When Queen Camilla stepped into the glittering State Rooms at
Windsor Castle for this year’s Diplomatic Reception, royal watchers
were quick to notice the dazzling emerald tiara crowning her look.
But this wasn’t just any diadem. In a gesture both unexpected and
quietly meaningful, the Queen chose to wear the Greville Emerald Kokoshnik –
the very same tiara worn by Princess Eugenie on her wedding day in
2018.
To many, the choice read as a subtle but unmistakable show of
support for her niece-by-marriage.
The Greville Emerald Kokoshnik, made by Boucheron in 1921 for
society grande dame Margaret Greville, is one of the Royal Family’s
most striking heirloom pieces. With its central 90-carat cabochon
emerald framed by brilliant and rose-cut diamonds, it is a bold
departure from the more traditional diamond-and-pearl tiaras worn
by most royal brides.
When Princess Eugenie selected it for her marriage to Jack
Brooksbank, it took the world by surprise – a vivid, modern splash
of colour with a strong historical backbone. For many royal
jewellery fans, it became her tiara.
By choosing to wear it at one of the most formal events of the
royal calendar, Queen Camilla has reopened the royal vault doors on
a piece closely associated with Eugenie – and signalled that the
younger generation’s choices matter and resonate at the highest
levels of the family.
The tiara has a long and prestigious lineage. After Margaret
Greville’s death in 1942, it passed into the royal collection as
part of the famous Greville Bequest, inherited by Queen Elizabeth
The Queen Mother before eventually passing to Queen Elizabeth II in
2002. For decades, it remained unseen in public, until Eugenie
revived it – turning it into a modern favourite overnight.
Camilla’s decision to wear the tiara is significant because
queens traditionally gravitate toward pieces with long-standing
royal precedent. Reintroducing a jewel now largely associated with
Eugenie sends a warm and respectful message: that the younger
generation’s style, symbolism and personal choices are worthy of
celebration.
It also underlines Camilla’s increasingly visible role as a
unifying matriarch — one who honours the jewels of the past while
championing the royals who will carry the family forward.
For Princess Eugenie, whose wedding tiara moment became a
defining fashion statement, the Queen’s choice can only be seen as
an endorsement. And for royal fans, it was a dazzling reminder that
royal jewellery is never just decoration — it is storytelling,
heritage, and, in moments like this, a quiet show of
solidarity.
