Palace Shares Queen Camilla's 79th Birthday Portrait — and Fans Spot One Meaningful Detail
Queen Camilla celebrated her 79th birthday with a new portrait, and a special royal heirloom stole the attention.
To mark the Queen’s 79th birthday today, on July 17, Buckingham Palace has released an official portrait celebrating the occasion. However, there is a hidden detail in the photo that most people might miss. Queen Camilla wore a special accessory that carries a deeply meaningful piece of royal history.
The birthday portrait was captured by Getty’s royal photographer, Chris Jackson, during a visit to Hillsborough Castle in Northern Ireland last month. In the photo, Camilla pays a subtle nod to royal history by wearing a diamond and sapphire butterfly brooch, which was gifted to the late Queen Elizabeth II at the Birmingham Spring Fair back in February 1977. As for the celebrations, HELLO! reports that the Queen will be spending her birthday quietly at Highgrove.
Camilla is also using her birthday to shine a light on a cause close to her heart. To mark the occasion, she has unveiled a new literacy initiative that will see every Year 6 child across the UK receive a copy of Impossible Creatures by Katherine Rundell this Christmas. The project is being launched in partnership with the National Literacy Trust, of which the Queen serves as patron.
Each book will feature a special royal stamp on the front, alongside a personal message from Camilla printed inside. The message reads: “Impossible Creatures, by one of my favourite writers, is a brilliant fantasy that will introduce you to a host of mythical friends and terrifying enemies... and I hope that you will love it as much as I do.”
Books have always been a big part of Camilla's life, and she has frequently used her royal platform to encourage others to pick up a good read. Back in January 2021, during the COVID-19 lockdown, she launched her Reading Room book club as a way to share her favorite titles with readers everywhere.
The initiative continued to grow, and two years later, it officially became a registered charity known as The Queen's Reading Room. Today, the charity also runs its own annual literary festival and podcast. Beyond that, Camilla supports several literacy organizations across the UK as patron, including the National Literacy Trust, BookTrust, and Coram Beanstalk.
Camilla's love of books has also attracted plenty of famous faces this year. During the royal couple's U.S. state visit in April, Sex and the City star Sarah Jessica Parker and TV personality Jenna Bush Hager joined her for a special Queen's Reading Room event at the New York Public Library. Earlier in 2026, actors Stanley Tucci, Sigourney Weaver, and Richard E. Grant also showed up to celebrate the charity's inaugural Reading Room Medal.
