King Charles III and Queen Camilla recently arrived in Canada on an official and historic visit, marking the first time they have flown to the country since ascending the throne in 2022 via Vanity Fair.
On Tuesday, Charles, who is Canada’s official head of state, will deliver a speech from the throne and formally open Parliament. This marks a couple of 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.
For the occasion, Camilla donned 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 wore 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.
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 created the brooch in diamonds set in platinum in the late 1930s. The king purchased it as a gift for his wife, who, judging by how often she wore it, clearly appreciated the present.
During the conflict, the brooch became a national symbol for Elizabeth. She wore it, for instance, when Eleanor Roosevelt visited London in October 1942, and on several other occasions, including the day she received the Order of Canada at the age of 100.
