KING Charles and Camilla greeted the Emperor and Empress of Japan at a State Banquet as the Queen wore a new badge for the first time.
The new King’s Family Order was first used by the Queen at the Japanese state banquet.
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Camilla stepped out wearing her husband’s miniature portrait encased in diamonds, topped by a small gold and enamel Tudor crown and suspended by a light blue silk bow on her left shoulder for the glittering event in Buckingham Palace’s ballroom.
The inauguration of King Charles III’s new Family Order comes almost two years after Charles, the longest-serving heir to the throne, acceded as monarch following the death of his mother.
The badges of the Family Orders are worn on formal evening occasions by female members of the royal family and awarded personally by the sovereign, and are a sign of the wearer’s importance within the royal household.
The King is said to have presented the Order in private to his “dear wife” and queen consort, Camilla – whom he praised in his first television speech as monarch for her “unwavering devotion to the duty in which I place so much trust”.
The couple faced the challenge together this year of the King being diagnosed with cancer and having ongoing treatment, with the Queen urging her husband to take it easy but revealing that he “will not slow down and will not do as he is told”.
More than one Family Order can be worn at the same time and Camilla also wore that of the late Queen Elizabeth II, which is mounted on a chartreuse yellow ribbon, below that of the King.
George IV began the tradition of presenting Family Orders – miniature portraits of the sovereign set in diamonds suspended from a ribbon – to female family members more than 200 years ago.
But Charles modernized some of his own elements while maintaining the traditional appearance.
Her miniature portrait is painted on a synthetic material called polymine, rather than ivory, as was the tradition, and the diamonds are spare – existing loose jewels from the Royal Collection, rather than newly acquired.
Polymin is a translucent treated plastic sheet similar in texture to ivory, which is a synthetic ivory made from cellulose nitrate.
The diamonds are brilliant-cut and have a total weight of 10.41 carats – and the Order, designed by crown jeweler Mark Appleby, was crafted in 18-carat white and yellow gold that was already in royal possession.
Charles personally selected the light blue color of the ribbon, which is based on the Family Order ribbon of his great-grandfather, King George V.
Sovereigns who feature portraits of themselves in jewelry tend to wear different colored ribbons than other monarchs.
George V’s was light blue, George VI’s was pink rose and Elizabeth II’s was chartreuse yellow.
The King’s painting – depicting the monarch wearing the uniform of Admiral of the Fleet, the Sash of the Royal Victorian Order, the Star of the Garter and the Star of the Thistle and the Necklace of the Garter and the Neck Orders of the Order of the Bath and the Royal Order Victorian – was by miniaturist Elizabeth Meek.
Meek previously painted a miniature portrait of Charles as the Prince of Wales in 2005, and the new image was based on a photographic portrait by Hugo Burnand taken in 2023.
Before 1820, the portrait of the sovereign in a jeweled frame was worn by both ladies and gentlemen at court, but especially by female members of the royal family.
Camilla received the Family Order of the Queen from her mother-in-law on her 60th birthday in 2007.
The Queen Mother often wore the Orders of her daughter and late husband George VI, while Elizabeth II wore the Order of George VI and the Order of George V together.
The silk bow was made by milliner Philip Treacy.
The reverse of the Order, in yellow gold, has a motor-turned background engraved with a sunray pattern, superimposed on the King’s Coronation cipher.
William welcomed Emperor Naruhito and his wife, Empress Masako, to their hotel before escorting them to the Horse Guards Parade.
The prince assumed leadership of the royal family while his wife, Princess Kate, underwent cancer treatment.
Kate, 42, made her public return at Trooping the Color earlier this month but is yet to resume full-time royal duties.
William also supports his father, King Charles, as the monarch also undergoes cancer treatment.
This story originally appeared on The-sun.com read the full story
