Queen Camilla accompanied King Charles III on a trip to Wales this week wearing a dazzling diamond-set leek pin. Get all the details on this meaningful piece of royal jewellery below.
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Accompanying her husband King Charles III this week to attend the ceremonial opening of the seventh Senedd Cymru, the Welsh Parliament in Cardiff, Queen Camilla donned a symbolic royal jewel fit for the occasion.
As reported by the BBC, the visit marked the monarch’s first official meeting with First Minister Rhun ap Iorwerth after the election victory of Plaid Cymru, a political party with a strong republican tradition.
The royal couple were greeted with a 21-gun salute in Cardiff Bay to mark their arrival into the city. The Plaid Cymru leader met them on the Senedd steps, together with Presiding Officer Huw Irranca-Davies and Labour Welsh Secretary Stephen Kinnoch, representing the UK government. It is the first time King Charles opened the Senedd as monarch.
The Queen donned a red wool cape by British couturier Fiona Clare for the event, with a matching red felt beret by Philip Treacy. The hue is important to Wales primarily because of Y Ddraig Goch, the famous red dragon that features prominently on the Welsh National Flag. She accessorised her outfit with a sparkling diamond pin in the shape of a leek, the national emblem of Wales.
Its shape is identical to a leek brooch presented to Queen Elizabeth II by the 1st Battalion Welsh Guards in 1960, and is reminiscent of the shape of the leek that appears on the cap of the regiment.
Queen Camilla has her own version of the brooch, which she previously wore to visit Wales in the summer of 2024, to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the Welsh Senedd. It is distinct from the late Queen’s brooch as it has a small yellow gold section which represents the leek’s roots.
Catherine, Princess of Wales, also has her own leek brooch, which she debuted back in 2023 at the St. David’s Day Parade at Combermere Barracks in Windsor. Her husband, Prince William, is the ceremonial Colonel of the Welsh Guards.
According to legend, the leek was associated with St. David, the Patron Saint of Wales, who ordered his soldiers to wear the vegetable on their helmets in battle against Saxon invaders from Britain, in order to help identify friend from foe. In the fourteenth century, fearsome Welsh archers were known to adopted the green and white colours of the leek for their uniforms.
Two hundred years later, Shakespeare even referred to the custom of wearing leeks in his play, Henry V.
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