Was the Queen's outfit a secret show of support to the US?

(Image credit: 2021 UK Press Pool)

It was the Queen's official birthday this weekend (she has two birthdays every year in case you didn't know) and she celebrated in quite an important way, by hosting the US presidential couple, Joe and Jill Biden, and Windsor Castle.

The POTUS and FLOTUS were visiting the UK for the G7 Leader's Summit in Cornwall, where they met with Boris and Carrie Johnson, and stopped by the castle to have tea with the Queen before heading to Brussels.

Her Majesty treated them to a Royal Salute by The Queen's Company First Battalion Grenadier Guards, and the US national anthem was also played.

She looked her usual colourful self thanks to a pink floral dress with matching statement hat. Accessories-wise, she adorned her dress with the Jardine Star Brooch, which she's worn several times before, including for her Diamond Jubilee weekend in 2012 and her Christmas speech last year.

Now some royal fans are saying that this choice of brooch is actually a secret show of support to the US and the Bidens. Why? Because it's shaped like a star, and could be likened to the American flag and the Star-Spangled banner, also known as the national anthem.

It could naturally be pure coincidence, but we do know the Queen has history of sending signals with her outfit choices, so the jury's out on this one.

Penny Goldstone

Penny Goldstone is the Digital Fashion Editor at Marie Claire, covering everything from catwalk trends to royal fashion and the latest high street and Instagram must-haves.

Penny grew up in France and studied languages and law at the Sorbonne Nouvelle University in Paris before moving to the UK for her MA in multimedia journalism at Bournemouth University. She moved to the UK permanently and has never looked back (though she does go back regularly to stock up on cheese and wine).

Although she's always loved fashion - she used to create scrapbooks of her favourite trends and looks, including Sienna Miller and Kate Moss' boho phase - her first job was at MoneySavingExpert.com, sourcing the best deals for everything from restaurants to designer sales.

However she quit after two years to follow her true passion, fashion journalism, and after many years of internships and freelance stints at magazines including Red, Cosmopolitan, Stylist and Good Housekeeping, landed her dream job as the Digital Fashion Editor at Marie Claire UK.

Her favourite part of the job is discovering new brands and meeting designers, and travelling the world to attend events and fashion shows. Seeing her first Chanel runway IRL at Paris Fashion Week was a true pinch-me moment.