Queen Camilla Adds a Touch of Playfulness With Hummingbird Brooch

Queen Camilla embraced the spirit of the holidays in a forest green dress and Van Cleef & Arpels jewelry for a Christmas decorating event at Clarence House in London on Thursday.

The U.K.’s queen consort wore a green dress designed in her signature silhouette, wearing a midi-length look with long sleeves and rounded shoulders. The bodice of the green frock included jeweled embellishments, offering a stark contrast and textural element to the look, which was also replicated at the cuffs of the sleeves.

Queen Camilla paired the green dress with black tights and black shoes. The queen consort added her signature Van Cleef & Arpels bracelets and wore a special brooch from the jewelry company’s Lucky Animals collection.

Adorned on Queen Camilla’s dress was a hummingbird brooch in vibrant tones of blue, purple and gold. The playful piece hails from one of the earlier iterations of the Lucky Animals collection, featuring an array of brooches and pins.

The latest collection of the brooches features new additions, including a teddy bear, cat, hedgehog, turtle and more pieces. The Lucky Animals collection from Van Cleef & Arpels was initially introduced in 2017, and the hummingbird pin isn’t the only one Queen Camilla has from the brand.

Back in July, the queen consort paid a visit to the Battersea Dogs & Cats Home in London, for which she wore her dog brooch from the Lucky Animals collection. The style of the brooch, and other pieces in the Lucky Animals collection, is “illustrated by the playful creations of ‘la boutique’ from the 1950s onwards,” per Van Cleef & Arpels’ official website.

Queen Camilla’s trove of brooches not only includes her Van Cleef & Arpels pieces, but also historic jewelry she inherited from the late Queen Elizabeth II. Often, the brooches hold a symbolic reference depending on the occasion. For Thursday’s Christmas event at Clarence House, the Van Cleef & Arpels hummingbird brooch provided a pop of color and playfulness to her subdued and festive green frock.