Like a hermit crab scuttling into a newer, shinier shell, Camilla is cranking up her Queen Elizabeth II cosplay. With her Royal rivals either dead, diseased, disgraced or banished, Charles’ former mistress has clambered to the top of the pile to become the most prominent member of the household.
The current Queen was in pride of place alongside her cancer-stricken husband at the Easter Mattins service at St George’s Chapel in Windsor, strolling around and waving to her impoverished subjects while decked out in an array of glittering jewels formerly worn by Elizabeth II.
As per the Royal Fashion Police Instagram account, Camilla was wearing an Anna Valentine emerald green dress, a Philip Treacy hat, a $7,100 black Chanel bag, leather gloves, and knee-high leather boots.
But you’re here for the shiny things. So, what are the jewels she’s wearing and who did the British Empire steal them from?
Queen Mary’s brooch
As per Instagram account British Royal Jewels, Camilla was wearing a diamond, sapphire, and emerald brooch originally owned by Queen Mary, wife of King-Emperor George V. This was handed down to Elizabeth, who seemed to dislike it.
The brooch was first pictured in the early 1900s being worn by Queen Mary. It was also worn in August 1909 when the British Royal Family was visited by Tsar Nicholas II and his family when they visited for the Cowes Regatta.
The origins of the jewels are unknown, but given that Mary was titled “Empress of India” to mark Britain’s seizure and subjugation of the country, and that other British jewels of this period tend to have been pinched from India (see the Koh-i-Noor diamond), we strongly suspect this is Imperial plunder. Elizabeth may have recognized these dark origins, as Tatler confirms “it was not among her favorite brooches” and only wore it in public a handful of times.
Sadly, despite our research, we can’t say for certain whether this brooch is metaphorically drenched in blood or not (though the fact that even Royal obsessives skate over the stone’s origins is telling). But, perhaps on a quiet night in Windsor Castle, Camilla might faintly hear the dying screams of the 100 million Indians who starved under British colonialism coming from the Royal jewelry cabinet.
But hey, don’t let that get you down! After all, it is very shiny! And maybe that makes all the pain and misery worth it.
