Camilla Parker Bowles Wears Queen Elizabeth’s Brooch During D-Day Memorial Event
Camilla Parker Bowles, King Charles, and Prince William honored military veterans and fallen heroes at the British Normandy Memorial, in Ver-sur-Mer, France. Camilla represented the crown, wearing the late Queen Elizabeth’s brooch. Here are all the details of the family heirloom.
Camilla Parker Bowles was given the family heirloom from King Charles
Camilla, Queen Consort proudly wore Queen Elizabeth’s brooch during the D-Day memorial event. She attended alongside other senior royals, including her husband, King Charles, and Prince William.
King Charles inherited the stunning statement piece after Queen Elizabeth’s death in September 2022. The breastpin has been passed from queen to queen for decades.
The brooch was a favorite of Elizabeth, the Queen Mother, the first member of the House of Windsor to own it. She famously wore it during her 100th birthday celebration. After Elizabeth’s 2022 death, the diamond and pearl stunner was inherited by her daughter, Queen Elizabeth II.
Queen Elizabeth regularly featured the statement pin as part of her wardrobe. Following her death, Camilla wore it for the first time during an appearance in Kenya in October 2023.
Details of the Scallop Shell Brooch
The Scallop Shell Brooch is officially called the Courtauld Thomson Scallop-Shell Brooch. The brooch was first made in 1919 in London by the Goldsmiths and Silversmiths Co., Ltd.
It was gifted to Elizabeth, the Queen Mother, from Courtauld-Thomsen’s sister, Winifred Hope Thomsen. According to The Telegraph, Thomsen gifted the pin to Elizabeth as a sign of her “respect and profound admiration.”
Its overall design mimics a scallop seashell. A single large pearl is surrounded by diamonds and is worth around $38K.
The Court Jeweller reports Queen Elizabeth wore the Scallop Shell Brooch many times throughout her reign. She donned the statement piece during a 10-year memorial service honoring Elizabeth, the Queen Mother’s death. She donned it at a statue unveiling in 2009, to Royal Ascot in 2011 and to welcome King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia of Spain to London in 2017.
After Queen Elizabeth died in 2022, King Charles gifted the pin to Camilla, Queen Consort. She first wore it to Royal Ascot in 2023.
Camilla marked 80 years since D-Day wearing this piece of royal history
Camilla, Queen Consort wore this piece of royal history, alongside King Charles, as they paid tribute to fallen soldiers at the British Normandy Memorial. The memorial site honors over 20,000 servicemen who died on D-Day and the Battle of Normandy in 1944. Subsequently, Charles is patron of both the Royal British Legion and Normandy Memorial Trust reports CNN.
People Magazine reports King Charles’ son, Prince William, was one of the many attendees at the international commemorative ceremony on Omaha Beach in Normandy, France. He subsequently joined over 25 heads of state, fellow European royals, and veterans to mark the occasion.
William took the place of his father, King Charles, at the world-stage event. Thus, this is the first significant step forward in his role as the future king that William has undertaken on since being appointed Prince of Wales.
However, King Charles was reportedly advised by his doctors to not participate in that event due to his ongoing cancer treatment. The monarch revealed his diagnosis on Feb. 5, 2024.
Thus, after a two-month hiatus from the public eye, King Charles resumed his duties in April 2024. He is still under the watchful eye of his medical team as he undertakes more public appearances.
