2017 State Opening, this one was a scaled back affair. The Queen again wore regular daytime clothing to deliver her second speech of the year.

Just as she had in 2017, the Queen wore the Cullinan V Brooch for this scaled-back State Opening.

And though the Queen did not wear gala jewels, the Imperial State Crown processed just ahead of her as she arrived for the event, just as it likely will be for all State Openings in the near future.