Queen Camilla’s latest tiara choice: Why reappearance of Princess Eugenie’s wedding tiara is ‘plot twist of the century’

Queen Camilla attended the Windsor Castle’s Diplomatic Reception on November 18 in her best evening finery. However, what came away with the most attention from royal observers and followers was her conspicuous choice of headwear.

The Queen Consort was a vision in white as she joined King Charles and Prince William at the annual dinner, which returned to Windsor for the first time since 2001 due to refurbishment work at Buckingham Palace, where the reception is commonly held.

Topping off her regal look with the Greville Emerald Kokoshnik tiara, Camilla brought out the royal jewel in public for its first appearance since Princess Eugenie’s wedding in 2018.

The emerald encrusted tiara did more than shone atop the Queen’s head — due to the connection between its legacy with the Princess of York, who was the first royal to be seen in public wearing the Greville Emerald Kokoshnik, speculations have been rife about what the latest move could mean.

Amid Eugenie’s gradual return to the public as a royal family member who has been allowed to retain her titles and status inherited from the Crown, while her parents have suffered the opposite due to their scandalous downfall, Queen Camilla’s decision may indicate a vital development regarding the recent affairs.

History

The Greville Emerald Kokoshnik was initially commissioned by Dame Margaret Helen Greville, a British socialite and philanthropist. French jewellery house Boucheron created the timeless piece for her, which was later inherited by Queen Elizabeth’s mother.

“I must tell you that Mrs Greville has left me her jewels, She has left them to me ‘with her loving thoughts,’ dear old thing, and I feel very touched, I don’t suppose I shall see what they consist of for a long time, owing to the slowness of lawyers & death duties etc, but it is rather exciting to be left something, and I do admire beautiful stones with all my heart,” the Queen Mother wrote in a letter to Queen Mary following her friend, Dame Greville’s demise in 1942.

Princess Eugenie’s wedding

On her wedding day, Princess Eugenie had stepped out in a bespoke gown designed by Peter Pilotto and Christopher de Vos, and with her appearance, the Greville emerald tiara made its first known public appearance on the royal bride’s head.

The headpiece was lent to the Princess of York by her grandmother, Queen Elizabeth II, who had become its keeper after her mother’s death in 2002.

Queen Camilla’s ‘jaw-dropping’ move

The Queen Consort’s appearance wearing the Greville Emerald Kokoshnik has been described as a “jaw-dropping” choice by royal jewelry expert Lauren Kiehna on her blog, The Court Jeweller. While Lauren Parkinson, a royal enthusiast, termed it “plot twist of the century”.

Camilla’s selection of tiara invited tons of buzz, since rewearing the tiara from Eugiene’s wedding is being perceived as a significant public endorsement of the royal member who is slowly clawing her way back into public graces after her parents, Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor and Sarah Ferguson, disgraced the York household’s name.

According to Kristin Contino, Marie Claire’s senior royal and celebrity editor, “Wearing a tiara so closely associated with Princess Eugenie in the wake of her father’s title-stripping and subsequent eviction from Royal Lodge seems to be a sign of support for the 35-year-old royal.”

Notably, Queen Camilla’s perceived public show of support for Princess Eugenie only seems a further extension of the kind which her uncle, King Charles had already bestowed upon her. The youngest Princess of York was recently trusted with mentorship duties for The King’s Foundation a week ago.

“I think that Charles feels quite responsible for these two girls, because it’s been a hideous time for them. Really hideous,” Ingrid Seward, Majesty Magazine’s editor-in-chief and a leading royal expert, recently told The Sun about Eugenie and her elder sister, Princess Beatrice.