Welcome to Wales! Queen Camilla follows a royal tradition with her glittering choice of brooch at the Senedd

The Queen wore the symbolic piece in a nod towards the late Queen Elizabeth II and Princess Diana, while King Charles offered a warm gesture to Prince William.

Queen Camilla paid a touching tribute during a visit to Wales this week as she wore a beautiful brooch that represents both the history of Wales and her own personal relationship with the royal family.

The King and Queen were greeted by Welsh First Minister Vaughan Gething and Llywydd (or Presiding Office) of the Senedd, Elin Jones, as they arrived in Cardiff this week to the sound of rapturous applause.

The royal wore a soft pink Anna Valentine coat dress for the occasion, pairing the piece with a hat by Lock and Co – the oldest hat shop in the world. For royal fans, though, all attention was on her sparkling brooch.

The diamond leek piece is not only a symbolic tribute to the people of Wales, but a replica of a similar brooch known to be a favourite of the late Queen Elizabeth II whenever she was visiting Wales. The Welsh Guards Leek Brooch was presented to Her late Majesty by the country’s guardsmen in 1960 – a regimental gift paid for by the servicemen themselves, who also designed the pin.

In the decades following, she would wear the piece during her engagements with the regiment, as well as to showstopping events like Trooping the Colour in 2020.

Queen Camilla wore the piece on her first trip to Wales after the passing of her late mother-in-law in 2022, a poignant tribute to Elizabeth II’s connection to the country. She paired the replica with the traditional black suits of mourning.

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Welcome to Wales! Queen Camilla follows a royal tradition with her glittering choice of brooch at the Senedd
The Queen wore the symbolic piece in a nod towards the late Queen Elizabeth II and Princess Diana, while King Charles offered a warm gesture to Prince William
By Isaac Bickerstaff
12 July 2024
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QUEEN CAMILLA WORE A HISTORICAL BROOCH AS SHE VISITED THE SENEDD ON THE OCCASION OF ITS TWENTY-FIFTH ANNIVERSARY Chris Jackson/Getty Images
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Queen Camilla paid a touching tribute during a visit to Wales this week as she wore a beautiful brooch that represents both the history of Wales and her own personal relationship with the royal family.

The King and Queen were greeted by Welsh First Minister Vaughan Gething and Llywydd (or Presiding Office) of the Senedd, Elin Jones, as they arrived in Cardiff this week to the sound of rapturous applause.

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The royal wore a soft pink Anna Valentine coat dress for the occasion, pairing the piece with a hat by Lock and Co – the oldest hat shop in the world. For royal fans, though, all attention was on her sparkling brooch.

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The diamond leek piece is not only a symbolic tribute to the people of Wales, but a replica of a similar brooch known to be a favourite of the late Queen Elizabeth II whenever she was visiting Wales. The Welsh Guards Leek Brooch was presented to Her late Majesty by the country’s guardsmen in 1960 – a regimental gift paid for by the servicemen themselves, who also designed the pin.

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QUEEN ELIZABETH II WORE THE WELSH GUARDS LEEK BROOCH AT TROOPING THE COLOUR IN 2022 – THE PIECE WAS DESIGNED AND PAID BY THE SERVICEMEN THEMSELVES IN 1960 Pool
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In the decades following, she would wear the piece during her engagements with the regiment, as well as to showstopping events like Trooping the Colour in 2020.

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Queen Camilla wore the piece on her first trip to Wales after the passing of her late mother-in-law in 2022, a poignant tribute to Elizabeth II’s connection to the country. She paired the replica with the traditional black suits of mourning.

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PRINCESS CATHERINE IN THE WELSH GUARD LEEK BROOCH IN 2023 Samir Hussein
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Princess Diana, too, owned a replica of the diamond brooch, which holds mythological symbolism for the people of Wales after one ancient king told his troops to pin a leek to their armour for identification during battle, an event famously documented by Shakespeare in Henry V. The late Princess of Wales wore the replica during a parade of the Welsh Guards in London.

Princess Catherine, the current Princess of Wales, pinned the brooch to a Welsh-red coat during a visit to the 1st Battalion of the Guards at Combermere Barracks for St David’s Day in 2023.

This week’s trip to Cardiff was a celebration of the royal family’s relationship with the country. King Charles, who was tutored in the national language by Dr Tedi Millward before ascending to the title of Prince of Wales, delivered a rousing speech to the gathered crowds in the Welsh parliament.

‘It is a milestone on a journey which it has been my privilege, all my life, to share with you,’ his Majesty said, who has visited Wales ‘during times which have seen great change, profound sorrow, and tremendous achievement.

‘Through it all, my respect and affection for the people of this ancient land have deepened with every passing year,’ he continued, before shifting into Welsh, ‘Braint yw cael rhannu eich cariad at y wlad arbennig hon,’ the King said, which translates to ‘it is a privilege to share your love for this special land.’

King Charles also offered a tribute to Prince William, the current Prince of Wales, speaking of the ‘great pleasure’ he felt witnessing his son’s ‘relationship with this special land’. A young William spent three years in Anglesey with Kate Middleton as he served in the RAF between 2013 and 2016.
The Prince of Wales made a ‘nostalgic’ return to his former home this week, visiting his one-time air base and enjoying a reunion with his flying instructors. William was named Royal Honorary Commodore of RAF Valley last year. The Prince joked with the gathered media during a simulator fire exercise, laughing as he threatened to point the hose at them.

The King and Queen’s trip to Cardiff is not the first time that Queen Camilla has donned a nationally symbolic brooch recently. Visiting Edinburgh for Holyrood Week, where the monarch travels to Scotland each year, Queen Camilla chose to wear the Diamond Thistle Brooch, making her debut in the piece. The thistle has been naturalised as the national emblem of Scotland since author Sir Walter Scott chose it as a sigil for the visit of King George IV to the country in 1882.

That particular brooch, which was often worn by the late Queen Elizabeth during Holyrood Week, was a gesture towards the investiture of Queen Camilla to the Most Ancient and Most Noble Order of the Thistle. The greatest chivalric honour in all of Scotland, the Order of the Thistle dates back to King David I, who claimed the symbol as a nod towards the Flemish influences in his court at the time.
The Queen chose a more whimsical brooch as she enjoyed the tennis at Wimbledon this week, wearing an adorable puppy piece from Van Cleef & Arples as she sat in the royal box alongside her sister Annabel Elliot and A-lsiters like Keira Knightley and Richard E. Grant.