The bizarre story behind Queen Camilla's unusual stick insect brooch

Queen Camilla's unusual stick insect brooch has a bizarre story behind it that shows the Queen's close relationship with her father.

• In celebration of her engagement, the Queen consort received a sentimental gift from her father, Major Bruce Shand.
• The sweet story behind this unusual jewellery piece has been revealed by a royal jeweller.
• In other royal news, Queen Camilla looks 'beautiful' as she rocks her signature style and a 'glowing' tan

The Queen has been snapped many times wearing a silver and diamond brooch in the shape of a thin stick insect. In fact, this is such a beloved piece for the Queen that she wore it to Queen Elizabeth II's coffin procession in London back in September 2022. 

In his autobiography, A Touch of Gold, the royal jeweller Geoffrey Munn revealed that he was the designer of this ornate brooch. Geoffrey explained in his book that was the one who helped Camilla's father come up with an elaborate way to present this piece to Her Majesty as a thoughtful way to celebrate her engagement.

Per You Magazine, Geoffrey said in his book that he was inspired by his son's stick insect when he designed the piece, and Camilla was a fan. "Mrs Parker Bowles had admired the glittering stick insect brooch," he began.

"A few days later her father, Major Bruce Shand, rang to see if there was anything he might give to mark her engagement to the Prince of Wales. He agreed the stick insect was a perfect choice and asked how it might be presented." The jeweller then revealed that he came up with a fun idea to present the piece in a chocolate egg!

"I suggested, in the tradition of Fabergé, we might conceal it in an Easter egg from Charbonnel et Walker," he said - to which Camilla's father agreed. "Once this was agreed, I took the brooch to the famous chocolatier in Bond Street and, simply on trust, handed it over the counter to be collected in an egg the following week." 

He then explained that anxiety set in as he realised the chocolatiers could accidentally place anything in the egg. "That was when a dreadful apprehension dawned on me: how on earth could I be certain the finished egg would contain the jewel rather than a handful of champagne truffles?"

"Mounting anxiety cost me a good deal of sleep over the weekend but it reached fever pitch the following Monday when, to my horror, I discovered the Charbonnel et Walker shop on Bond Street was rammed with hundreds of identical primrose yellow eggs, each tied with a matching silk bow." 

Thankfully, the egg was in fact filled with a brooch and not just chocolate truffles, and Camilla was delighted with this engagement gift that she has treasured for nearly two decades. "If I had left the diamond brooch there on trust, I was obliged to retrieve it on nothing more than good faith. To my relief, that Easter morning, Mrs Parker Bowles was surprised and thrilled with the brooch," Geoffrey concluded.