Queen Camilla Wears Queen Victoria's Sapphire Brooch in Germany — Inside the Significance
The glittering pin has a romantic history, and was first worn by Queen Victoria on her wedding day
Queen Camilla accessorized with something special on the final day of her state visit to Germany.
On Friday, the Queen Consort, 75, shimmered in Prince Albert's brooch, a sapphire and diamond pin beloved by Queen Victoria. According to the Royal Collection Trust, Albert gave Victoria the brooch on the eve of their wedding in 1840. Queen Victoria pinned it to her trend-setting white wedding gown and cherished it through life, passing it down as an heirloom of the crown for future generations, The Court Jeweller reported.
The striking piece has been worn by every Queen since, and wearing it in Germany was a poignant choice for Camilla. Prince Albert was born in Germany in 1819, and the Queen Consort followed in Queen Elizabeth's fashion footsteps by wearing it on a tour there. Queen Elizabeth wore the brooch for a visit to Berlin in 2015.
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The royal repeat marks the second time in recent months Queen Camilla has worn Queen Victoria's jewels. The Queen Consort wore Victoria's Hesse Diamond Jubilee brooch, an intricate sapphire pin, for the state funeral of Queen Elizabeth in September 2022.
King Charles and Queen Camilla had a busy day of engagements in Germany on Friday, the last day of the first overseas visit of the new reign. The royal couple began the morning with a train ride from Berlin to Hamburg, and went straight to the Kindertransport Memorial. The stop was made in honor of the 85th anniversary of the first Kindertransporte, a rescue mission to save 10,000 Jewish children by providing safe passage to the U.K. during the Nazi reign. There, Queen Consort laid a white rose.
Charles, 74, and Camilla then moved to the St. Nikolai Memorial, the remains of a church destroyed when the Allied Powers bombed Hamburg in World War II. This year marks the 80th anniversary of the raids, and the royal stop symbolized "reconciliation, understanding and today's firm German-British friendship," Buckingham Palace said. Side by side, King Charles and President Frank-Walter Steinmeier laid wreaths during a short ceremony of remembrance.
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From there, the King and Queen Consort were welcomed to City Hall, where they met with the mayor and signed the Golden Book, which Queen Elizabeth signed during a previous visit.
The couple then parted ways, as Charles moved to a green energy boat tourand Camilla went to a local elementary school.
There, she and Frau Elke Budenbender, first lady of Germany, sat in on a class and read excerpts from The Gruffalo, a bestselling children's book from Hamburg-born, U.K.-educated illustrator Axel Scheffler, who was also present and participated.
King Charles and Queen Camilla reunited for the last engagement of the whirlwind last day, celebrating at the Schuppen 52 warehouse venue with over a thousand guests from youth groups, local organizations and more. The royals were treated to musical performances from groups including the The Silver Spoons, a Beatles cover band, and got to meet Lords of the Lost, the German entry for the Eurovision song contest this year.
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King Charles raised a pint at the rollicking reception, before he and his wife bid farewell for Hamburg Airport to fly home.
The trip to Germany is currently the couple's only scheduled trip abroad ahead of their May 6 coronation in London. The tour was planned to "celebrate the U.K.'s relationship with France and Germany, marking our shared histories, culture and values," a palace spokesperson previously said.
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