After months residing at Windsor Castle due to the coronavirus pandemic, the Queen has returned to Buckingham Palace in London to launch the 2022 Birmingham Commonwealth Games Baton Relay.
Her Majesty, who is patron and head of the Commonwealth, was accompanied by her youngest son Prince Edward, vice patron of the Commonwealth Games Federation.
Accompanied by her youngest son Prince Edward, the Queen was all smiles in London.
(Instagram @theroyalfamily)What’s more, the Queen signed a special message to the Commonwealth that was placed inside the Queen’s Baton. The baton will be taken to host city Birmingham via 72 Commonwealth territories and nations including Australia, and the Queen’s message will be read at the games’ Opening Ceremony next year.
Unlike batons of the past, this “smart” baton features a 360-degree camera, a heart-rate monitor, LED lighting and GPS tracking. Talk about cutting edge technology!
Dressed in a bright orange ensemble, the Queen looked radiant as she spoke with athletes including Paralympian and gold medallist Kadeena Cox, who left Buckingham Palace as the first Baton bearer.
However, there was a subtle nod to her late husband Prince Philip in her outfit through her jewellery. The Queen accessorised her look with her Nizam of Hyderabad diamond rose brooch – a piece that was originally part of a tiara gifted to the Queen and her husband on their 1947 wedding day.
The tiara featured three roses that could be detached as brooches however the tiara was deconstructed to create the Burmese Rubies tiara.
Duchess Catherine famously wore the jaw-dropping matching Nizam of Hyderabad diamond necklace in 2014 at a royal engagement at the National Portrait Gallery.
The Queen chats with Paralympian and gold medallist Kadeena Cox.
(Getty)When the pandemic hit, the Queen spent most of her time isolating at Windsor Castle. However, the monarch spent the last two months at her Scottish estate, Balmoral, during the summer, and returned to Windsor last weekend.
Just the day before her Commonwealth outing in London, the 95-year-old was all smiles as she visited the Royal Regiment of Canadian Artillery at the Guardroom at Windsor Castle.
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