King Charles III and Queen Camilla have arrived in Canada on an official and historic visit, not least because it is the first time they have flown to the country since ascending the throne in 2022. On Tuesday, Charles, who is Canada’s official head of state, will deliver a speech from the throne and formally open Parliament. This marks two important milestones, as a British monarch has not delivered “the speech from the throne” since 1977 and for 68 years no sovereign had opened a session of Parliament. It all comes with a new prime minister, Mark Carney, and in the wake of President Donald Trump‘s suggestion Canada be the “51st state” of the United States. Trump has a special affection for the British royal family—save Meghan Markle and Prince Harry—with two visits to the U.K. planned in less than a year, one state visit and one semi-private visit. It may be that the presence of the royals in Canada will make him rethink his Canadian ambitions.

King Charles III and Queen Camilla arriving at Macdonald-Cartier International Airport in Ottawa, Canada, May 26, 2025.

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For the occasion, Camilla wore a brooch alongside diamond and pearl earrings and a gold pendant engraved with the initials of her grandchildren: all of which elevated her pale pink coat-dress designed by Anna Valentine and complemented by Chanel shoes. She’d donned the dress for the May 2018 royal wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle and this rewear could be a nod to the royal couple as the Sussexes recently celebrated their seventh wedding anniversary.

Doria Ragland, Prince Charles, Prince of Wales and Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall after the wedding of Prince Harry and Ms. Meghan Markle at St George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle on May 19, 2018 in Windsor, England.

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Of the ensemble, her maple leaf brooch, the national symbol of Canada also catches the eye. The brooch if one that King George VI gave to his wife, Queen Elizabeth, to mark her first royal tour of Canada in the spring of 1939, a few months before the outbreak of World War II. The jewelry firm Asprey made it in diamonds set in platinum in the late 1930s and the king acquired it for his wife who, judging by the number of times she wore it, was enthusiastic about the present.

The brooch became something of a national symbol for Elizabeth during the conflict. She wore it, for example, when Eleanor Roosevelt visited London in October 1942, and many more times, including the day she received the Order of Canada at 100 years old.

The King and Queen with Diana Fox Carney, Whit Fraser, Mark Carney, Mary Simon during the tree planting ceremony at the Governor of Canada’s residence, Rideau Hall.

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The Queen Mother lent the brooch to her daughter, Elizabeth II. The first time, for her first trip to Canada, still as a princess, in 1951. In 2017, she retrieved it for a visit to Canada House in London for the 150th anniversary of Canadian Confederation when Elizabeth II was celebrating her Sapphire Jubilee. She received a gift that day: a snowflake-shaped sapphire and diamond brooch designed to accompany the diamond maple leaf. Elizabeth II would inherit the pin after her mother’ s death in 2002, and, like her, wore it frequently, around the world. She also lent the brooch to both Camilla and Kate who took it to Canada on her first tour of the country in 2016 with Prince William.

Upon Elizabeth II’s death, the brooch, part of her jewelry collection, became part of her inheritance. Camilla borrowed it from her mother-in-law for her first visit to Canada as Duchess of Cornwall in 2009. The first time she wore it as consort was in 2024, posing for an official portrait as Queen of Canada.

Originally published in Vanity Fair Spain