The Court Jeweller

Sparkling Royal Jewels From Around the World

The Queen’s Commonwealth Day Brooches

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In a normal, non-pandemic year, we’d be gearing up for the annual Commonwealth Day service at Westminster Abbey in London. Instead, today I’ve got a look back at the last two decades of Commonwealth Day brooches.

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(The service was held at St. Andrew’s Cathedral in Sydney, Australia, where the Queen had traveled for the opening of the Commonwealth Games)
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2013: The Duke of Edinburgh represented the Queen alone at the service; she was still recovering after being hospitalized with gastroenteritis, but she was able to attend a reception later in the day
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We’ll have to see which brooch the Queen chooses for her televised message this year, which will air on the BBC on Sunday! Any guesses?

Commonwealth Day Jewels 2020

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On Monday, the British royals gathered for the annual Commonwealth Day service at Westminster Abbey, and we’ve got all the details on the sparkling jewels worn for the occasion.

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The annual service is the largest annual inter-faith gathering in the United Kingdom. The Queen, Head of the Commonwealth, led the royal contingent. She was supported by the Prince of Wales, the Duchess of Cornwall, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, and the Earl and Countess of Wessex.

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For the service, the Queen wore one of the most classic pieces in her jewelry box: the Jardine Star Brooch. The Victorian brooch, which features distinctive collet diamonds on knife-edge settings, was bequeathed to the Queen by Lady Jardine in 1981.

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The Duchess of Cornwall reached for favorite pearl pieces — her pearl drop earrings and her pearl choker necklace with the large diamond-set clasp — for the service. She also wore a brooch featuring a diamond-studded knot. She wore the same jewels in December for the annual Christmas Day church service near Sandringham.

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The Duchess of Cambridge looked regal in a deep scarlet ensemble for the service.

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She also debuted new jewels: modern ruby and diamond earrings. Though we’d never seen the earrings before Monday’s appearance, they’re part of a coordinating set we’ve seen Kate wear before: her Mouawad Ruby and Diamond Demi-Parure.

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Kate wore the necklace and bracelet from the set in December 2011 for the Sun Military Awards at the Imperial War Museum in London. On that occasion, she didn’t wear the coordinating earrings. Instead, she wore the earrings from her Diamond Cluster and Baguette Suite.

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Here’s a great close-up of the ruby and diamond earrings. Note the open circle drop, the rigid pendant, and the floral diamond and ruby drop.

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The service was the final official royal engagement for the Duke and Duchess of Sussex. Meghan wore a vibrant green outfit with matching accessories. (She’s worn several interesting pieces of jewelry over the last week; I’ll have a post later this week with a closer look at several of them.)

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She also wore a favorite pair of earrings: the Snowflake Snowstorm earrings from Birks, a Canadian jewelry firm.

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The royal party was rounded out by the Earl and Countess of Wessex.

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Sophie wore navy and white with diamond and pearl jewelry. Her earrings are from Heavenly Necklaces. The small diamond rose brooch has become one of her favorite pieces. Last year, she wore it for her official twentieth wedding anniversary portraits.

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Though it wasn’t an official Commonwealth Day event, Kate also hosted a reception at Buckingham Palace on Monday evening. The gala celebrated the 25th anniversary of Place2Be, one of Kate’s patronages. The organization provides emotional support for children at an early age, with the goal that no child should face mental health difficulties alone.

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Kate wore a lovely embellished blue gown that we saw previously during the 2016 royal visit to India.

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For the reception, Kate accessorized with a new pair of statement earrings from Erdem.

The ’60s-esque floral earrings are made of brass, crystals, and faux pearls.

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Here’s one more view of Kate wearing the earrings at Monday’s reception.

Commonwealth Day Jewels 2019

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Today, many of the senior British royals gathered at Westminster Abbey to attend the annual Commonwealth Day Service, celebrating the 70th anniversary of the modern Commonwealth.

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The Head of the Commonwealth, the Queen, wore vibrant purple for the service, including one of her collection of amethyst jewels.

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The service marks the third appearance of the Kent Amethyst Brooch in public in 2019. It was previously worn in January for a church service in Norfolk, and in February for audiences at Buckingham Palace. (More over here!)

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The Duchess of Cornwall was also radiant in royal purple for the service.

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She wore her favorite pearl drop earrings with her four-stranded pearl necklace with the large diamond clasp.

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The Duchess of Cambridge chose bright cherry red for the occasion.

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She also wore a gorgeous pair of diamond earrings. These appear to be new. They have some stylistic similarities to the stud portion from a pair of diamond and pearl drop earrings worn by Diana, Princess of Wales, but Kate’s earrings are a different size and shape.

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Here’s a view of Diana’s earrings, worn in November 1988, for comparison. Similar, but not the same.

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The Duchess of Sussex was elegant in a cream-colored ensemble for the service.

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With her outfit, she wore stud earrings by Dean Davidson.

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She also wore the diamond bracelet she previously wore during last year’s visit to Fiji. (More over here!) You’ll notice that she left off her engagement ring for the event, wearing just her Welsh gold wedding ring. Perhaps the engagement ring is getting uncomfortable in this stage of pregnancy?

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Earlier in the day, Meghan and Harry also attended a Commonwealth Day event at Canada House in London.

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For that engagement, Meghan reached for her gold and opal stud earrings from Birks.

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She also wore golden rings and a golden bracelet on her left wrist.

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On Monday evening, the Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall attended a Commonwealth Day reception at Marlborough House, where they were greeted by Commonwealth Secretary-General Patricia Scotland.

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Camilla continued the day’s purple trend, wearing her pearl choker necklace with the amethyst and diamond clasp, plus her fantastic amethyst earrings. Both of these pieces have popped up in Camilla’s jewelry rotation already this year.

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Which jewels from this year’s Commonwealth Day celebrations were your favorites?