Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall is the second wife of Charles, Prince of Wales, heir apparent to the British throne. Camilla became an official member of the Royal Family in 2005, at age 58. After a late night of entertaining the NATO leaders from around the world last night, today Camilla visited Emmaus Greenwich – a charity that provides a home and meaningful work to people who have experienced homelessness and social exclusion – in celebration of their 25th anniversary.
Camilla was dressed in purple for the occasion, a colour that is typically associated with royalty, nobility, luxury, power and ambition. So was she trying to send a secret message to the British public?
Camden Clark, a royal enthusiast and blogger, seemed to think so. She commented: “The Duchess’ look today definitely gave off vibes that she is trying to convey to the public that she is ready to be our Queen, traditionally purple was only reserved for the elite of royals and the wealthy.
“I think in a subtle way she’s trying to convey that she’s stepping up to her future role and responsibilities as Queen,” she speculated.
“After all, she has been stepping up on several occasions recently including taking on the responsibilities of greeting the Trumps [with Charles] before the NATO reception at Buckingham Palace,” she added.
However, today’s outfit choice wasn’t the only secret message that Camilla was trying to convey. She also chose to wear a particular piece of jewellery which could have significance. What was it?
Being married to the heir of the British throne definitely has some perks, such as access to some of the impressive jewels in the royal vault.
However, the Duchess of Cornwall has her own jewellery collection which is no less impressive.
There are many beautiful jewels and gems in Camilla’s personal collection that she has inherited from her family, but there’s one particular piece she regularly wears since marrying Prince Charles.
The piece in question is a pair of pansy brooches the Duchess has worn pretty regularly since her marriage to the Prince of Wales.
As with many of the gorgeous pieces in her personal collection, there is no definite information on the provenance of this pair, however it is almost certainly a family heirloom, according to Artemisia’s Royal Jewels.
The brooches have clear rhinestones all around the edge of each petal, with a single pearl nested in the centre, in a small spot of yellow.
The pansy broaches are set in 14k yellow gold and are colourised with a palette of deep purple and vivid yellow enamel.
With these brooches the Duchess of Cornwall could well be sending a secret message directly to the Prince of Wales, what do the pansy brooches convey?
Life-like flowers in enamel in gold were all the rage at the end of Victorian period and beginning of Edwardian, so it is likely this pair is from the time as well.
At the turn of the 20th century, the language of flowers was still very popular; flowers, artificial and real, were often given in a special arrangement to convey a “secret” meaning.
Pansy was a popular choice as a love token for it means “think of me”.
Traditionally, if a single woman found a pansy left for her by an admirer, it meant either “I am thinking of our love”, or think of our love.
Camden said: “The Victorian era was very romantic. During that era people would use certain flowers to convey secret messages and the pansy in particular means ‘I’m thinking of our love’ or ‘think of me’.”
Therefore, Camilla is very likely sending out secret messages to Charles as a show of commitment to their love and to show that she is thinking of him even when apart.
Alternatively, she could also be wearing the brooches and the purple suit to symbolise her dedication to her new role and her husband.
Camilla has worn the brooches on a number of solo occasions, often pairing her beloved brooches with a purple embellished suit, much like today.
Last night, Camilla and Charles entertained foreign leaders and their partners at a reception in Buckingham Palace for the 70th anniversary of the NATO alliance hosted by Queen Elizabeth.
However, before entertaining the other leaders, Charles and Camilla met with President Donald Trump and First Lady, Melania where Camilla was seen stepping up to the role of future Queen.
What did body language expert Judi James make of Camilla’s behaviour at the event last night?
Judi told Express.co.uk: “By being placed a the end of the receiving line of top royals at the NATO reception Camilla does look like a woman stepping into a more regal role, with her husband currently being tipped to take over some royal duties from the Queen.
“However Camilla’s body language signals still suggest a woman ill-at-ease with the role and the status and this footage shows her looking characteristically awkward and hesitant rather than calmly regal.”