Skip to main content

King Charles and Camilla Parker Bowles marked a new chapter in British history, adorned with a staggering $4.1 billion in jewels during the State Opening of Parliament. This grand display of regal splendor highlights the enduring traditions of the monarchy.

At this significant ceremony, the couple’s selection of historic and valuable gems underscored their new roles as King and Queen. Each piece, rich in royal legacy, added to the pageantry and significance of their first parliamentary opening together.

King Charles and Camilla Parker Bowles wear a stunning array of jewels at their first opening of parliament

In a momentous occasion marking his first State Opening of Parliament as the reigning monarch, King Charles donned the regal Imperial State Crown. The late Queen Elizabeth II was the last to don the historic piece in parliament. 

Last year, with the Queen’s health in decline, Charles performed his royal duties as Counsellors of State in a scaled-down version of the ceremony. However, the future monarch didn’t wear the Imperial State Crown at the time.

For his first official opening of parliament, Queen Camilla joined King Charles sporting an impressive tiara. 

The grandeur of the event was accentuated by the royal couple’s jewels. The estimated value of the games is an eye-watering $4.1 billion, according to diamond specialists at Steven Stone.

This staggering figure underlines the luxurious heritage and opulent tradition that the British monarchy continues to uphold.

King Charles’ Imperial State Crown includes the Cullinan Diamond

Adorned with purple velvet and an ermine band, the Imperial State Crown, resembling Queen Victoria’s 1838 headpiece, was made for King George VI’s 1937 coronation. 

It traditionally crowns the monarch at Westminster Abbey’s coronation and features at the State Opening of Parliament. The crown, a mix of gold, silver, and platinum, glitters with 2,868 diamonds, 269 pearls, 17 sapphires, and 11 emeralds. It weighs in at 1,060 grams and measures 31.5 centimeters in height. 

The illustrious Cullinan Diamond contributes its second-largest cut to the crown’s facade, topped with a cross pattée holding an emerald amid smaller diamonds. 

It also houses St Edward’s Sapphire, which has a rich history dating to the reign of the last Anglo-Saxon king. It was taken from Edward the Confessor’s ring during a 12th-century relocation within Westminster Abbey.

Camilla Parker Bowles steals the limelight with Queen Elizabeth’s Diamond Diadem

Originally created for King George IV’s crowning in 1821, the diamond diadem boasts an intricate arrangement of pearls and diamonds. It features two strands of pearls bordering a central row of diamonds and is composed of 1,333 sparkling brilliant-cut diamonds.

The diadem is a piece steeped in regal history, having adorned the head of Queen Elizabeth, who, in her youth, wore it as she posed for postage stamps.

The diadem was also prominently displayed in the renowned portrait by Dorothy Wilding, taken just weeks after Her Majesty began her reign.

Adding to the lineage of its royal wearers, Camilla wore this exquisite jewel, now appraised at upwards of $6 million, at the recent opening of parliament.

At the ceremony, Camilla and Charles appeared for the first time as King and Queen, continuing the diadem’s legacy of adorning monarchs at significant state occasions.

Best in Entertainment