The Queen Consort made a statement with her jewelry this evening, wearing a brooch with particular meaning to receive Her Majesty’s casket at Buckingham Palace.
The Queen’s coffin was flown from St Giles’ Cathedral in Edinburgh to RAF Northolt before being taken to the palace, where it would spend the night.
Senior members of the Firm were spotted making their way towards the palace, including the King and Queen Consort.
The princess, who was dressed in customary mourning black, made a poignant decision with her jewelry, wearing a diamond and turquoise shamrock brooch with particular links to the late monarch.
It has three diamond leaves and a shamrock motif. Each leaf has a Persian turquoise stone put in the center.
While the shamrock’s origins are unknown, a brooch resembling its description appears on Queen Elizabeth’s list of wedding presents.
The Dowager Duchess of Portland presented the royal with the brooch on the list.
Camilla wore the brooch earlier today when visiting Belfast with King Charles as part of the couple’s four-nation trip ahead of the Queen’s burial next week.
Other significant instances in which she has worn the garment include a prior Northern Ireland visit in March and the funeral of the Dowager Duchess of Devonshire in 2014.
She elected to wear the brooch again tonight as she waited for the Queen to arrive at Buckingham Palace with the King, the Queen Consort, Princes William and Harry, their wives Kate Middleton and Meghan Markle, and other royals.
Mourners applauded and applauded as the new state hearse slowly down Constitution Hill and around the Queen Victoria Memorial, then drove through the palace gates and through the central arch into the courtyard.
At the end of the voyage, outriders lowered their heads and saluted a police officer at the gate.
After the coffin drove beneath the arch, the crowd sang “hip hip hurrah!” Many others on the street lowered their umbrellas in honor, and some could be seen wiping tears from their eyes as phone camera lights illuminated the masses.
The King’s Guard formed a guard of honour upon their arrival at the palace’s Grand Entrance.
All of Her Majesty’s kids and grandkids, including the King and Queen, the Prince and Princess of Wales, and the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, greeted her. Charles and Camilla departed Buckingham Palace shortly after seeing the arrival of the casket.
The Queen will spend the night in the palace’s Bow Room before being transferred to the Palace of Westminster, where she will lay in state until Monday, September 19, when she will be laid to rest in Westminster Abbey and buried at St George’s Chapel in Windsor.
