{"id":957094,"date":"2026-05-13T13:14:27","date_gmt":"2026-05-13T13:14:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/957094\/"},"modified":"2026-05-13T13:14:27","modified_gmt":"2026-05-13T13:14:27","slug":"queen-camilla-wears-the-historic-state-diadem-to-the-british-opening-of-parliament","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/957094\/","title":{"rendered":"Queen Camilla Wears the Historic State Diadem to the British Opening of Parliament"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>This article contains affiliate links; if you click such a link and make a purchase, we may earn a commission.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Hearst Magazines and AOL may earn commission or revenue on some items through these links.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Queen Camilla brought out <a data-ylk=\"slk:one of the finest tiaras from the royal jewelry collection;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.townandcountrymag.com\/style\/jewelry-and-watches\/a70934296\/queen-elizabeth-tiaras-photos\/\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\" target=\"_blank\">one of the finest tiaras from the royal jewelry collection<\/a> for the State Opening of Parliament on Wednesday. The special headpiece has a few different names, going by the Diamond Diadem, the George IV State Diadem, or simply the State Diadem.<\/p>\n<p>According to <a data-ylk=\"slk:the Royal Collection Trust;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.rct.uk\/collection\/31702\/the-diamond-diadem\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\" target=\"_blank\">the Royal Collection Trust<\/a>, the State Diadem was commissioned from the royal jewelers Rundell &amp; Bridge in 1820 and completed in May of that year, at a cost of \u00a38,216, equivalent to roughly $1.1 million today. The design, attributed to Rundell\u2019s chief designer Philip Liebart, was inspired by plans originally considered for <a data-ylk=\"slk:George IV\u2019s Imperial State Crown;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.rct.uk\/collection\/exhibitions\/george-iv-art-spectacle\/the-queens-gallery-buckingham-palace\/cast-of-george-ivs-crown\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\" target=\"_blank\">George IV\u2019s Imperial State Crown<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><img alt=\"State Opening Of Parliament 2026\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"960\" height=\"640\" decoding=\"async\" data-nimg=\"1\" class=\"standard-img w-full w-full h-auto\" style=\"color:transparent\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/https:\/\/media.zenfs.com\/en\/aol_towncountry_108\/d64685edb96e74dac7312f0359d261b1.jpeg\"\/><\/p>\n<p>Queen Camilla arrives at the Sovereign\u2019s Entrance for the State Opening of Parliament.WPA Pool &#8211; Getty Images<\/p>\n<p> (WPA Pool &#8211; Getty Images)<img alt=\"State Opening Of Parliament 2026\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"960\" height=\"640\" decoding=\"async\" data-nimg=\"1\" class=\"standard-img w-full w-full h-auto\" style=\"color:transparent\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/https:\/\/media.zenfs.com\/en\/aol_towncountry_108\/749d3cf3d3804ac802d9b6adf301cb34.jpeg\"\/><\/p>\n<p>King Charles and Queen Camilla arriving at the State Opening.WPA Pool &#8211; Getty Images<\/p>\n<p> (WPA Pool &#8211; Getty Images)<\/p>\n<p>The diadem is set with 1,333 diamonds, including a four-carat pale yellow brilliant at the center of the front cross, with a narrow band fitted with pearls. Its openwork frame is surmounted by four crosses-patt\u00e9e and four sprays representing the national emblems of England, Scotland, and Ireland\u2014roses, thistles, and shamrocks\u2014rendered in a delicate transparent setting style considered fashionable at the time. King George IV wore it at his coronation procession, and it has since been worn by every queen regnant and queen consort from Queen Adelaide, wife of George\u2019s successor William IV, to Queen Camilla.<\/p>\n<p>Queen Camilla has worn the State Diadem twice before, to <a data-ylk=\"slk:the State Openings of Parliament in 2023;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.townandcountrymag.com\/society\/tradition\/a45756018\/queen-camilla-diamond-diadem-state-opening-parliament-2023-photos\/\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\" target=\"_blank\">the State Openings of Parliament in 2023<\/a> and <a data-ylk=\"slk:2024;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.townandcountrymag.com\/society\/tradition\/a61613541\/queen-camilla-diamond-diadem-state-opening-parliament-2024-photos\/\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\" target=\"_blank\">2024<\/a>. There was no State Opening in the UK in 2025, with the parliamentary session continuing from the 2024 opening.<\/p>\n<p><img alt=\"King Charles III Delivers Speech At The Opening Of Parliament\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"960\" height=\"640\" decoding=\"async\" data-nimg=\"1\" class=\"standard-img w-full w-full h-auto\" style=\"color:transparent\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/https:\/\/media.zenfs.com\/en\/aol_towncountry_108\/9ddf4fc43c3c8f22272e5248f363f3fc.jpeg\"\/><\/p>\n<p>Queen Camilla, in the Irish State Coach while wearing the State Diadem, on the way to Parliament in 2023.Max Mumby\/Indigo &#8211; Getty Images<\/p>\n<p> (Max Mumby\/Indigo &#8211; Getty Images)<img alt=\"State Opening of Parliament 2024\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"960\" height=\"640\" decoding=\"async\" data-nimg=\"1\" class=\"standard-img w-full w-full h-auto\" style=\"color:transparent\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/https:\/\/media.zenfs.com\/en\/aol_towncountry_108\/c0303a936b4e6b4d53c0ef24cff4bb69.jpeg\"\/><\/p>\n<p>Queen Camilla in the House of Lords in 2024.WPA Pool &#8211; Getty Images<\/p>\n<p> (WPA Pool &#8211; Getty Images)<\/p>\n<p>The <a data-ylk=\"slk:State Opening;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.parliament.uk\/about\/how\/occasions\/stateopening\/\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\" target=\"_blank\">State Opening<\/a> is a major ceremonial event dating back to the 16th century that brings together the Sovereign, House of Lords, and House of Commons. The ceremony includes a carriage procession from Buckingham Palace to the Houses of Parliament. As his consort, Queen Camilla traditionally accompanies King Charles to this event. The occasion marks the formal opening of a new parliamentary session and centers around the King\u2019s Speech, in which the monarch reads out the government\u2019s legislative agenda and policy priorities for the year ahead. Though delivered by the King in the House of Lords, the speech is <a data-ylk=\"slk:written entirely by the government of the day;elm:affiliate_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas;elmt:premonetized;\" href=\"https:\/\/go.redirectingat.com?id=74968X1788647&amp;url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.bbc.com%2Fnews%2Farticles%2Fcdrm8k706v2o&amp;sref=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.townandcountrymag.com%2Fsociety%2Ftradition%2Fa71233501%2Fqueen-camilla-state-diadem-state-opening-parliament-2026%2F\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\" target=\"_blank\">written entirely by the government of the day<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><strong>You Might Also Like<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"This article contains affiliate links; if you click such a link and make a purchase, we may earn&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":957095,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7708],"tags":[267209,395,83207,267210,267211,2607,5105,251451,7710,519,448,166009],"class_list":{"0":"post-957094","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-royals","8":"tag-diamond-diadem","9":"tag-getty-images","10":"tag-imperial-state-crown","11":"tag-king-george-iv","12":"tag-queen-adelaide","13":"tag-queen-camilla","14":"tag-royal","15":"tag-royal-collection-trust","16":"tag-royal-families","17":"tag-royal-family","18":"tag-royals","19":"tag-state-opening-of-parliament"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/116567453753262797","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/957094","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=957094"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/957094\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/957095"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=957094"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=957094"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=957094"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}