Camilla wears Queen Elizabeth’s favourite tiara for the first time at City of London banquet with King Charles in a glittering tribute to Her late Majesty

• Queen Camilla paired the tiara with a stunning Bruce Oldfield gown
• READ MORE: King Charles urges public to rise above ‘rancour and acrimony’ on social media and takes veiled swipe at cancel culture saying people should hear opposing views ‘with politeness and respect’

Queen Camilla paid tribute to her late mother-in-law Queen Elizabeth this evening, by wearing a tiara long thought to be Her late Majesty’s favourite.

The Queen, 76, accompanied King Charles, 74, to Mansion House in the City of London, where the monarch took part in a ceremony steeped in history and dined with business leaders.

As she arrived at the venue wearing a shimmering Bruce Oldfield gown, Camilla wore the Girls of Great Britain and Ireland tiara for the first time since the death of Queen Elizabeth II in September 2022.

The stunning diadem was first gifted to Princess Victoria Mary of Teck to mark her wedding to George V in 1893.

Her late Majesty was known to be incredibly fond of the headpiece, and affectionately called it ‘Granny’s Tiara’.

As she arrived at Mansion House this evening where King Charles took part in the Presentation of the Pearl Sword, Queen Camilla wore the Girls of Great Brtiain and Ireland tiara for the first time

She wore the diadem during one of her first public appearances following the funeral of her father George VI, not long after she ascended the throne. 

It takes its name from the committee of women who raised money to create it.

Made of diamonds set in silver and gold, it was topped by 14 pearls but they were replaced with 13 brilliant-cut diamonds .

It is thought to have been one of Her Majesty’s favourites, as she was often seen wearing it, and is even pictured wearing it on some bank notes.

The tiara was passed down to Queen Camilla by her late mother-in-law Queen Elizabeth. It is thought to have been the monarch’s favourite diadem

Presented by the ‘Girls of Great Britain and Ireland’ to Princess Victoria Mary of Teck to mark her wedding to George V in 1893, this tiara (pictured on the Queen on February 26, 1952) was one of the Queen’s favourite pieces. She affectionately called it ‘Granny’s Tiara’ and wore it during one of her first public appearances after the funeral of her father, George VI

It takes its name from the committee of women who raised money to create it. Made of diamonds set in silver and gold, it was topped by 14 pearls but they were replaced with 13 brilliant-cut diamonds

Camilla is the third queen to have worn the tiara, which was a wedding present in 1893 for Queen Mary, who passed it on to her granddaughter, the future Queen Elizabeth II, when she married in 1947.

As the Queen proudly donned the sparkling headpiece for the first time this evening, she chose a poignant occasion to wear it for the first time.

Charles and Camilla took part in a Presentation of the Pearl Sword upon arrival at Mansion House, which is a tradition carried out by monarchs in the year of their Coronation since the 17th Century.

The Pearl Sword, thought to have been given to the City of London by Queen Elizabeth I in 1571, has approximately 2,500 pearls on its scabbard.

After receiving the sword from the Lord Mayor, the King returned it, signalling the authority of the Lord Mayor in the Square Mile when the King is not present.

The ceremony was carried out by Her late Majesty Queen Elizabeth in 1953, the year of her Coronation, and also in the years of her Silver and Golden Jubilees; 1977 and 2002. 

This evening’s glittering banquet, which featured a rousing and poignant speech from King Charles urging the public to recognise the things that ‘unite us’ amid a backdrop of increasingly polarised debate online, recognises the work of The City and its Livery Companies, in a tradition started in 1689 with King William III. 

Addressing the crowd, the monarch told dignitaries from the City that he believes the country stands at a ‘watershed’ moment, not least when the natural instinct of its people to pull together and co-operate risks being drowned out by the ‘shouting’ of the ‘digital sphere where civilised debate too often gives way to rancour and acrimony’.

He cautioned that people owe it to each other to listen to views other than their own with ‘politeness and respect’ and to be ‘passionate, but not pugnacious’, avoiding the desire to ‘scapegoat’ those who are trying to serve.

The King described the United Kingdom as a ‘community of communities’, ‘an island nation in which our shared values are the force which holds us together, reminding us that there is far, far more that unites us than divides us’.

He urged people to step up and face the ‘stark realities’ of climate change and – against the backdrop of conflict in the Middle East – urged citizens to draw on the ‘deep well of civility and tolerance, on which our political life and wider national conversation depend and allow the practice of all religious faiths.

‘Such understanding, both at home and overseas, is never more vital than at times of international turmoil and heartbreaking loss of life,’ he said.

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