The Queen wore one of her favourite brooches to open Parliament

(Image credit: Getty)

HRH Queen Elizabeth II returned to London yesterday, marking her first public appearance yesterday since Prince Philip's funeral, to attend the State Opening of Parliament.

She made her annual speech from the The Sovereign's Throne in the House of Lords chamber, talking through the Government's Agenda for the year.

The Queen wore her signature bright colours, this time a blue and gold ensemble embroidered with flowers, to match her hat. She is thought to have last worn it to Ascot in 2919.

The monarch is of course known for her extensive brooch collection, and this outing she showcased one of her finest.

She last wore this set for her VE Day speech last year, and it was originally a gift from her parents for her 18th birthday in 1944.

They are of an art deco design and feature round, oval and baguette cut diamonds and aquamarines, and while she wore them as two separate pieces, they can be combined to curate just the one statement brooch.

She paired them with her signature three-strand pearl necklace, thought to be another family heirloom.

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.