Camilla made a subtle tribute to Queen Elizabeth II and Queen Mother at Ascot

Queen Camilla was a vision in white at Royal Ascot yesterday, wearing a calf-length coat dress with shoes and accessories to match.

Staying true to her style, the 75-year-old opted for silvery jewellery to match her embellished outfit, consisting of a statement necklace, earrings, and a poignant brooch.

The scallop-shell pin was last worn by Queen Elizabeth II, who inherited the sentimental jewel from her own mother.

Known as the Courtauld Thomson Scallop-Shell Brooch, the design features a diamond-encrusted shell motif with five graduated tassels that fall from a single round pearl in the centre.

According to The Court Jeweller, the brooch was made in London in 1919, by the Goldsmiths and Silversmiths Co.Ltd. And it was loved deeply by both the Queen Mother and Queen Elizabeth II.

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The royal heirloom was gifted to the Queen Mother by Winifred Hope Thomson, the sister of designer Lord Courtauld-Thomson. 

Since it came to be a regal jewel, it has been worn on several poignant occasions by Camilla’s late mother-in-law and her mum – one of the most significant being the Queen Mother’s 100th birthday in 2000. Later in 2002 Queen Elizabeth II took on the brooch and wore it upon her mother’s death. The late Queen also styled the brooch for Royal Ascot in 2019.

Now renowned as a jewel that marks special occasions, Camilla’s decision to wear it to her first Royal Ascot as Queen Consort was poignant for two reasons.

Not least to pay tribute to her late mother-in-law, who famously loved horses, but also to the Queen Mother who shared the same passion.

Just like Queen Elizabeth II and her daughter Princess Anne, the Queen Mother had a lifelong “affinity with horses”. 

As explained by an expert at the Livery List Directory, she was “an avid horse racing fan” and even became the first lady of National Hunt racing.

The Queen Mother’s love of horses was sparked in the early 1950s when she started to stay at Windsor Castle during Royal Ascot. 

An expert at the Livery List claimed: “She eventually got the horse racing bug, particularly after forming a friendship with Major Peter Cazalet, a trainer who recorded numerous victories during an excellent career in the sport.”

They added: “With 457 victories to her name, the Queen Mother’s relationship with horses and horse racing was certainly a fruitful one. Not only did she love the sport, but her affinity with horses was evident.”

While Charles and Camilla may not share such a profound love for horses or racing, unlike Princess Anne and her daughter Zara Tindall, the brooch was perhaps a nod from the Queen Consort to state her interest in a more subtle way.

And just as Queen Elizabeth wore the jewel to pay tribute to her own mother, Camilla was able to commemorate Charles’s mother in the very same way.