9 Meaningful Pieces In Kate Middleton’s Jewellery Collection That Belonged To Queen Elizabeth II

By Emily Chan

The Princess of Wales is known to choose meaningful jewellery for high-profile events, including many that belonged to Princess Diana. Over the years, Kate has also borrowed a number of pieces from Queen Elizabeth II’s jewellery vault, including the monarch’s Silver Jubilee earrings, which the then Duchess of Cambridge wore following the birth of Prince Louis in 2018.

Since Queen Elizabeth’s death in September 2022, the Princess has worn a series of poignant pieces that belonged to Her Majesty, including for King Charles III’s Coronation on 6 May. Below, see all the pieces from the late monarch’s jewellery collection that Kate has worn over the years.

Commissioned by King George VI, Queen Elizabeth II’s Festoon necklace features 105 loose diamonds that her father inherited when he ascended the throne. Featuring three strands, the monarch wore the piece on numerous occasions throughout her life, from attending state banquets to posing for official portraits. The Princess of Wales paid tribute to Her late Majesty by wearing the piece for the official Coronation photograph when King Charles III officially assumed the throne on 6 May.

The Princess of Wales wore Queen Elizabeth II’s three-strand pearl necklace – an item Her Majesty was famous for – during a Buckingham Palace lunch for the governors-general of the Commonwealth nations prior to the monarch’s funeral in September 2023.

The then Princess Elizabeth received this jaw-dropping diamond necklace by Cartier from the Nizam of Hyderabad as a wedding gift in 1947. Featuring a rose motif, the royal picked the necklace herself, along with a matching floral tiara. The Princess of Wales first wore the statement piece at a gala for the National Portrait Gallery in 2014, before rewearing it at a Buckingham Palace reception for the Diplomatic Corps in 2019.

Queen Elizabeth II was first photographed wearing these diamond and pearl earrings during her Silver Jubilee celebrations – marking 25 years on the throne – in 1977. Kate has sported the earrings a number of times in the past, including after Prince Louis’ birth in 2018 and while visiting Commonwealth troops ahead of the Queen’s funeral.

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Queen Elizabeth II commissioned royal jeweller Garrard to create this four-strand pearl and diamond choker, using pearls sourced from Japan, in the early 1980s. Princess Diana was loaned the piece for a state banquet in honour of Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands in 1982, while the current Princess of Wales has worn the necklace on several occasions, including for Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip’s 70th wedding anniversary in 2017 and Her Majesty’s funeral in 2022.

The Princess of Wales debuted Queen Elizabeth II’s emerald and diamond earrings during an evening reception in Jamaica in 2022, along with a matching bracelet. Both pieces are from Her late Majesty’s emerald tassel suite, which the monarch first wore at a state dinner held for Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan of the United Arab Emirates at London’s Claridge’s Hotel in 1989.

First worn by Queen Elizabeth II during the 1990s, the Princess of Wales has borrowed Her late Majesty’s diamond and pearl leaf brooch a number of times over the years, including on a visit commemorating the Battle of Passchendaele in Belgium in 2017. Kate wore the piece in tribute to the monarch while attending her funeral procession at Westminster Hall in September.

The Princess of Wales borrowed Queen Elizabeth’s sapphire and diamond earrings for a visit to Edinburgh in 2021. The sapphire earrings are part of a suite of sapphire and diamond jewellery by Asprey, which Her late Majesty added to her collection during the late 1970s.

By Emily Chan

By Vogue

By Emily Chan