On Saturday, the Royal Family came together at St. George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle for the funeral of the Duke of Edinburgh, Prince Philip, who died on April 9. For the service, Duchess of Cambridge, Kate Middleton, wore a Roland Mouret coat dress with bow detailing on the front and an asymmetric hem and a Philip Treacy fascinator. Her jewelry included a pair of diamond-and-pearl drop earrings and a pearl necklace, both of which came from Queen Elizabeth II’s private collection. The duo is significant for more than just its tribute to Her Majesty, though. Both were previously worn by Middleton’s late mother-in-law, Princess Diana.
The four-row pearl-diamond choker was designed by Garrard and made with pearls that were gifted to the Queen by the Japanese government in the 1970s, according to The Court Jeweller. In 1982, shortly after Diana’s wedding to Prince Charles, the Queen loaned the necklace to her new daughter-in-law, who wore it to a state visit with Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands at Hampton Court Palace in London. Like Middleton, she paired the choker with the diamond-pearl earrings, which were made using pearls that were a wedding gift from Hakim of Bahrain to the Queen in 1947.
Though especially noteworthy now, Middleton has worn both the choker and the earrings before. She appeared in the earrings on Remembrance Day in 2016, before re-wearing them a year later at Royal Ascot, which she attended with Prince William and the Queen. In 2017, Her Majesty loaned the Duchess of Cambridge her pearl choker to wear to her 60th wedding anniversary celebration. It’s touching that both were on display on Saturday.
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