With just weeks to go until King Charles and Queen Camilla are
set to head to the US for a State Visit, final preparations are
being made. The trip is expected to include a State Banquet, the
only moment during the trip that The Queen could wear a tiara.
However, two historic jewels are already out of the reckoning and
one has symbolic ties to the UK’s relationship with President
Donald Trump.
Given President Trump’s fondness for royalty, there’s every
chance Queen Camilla will wear a tiara for the State Dinner. Queen
Elizabeth II always wore a diadem for such banquets during her
State Visits to Washington which is another indication that full
royal sparkle will be initiated.
Tiara is now on show in London
(Royal Collection Trust)
This time round, though, Queen Camilla has a more limited choice
of tiara as two of the major jewels available to her are now on
show in London. The Brazilian Aquamarine Tiara and the Burmese Ruby
Tiara are both part of the brand new exhibition, Queen Elizabeth
II: Her Life in Style, which has just opened at The King’s Gallery
in London.
Both were designed during the reign of Queen Elizabeth II and
both can only be worn by a queen. And while Queen Camilla has never
worn the Aquamarine Tiara, which has only ever been used by Queen
Elizabeth II, she has been seen in the Burmese Ruby diadem.
Burmese Ruby Tiara during the first State Visit of Donald Trump to
the UK
(The White House from Washington, DC, Public domain, via Wikimedia
Commons)
In fact, the ruby tiara was the one worn by Queen Elizabeth II
when President Donald Trump carried out his first State Visit to
the UK in 2019. When he returned in 2025, Queen Camilla wore one of
her own personal favourites from the queen only collection of
tiaras – the sapphire diadem from the George VI suite of jewels.
That tiara, which was again a creation of the reign of Elizabeth
II, transformed a Belgian sapphire necklace into a tiara.
It also has US links as Queen Elizabeth II wore it to the State
Dinner held for her during her visit to the country in 1991. Other
picks for US State Visits included the Queen Alexandra Kokoshnik, a
towering piece made of diamonds, and the
Girls of Great Britain and Ireland tiara, another all diamond
diadem and one which was said to be a favourite of Queen Elizabeth
II.
from a necklace that once belonged to a Belgian princess, was used
during the last UK State Visit to the US
Queen Camilla has worn both those tiaras in the past so they
remain favourites for her to take this time as well. The Girls of
Great Britain and Ireland was chosen by Queen Camilla for one of
the biggest events of her husband’s reign, the dinner given in
their honour following the Coronation. The Queen Alexandra
Kokoshnik was worn to a State Banquet.
There are, of course, a number of tiaras that The Queen could
choose if she does wear one to the White House during the Visit.
The glittering dinner will be one of the high points of the visit
which comes at the end of the month and which is designed to cement
relations between the UK and the US.
