Paying their respects. Queen Consort Camilla and Princess Kate are mourning Queen Elizabeth II.
Camilla, 75, and Kate, 40, arrived together at Her Majesty’s funeral on Monday, September 19, with the Duchess of Cambridge’s two eldest children — Prince George and Princess Charlotte. For the somber occasion at Westminster Abbey in London, the women donned veiled fascinators — a symbolic practice that is meant to provide extra privacy during a grieving period. Kate’s look featured a wide-brimmed hat, which she wore with a tailored suit dress and Her Majesty’s pearl-string necklace.
Camilla’s fascinator featured delicate petals. She paired the piece with a dark dress and Queen Victoria’s Hesse Diamond Jubilee brooch.
Throughout her 70 years on the throne, Elizabeth would lend different jewels from the royal collection to her family members, including Camilla, Princess Kate, Meghan Markle, Princess Beatrice, Princess Eugenie and the late Princess Diana. (Meghan, 41, famously wore the Queen Mary Diamond Bandeau Tiara when she married Prince Harry in May 2018.)
While the tiaras, necklaces and earrings are breathtaking, the queen’s brooches are particularly striking.
Her Majesty debuted hundreds of accessories during her reign, many of which were passed down the line of succession from Queen Victoria and from her grandmother, Queen Mary. There were also those designed specifically for Queen Elizabeth, including a stunning pair of aquamarine clips commissioned by her parents for the royal’s 18th birthday.
While attending a prayer service at St. Giles’ Cathedral on September 12, Camilla donned a diamond thistle brooch atop her all-black ensemble. The accessory was a gift from Elizabeth, per Hello Magazine.
Buckingham Palace announced on September 8 that the queen had died “peacefully” at Balmoral Castle in Scotland. She was 96. After being transported to the Palace of Holyroodhouse in Edinburgh, Elizabeth’s body was taken back to London via the Royal Air Force on September 13.
The next day, King Charles III, Prince William and Harry, 38, marched behind Elizabeth’s hearse on its way to Westminster Hall, where her coffin laid in state before the funeral on Monday. (Camilla, Kate and Meghan followed behind in cars with the former Suits star riding in a separate vehicle with Sophie, Countess of Wessex.)
Following Monday’s state funeral, a committal service will take place at Windsor Castle. Elizabeth will be buried at the King George VI Memorial Chapel in St George’s Chapel alongside her late husband, Prince Philip, who died in April 2021.
After her death was announced, Charles, 73, released a statement praising Britain’s longest-reigning monarch.
“The death of my beloved mother, Her Majesty The Queen, is a moment of the greatest sadness for me and all members of my family,” he wrote in a memo shared via his former Clarence House Twitter account on September 8 as he prepared to assume the throne. “We mourn profoundly the passing of a cherished Sovereign and a much-loved Mother. I know her loss will be deeply felt throughout the country, the Realms and the Commonwealth, and by countless people around the world.”
